you failed to find the Faolchú Chridhe, but you will. And you will live to see your loved ones die, though not your mate. You must live, for you will save the Faol from utter destruction.”
Eirik reached over and took her hand. “All will be well, faolán.”
She tried to believe him, but the old seer’s words were not comforting, despite his promise of long life for her and Eirik. “Utter destruction?” she asked in a hushed tone.
“Aye.” Sadness came over Boisin’s features. “A plague is coming. A quickly spreading illness so great, the likes of it have never been seen before. Many will die here and in the lands across the sea. It will attack the Chrechte with even greater a virulence than it does the humans. Without the Faolchú Chridhe and its power to heal, the Faol will all die in that time.”
Horror sent chills through her. “No.”
“Aye. A seer is not always pleased by his visions,” Boisin said, whether simply in acknowledgment or warning for Ciara and Mairi, she did not know. “You must follow the stone to its hiding place behind the stone wall that is not a wall at all and bring it to the sacred caves on Sinclair land. You will return it to its proper place in the cavern of the Faol. You will know this hidden cavern by the etchings on the wall.”
She thought of the cave she had seen in her vision and thought he was right, but that didn’t help her in finding the stone or the hidden cavern for that matter. “I don’t understand.”
“To be sure, I don’t, either. If I did, I would tell you. My own family’s descendants’ lives depend on it.”
Chapter 21
Fortune and love favor the brave.
—OVID
“But why is the Faolchú Chridhe hidden to begin with?” Ciara asked.
“Because in the time so long ago, when our people wandered the earth, the high kelle had a son,” Boisin continued in his storyteller’s voice. “And this woman of great strength and honor saw a lust for power in her only offspring. He wanted to be king, though his cousin who was but a child was heir to the Faol throne.”
“The high kelle’s son thought he was superior to other Chrechte, that he deserved to be king. Fearghall believed men were more valuable than women and wolves more valuable than all. He devised a foul plan to ensure his ascendancy to the throne. Already a conriocht himself, he would take the Faolchú Chridhe and hide it so his young cousin could not be blessed with the spirit of the conriocht.”
“But the stone would call to the kelle. She would find it.”
“Not if she were dead,” Boisin said in a tone that sent shivers down Ciara’s spine.
The others at the table looked equally affected and disgusted by the ancient Chrechte’s plan.
“It is within the high kelle of the Faol’s power to draw forth the conriocht. She can determine how many need to exist to protect a generation.” Boisin shook his head. “Fearghall knew this, but had convinced himself that he could control the Faolchú Chridhe on his own. The keepers of the stone have always been women though. The men of their families can draw on certain powers of the stone, but only the high kelle could bring them all forth. Only she can bestow the spirit of the conriocht through the laying of hands on the sacred stone.”
So, Galen would have failed in his quest even if the stone had been found…unless he had convinced Ciara to help him. The thought that he might have easily gotten her innocent still-child self to do so sent dread welling in her.
Apparently not bothered by such disturbing thoughts, Mairi gave a beatific smile to Ciara. “I told you.”
“You interpreted the meaning of your dreams correctly.” Boisin smiled at his new protégé. “That was well done.”
Mairi blushed at the praise.
“But the kelle hid the stone herself, didn’t she?”
“Aye.”
“Why?” Eirik asked.
“Because she knew Fearghall didn’t only plan to withhold the conriocht from his cousin. The kelle hid the stone to stop her son from creating an army of conriocht and destroying the other Chrechte, didn’t she?” Ciara asked.
“She did.”
“But again, I ask, why?” Eirik’s face was creased in a frown. “If only the high kelle could draw forth the conriocht, then Fearghall was bound to fail.”
“Not if he could intimidate or seduce the next high kelle into doing his bidding.” Mairi shivered. “A woman has to be very strong of mind to withstand beating after