Read Online Muse (Tales of Silver Downs Book 1) by Kylie Quillinan - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Kylie Quillinan
Tags: historical fantasy
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in bed already as sleepy-eyed servants cleared away leftover food and half-filled mugs. Finally, they too departed for their own bedchambers, leaving the remainder of the cleaning until morning. Nobody noticed me sitting by the dying fire.
Floorboards creaked overhead as folk undressed and prepared for bed. Gradually the house quietened. I tiptoed to the back door. Huddled into my warmest coat, I slid back the door bolt. Frigid wind rushed in. As I eased the door closed, Fiachra already stood beside me.
He held a finger to his lips and I nodded. I followed him past the house and outbuildings, although not easily. If I didn't keep my gaze locked on his back, he disappeared right into the shadows. Tiny flakes of snow settled on my shoulders as I tried, unsuccessfully, to walk as soundlessly as Fiachra. Icy air crept under my coat and I pulled it tighter around me, fighting a swift gust that threatened to rip it from my shoulders.
The barn suddenly loomed over us. Fiachra slipped inside, immediately melting into the darkness. By the time I managed to close the door against the winds pulling at it, a lamp on a nearby shelf sent light through the barn. After the darkness outside, the sudden brightness burned my eyes. Fiachra stood with his back to the lamp and his face in shadows.
"Well, brother," Fiachra said. "That was a long evening."
"Did you not enjoy it?" Perhaps I wasn't the only one who had merely pretended.
He shrugged. "Celebrations are well and good. They are a necessary part of human life. But our lives as druids are quiet, with much silence and contemplation, and little to distract us from our studies."
"You must be free to leave now that the celebrations are over. You can go back to wherever it is you live."
I half-wished I could go with him.
"Aah, Diarmuid, there's much I can't tell you. Let me say only that events will soon occur that I have been sent to watch over. There is little I can do to aid you, but I can warn you that things may not be as they seem."
"What do you mean? I thought you were here because of Eithne?"
Fiachra shifted slightly and his face was no longer shadowed. His lips curled slightly; it might have been a smile. "Eithne too has an arduous journey ahead of her but it is not her journey to which I refer. The events about to unfold are to do with you."
"Me?" My voice squeaked in surprise. "What did I do?"
"I can say only this: a friend does not whisper. A friend will offer aid loudly and publicly."
"So why do we meet in a barn in the middle of the night?" I asked, my heart already bitter.
Fiachra stared into my eyes for a long moment. "The events ahead of you are dangerous and not only to yourself. As a druid, I may only observe. As a brother, I warn you to be careful."
"If you're that concerned about me as a brother, why don't you speak plainly? How am I supposed to know what you mean when you talk in riddles?"
He placed his hand on my forehead and pushed slightly. Warmth began where his fingers touched my skin and travelled all through my body, leaving a lingering fizzy trail. My body tingled.
"My blessing on you, brother."
Then Fiachra slid past me, opened the door and disappeared into the swirling snow that was fast becoming a storm.
I yawned, suddenly overwhelmingly tired. When the melancholy was bad, it always left me fatigued. I was strangely warm, given that I stood in a barn in the middle of a winter's night. I might as well spend what remained of the night here.
I found a clean pile of hay, wrapped my coat tight around me and crawled in. It was only then I remembered the lamp but it would burn out eventually and I was far too tired to get up again. The hay smelled of dust and summer. It was prickly but my coat shielded me well enough. Soft animal sounds drifted past as ox and cow settled, having been woken by our late-night arrival.
As I waited for sleep, I wondered what message Fiachra had intended to impart. What good were riddles and clues? If he wanted to
Floorboards creaked overhead as folk undressed and prepared for bed. Gradually the house quietened. I tiptoed to the back door. Huddled into my warmest coat, I slid back the door bolt. Frigid wind rushed in. As I eased the door closed, Fiachra already stood beside me.
He held a finger to his lips and I nodded. I followed him past the house and outbuildings, although not easily. If I didn't keep my gaze locked on his back, he disappeared right into the shadows. Tiny flakes of snow settled on my shoulders as I tried, unsuccessfully, to walk as soundlessly as Fiachra. Icy air crept under my coat and I pulled it tighter around me, fighting a swift gust that threatened to rip it from my shoulders.
The barn suddenly loomed over us. Fiachra slipped inside, immediately melting into the darkness. By the time I managed to close the door against the winds pulling at it, a lamp on a nearby shelf sent light through the barn. After the darkness outside, the sudden brightness burned my eyes. Fiachra stood with his back to the lamp and his face in shadows.
"Well, brother," Fiachra said. "That was a long evening."
"Did you not enjoy it?" Perhaps I wasn't the only one who had merely pretended.
He shrugged. "Celebrations are well and good. They are a necessary part of human life. But our lives as druids are quiet, with much silence and contemplation, and little to distract us from our studies."
"You must be free to leave now that the celebrations are over. You can go back to wherever it is you live."
I half-wished I could go with him.
"Aah, Diarmuid, there's much I can't tell you. Let me say only that events will soon occur that I have been sent to watch over. There is little I can do to aid you, but I can warn you that things may not be as they seem."
"What do you mean? I thought you were here because of Eithne?"
Fiachra shifted slightly and his face was no longer shadowed. His lips curled slightly; it might have been a smile. "Eithne too has an arduous journey ahead of her but it is not her journey to which I refer. The events about to unfold are to do with you."
"Me?" My voice squeaked in surprise. "What did I do?"
"I can say only this: a friend does not whisper. A friend will offer aid loudly and publicly."
"So why do we meet in a barn in the middle of the night?" I asked, my heart already bitter.
Fiachra stared into my eyes for a long moment. "The events ahead of you are dangerous and not only to yourself. As a druid, I may only observe. As a brother, I warn you to be careful."
"If you're that concerned about me as a brother, why don't you speak plainly? How am I supposed to know what you mean when you talk in riddles?"
He placed his hand on my forehead and pushed slightly. Warmth began where his fingers touched my skin and travelled all through my body, leaving a lingering fizzy trail. My body tingled.
"My blessing on you, brother."
Then Fiachra slid past me, opened the door and disappeared into the swirling snow that was fast becoming a storm.
I yawned, suddenly overwhelmingly tired. When the melancholy was bad, it always left me fatigued. I was strangely warm, given that I stood in a barn in the middle of a winter's night. I might as well spend what remained of the night here.
I found a clean pile of hay, wrapped my coat tight around me and crawled in. It was only then I remembered the lamp but it would burn out eventually and I was far too tired to get up again. The hay smelled of dust and summer. It was prickly but my coat shielded me well enough. Soft animal sounds drifted past as ox and cow settled, having been woken by our late-night arrival.
As I waited for sleep, I wondered what message Fiachra had intended to impart. What good were riddles and clues? If he wanted to
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