His icy presence was gone but Rua still sat frozen. She had been right beside him the whole time. Too terrified to move, too angry to speak. Regrets for Chareos, best wishes for the bride and groom, citizens of the Empire indeed! They had twelve hours. Twelve hours to prepare for the next stage of the war. For the shutting down of the circle. Her circle. And what in Heramacles name was she going to do about it? There was a flurry of activity around her now. Runners to the passes where Fraoch and Caoimhe kept watch to allow the wardens attend the celebration. Runners to the Crowns for help they'd already refused. Turmoil outside her head to match that inside. Then a memory. The one thing Scullion said she could do if Joshrim came after the circle. The idea became as clearly focused as the face that appeared before her now - a single ever steady presence amidst the chaos.
"Are you okay?"
She looked at Cosaint oddly. What was it about him and that one simple question? She met his eyes squarely.
"In twelve hours I'm going to seal the circle."
He answered her with hardly any surprise and perhaps a little humour. "Okay, well do you think before you do that you could take me to Arcon to bring Midir back here?"
Cosaint had run off from her as soon as they appeared in the circle without even a word of whether or not he needed her to wait. Well, he was in the same hurry as she was. Before they could leave she had instructed her circle guardians to block all use of the circles not accompanied by her or her written permission. Donnacha was taking to the order with boundless enthusiasm and ruffling more than a few feathers. Not having time for smoothing them out, she sent the complainants on their way, then came to Arcon. She waited just long enough to scribble a few frantic thoughts in the notebook she had begun to carry with her. There were no shortage of ritualists in House Demetus. Cosaint and Midir would get back safely. She stepped back into the circle and hesitated briefly. She wasn't ready to go home just yet.
There were circles even better defended than hers. It would have been hard to believe had she not just appeared in the middle of more crossbows than she could count.
"My name is Rua Ní Dhiarmuid of Armengar. I am a friend of Tarkis and I urgently need to speak with him now."
The guards lowered their weapons and one spoke to her. "I'll send for him. But it could take a while, miss. He's in the forest. You're welcome to wait." While speaking he tied a letter to the claw of a pigeon and released it.
She looked to where the bird flew. Stretching all the way to the horizon and undoubtedly beyond, was the largest forest she'd ever seen. It was shrouded by night but the lights from the circle cast an eerie light over it. She quickly lost sight of the bird. Behind her and towering high above was a white cathedral, magnificent in its design. It was a huge forest.
She turned back to the guard. "Do you know how long he might be?"
"Can't say for sure, miss. Depends where he is."
Rua considered it a moment. She badly needed to talk to him but time was short. She couldn't really wait. Samuel. She could try talk to him. With that, she nodded. "Okay, I need to go to Holy Isle. I'll return within the hour. Do you think he'll be here then?"
"Might be." He looked at her curiously but she was already stepping back into the circle. Moments later Holy Isle appeared around her.
Eleven
She had to leave a message. Samuel was 'elsewhere' and there was no one to tell her how to reach him. All she could do was hope he would return to his office soon and come see her. She was walking back towards the circle when she stopped at a crossroads. Twenty minutes there, twenty minutes back. That was all it would take to see her daughter. Maybe for the last time. She chased the thought from her mind. She would be late back to Tarkis but...
Twenty minutes later she was standing in the open doorway of Blaithín's room. A sleeping form was huddled in the centre of the bed with not a care in the world. A very tired and now worried looking Creathna stood behind her but said not a word.
"She looks so peaceful." Rua whispered so quietly she could barely hear the words herself. She stepped softly into the room and crossed the floor to the bed. Kneeling down, she could feel her eyes burn but forced herself to breathe and not let it overwhelm her. Soft enough not to wake the girl, she kissed her head.
"Mo stoirín. Mo chroí." One more kiss and Rua forced herself back to her feet. She turned to where Creathna still stood with a puzzled expression and walked back to the door, only to freeze when Blaithín's voice followed her.
"Mammy."
