Destiny of the Witch, page 42
‘Welcome, Phoenix Tremayne.’
If the two Shining Ones hoped their appearance would intimidate us they would, I thought, be sadly mistaken. Wren and I had, after all, seen Shining Ones in their true form before and it didn’t worry me. In fact, I considered a Shining One to be one of my best friends. We’d warned Phoenix what to expect so it didn’t come as any shock to him either.
I hadn’t been sure what to expect when a leprechaun arrived at our stone hut to escort us to the meeting. I’d almost asked him how he’d known where we were, but having had dealings with Sweeney in Ballydraiocht, I doubted I’d get a civil answer, so didn’t bother.
Of course, Phoenix and Wren had never met a leprechaun before. I’d had to reassure them that everything was fine, and not to worry.
I’d already advised them that, just because this was the Seelie Court which supposedly consisted of friendly members of the fae community, as opposed to the Unseelie Court which most definitely didn’t, that didn’t necessarily mean we could fully trust them. The fae were tricky creatures, and felt no loyalty to human beings, let alone the witches who had, after all, betrayed them all those years ago. I’d also warned them that, in this time, the term fae might not be appreciated, and suggested they refer to them as the daoine sidhe or fair folk instead.
‘Just be polite and respectful,’ I told them. ‘And keep your wits about you.’
I vaguely remembered the O’Briens telling us that the meeting between me and the Seelie Court had taken place in a castle, so I wasn’t too surprised to find myself in this magnificent throne room, although I had no idea where the castle actually was, or what it looked like from the outside, as the leprechaun had transported us all directly inside.
Two golden thrones were at the far end of the room. Sitting upon them were the two Tuatha Dé Danaan. Gathered around them were various elves, brownies, sprites, and various other creatures I couldn’t identify. Every head turned in our direction as we approached the thrones, and I heard some muttering—not all of which sounded positive.
I bowed before the Shining Ones, wondering if these were Killian’s grandparents. I was relieved to see, out of the corner of my eye, that Phoenix and Wren had also bowed.
‘Thank you for accepting our request for an audience and inviting us to your home,’ Phoenix managed.
There was some laughter behind him, and the woman held up her hand to silence the gleeful audience.
‘This is not our home,’ she explained. ‘This is the home of one of the noblest families in this country, who have graciously invited us to stay.’
I couldn’t help wondering how much choice this noble family had had in the matter.
‘I am Eithne,’ the woman said. ‘This is my husband, Cormac. You said you had information about the witch who travelled through time.’ Clearly, she wasn’t big on small talk. She eyed him curiously. ‘I take it you are Phoenix Tremayne?’
‘I am,’ he said, his voice breaking with nerves. He cleared his throat and tried again. ‘This is my future wife, Wren Pendragon, and her brother, Wulfram. We’re here to reassure you about Blaise St Clair.’
‘And why should we trust the word of Pendragons?’ Cormac asked. ‘How do you know what happened to the witch, and why do you bring two Pendragons with you?’
‘I know what happened to the witch,’ Phoenix said nervously, ‘because I am that witch. And I bring the two Pendragons with me because Wulfram is the Great Guardian of the future, who has come back in time to be with me today to help explain what happened.’
There was a great deal of excitement at his announcement. Eithne got to her feet.
‘We were told you carried with you the blessing of the Great Guardian. We didn’t know you would be bringing him with you.’
She walked towards me.
‘Can you prove you are who you say you are?’
I nodded. ‘I can.’
‘Then do so.’
I glanced down at the sword that hung at my side and told it I wished our audience to see it.
There were immediate gasps and Eithne stepped back, clearly impressed.
‘The Sword of Feidhlim! You are the Great Guardian!’
She waved her hand and immediately three more golden thrones appeared. Not quite as grand as hers and her husband’s, naturally, but not bad.
‘Please be seated,’ she said, and I noted the change in her tone and a sudden hint of warmth in her silvery eyes, if that were possible. ‘I had hoped this meeting would give us the reassurance we needed to calm our people, and it seems my wish is to be granted. You must know, Lord Pendragon, that there is turmoil in the world of the daoine sidhe. I should imagine,’ she added, glancing at Phoenix, ‘there is as much turmoil among the witches.’
