in which an unexpected Danger places our Hero and Heroine in a most dire Situation
Sorcha felt as though hours had passed, though it had likely not been more than thirty minutes. She told herself to breathe, to remain calm, to not grow overly worried. But her mind returned rapidly and repeatedly to a similar wait undertaken in a dark cottage on a fear-filled night.
She tried to tell herself she had given Duncan ample warning about the dangers he faced, that his knowledge of it would protect him. But her father and mother had understood the threat of thecù-sìth. Her father, after all, had shouted for them to run for the cottage; it was the cottage, and the cottagealone, where they would have been safe. They had known what they faced; they simply hadn’t had time to escape.
She alternated between pacing the road and sitting on a large rock nearby. She kept herself out of view of the path, not entirely certain how far one had to travel before seeing theBean-Nighe. But, heavens, how she was tempted to look for Duncan!
Hers was more than merely the concern one human being ought to have for another. She liked Duncan. She knew him to be a good and kindhearted person. He wasclever and caring. Handsome. Generous. How strange that he had never been married. Few in their village remained bachelors, but he had, despite his caring and generous heart.
She rose from her rock once more and began pacing. Duncanwas undertaking the task, would be successful, and would return. Of course he would.
She hoped.
She turned back toward the rock on which she’d been sitting, but she didn’t take a single step.
There, standing where she’d been, was Duncan. He had arrived silently. Granny’s shoes were very effective. She hoped they had proven just as effective in his very dangerous task.
She remained rooted to the spot, watching him, unable to even speak.
“She was there,” he said. “I never looked away. She didn’t see me.”
Sorcha began breathing a little more easily.
“I snatched her up off the ground, asked my required three questions, and answered hers. Then she let me go.”
Sorcha pressed a hand to her pounding heart. “Then you’re safe? The shroud will not be yours?” Her voice emerged a bit breathless. She’d been so very afraid for him!
“It will not. And, further, she told me how to heal Donella.”
Most of the tension in Sorcha’s body eased. She crossed to him. “What do we need to do?”
“We have to fetch water from the mouth of the gargoyle in the churchyard at Carrifran. If Donella drinks it, she will be healed.”
“Then our journey is not yet complete.” She hadn’t anticipated that. They hadn’t a great deal of time before they must return.
“I don’t know where Carrifran is,” he said.
“I do,” Sorcha said. “It lies at least a day’s walk from here.”
“If we begin now, we should reach Carrifran tomorrow,” he said, clearly thinking out loud. “That still leaves us three days beforeBealltainn.”
“Yes, but I have my suspicions that the Washing Woman is not the last creature we will encounter. You see, they are not solitary. They are not unconnected. That you had one interaction with a member of their race, and emerged triumphant, means others will be watching for you, determined to best you as theBean-Nighewas unable to do.”
“And what of your encounter with thecù-sìth? You emerged triumphant in that encounter,” he said.
“The very reason Granny Winter has taught me so much of the ways of fairies and monsters. She is hopeful that the passage of so many years without significant interactions means they aren’t particularly upset at my escape. Likely because they were successful in causing me so much pain.”
“Are all creatures from that realm so vindictive and bloodthirsty?”
Sorcha shook her head. “Some are rather benevolent. Some are neither good nor bad. But those that mean harm are more than capable of inflicting it.”
“If you don’t wish to continue,” he said, “I will understand. You need only give me directions, and I will make the remainder of the journey on my own.”
“I am not afraid.”
“Neither am I,” he said.
She’d long suspected he was quite brave. It was a wonderful thing to realize she was right.