Rua looked over her shoulder, afraid of the explanations she would have to give, but the child was only murmuring in her sleep. She rolled over to face into the wall and fell back to a just sleep. Biting her lip, Rua left the room and hurried down the stairs. Only when she was back in the kitchen did she turn to Creathna.
"I know it's a lot to ask but can you take the other three?"
Creathna blinked. "Of course dear. Rua what is wrong?"
"Joshrim is sending his legions on us. And in... just over ten hours our ritual circle will be useless. All the children will be sent here. But can you take them? I don't know for how long."
"Rua, you should-"
"Don't say it. I can't. But they'll be safe." She nodded, hoping for Creathna to acknowledge.
She did. She came and took Rua's hands in hers. "They'll be safe. The ancestors be with you."
"Thank you." She stepped back. "Tell Tirahn..." She paused. "Tell him I don't know when we'll talk again, but we will."
Rua made her way back to the transport circle quick as she could. Thinking about hurrying kept her mind off other things. A month ago she had advocated evacuating the children there and then. Now to actually do it, it seemed like they were admitting defeat.
Ten
This time the crossbows were more hastily lowered. Tarkis stood waiting for her dressed in black with light silver armour. "Welcome to Moonhaven. It's good to see you again, Rua. To what do I owe the pleasure?"
She looked at him, working hard to reign in her anxiety and panic. This was not going to be a good use of the little time she had if she could not control herself. But words blurted out anyway. "Something bad. We're in trouble. Can we go somewhere?"
He brought her to a small bench in a nearby copse of trees. The willow trees wept beside them.
"Tonight we mourned Chareos' passing." Her eyes closed a moment. "I've been avoiding grieving for him so long and at the worst possible time it's catching up with me... An envoy from Joshrim came."
She told him everything of what the envoy said to his disbelief. The idea of him disrupting the circle - well Tarkis was a ritualist too and she recognised the look in his eyes. He thought about it, tried to offer something useful, but ultimately this problem was beyond him too. And it upset him.
"He cannot do this, it's a travesty, to think he can just return and move the pattern around at his whim, the pattern of Erdreja is not for one corrupt and outside of it to play with!" He released a long sigh. "Rua I have no idea how to help you, if he switches the circle off, it would take a master mage to switch it back on, however if he can do it remotely it breaks everything I know of such things."
Rua rubbed her head, not that it was helping the pain there any. "So there really is no hope."
He looked at her, startled. "There is always hope."
She shook her head, the despair making it heavy. "I can't go back to the way things were." She looked back at him. "We tried. The Lions tried. But it wasn't enough. It's never enough. There's always too many of them and not enough of us."
He growled. "Not true, there is always 'just enough'. There is always a way, its just often hidden."
Something inside her snapped. Her fist came down hard on the bench. "Well it's been hidden a damn long time and I'm getting tired of looking!!" She was immediately ashamed of her behaviour and covered her face. "I'm sorry. I just don't know what to do."
He gave her a moment to regain herself. When she had pulled herself together she thought further about his words. "'Just enough?' That sounds like something I'll tell my children before I send them away from me. I'll make them believe it too."
As their conversation continued, her look grew darker, her thoughts more intense. For all his talk on it, there was little he could offer in the way of hope. His intentions to speak to his wife and the Lord Gryphon - well any help was appreciated. But still she was not convinced it would be enough. And how could they send help without the circle? She asked the question that was preoccupying her mind.
"Tell me Tarkis, if he attempts to shut down the circle on the twelfth hour, what would happen if it were sealed at the time?"
He thought about it a long moment. "It depends, if he attempts through a ritual of his own, he would have to first break the seal on your circle." The worry etched across his face was as easy to read as those first letters Mactire had shown her. It was clear he didn't like the thoughts of what such a scenario might cause. "If he has some mystical way of just 'switching it off' it would just fade away."
So no hope there either.
And then, Tarkis told her something. He whispered it to her even though there was no one around to hear. "In matters like this I am never wrong." He smiled. "And now I am telling you, not only is there hope, but you have friends you did not even know about, and I will be sharing a drink with you by the Heartland Games."
That was half a year away. A lot could happen in half a year. Under the Calebii attacks, Rua would never have dreamed of planning for anything that was half a year away. "Heartland Games... it seems so distant."
