"Tell no one," he'd said as they followed the passage back toward the others. Then he'd turned to her, confirmed her agreement with a smoldering look, and re-entered the noise and stagnancy and stench of the hall.

Emery hadn't stayed long after that, though, and convinced Tess that they should go to bed. The time was late, and these men could carry on for hours. Also, Emery was unable to re-engage in regular conversation with all the new information swimming in her mind, and she was afraid of revealing something if she grew too tired or let down her guard.

That night, she fell into bed exhausted and confused but a bit elated as well. She'd finally made some ground with Cullen--she'd finally done what Cathbad had asked of her and found out something about what'd happened the night she was wed. The only problem now was that she didn't think Cullen would want her to tell the druid any of it. He'd said to tell no one, and didn't Cathbad count as someone? The secrets were starting to build up, and Emery wasn't sure how good she'd be at keeping them. She had secrets about her dreams, and now she had secrets about the four treasures she and Cullen were supposed to acquire. Presumably it wasn't a big deal to have Lugh's Spear and the Sword of Light out in the open, and if Cullen gained the Dagda's Cauldron, that would also be an acceptable item to have out in public. These were fairly gained, all of them, and who would think otherwise? But the Stone of Destiny belonged to all, and it'd been considered a sacred object—all four monarchs were angry it'd gone missing. Emery realized that even Conchobar didn't know his own chieftain had stolen it.

No one knew but the two of them—she and him. They shared a secret. The realization was invigorating. It made her want to know everything that had happened that night, everything, and she wanted to ask him to tell her all of it, but she couldn't, of course.

The following morning, Emery and Tess slept quite late. By the time they woke, the sun was nearly overhead, and they didn't know what to do with themselves. Thankfully, a woman arrived and brought heated water so they could bathe, and after they dressed, both headed out of the chamber and toward the feasting hall, the only other room they had seen. People milled about--not many, but enough to help the girls understand that there was porridge in a cauldron over the firepit. Obtaining some as well as bread, they found places at a table and ate their breakfast.

"Where do you think everyone is?" Tess asked, scooping porridge into her mouth.

Emery, none too keen on porridge, focused more on the bread. "I don't know. I haven't a clue where anyone else is staying. But we can go find the horses after this. I'd like to see Liath Macha, and the pony, too. They have to be stabled somewhere nearby."

"I named the pony!" Tess chirped. "I forgot to tell you. I'm going to call him Cookie Dough."

"Cookie Dough?" Emery raised an eyebrow.

Tess beamed, entirely unaware of her friend's reaction. "His coat is sort of speckled, like with chocolate chips, and he's so sweet. That's why I thought of it. What do you think?"

"Well, nobody here will know what it means," Emery said, realizing that was the one good thing about the name. She might have had more to say but was grateful to see Cathbad suddenly enter the hall, frazzled, relieved to spot them. He hurried over, cloak flowing behind him, paraphernalia secured but jostling a bit.

"You are awake at last!" The man whooshed onto the bench across from them. He seemed in a hurry, and Emery suddenly felt rushed to eat her meal. "I have been with Tlachta, the druidess. She wishes to speak to the both of you."

The girls looked at one another, then back to Cathbad. Emery frowned at the man. "Where is everybody?"

The druid flicked a glance at each. "They left this morning, for the raid . . . did you not hear what I said?"

"Yes, yes. Of course we heard you," Tess assured him. "Sorry. We didn't mean to get up so late. We're a little disoriented."

"Understood, Tess. I will endeavor to explain." Cathbad propped his elbows on the table. His long, dark hair hung straight around his ears and pale forehead. Something anxious played about his face, the nostrils of his pointed nose twitching slightly, like a rabbit's. "My Lord Cuchulain and King Cú Roí rose quite early and set out with the Red Branch and some of Cú Roí's men. Fir Fálgae is an island, northeast of here, so the druidess Tlachta labored intensively to transport them through a portal. She will reopen it this afternoon, but I was able to speak with her about your brother, Tess, and she was eager to see you both. Additionally, Emery," he added, somewhat hesitantly, "I may have mentioned Fear Doirich had visited your dreams." He waited for Emery to say something but was surprised when she didn't immediately respond. "Are you not angry, Lady?"

Emery thought for a moment and realized that she wasn't. "No. It's fine."

Cathbad widened his eyes. "Are you, then, trusting of me, once more?"

