Defiance (The Priestess Trilogy) (7 page)

Ceallach Neáll lay sprawled out on the ground. He looked up at her in shock, and then smiled as he climbed to his feet. The Fomorii man was tall and slim, with long, silvery-white hair that reached to the middle of his back. H
e had pale, ice blue eyes with slit pupils
. He bore several blue woad marks on his face, given to him by the Túath in honor for what he’d done for them.

“Is this how you greet
those who trespass through the apple orchard
?” he queried. Though his face was set
in its usual emotionless manner
, laughter hinted in his eyes.

Shiovra
found his amusement to be rather suspicious, being the man often displayed very little emotion
,
if any. “Please forgive me,” she said quietly, dusting off her garments. “I did not mean to land upon you.”

“Fret not
,” Ceallach replied. “I do not believe you intentionally fell upon me. It is not every day that a High Priestess drops down upon you from nowhere.”

She glanced around at the trees. “I
came here to think
.”

“To think?” Ceallach asked
. She did not respond, only looked at him silently
. “Wha
t troubles you?” He s
tep
ped closer and placed a
hand
lightly
upon her shoulder.

Shiovra
did not reply at first, but instead studied the man’s face. From the tightness of his lips to the slight firmness of his grip upon her shoulder, she knew why he was there, and it did not please her. He
was there for one purpose only, to be sure she did not run off with
Daire
. “
Many things
, Ceallach Neáll,” she began slowly, brushing his hand away. “
Many things that I had nearly forgotten and had never truly questioned
,
but should have.
”

Ceallach lo
oked at her, face unreadable. “
Such as?
”

“
Why do you keep me here?” she questioned
harshly. “Is remaining on Rúnda essential to my training as a priestess in some way?
” Her voice
demanded an answer
and she watched Ceallach with a narrowed gaze
.

“No,” came his short reply.

“And is there a reason why my kin have not been allowed to come, nor have I been permitted to visit them?
”

He watched her impassively.

“No answer?” A frown crossed
her face
and she looked away. “I came to Rúnda because I thought it would be for the best. I thought that I needed to come here so I could train to be the priestess that Tara deserved. But you have just denied that need. When Deirdre came that night, wounded and dying, the words she s
poke to me with her last breath
set me to wonder. I didn’t know what to think of wh
at she told me, at first. Then
Daire
came, speaking words I held in disbelief. I needed to think.
”

“
And?”

Shiovra
meet his gaze once more. “
I am leaving.”

Ceallach did not appear the least bit surprised
, as if he had been waiting for those very words to fall from her mouth
. “
Oh, is that so
?”

“My training is finished, is it not? You cannot force me to remain here any longer. I am leaving Rúnda and retu
rning home,”
Shiovra
said firmly
.

“Why?” he
demanded simply, voice smooth
.

“Because I no longer
belong here,” she replied. “How can I be the High Pries
tess of Tara if not in Tara
?”
Offering a curt smile,
Shiovra
began to head down the path worn in the grass.

Ceallach stepped in f
ront of her, blocking her
. She moved to step around him, but he was quicker.

Shiovra
had expected as much
. “Leave me be.”

“If you desire to l
eave, you will have to face a trial of skill
.”

Shiovra
’s eyes narrowed as she felt Ceallach draw upon the energies surrounding them brought on by the approaching storm.

He brought his hand up
swiftly
and cast it out. What followed was a
strong gust of wind
that
slammed i
nto
Shiovra
with such force she stumbled
back
a few steps
.

Shiovra
quickly
shield
ed
her face.
Waiting for the wind to subside, she
lowered her arms. “This is my choice
, Ceallach Neáll
. You shall not
stop me
!” she shouted, glaring at him.

“You made a
vow
,
did you not?” he countered
, voice dark and distant.
“If you wish to leave Rúnda, it shall be by
my
judgment!”
Ceallach thrust his palm towards her. Another biting gale slammed into
Shiovra
, knocking her
off her feet. Twigs from the surrounding trees
flew with the wind he
thrust
at her
,
catching on
her garments and glancing
across her skin.