He continued undeterred, hope sparkling in his green eyes. "I'm not about to break my perfect record on your account!!" He smiled at her sincerely, his eyes catching hers. "There's always hope. Lose that and he has won."
And so it continued. He told her the story of his wedding and how they defeated Mordinaar, a lieutenant of Satun. He gave examples of how he was never wrong. He spoke like he genuinely believed he would be seeing her again. She had gone to him for advice on keeping control of the circle, and the best he could tell her was what she already knew. They needed Master Earth. But his talk of hope... his insistence upon it... it was worth the time away. In his, she found her own.
"We've fought for centuries for our home. It's the one thing we all know how to do well. The only thing that we can unite on. We'll hold as long as we can and they'll pay for every inch of land."
He nodded. "I'm sure no-one can hold it longer. Mayhap this is the pattern that was meant for you, why you have been crafted into the weapon you are now. Joshrim regaining dominance spells a bad era for the world, mayhap what you have is 'just enough'".
With a sigh, she stood. "And now I must go." Grim determination set into her features. "I will see you again at the Heartland Games, if not sooner. It's going to be okay. Just enough, you say? Maybe." She smiled then. "It's our home... that's far more powerful than Joshrim realises."
He walked with her into the circle and when they shook hands in the centre, he pressed something into her palm and quickly stepped back out of the circle. Moonhaven disappeared.
Nine
"Welcome back, Mistress Rua!"
She couldn't help but smile back at Donnacha and his cohort. It seemed it didn't matter what was going on, they were always upbeat. And she'd long ago given up on trying to get them to stop calling her Mistress. She took it as an affectionate joke. At least she hoped that was all it was.
Just enough. The words had given new lease to her hope. Almost as an afterthought she opened her hand to look at the object Tarkis had pressed there. It was a silver symbol of some sort she did not recognise on a well worn leather tong. It looked old. Clutching it back in her hand, she hurried up towards the citadel.
Hengist was waiting for her back at the temple. It had become the centre of operations by dint of everyone being there at the time. Together they sorted out the best way to use the circles to get in supplies and get the children out. He echoed Tarkis' sentiments. They could only react now. They couldn't stop what Joshrim planned, but maybe they could bring the circle back themselves. It was the tiniest sliver of hope. She grasped for it anyway, even knowing the bloodied fingers it could give her. When Hengist said he would leave on the eleventh hour with any non-Armengarians who wished escape... well it was up to Fraoch to try stop them. But Hengist had her blessing.
It was agreed in Fraoch's absence, amidst plans for the passes and shipments of supplies and all those other things that chipped away at the fragile hope Tarkis had tried to give her. Those parents that wished to send their children to the safety of Holy Isle, could do so. Rua hurried home.
Her hand rested on the door handle. On the other side her children were sleeping peacefully, no doubt as blissfully unaware as their sister back on Holy Isle. As soon as she turned that handle, it would all change. Her hand fell to her side. Rua leaned back against the wall just as the strength in her knees began to give out. Finally the long hard struggle against the enemy that had been trying to consume her all night, was ended. Her defences broke and she crumpled to the floor, tears swarming over her eyes and flooding her cheeks. The sob came from deep inside where she could hold it down no longer.
Eight
"Rua?"
The door to their home opened and she could hear Lugh walking through the house, calling softly for her so as not to wake the children. She rested against the wall, her arms wrapped tight around her knees. She could have called back to him but she was out of breath from crying, her nose was blocked making it all the more difficult to catch that breath, and his footsteps were approaching anyway. They stopped. There was a pause for the briefest moment before he covered the distance to her and was down on his knees.
"Rua! What's wrong? Did something happen?"
She looked up at him through bleary eyes, her chest still heaving as she tried to speak. "Other than... shutting off the... circle and sending... his legions on us?... Yes... Chareos is gone."
He had no answer for that but to take her into his arms until her sobs finally died out. However long it took. Only when she was still again did he kiss her cheek, getting the taste of her tears.
"It's going to be okay."
