After All

Brenna could make out something faintly humanoid in the mass of flame that rose toward the heavens. Ciaran had been a strong-hearted, stubborn, humorous lad. Whatever he was now was something else entirely.

Maybe gods and men weren’t meant to mingle after all.

The edges of the pond were still steaming, and the earth that had once housed the life-stream for an entire society was dry as an aged husk.

Dolan’s eyes rolled back into his head, and he collapsed.

Brenna took the chance to escape and slipped into the shadows.

Old Master wouldn’t be pleased at this.

Skin and Bones No More

The world was water, but the water boiling hot, and he was tumbling, roiling, bubbling to the surface, a surface that was filled with screams and fear. Then he was hissing, writhing toward the sky.

The water pushed, and he pushed back, burning hotter and hotter until he thought his very skin would fly off his bones –

And then he realized that he was skin and bones no more, but living flame, rising up from the ashes of the village pond, and all the water was fading into the air, nebulous as smoke, as clouds.

They would never drink again.

Fill the World

They were pinning him beneath the surface with something long, sharp.

A fishing spear.

Ciaran never liked those fishermen anyway.

He wasn’t going to give them the satisfaction of throwing himself onto the spear. He had a better plan.

In Brenna’s training, she’d always warned Ciaran against going past a certain point, in losing himself in the world beyond as he sought out the flames, because the flames would consume him – and everything around him.

Everything around him was water.

So he let go.

It was heady and thrilling, stepping outside of his own body, swelling to fill the world.

Against His Heart

Ciaran thought they’d have at least some farce of a trial, or a moment when he could renounce his evil ways and be welcomed back with open arms. But they went straight to execution, forcing him to his knees beside the pond.

“You’ve killed one person here. Killing two here will make this water undrinkable for sure,” Ciaran said.

“Silence,” Eoghan snapped.

Two of the men bound Ciaran’s wrists behind his back, and then they shoved him into the water.

Ciaran’s first reaction was to fight, and fight he did, but then he felt it, crushing weight against his heart.

Show Me How

“If you think it’s right, then you’re sorely mistaken,” Ciaran said, “but you always told me to deal with the consequences of my decisions, so here’s your chance to show me how.” He raised his hands in a gesture of surrender.

Immediately he was surrounded and dragged into the center of the village square. The women looked disgusted and afraid; the men looked angry and determined. Only Dolan, standing on the edges of the crowd, looked ashamed.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” Ciaran asked. By now Niamh and the others had escaped. And they’d forgotten about Brenna.

No Regrets

“You speak blasphemy,” a woman said, Brenna’s accuser.

“And you speak ignorance,” Ciaran said.

“Step away from the body,” Eoghan said.

Ciaran shook his head. “After what you did to her, she deserves one measure of peace, even if all I can give her is a proper burial.”

Eoghan said, “She will be burned. And you – you will be tried.”

“I will be tried, but not fairly, and you know better than to burn me,” Ciaran said. “But if you drown me, you’ll regret it.”

“No man regrets doing what’s right,” Eoghan said.

Ciaran looked at his father and sighed.

Mother and Me

“Seize him, before he uses evil magic to bring her back to life. Or worse,” Eoghan said.

“All my life you were afraid of letting me near fire and nothing more,” Ciaran said. “Now you think my power extends to raising the dead?” He met his father’s gaze evenly.

“I don’t know what you are,” Eoghan spat.

Ciaran raised his eyebrows. “Did you know what my mother was before you married her? D’you think she was a monster?”


Fury crossed Eoghan’s face. “How dare you speak of –”

“My mother was a goddess. Would you treat her as you’ve treated me?”

Monstrousness, Kindness

Ciaran straightened up slowly.

“Why do you always call me that?” He tilted his head to one side, curious.

The music faded, and the villagers huddled together. Several men brandished torches and swords, but of course, it was Eoghan who stood front and center, eyes full of fury.

“Because you’re an abomination.”

Ciaran smiled guilelessly. “You raised me.”

“And yet I never fully cured you of the monstrousness inside of you.”

“I think it’s monstrous, that you’d murder a woman who helped you. What’s kindness, then? Shunning a boy after he finds out you lied to him his entire life?”

It's Always "Monster"

Dolan cared enough to cover Brenna in a winding sheet before he started back toward the village to join the others. Ciaran waited in the shadows until the others were distract, and then he edged along the rows and houses until he reached Brenna’s side.

He peeled back the soft edges of the winding sheet and gazed at Brenna’s face. But for the blue tinge of her mouth, she looked peaceful, asleep. Ciaran knew her death had been anything but peaceful. He had to take her far away from here, give her a proper burial.

And then someone shouted, “Monster!”

Mourn Alone

Dolan tugged Brenna's body onto the shore of the pond amidst cheers from the rest of the village. Eoghan drove a spear through her chest to ensure her death, and Ciaran felt rage spark in his veins. Brenna had used her magic to save them, had likely betrayed a friend and maybe her entire people to do so, and -

And they were celebrating.

Eoghan announced the successful purging, and cheers broke the air. Music started, and Eoghan tugged a woman - Brenna's accuser - into his arms for a dance.

It seemed Dolan and Ciaran mourned Brenna's death alone.