Cullen kept secrets from Cathbad. She wasn't the only one. That knowledge made her feel better about it. She cared about the druid--he'd helped her so much--but ultimately, he'd always do what he thought was best for Cullen. She knew that, now, and thinking of the Stone of Destiny tucked away in Cullen's roundhouse, she was better able to accept that. "I've never not trusted that you're trying to help, Cat. I know you always do what you think is best."

He raised a suspicious eyebrow at her, saying after a moment, "I appreciate your faith in me. Now, are you prepared to greet Tlachta?"

The girls finished their food and rose to follow Cathbad, who further explained as they left the hall and entered the cool, refreshing outside.

"Tlachta casts an imposing figure. She is the daughter of Mug Ruith, the most great and terrible druid of our time. He's said to be hundreds of years old and therefore attaches himself to no king or chieftain; he lives alone, someplace isolated. But he is said to have powers almost near those of the Gods! Tlachta herself is quite impressive."

"I've always thought you were impressive," Tess interrupted.

Cathbad, who was a step ahead of them on the path, stopped and turned to her. "You are kind, Tess," he said sincerely, smiling gently, "but I am nothing next to these two."

They arrived at an unassuming hut, a small round, thatched building the size of Emery's old she-shed. If this druidess were huge, as Ainle had indicated on their arrival, how would she fit in such a small dwelling?

"Prepare yourselves," Cathbad advised.

Emery and Tess shrugged at one another and then stepped into the door that the man opened for them. Once across the threshold, Emery had to put out hands to steady herself against the discombobulation she experienced. What her mind had expected--the interior of a small hut--was not in conjunction with the reality: a vast open room filled with indistinguishable piles. It was so disconcerting that Emery didn't know where to look first. The ceiling towered high above them, the timbers lost in a strange sort of haze, and there were no discernible walls other than that near the door through which they'd entered. Probably thirty feet in front of them was a massive firepit, as big as a swimming pool, with multi-colored flames burning in patches throughout it. Many odd items--not all of them pleasant to look at--hung burning over several of the fires (Tess squealed and turned her face into Cathbad's shoulder upon spotting what were surely small animals, not particularly dead yet). The lighting was deceptive; there were no obvious torches or flames beyond what was in the firepit, and yet the place was well-illuminated.

As far as what else was in the space, Emery couldn't quite figure it out. The lack of walls was confusing. Everything was packed and piled atop and inside of mounds of mossy earth, and the weirdest thing was that Emery was sure that she saw amongst all the what she'd call normal druidy stuff (herbs and plants and rocks and crystals and butterfly wings and whatever else nature had to offer), she spotted oddly familiar items, like an old-timey television fizzling off to one side, and one of those toy monkeys that clapped little cymbals together, and a music box with a ballerina, and a unicycle, and a bag of tortilla chips, and dumbbells . . . the more she looked, the more she saw and recognized, but even as she'd try to focus on something, it'd disappear into the earth around it. It was as if everything in that space were shifting, as if it didn't understand its own timeline.

"What is even going on, here?" Emery half-gasped.

"To be sure, it's somewhat befuddling. Take my hands, each of you."

Tess and Emery both took one of Cathbad's hands, and he led them forward through the shivering hills and heaps of dirt and grass and teapots and strange woven dolls and feathery lumps and those little weighted silver balls that hang in a row and bump against one another and clocks and stuffed bears and innumerable bones and so much more. They rounded the massive fire pit, and Emery had to shield her eyes with one of her hands more from the strange smoke than from the brightness, and then, strangely, she thought she saw a short ways off another doorway, arched at the top, a warm light glowing from beyond it.

Approaching the door, Emery found that it was in the wall of another hut, though this one was stone and quite too tall to see its roof. Cathbad pulled them both out of the unruliness and through the door, where they suddenly found themselves in a cozy den of sorts, cushy chairs and a happy little fire in a small pit, few items or artifacts beyond the typical flowers and branches that'd been in Cathbad's cottage. This small room felt far more right than wherever they'd just been, and Emery was able to release the druid's hand.

A woman was seated in one of the chairs near the firepit. She wasn't any sort of giantess, as Emery had been hoping she would be. Instead, she was of average height, with long, matted ash-blonde hair and a white robe tied at the waist with a cord. Her age was difficult to discern, Emery thought; on the one hand, she appeared frail, with hands like bird claws and wrinkles around her eyes and mouth, but on the other hand, she radiated a sort of strange youthfulness, as if in defiance of her chronological years. While her robe was white, her face was besmeared with something dark red, on her cheekbones and down the bridge of her nose, and when she stood, her mouth smiled, though her glittering eyes did not, and Emery noticed that the woman's teeth were tiny and pointed.