"Is it? I never thought I'd be so afraid for my children I'd rather send them away from me."
With a sigh he looked to the door behind his back. "You know Ruairí won't want to go."
Her eyes met his and there was no uncertainty. "He's going."
He didn't waver. "Rua, he is almost eight."
"He's seven." She snapped the words out, then calmed herself back down. "And he's a fine warrior for a seven year old. But these are the legions that are coming, Lugh. He's not good enough for that. We may not even be good enough for that. He'll be killed and that will break my heart more than any circle going down ever could. I want him safe."
There was a battle being fought behind Lugh's eyes. One they didn't have time for. He kissed her head and nodded. "He'll go. We need to tell them now. Are you okay?"
She nodded and got to her feet with his help. "Yes. But will you open the door?"
He looked at her quizzically, but found no answer. So instead he just opened the door.
Within moments the three children were wiping sleep from their eyes, dimly wondering why it was still dark outside and why it suddenly took both their parents to wake them for breakfast. Carraig just held his arms up for Rua to pick him up. He was no sooner in her arms but his head was resting on her shoulder and sleep was claiming him back. She didn't have the heart to disturb him. It was enough just to hold him. One last time.
"Ruairí, Amáraiga, I want you to get dressed now. You're going to go see your sister."
Amáraiga's eyes instantly lit. "Holy Isle? Yes!" She scrambled back to her bed, looking for her clothes.
Ruairí was a little more suspicious. "Now?" He looked up at his father. "What's going on?"
Lugh spoke in a quiet voice. "Get dressed, Ruairí."
He looked from one parent to the other, the haunted expressions, the worry, the eyes red from crying, the fear. He shook his head. "Something's happened. Tell me what happened."
"Dammit Ruairí! Get your clothes on and come with us now! You're going to Holy Isle and I don't want to hear anything more about it!"
Ruairí, Lugh, and Amáraiga all looked at her as one, stunned at a temper they never knew. Even Carraig whimpered on her shoulder.
Lugh's hand came down on her other shoulder and squeezed. He spoke to Ruairí. "It's going to be okay. Don't worry. Joshrim is about to launch a more aggressive attack and he's threatened the circle. A lot of children are leaving while they still can. You'll be alright. Blaithín will be there."
Rua looked up at Lugh, her eyes questioning why he was telling them that. He just looked back at her. "He needs to know the truth."
While Ruairí was indeed fetching his clothes and pulling them on him, they could both tell what was going through his mind before he even said a word.
"I'm not going. I'm not running away, I'm going to stay and fight."
At the other side of the room, Amáraiga looked confused, then disappointed, then resolute. "If Ruairí's not going, I'm not going."
"You're both going. No arguing." Rua looked sternly from one to the other. Ruairí cast a glance over at Amáraiga. "Don't be silly, you have to go." He looked back at his parents. "But I can fight. I'm nearly eight."
"Yes you're seven. You're a child. And you'll do as you're told."
Entirely dissatisfied with his mother's answer, Ruairí looked to his father. "Dad?"
Something caught in Lugh's throat. "You heard your mother." Then almost apologetically he added, "We don't have time to argue about this, son."
Ruairí's eyes flared as he glared angrily back at his mother. "I don't want to go! I hate you!"
Her intake of breath was sharp. Only for Carraig being disturbed by his brother's harsh voice, and her having to cuddle him, the tears might have returned.
"Ruairí! Don't you ever say that!" Lugh was instantly around her and in front of the child.
"Leave it Lugh." Rua peered back at Ruairí. "That's your right. As it is mine to say you are leaving. And you are leaving." She wrapped Carraig's clothes into his cloak, not wanting to wake him to dress him now. "I want both of you dressed and ready to go with your father in five minutes. The best way you can help Armengar now is to do as you're told and don't waste any more of our time giving us trouble." She managed just about to turn her back and walk from the room as the tears began again.
Seven
When she got to the ritual circle, they were all waiting. All her ritualists and Hengist too. Carraig had since awoken in her arms and she set him down now into her office with his clothes.
"Get dressed for me, will you? I have to talk to some people, I'll be right back. You stay here."