‘Indeed,’ I said. ‘That’s why I’m here. That’s why we’re all here. To prove to you that you have nothing to fear from the witches. The man you knew as Blaise St Clair is dead. In his place is Phoenix Tremayne, who has returned to his own time and closed the time loop.’
‘Why have you changed your name?’ she asked Phoenix.
‘I can’t go back to my own time as Blaise St Clair,’ he explained. ‘History has recorded that Blaise died in 1669, and I can’t change that. It would cause even more disruption. I had to come back as someone else, far away from my home town, and start again.’
‘Then why come back at all?’ she asked, her eyes sharp. I had a feeling she was testing him.
‘To make amends,’ he said simply. ‘I made a grave error when I travelled through time. It was a stupid, selfish act that I’ve regretted for a long time. I can’t let the daoine sidhe and witches suffer because of my actions. I have to put this right.’
‘Tell me,’ Cormac said, ‘why did you disobey such an important law in the first place?’
Phoenix was quiet for a moment. ‘I suppose,’ he said at last, ‘because I wanted to prove to myself that I could. I was a gifted witch. I found magic easy. I wanted to challenge myself, and I knew time travel was difficult for even the most talented witches to accomplish. Few are good enough, and of course, even those who possibly could do it refuse to attempt it. Except me. My pride and arrogance, my excitement at the prospect of achieving something most other witches would find impossible, it coloured my judgment. I lost sight of the danger I was putting everyone in. All I could think about was achieving my goal. I’m so sorry for everything I did.’
‘Why should we believe you?’ the woman asked.
‘You have no reason to,’ he admitted. ‘However, I’m here today to show you that I am genuinely sorry. I’ve returned to my own time. I never went to the future to look for the keys, although I know that’s what the Pendragons have been telling you. I didn’t even know about the keys or the dragons until recently, and I have no interest in them. All I want to do is dedicate the rest of my life to keeping peace between our two peoples, and making amends for the wrong I did.’
‘Phoenix Tremayne is destined to become the first leader of the High Council of Witches,’ I explained. ‘This will be an organisation set up by the Guardians to monitor the activity of witches and try to prevent any of them stepping out of line again.’
‘The Guardians are to set this organisation up?’ Eithne said, clearly surprised. ‘And yet you say they will choose this man as its first leader?’
‘Because they know how genuinely sorry he is, and that such a talented witch can be put to good use,’ I explained. ‘His gifts will make our world a better place. Phoenix is destined to do so much for both daoine sidhe and witches. And by his side he’ll have his wife, Wren. She is half daoine sidhe, half witch. She has no interest in stirring up divisions between the two communities she is part of.’
‘Even so,’ Eithne said, addressing Wren, ‘you are still a Pendragon. I see that the Sword of Feidhlim trusts in your brother, but how do we know we can trust in you? If the Great Guardian is to be believed, and he must be, you will be the partner of the leader of the witches. You will have his ear. How do we know you won’t work mischief?’
‘You’re judging her because she’s a Pendragon,’ I said. ‘Yet Arthur and Feidhlim were Pendragons. I am a Pendragon.’
‘And the sword judged you all and found you all worthy,’ she reminded me. ‘It gives no such guarantee about this woman.’
Wren lifted her chin defiantly. ‘With all due respect, there were no guarantees about the woman known as Morgan le Fae either. Legend has it that she was a manipulative woman who betrayed Arthur. Yet we all know that’s not true. She was a good person, who wanted peace between her people and the witches, and supported her half-brother in his endeavours. Are all Pendragons to be judged as harshly as she was? I’ve travelled hundreds of years back in time to support the man I love because I believe he will do good in the world. I love my brother, who will dedicate the rest of his life to keeping our communities safe. Do you really believe I’m here to cause division and betray the two men I love most in the world?’
Eithne stared at her, then her mouth curved into what I could only assume was a smile.
‘You make a good argument, Wren Pendragon,’ she said, then called loudly, ‘Send for Aengus!’