"Come, come!" she said. "You must sit."

The girls looked nervously to Cathbad for approval, and he nodded assurance at them. So both took seats in the empty chairs, while Cathbad stood behind them.

Tlachta narrowed and then widened her eyes at Emery and then Tess, and Emery was reminded of a bird watching for potential threats to its eggs.

"Your druid tells me things of much interest and asks whether I am able to assist you." Her voice was high and narrow. "I see much, though I cannot tell as much as I see, and what I tell is not always what is true. Do you understand?"

"Sure," Emery said casually, then, looking back at Cathbad and seeing his serious face, added, "Yes. Yes, we understand."

The druidess nodded. She picked up a pestle and mortar that had been on the ground and began to work the pestle, presumably to mash some concoction. The girls and druid watched in quiet awe, unsure how or even if to speak, and at length, Tlachta stuck a thumb in the bowl, and said, "Mistletoe and mushroom--after I place it in my mouth, I will take your hands." Directly after saying as much, she stuck out a rough red tongue and smeared the paste on it. She then immediately reached for them, and Tess and Emery held on. When Tlachta's eyes rolled back in her head and the woman tipped her chin toward the ceiling, both girls freaked out and attempted to pull back, but the druidess's hands were like vice grips. Before they could protest or attempt anything drastic, though, both Emery as well as Tess were suddenly cast into darkness.

How long they were out, or what the other saw, neither knew, but suddenly, Emery's eyes were again perceiving the hut of the druidess, and her hands were on her lap, entirely her own. She turned to her friend to find Tess shaking, Cathbad crouched next to her, attempting to soothe.

"What just happened?" Emery asked.

Cathbad explained, "Tlachta has asked for your aid so that she may comprehend your visions."

Suddenly afraid, Emery looked at the druidess, who sat looking as calm and composed as ever, eyes open, animal mouth smiling in her direction. Had she seen all of Emery's dreams? The one she'd had of Charlie? She felt suddenly violated. "You didn't tell me she'd see our visions!"

"You need not fear me, Emer of Luglochta Loga. What you need anticipate is Fear Doirich, who seeks you even now and is nearer than you know. You cannot escape him; you must answer when he asks."

"Oh, more about that! I don't want to hear it unless you can explain it!" Emery cried, flustered.

The woman folded her hands into one another. "What Fear Doirich asks and wants for answer, only you can say, but I will warn you--your answer may influence far more than you know. He seeks not to harm you, so do not try to avoid him. Wait for him, and answer."

Emery felt no better than she had before. She looked to Tlachta and found the woman eyeing her knowingly, as if she'd seen everything in Emery, the vision of Cullen and her, the dreams she'd had, all the other things she felt and didn't know how to explain.

"What about my brother?" Tess asked hopefully. "Did you see where he is? How can we find him?"

"Long is the pathway to find him. He is far away from you. Perhaps too far. Perhaps he never was close. Perhaps he never was. For you hide as well, my Lady. I see you, and I know you. I know you, and I know what you and he have made. And--" Tlachta abruptly ceased speaking and bolted upright. Her eyes seemed to gaze at some far-off distance. "The time is now. They are completed their raid more quickly than I anticipated. They've got much treasure with them--several are dead, some are wounded. It did not go as well as planned . . . and there's a . . . woman with them." Having forgotten Tess and Emery and Cathbad, Tlachta hurried around them, not even seeing them anymore, and hustled out of the cottage.

After a moment of silence, Emery got to her feet. She couldn't think much on what Tlachta had just said about dead and wounded--she couldn't possibly have meant Cullen. He was invincible. "Well, that didn't go well. I--" But she stopped when she caught sight of Tess's face.

Tess was as pale as a ghost, as so was Cathbad. The two were staring at one another, and Emery felt as if she'd just walked in on some very personal situation.

"Can we . . . can we go?" Emery asked. She placed a hand on Tess's shoulder, which seemed to jostle her awake, and that in turn startled Cathbad to alertness.

"Yes, yes," the druid hurried. "We must go. Let us find who this woman is that the warriors bring home."

Not entirely convinced that her friends were all right, Emery decided to keep quiet and focus on getting back out of the druidess's menagerie of oddities, hopeful that Cullen was safe and that whatever woman they were bringing back had nothing to do with him.