He looked up at her with large eyes. "Mommy?"
She knelt down and kissed him on both cheeks. "It's going to be alright, little fella. You're going to stay with Blaithín for a while. You're to listen to her now, you hear?"
He nodded, not understanding anything of the severity of the situation, but still knowing now was not the time to test limits with her.
"That's my boy. Get dressed now. Your Daddy will be here soon." She got up and returned to the outer office where they all waited.
"Thanks for coming everyone." Glancing out the window she could see the first of them arrive. Children woken from their sleep as hers had been and brought out in the middle of the night to that place that was playground up until two years ago when suddenly it became strictly forbidden to play there. She was certain many of them came under protest. I hate you. She turned back to the assembled ritualists.
"Let's keep this simple. We have a lot of people to get out as fast as possible. We're going to use the ritual circle so we can transport more than fifteen at a time. I don't want anyone leaving with less than the full amount they can manage. If runners come looking for transport elsewhere they can go with a group to Holy Isle and make their way from there. Bear in mind when you return you will most likely be bounced to the transport circle. We'll have a lot of supplies coming in there so be patient. Ask on the other side if there is anything you can bring back with you. And it would do no harm for whoever is there on each hour to check the integrity of the transport circle. The last transport off Amnor will be with Hengist at the eleventh hour. Does everyone know what to do?"
Nods of assent all around.
"Good. I want scribes taking names of everyone that leaves here and I want it checked again at Holy Isle. Cian, will you arrange that? Thank you. I'll be at the transport circle for the next while. I should be back before the first group is ready to go. Good luck to us all."
It was cold on the path down to the transport circle. Well what did she expect? It was still night in the deep of winter. A steady stream of men and women formed a dotted line between the citadel gates and the transport circle, each of them carrying whatever their allies could send. Occasionally some would go towards the passes. Young teenagers ran about carrying messages between the various commanders. She stopped one of them, a thirteen year old girl, as their paths crossed.
"Is there any word yet from Fraoch or Caoimhe?"
The girl's shoulders rose and fell as she took the opportunity to catch her breath. "Siryel was almost at Sorrow's pass when I left there. Fraoch will know by now. I haven't seen Caoimhe."
"Okay, thank you. Can you make sure a few of you come to the transport circle and the ritual circle? We're going to need runners between the two."
The girl nodded. "Sure Rua. I'll come myself soon as I pass this to Midir." With that, she was gone, running in through the gates of the citadel.
Things were no less busy at the transport circle. It seemed like one group barely had time to step outside it before the next arrived. Garret was there frantically trying to keep track of everything that was coming in, the tabard he now wore all but forgotten. Donnacha nodded to her, his usual exuberance finally quashed. She went to him and he ran down all the incoming transports since she was last there. He never missed a beat. His memory for such things amazed her sometimes. Thanking him, she went inside to the circle, waiting for a moment of inactivity. Now would not be a good time for the circle to collapse just because she forgot to check it.
Six
Dawn was threatening to crack the blackness of night. Back at the ritual circle names were being taken and groups counted out. Children clung to parents, and parents tried to reassure them, tried reasoning with them, and eventually ended up ordering them. As she stood in the doorway of her office she noticed for the first time what a lot of young babies there were in Armengar this year. A year and a half without the Calebii culling their numbers was beginning to show. She saw the torn look in the young mothers' faces. That indecision on whether or not they could bear to send them away, but knowing they could not fight for worry of them if they stayed. Not too far from her, Rua caught sight of a young woman who would very soon give birth and the argument she was having with the child's father. He wanted her to go and she wanted to stay and fight. Rua wanted to rush to her side and tell her how foolish she was being, but that was when Lugh came over to her, leaving the children to stand in line. When her eyes found Ruairí's he scowled back at her.
"What is it, Rua?"
"Come inside a minute. It won't take long, I promise."
As soon as they stepped inside her office and closed the door, memories flashed unbidden to her mind. She brushed them away and turned to him. "We're half way there. There's something you need to know."
The colour was drawn from his face. He remained standing but his hand went to the desk for support. "What is it?"