The double doors behind us opened and the leprechaun who had brought us here hurried in.
‘Aengus,’ she said, ‘this girl claims to be a Pendragon, yet I sense none of our magic in her, and no alarms sounded when she came back through time. What can you tell me about her?’
Aengus clasped his hands together and his expression became almost comically tragic. ‘I hear the blood of our people in her veins,’ he said with a dramatic sigh, ‘but it’s useless, wasted. It’s singing a mournful lament that makes my heart ache. As for witchcraft—I sense nothing. The girl has no magic.’
‘Thank you. You may wait outside,’ Eithne said dismissively. Aengus immediately hurried out of the room, and she turned to Wren. ‘Well?’
‘Because I gave my magic up,’ Wren explained. ‘Witches are forbidden to time travel. If the daoine sidhe had sensed another witch coming back through time, or the witches had sensed one of the fair folk arriving, it would have scared both communities and stirred up more fear and rumours.’
‘Indeed it would.’ Cormac stroked his chin. ‘That’s a big sacrifice to make. But tell me, how did you suppress your daoine sidhe blood? I understand that witchcraft can be removed by Guardians, but…’
Wren looked at me, clearly worried about revealing too much.
‘Her magic was removed by the sorcerer Merlin and stored in Lyonesse,’ I said.
There was a collective gasp and Eithne and Cormac both got to their feet.
‘Merlin? He is in our world once more? When did he carry out this act?’
‘It was in the future,’ I explained. ‘The twenty-first century to be exact. I know this sounds fantastic, but I want to be completely honest with you.’
‘Lyonesse vanished from your world after the death of Arthur,’ Cormac said, watching me closely.
‘It did. But part of it returned recently as a small island, and it remains so even in the time we come from.’
Eithne’s eyes glowed. ‘Then we were correct. We sensed this recently. It was hard to believe but we were planning to investigate. Our people—do they still live there? Are they well?’
‘I haven’t seen them in this time,’ I admitted. ‘That doesn’t mean they’re not there. We haven’t really had a moment to investigate. But I do know they live on the island in my own time, and they’re happy and well.’
‘The island is our home now,’ Wren explained. ‘Phoenix and I will live there.’
‘On whose authority?’ Eithne enquired.
Phoenix removed a document from his coat and handed it to Wren, who in turn gave it to Eithne. She unfolded it and read it carefully.
‘The Queen of Lyonesse? A direct descendant of King Leodegrance still lives in your time?’ She sounded genuinely delighted. ‘This is good news indeed. The Royal Family of Lyonesse always treated our people well and kindly. And Queen Ewella has given you the deeds to this island for exactly three hundred and fifty years I see, after which, it reverts to her. This all fits with what you’ve told me.’
‘None of us wants more bloodshed,’ I pleaded. ‘I speak with both witches and fair folk, and I haven’t met one yet who wishes to see a repeat of the last great war. Haven’t our people suffered enough? We can’t keep on making the same mistakes, sacrificing thousands, hundreds of thousands, even millions of our kind for nothing. This is a beautiful world. There’s room enough for us all. We should work together to nurture our planet and keep our people safe and happy. The dimension box is safe. I will return to my own time and find the two keys; you have my word. This is my life’s mission: to keep peace and help the fair folk and witches to live securely, without fear or danger from each other, or from anyone or anything else. I swear it on the Sword of Feidhlim as the next Great Guardian of this world.’
She and Cormac exchanged glances then both watched me thoughtfully for a long, agonising moment. Then Eithne nodded.
‘So, Blaise St Clair is, to all intents and purposes, dead. The time loop has closed. No rogue witch has stolen a key. We have a new Great Guardian in the future who will, no doubt, keep the peace. And the Guardians are setting up a council to monitor the witches’ behaviour, which you, Phoenix Tremayne, will be the leader of.’
She folded her hands in her lap.
‘I think we can reassure our people they have nothing to fear.’
‘Thank you,’ I said gratefully.
‘I suspect you have much work still to do in your own time,’ she said. ‘We will not keep you any longer. You may go.’