Killed Her

Ciaran turned and tore back through the trees, unheeding of the boughs and branches that clawed at him, drawing blood as he passed. Brenna must have known the others already knew, and she’d sent him away so he wouldn’t have to see –

Wouldn’t have to see her kicking and writhing as they held her down in the water, have to see the froth of bubbles as she tried to breathe. His voice lodged in his throat when the bubbles started to fade, because it meant she’d stopped trying, she’d given up, or it was already over, and –

They’d killed her.

Already Dead

Odran must have had some of Brenna’s strange magic, or maybe he saw things no one else saw because his true eyes were gone, because Niamh and Deagan were already marshaling enemy boats. If the map in the dirt was any indication, the southwest was their destination.

“Where’s Brenna?” Niamh asked.

Deagan laughed softly. “She break your heart already, laddie?”

But Odran’s face went pale, and he said, “You must return! Why did you leave her?”

“She told me to come tell you –”

“We know our orders, boy,” Odran snapped. “You walked away from her - and she’s probably already dead.”

Take Her With Him

Ciaran remembered judgments from before. Brenna would stand in the center of the village. Two people would speak against her, two could speak for her, and then three elders would decide her fate. She would spend the night tied to the post at the edge of the square while the village celebrated. Dolan was standing alone, but he was an elder, and the others respected him. Brenna would live one night before trial.

Ciaran would relay her orders to Niamh and Deagan, and then he would return. He had to rescue Brenna and take her south and west with him.

Celebrate, Judge

As soon as Ciaran hit forest cover, he caught himself against a tree and spun around, watched as the villagers surrounded Brenna. Eoghan tackled her to the ground, and then she was swallowed in a mass of human confusion. It was Dolan who waded in and rescued her, but by then she’d been beaten and bound.

The woman who’d started all the trouble yelled, “Drown her!”

Some others, including Eoghan, picked up the chant, but Dolan managed to speak over them.

“We must wait,” he said. “First we must celebrate our victory over the enemy. Then we will judge her.”

An Order

“Ciaran,” Brenna said, “find Niamh and Deagan and tell them to repair captured enemy ships and move. There’s a land to the south and west where their kind will be safe, where they can dance in the standing circles and sing to the sun.”

“The southwest? What are you saying?” Ciaran tugged on her elbow. “Brenna, you have to go–”

“That’s an order,” Brenna said firmly.

“But they’ll kill you.”

Brenna shoved him, hard, and he’d forgotten that she was so much stronger than she looked. He stumbled, and when he caught his balance he was running for the trees.

But She Stayed

“No.” Ciaran shook his head. “I won’t let them do this. I won’t let my own father kill a woman who fought to save his life.”

“I’m not your father,” Eoghan said, “because I would never give rise to a monster who burns people alive.”

“Ciaran,” Brenna said softly, “they can’t hurt me. Not really. Haven’t you heard? Drowning is like falling asleep.”

“How can you say that?” Ciaran’s heart was pounding in his chest. The villagers were closing in, their eyes were full of cold fury.

“Brenna, run,” Ciaran said, and he tried to push her, but she stayed.

Me, Ciaran

“The only way to purge her kind of evil is by fire,” the woman said, and her voice was eerily calm.

“Fire won’t work,” Eoghan said. “The boy would save her. There must be another way.”

Ciaran spluttered. “You can’t talk about her like she’s not here. And you can’t kill her - she’s done nothing wrong.”

“Be careful, boy,” Eoghan said, and Ciaran flinched at the sheer hatred in his voice. “One would think she has enslaved you with her evil power. Perhaps you are in need of purging as well.”

“If you kill me,” Brenna said, “let Ciaran live.”

Satisfactory to All

Alarm shot down Ciaran’s spine. He stepped in front of Brenna. “No - she saved you, she most of all! She fought for you even though none of you have done anything for her.”

She put a hand on his arm. “Don’t worry,” she said softly. “They can’t do anything permanent to me.”

Eoghan stepped forward. “We should take her, bind her magic permanently.”

Dolan glanced between Ciaran and Eoghan, eased forward warily. “If she will allow us to bind her magic, then she can go free. That would be satisfactory to all, yes?”

Ciaran nodded, but one woman said,

“No.”

Rid of Her

“We’re safe from them,” Eoghan said, and he narrowed his eyes. “But are we safe from you?”

Ciaran blinked. “Are you mad? We bled for you. Some of us died for you. Why would we hurt you?”

“She’s not one of them,” a woman said, pointing at Brenna.

A murmur ran through the crowd of villagers.

“She’s not one of us either,” Eoghan said. His voice rose. “She is the most powerful of all - she controlled all four of those gates.” He turned to face the villagers. “If we want to be safe forever, we must be rid of her!”

Safe Now

“We must bury what we can,” Brenna said quietly. She called out to Niamh and Deagan, “Send out the medics and round up the wounded. The survivors will flee, tell their commander not to come here again. If he’s a fool, he’ll make another sally, so we must take our chance to recover.”

Deagan and Niamh saluted, wearing wicked grins, and turned about, headed into the trees.

Ciaran watched them go, and as they walked away his gaze fell on Eoghan and Dolan. Both of them looked utterly terrified.

“We saved you,” Ciaran said. “You’re safe now. Don’t be afraid.”