"Fiachra hasn't managed to reach Master Earth yet. I hope he will in time but we have to be prepared if for any reason Master Earth can't get here. From what I've been told by other ritualists, it will be near impossible for Joshrim to shut the circle down without having a ritualist here. There are things that can go through walls, Lugh. If one of them come, well you'll be too busy to notice anyway but I have to tell you."
His eyes closed briefly. "Just tell me, Rua."
"If something comes, then I will have to seal the circle. It's... more than a little dangerous."
There was something very controlled about his voice then. "How dangerous."
She swallowed. "It might attract things from the void. Or I might stay there too long. Or if this ritualist is powerful enough..." She came over to him, placing her hand on the one that was white knuckled on her desk. "If he sends a ritualist... realistically speaking... it's unlikely I'll-"
Lugh quickly placed a finger of his free hand on her lips. "Don't say it. Don't forget what it will have to get through first."
Rua's head tipped to one side. "Believe me that's something I'm trying not to think about."
His hand went behind her neck and drew her closer to him. After a minute of silence he spoke softly. "We've both got to just do what we need to do. Don't think about it, don't think about anything else. Just do it."
She nodded and pulled herself away from him. "You're right." A deep breath. "And we're both busy."
He nodded sharply. "You know where I am."
"I'll be out in a minute. Before they go."
Lugh turned to leave but just as he reached the door, she called to him. "There's something else you need to know." He turned back to her, eyes wary. She smiled. "Everything's going to be fine."
He smiled back with eyes that needed no words to convey his feelings.
Five
It turned out to be longer than a minute as runner after runner came with something urgently needing her attention, but finally she had a moment for a necessarily brief letter to Creathna. Rua scrolled it up and sealed it. It seemed like days since she last saw her. By now the sun would be up on Holy Isle as it was peeping into the sky here. Creathna and Blaithín would be waiting at the circle. Part of her badly wanted to be the one to take the next transport, but this was hard enough already. She couldn't bear to see Blaithín cry. And she couldn't bear to part with Ruairí like that. Rua left her office and went into the by now swelling crowds of evacuees. There was such a wide open space around the circle in the centre of the citadel that it used to be a quiet and peaceful place to her. Not so today. There was a familiar buzz in the air and the group within the circle disappeared, causing screams from some of the smaller children too young to understand what had just happened. She went to where the three children were waiting at their father's post. Lugh was busy talking to his second and Ruairí was whispering something to Amáraiga. He stopped, looking almost guilty as Rua approached. She knelt down to their level. Carraig was instantly back in her arms with Amáraiga soon hanging out of her. Ruairí, of course, kept his distance.
"You'll be going in the next group. Quellin is a really good ritualist. You'll be fine." She patted Carraig's head as he began to sob, her own heart near breaking. "Listen to me all of you. I'm going to come get you back just as soon as I can. In the meantime I want you to go to school, and be good for Creathna. And don't worry!"
Amáraiga's lip was quivering. "When? When will you come?"
Maybe never. "Soon, honey. The very second Joshrim is defeated. And he will be."
Ruairí's look was one of scorn. "Not if there's not enough people to fight him."
"There's enough." She smiled, mostly to herself. "There's just enough. We'll be together again soon."
Amáraiga wrapped her arms around Rua's neck, mindless of her little brother. The two of them were crying and Rua did the best she could to comfort them. If she said the platitudes frequently enough she might even believe them herself. And still, Ruairí stood apart. She looked at him over the heads of the younger two.
"I love you. That's why I'm doing it."
He turned his face away and Rua bit her lip. With a sigh, Rua unwound Amáraiga and Carraig's arms from around her neck. "It's time."
Lugh returned to them and they walked to the circle, Ruairí dragging his feet behind him. Quellin was already in the circle and the next group were being sent in around her amidst tears and angry frightened little voices.
"Lugh! Ah, Rua, good. You should look at this too." One of the praetorians under Lugh's command unrolled a large parchment for them. It was a drawing of the circle and marked on it he had several defensive positions. They talked it over quickly agreeing what would work best and what wouldn't get in the way if Rua needed to do anything. The praetorian thanked them both and was quickly gone to organise it right away. The circle was filling up and Quellin couldn't be seen from her wheeled chair anymore for the children gathered around her. Rua made a mental note to get someone down to the transport circle to help her back up when she returned.