I gave her a startled look, but she was already leaning over to talk to her husband, and it was obvious that we were dismissed.
I glanced at Phoenix and Wren who looked as surprised as I was by the abrupt termination of our meeting. I gave them a slight shrug. Such was the way of the Shining Ones and the fae. You never really knew where you were with them, but I knew I could trust Eithne and Cormac to calm their people. Hadn’t their children already told me as much?
I motioned to my sister and her fiancé to follow me, and we headed out of the throne room, finding ourselves in a large, grand hall.
‘We can go home now then?’ Wren asked hopefully. ‘Back to the island, I mean?’
‘We can,’ I said distractedly, ‘but there’s something I have to do first.’
I glanced around me, but the hall was empty. Then I heard giggling, and I realised it came from above us. At the top of the stairs sat two children. Shining Ones. I smiled, knowing exactly who they were.
Slowly I climbed the stairs until I was level with them, then I sat down beside them.
‘Hello,’ I said. ‘Are you Orlagh and Ailill?’
They exchanged glances. ‘How did you know that?’ one asked. To be honest, I can’t say which one of them it was. It was hard to tell as they were dressed identically, and both had silver eyes, pale faces, and snow-white hair.
‘Were you waiting for me?’ I asked them gently.
They nodded.
‘Mammy Flynn told us the Great Guardian had arrived with the witch,’ one whispered, ‘and we wanted to see him, but we weren’t allowed.’
The other one sighed. ‘We’re never allowed to do anything interesting, are we, Orlagh?’
‘No. Are you the Great Guardian then?’ Orlagh asked, leaning towards me, and cupping her mouth with her hand, as if by doing so no one else would be able to hear her, even though she hadn’t lowered her voice.
‘I am,’ I said. ‘I’m going home now, but I want you to know that everything’s all right. You needn’t be afraid because Orlagh’s parents and my friends and I have sorted things out between us, and there will be peace.’
‘Aengus told us there would be war soon,’ Ailill said doubtfully.
‘Not any more. The danger has passed. You can trust me.’ Carefully, I took hold of their hands and smiled at them. ‘Everything’s going to be okay. I’m very glad to have met you both.’
They exchanged glances, then to my surprise, Orlagh put her arms around my neck and hugged me. ‘One day,’ she whispered in my ear, ‘I’ll have to oversee all this. Will you help me when I do?’
‘Always,’ I promised.
I got to my feet. ‘I must go home now,’ I said. ‘We’ll meet again, never fear. In the meantime, be happy, and be kind to each other.’ I began to descend the stairs when a thought struck me, and I turned my head to face them. ‘Oh, and one more thing. Witches have the same feelings as we do, you know. Having one of them, or even two of them, in your family wouldn’t be such a bad thing.’
As they exchanged puzzled glances I smiled to myself and headed downstairs where Wren and Phoenix were waiting for me.
Job done. Time to go home.
Chapter 54
Wulfram 1673
‘Where is he?’ Wren fretted, pacing up and down the living room. ‘He said he wouldn’t be long, but he’s been ages. Do you think something’s happened to him?’
‘I’m sure he’s fine,’ I reassured her, knowing full well what was taking Phoenix so long but unable to tell her because it would spoil the surprise.
‘We said the wedding would be at two,’ she reminded me. ‘It’s half past one now.’
‘Don’t worry about that,’ I said, smiling. ‘It’s not as if the vicar won’t wait, is it?’
I’d been given the great honour of marrying Phoenix and Wren in our little island chapel. Emrick had agreed to be a witness and we were all looking forward to the ceremony. I wasn’t so nervous this time. I had, after all, previously married Killian and Harley.
‘You definitely left him in Gerrenporth?’
‘I told you I did,’ I said. ‘He’s gone to buy your wedding ring. Once I’d dropped him off there I left him to it.’
Despite her best efforts, Wren hadn’t managed to find her fede ring, which she feared had somehow dropped off her finger in the journey from the twenty-first to the seventeenth century. She was understandably upset, as it was all she had of Meri, but Phoenix had promised to buy her the best wedding ring he could find in Gerrenporth as compensation.