Hissing
,
Shiovra
hastily
climbed to her knees and
gathered
the energy surrounding
to
creat
e
a
rippling
barrier
a
round
her
.
Ceallach’s attack was strong and she
fought
to keep the barrier
. She was getting tired of his Fomorii tricks.
Biting back the pain,
Shiovra
rose
to her feet once more
.
“
I no lon
ger need
your
permission
.
I am leaving whether you or Réalta say so.
”

Ceallach
paused, arching a
brow. His voice
was hardly above a
whisper, his words wrapping around her.
“
We shall see about that.
”

Shiovra
’s fro
wn deepened
.
It seemed the man had more Fomorii tricks up his sleeve. Closing her eyes, she
took a deep breath
and calmed herself, focusing on the wild energy dancing all around them
. If he wanted a fight, he would get one and he would lose.

Opening h
er eyes, a sweet smile
spread across her lips. She brought her hands up
, energy rushing through her body. Her hands tingled slightly as a b
rilliant white lightning crackled around
them
.
It wasn’t the first time she had channeled such power, but it still took a great deal of her own personal energy.

Shiovra
drew Ceallach’s gaze and h
eld it firmly
. She would not hold back a
ny longer, would not bend to their every word. She was the High Priestess of Tara, not their personal underling
. Taking a deep breath, she flung the
lightning at Ceallach.

The
man made no attempt to move, only let it shatter as it slammed into
a
barrier
much like her own had been
. A frown spread over his face and his eyes showed the strain at holding his barrier up under the pressure of her attack.
Irritation flashed in his eyes and he brought his hand up, tossing
something at her.

Shiovra
caught it in her hand, looking down at the small pebble that was
as black as
night
. Darkness began to surround her, blindi
ng her. She could see nothing, n
ot even Ceallach himself. All went quiet. She frowned, closing her hand around
the pebble
.
“Tch.
Another Fomorii trick,
”
she muttered to herself
.

Clenching her hand, she looked arou
n
d
the endless space of darkness.
Even in darkness, light could be found. Small at first, hardly noticeable, little flecks of light drifted up from the unseen ground.
Shiovra
offered her free hand out and one of the specks
lighted upon her palm.

She will willing use you like a pawn, moving you about to her desires, like she’s done to all of us.

Shiovra
felt strength fill her, her energy renewed, and she knew
what she needed to do. She brought her hand up, pal
m facing the sky. The speck
s
of light
began to gather, joining together above her hand.
Bright
er and brighter
it burned
,
breakin
g apart the darkness. The orchard
became drenched i
n a light so brilliant that
Ceallach
was forced to shield
his eyes.

She t
ook that to her advantage. Moving forward, she
swiftly took his blade from the intricate scabbard
it resided within. Without missing a step
, she
slipped back and
twirled the blade to point the tip at Ceallach.
Shiovra
stood ready, her well-trained hand upon the hilt and the blade tip poised at his throat. “I am one o
f the Túath clan and High Priestess of Tara
. I have faced many trials in my life here and have prevailed over them all,” she said. “I will not begin to fail now because you
r
desire to cage me here.” She stepped closer, placing the tip of the blade but a breat
h away from his throat. “You will hold me here no longer
, Ceallach Ne
áll,” she continued.
Shiovra
dropped the sword to the ground. “I am leaving.”

“You will not!” came Réalta’s voice. She stepped up to
Shiovra
, her eyes burning with deep ange
r. “Have you forgotten? You made vows when you came this island
…”

“My vows were to
the Great Mother
Dana, not you!” retorted
Shiovra
, eyes flashing with vexa
tion. “I have a duty to serve and protect the people of Tara,
our
people, and I cannot fulfill that duty if I remain here! Look what happened to Deirdre.
” she spun away from Réalta and began to leave.

“You don’t know if you could have prevented that
!” Réalta shouted.

Shiovra
turned back briefly. “I could have tried
!
But no, I have been stuck here for ten years, focusing on training I could have easily done back home in Tara.
” Having said thus, she turned and began to walk away, then paused. “Merry part, Réalta Dubh
.
” Their voices drifted on the wind to her as she walked away.

“She remin
ds me of you when we first met,” said Ceallach.

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

Storm clouds gathered heavily as Dubheasa watched
the b
oat bearing Ceallach Neáll drift away from
the shores of Rúnda.
Shiovra
had been
the first t
o depart
, alone,
and her heart felt heavy kno
w
ing what was coming
. H
er son
,
Kieran,
would be
the next to leave. As the priestess’ guard, h
e
was never far from
Shiovra
. Even when he had trained in Ráth Faolchú, he had always returned to watch over her.

At the soft sound of footsteps
behind her, Dubheasa
sighed. “When
do you depart?” she asked of her son
quietly
, rubbing her arms against the chill carried by the wind
.