"Okay, come on now, hurry." She turned around to the children. Amáraiga and Carraig looked nervously back.
Four
She peered straight down at Amáraiga. "Where is your brother?"
Amáraiga squirmed. "I duh... don't know." She tried, but the stutter gave her away as it always did when she tried to lie to Rua.
"Tell me where he is NOW!" Her eyes flashed and Amáraiga whimpered.
"I don't know - he said he was going to hide until after so you can't make him go! Didn't tell me where!"
Rua scooped her into her arms. "I'm sorry, honey. It's okay, don't cry."
Lugh's hand fell on her shoulder. "Get them through. He can't have got far, I'll find him."
It had been heart wrenching to watch Quellin seal the circle and whisk her children away from her. It didn't matter that she knew Creathna and her family and Tirahn would be there for them, it still... it felt like failure. The circle was empty. She let out the same held breath as the other parents around her. It didn't seem to matter that she knew exactly what was happening to her children right now and precisely where they would turn up, she felt the same anxiety she saw in all their faces. She turned around and there was Lugh at the other side of the crowd. Alone. She went to him.
"Where is he?"
Lugh just shook his head. "He could get through the crowd a lot quicker than I could. He's in the citadel somewhere, Rua. It would take a lot more time than we have to find him." He squeezed her arm reassuringly but she shook it off.
"Don't be ridiculous. He's my son, I'll find him."
"Rua I've already tried!"
She glared at him. "You don't want to find him. We've already been through this, he's going!"
"Now you're being ridiculous."
"Am I?"
Their eyes locked and the people around them looked every direction but theirs. When Lugh spoke to her again it was quietly. "Yes you are. But he's made his decision."
Rua shook her head and made her way through the crowd. No one stood in her way.
All the old hiding places were empty, even the ones he thought she didn't know about. Meanwhile the sun was up and time was running shorter. She was at the training school - eerie in its emptiness - when a runner caught up with her. The boy panted, leaning his hand on the wall for support. Like all the others of his age, he'd been running around most of the night.
"Rua... Caoimhe's... at the circle. Ritual circle. She wants... to see you right away."
"Tell her I'm busy."
The boy shook his head nervously. "She said I'm not to go back without you. She'll yell at me."
Rua looked at the boy and sighed deeply. "Okay. Let's go then."
Three
No sooner had Rua returned to the circle but Caoimhe was by her side. "The evacuation seems to be going smoothly."
"I've good people working with me. It's down to them."
Caoimhe nodded curtly. "Can we go to your office?"
They walked together, not another word said until the door was closed behind them. Caoimhe looked at her, only the tiniest hint of sympathy showing through her stony features. "Did you find him?"
"Not yet. But I will."
"You've been looking long enough. You're needed here."
Rua groaned. "Caoimhe, I don't have time for this. I have to-"
"You're right. You don't have time. If the boy doesn't want to be found, he won't be. I can't allow you to waste the little time we have left looking for him." She spoke forcefully, her voice commanding. When Rua couldn't answer immediately, she continued. "You have better things to do."
"Better things to do than look for my son?"
"He's in the citadel, he's safe for now! Now are you going to get back to helping protect it so he can stay that way?"
Both women were glaring with an anger far greater than what they really felt towards the other right now. Rua was the first to break contact. "Are you ordering me to stop?"
Caoimhe didn't miss a beat. "Are you making me order you?"
It was all Rua could do to breathe and hold her tongue. Then all of a sudden a hand was on her arm. It surprised her, but not as much as the look on Caoimhe's face when she spoke.
"He might yet come back."
Rua closed her eyes. "Would you?"
When she opened them again the look was gone and her arm was released. "Send a couple of runners. But the next group are ready to go." Caoimhe looked at her pointedly.
