‘And you killed the other two.’
‘Yes.’
‘Those Emburleys are very fine. I have never fired one, but I have heard they are wondrously accurate.’
One of the women came down the stairs. Her hands were bloody. Kaelin and Rayster both stood. The woman was middle-aged, with iron grey hair and stern features. ‘He is sleeping now,’ she said. ‘But I would feel more at ease if the Dweller could see him. The shots drove cloth from his shirt into the wounds. I have seen such injuries go bad before now.’
‘I will send someone to Sorrow Bird,’ said Rayster. ‘Perhaps she is home now.’
The woman walked away towards the kitchen area. ‘Where is Chara?’ asked Kaelin.
‘In the West Hills. She has been there for a month tending her grandmother. The old woman had a fall, and can no longer walk, or talk. Her body is paralysed down one side. She is dying, I think. Bael is there also. Sad for them, for they love her dearly.’
‘She is Call’s mother?’ enquired Kaelin.
‘No. She is the mother to Call’s second wife, Layna, who died ten years ago in childbirth. She and the babe both. The Dweller was not here then either.’
‘Who is this Dweller?’
Rayster shrugged. ‘She is a Wicca woman and very mysterious. She has a hut near Sorrow Bird Lake, but some men think she dwells mostly in the shadow world where the Seidh still live. I don’t know the truth of it. She is a great healer, though, and her spirit visions are strong.’
‘We have someone in the south like that,’ said Kaelin. ‘She is called the Wyrd of the Wishing Tree woods.’
‘Aye, Grymauch has spoken of her. Tomorrow I will travel to Sorrow Bird and see if she is there. Would you care to walk with me?’
‘Yes, I would. Is it close to the West Hills?’
Rayster chuckled. ‘She was very angry when she heard you had left. She may not have forgiven you.’
‘I now have her father’s blessing,’ said Kaelin. ‘You think it might sway her?’
Rayster shook his head. ‘I have known Chara since she was a wee bairn. She has a temper like yours, Kaelin. But she is quick to forgive. You may, however, need to curb your tongue, for I don’t doubt she will lay into you with mighty ferocity at first.’
Kaelin sighed. ‘I’ll bear that in mind.’
Although Chara Jace hoped that the Dweller would be at the lake it was not the only reason why she had travelled to Sorrow Bird. A month of tending her sick grandmother had exhausted her spirit, and the sense of freedom she felt as she walked the high country was beyond joy.
Rayga had been a vibrant woman, fiercely intelligent, swift to anger, and yet with a sense of humour which was often self-mocking. One moment she would rail at someone, the next collapse into a fit of laughter that was totally infectious. Chara had always enjoyed her company. The older woman had been a fount of wisdom, and someone Chara had always relied upon. Seeing her paralysed, incapable of speech, and mewling like a babe brought a pain into Chara’s soul she could never have imagined. It led to feelings not only of sorrow, but also of anger that fate could deal so harshly with such a good woman. And there was guilt too, for sometimes Chara would find herself thinking that it would have been better if the stroke had killed the old woman. Then she would have been able to remember her as she had been.
Here, in the high hills overlooking Sorrow Bird Lake, the wind was fresh and cool, the air sweet as honey mead wine. Birds were singing, and the sunlight shone upon the blue waters of the lake. Chara sighed. From this high vantage point she could not see whether the Dweller’s small boat was moored on the island, and she found herself reluctant to journey further. She was hoping that the Dweller could cast a spell and restore Rayga to health. Deep down she sensed that this hope would be dashed. Rayga was over eighty years old.
Chara sat on the hillside, remembering the day almost ten years ago when Rayga had first brought her to the lake. ‘Why is it called Sorrow Bird?’ the child Chara had asked.