“But I…” I stared at that monstrous eye as it stared back. “Um… okay.”
As I started leaning in, the eye blinked and vanished, replaced by a tiny, gnarled ear. The skin was deep grey, and the head it was on looked bulbous through the little opening of the hut.
I licked my lips nervously and got as close to the opening as I dared.
“Lugh,” I heard myself whisper before I’d even known I was going to speak. “Acherone Lugh al Brid.”
The ear dipped as Ogma nodded. “A fine name. Tell no one. Keep it safe.”
I stepped back quickly and nodded. “I will.”
“Will you stay a while longer, Acherone? You have time. I’d enjoy the conversation.”
“Oh.” I glanced around at the grove again nervously, then blinked when Ogma’s giant eye reappeared at the opening. “Um… sure. What do you want to talk about?”
“Do you know how these woods were formed?”
“Formed?” I looked around again. “No. Don’t woods just grow?”
“Most, but you surely know the Woods of Orna are different. The ancient gods, the Tuath Dé, fought the Fir Bolg’s army on this land. The Orna was the First God’s sword. When the battle ended, he stabbed his sword into the earth, impaling Fir Bolg’s head. The blood from the thousands of warriors he had slain fed the earth and created these woods, from which all fae life sprang forth.”
I blinked, not entirely sure why she was telling me this. “Oh. Wow. Um… who was Fir Bolg? Why were they fighting?”
“Why anyone fights. For power. For control. This land was paradise for the gods, and Fir Bolg wanted it for himself. He was a lesser god, not as blessed as the others, and he resented it.”
Ogma’s big eye blinked, then darted frantically over me again.
“Fir Bolg’s blood created the unseelie. That which spilled from the First God during his final battle created the seelie. But one is not better than the other. Even gods can be fools—even they can fall prey to temptations and bitter resentment. The unseelie inherited Fir Bolg’s cold ruthlessness, and the seelie inherited the First God’s fierce, heated anger.” She blinked again. “Orna still rests in the very centre of these woods. Perhaps you will come across it one day.”
I shrugged awkwardly. “Um, yeah. Maybe.”
Ogma sighed, and I heard her shifting inside her tiny hut. “Whatever you used to find me is wearing off. It’s time for you to go.”
“Oh, right. Yeah.”
My headwasstarting to feel clearer, and I was thirsty. I wanted the tea in the leather skin Gillie had given me.
I gave Ogma a hesitant smile. “Nice to meet you. I’m guessing… um, I won’t ever see you again?”
“You will,” she said cheerfully, making me pause. “Safe travels, Acherone. And look behind you when you leave.”
“Huh?”
Before she could answer, the black mist returned in a rush and surrounded me. I blinked rapidly, waving my hand in front of my face fruitlessly to try and clear it. Then it vanished as suddenly as it had appeared, like it was getting sucked up by something behind me.
I didn’t move for a second as the forest reappeared around me, still and quiet. Ogma’s final words pricked at my consciousness, and I hesitantly glanced over my shoulder.
One of the Carlin’s guards was creeping through the trees.
I stiffened with panic, my heart giving a mighty thud in my chest. He hadn’t seen me yet—he was walking towards my left, peering the other way. But he would spot me the moment he turned his head.
Somehow staying completely silent, I darted behind a tree while my branch arm was already pulling my bow from my back. Grabbing an arrow from my quiver, I nocked it onto the bowstring and held my breath, listening.
His footsteps were light, but they still crunched over the twigs and dead leaves on the forest floor. I didn’t move for long moments, working out exactly where he was. I pictured his armour in my mind’s eye. The helmet protected his skull and dipped between the eyes, over the bridge of his nose. But his mouth was uncovered.
Could I do it? Could I kill a person? I supposed I didn’t really have a choice. Even if I managed to sneak away unseen, I had no idea how far I’d wandered from Nua and Gillie’s sidhe. However far it was, it wasn’t far enough. I had to protect them. Not just myself.
Readying my bow, I peered around the tree. The guard was still facing away from me.