Rua could barely look at Lugh as she spoke to the ritualist and wished him luck before stepping out of the circle. Caoimhe had since gone to speak with Fraoch about the defences and Rua busied herself studying the list of those yet to go. They were almost there. One more group - before Hengist's, and that ought to do it. One last chance. She looked around but there was no more sign of him than she expected. Branar spoke his words and the ritual circle emptied. In a minute or two it would begin to fill again. There was a touch on her shoulder. She turned around expecting it to be one of the runners from the transport circle but it was Mactire that stood there. He handed her a letter.
"This just arrived from Master Earth. I'd like your opinion on it."
Quickly, Rua took the brief letter and read through it. She looked back up at Mactire. "I'd like to answer him myself, if you don't mind. This raises one or two concerns."
Mactire gave her the slightest bow of his head. "Here is the address. I'll leave it in your capable hands."
Two
Rua quickly scrawled a reply back to Master Earth, only dimly aware of her poor penmanship. Why was he talking about Joshrim destroying the circle? It made no sense at all for him to do that. It didn't matter now. What mattered was sending the letter on its way and hoping for a swift reply.
The last group were filling the circle now, and due to delays coming in through the transport circle, she was the only ritualist available to go. It was the last thing she wanted to do, the last place she wanted to go. It meant she would be the one to finally decide it was too late for Ruairí. And on the other side, they'd still be waiting for him. But there was no choice and so she stepped inside with the last group. The children were all gone now. The people that stood with her were the old and infirm. The young pregnant woman she had spotted earlier had finally relented to her husband's wishes. In a small way she missed the crying. The silence of this group was eerie. She cast one last look back towards the streets and alleys of the citadel. Empty. She did what she had to do. She sealed the circle and transported them all to Holy Isle.
The chaos that had been Amnor was now Holy Isle. The sounds of crying were worse now as strangers divided up the children to bring them to safety. Her own group shuffled out of the circle, some of them nodding their thanks as they did. She waited. Sure enough, before long Creathna's head could be seen bobbing up and down, trying to see through to the new arrivals. When he eye's found Rua, they lit but Rua quickly shook her head, signalling for her both that he was not here and that she shouldn't let on to the children that she was. She'd said her goodbyes. There was no way she could do it again. Creathna gave her a look of sympathy, then turned around. Rua could just about make out a mumble she imagined was Creathna hurrying the children home. The second the circle was empty but for her, Rua returned home.
When she finally got back to her office the letter was waiting. Master Earth was coming.
One
She barely had time to say goodbye to Hengist and wish him well. Last night was the first time she ever properly spoke to him. Truthfully, he had always scared her a little. But he was a good man. He'd be doing his best to help them from outside, she was sure of that. There did seem to be regret in his eyes just before he finished his words and was gone. She quickly grabbed a couple of runners. Master Earth thought the same thing she did! A ritualist would have to come. And it sounded like he had a plan to stop them if it came to that. Even if it was dangerous. He asked for an incantor and healers on stand by and Rua hoped Fionnuala and Midir would soon make it to the circle. The sun was high now, time almost up. Rua had never run down to the transport circle so fast in all her life. The last transports were coming in and somewhere amidst the chaos, a lone traveller appeared. There was no doubting who it was.
"Master Earth. Thank you so much for coming on such short notice. I'm afraid we have to hurry. The ritual circle is back in the citadel and we're almost out of time."
Answering whatever questions he had, they travelled quickly to the citadel and through the desolate streets of Armengar. It didn't take long to get to the circle where crowds now waited, ready to defend their home. They got to the edge of the circle and Master Earth gave it a cursory look over. All around, silence descended. The buzz of activity that defined the last twelve hours, died down into a vigil. They waited. There was nothing more they could do than what they had done. It was Joshrim's turn now.
It was barely noticeable at first. Rua thought it to be just a nervous shiver, the hour being what it was, but the look on the faces of the other ritualists and magic users told her it wasn't just her that felt it - that odd crawling of the skin, that cold no fire could fight. It was happening and she was suddenly painfully aware of the distance between her and Lugh. Trying not to let the terror defeat her she looked up at Master Earth just as the feeling suddenly stopped. And then....
Nothing.
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