The Dragon Bard (Dragon of the Island) by Mary Gillgannon Read Free Book Online Page A

considered that no one who saw her make this early morning journey would be alarmed. By now the people of Cahermara were used to her going off alone. They imagined her “powers’ would protect her. The thought brought another smile to her lips.
    Outside the hall, she headed for the gate. The guard there bid her good morning, then climbed down from the watchtower to undo the latch. As soon as the man had opened the gate the width of her body, Dessia slipped through.
    She made her way down the hillside, and at the bottom, found the pathway leading to the ancient oakwoods. It occurred to her that she was following the same route the phantom cat had taken on the night of the attack. She could still remember the terror of that journey, her awareness that although she might be escaping death, it was possible she was headed toward a fate even more horrifying. Children were warned against going into the Forest of Mist, taught to fear not only the wild beasts lurking there, but also the magical beings who ruled the enchanted realms, the space between this world and the Other Side.
    But she’d never encountered anything fearful there, not that night nor anytime since. Over time it became a refuge, a place where she could escape the burdens of her life. Seeing the dark mass of trees in the distance, Dessia quickened her pace.
    * * *
     
    Where was she going—alone and armed like a warrior? Bridei stared at the gate the queen had just passed through. Something had woken him a short while before, and he’d left the barracks where the workmen slept and went out into the near dawn. There was just enough light to make out a tall, slim figure, armed with sword and shield, moving through the settlement. Curious, Bridei had followed. It was only when the mysterious person halted and called up to the guard that Bridei realized it was the queen. He’d grinned in appreciation of the way the male attire showed off her feminine form, emphasizing rather than concealing her delicious curves. Then he crept nearer and watched as she vanished through the gate.
    Now he contemplated how he could follow her. What tale could he tell the guard to convince the man to let him pass? He puzzled on the matter, then decided to try another approach. Turning, he headed to the other side of the rath, to the place where he’d been working earlier that day. Passing the piles of rocks, he climbed the scaffolding to the top of the half-finished stone wall. His hand found a purchase on the timber fortification outside the wall and he scrambled up. Crouching on the edge of the wooden palisade, he warily regarded the ten-foot drop to the ground, then made the leap. He relaxed his body as he fell and rolled as he landed, a trick he’d learned as a youth. In seconds, he was on his feet, his clothing damp with dew, but his body uninjured.
    He wasted no time in hurrying around the perimeter of the rath. But when he arrived on the other side of the fort, he saw no sign of the queen. It was too dark to see very far. He would have to guess which way she’d gone. The sea lay to the east. Would she have traveled that direction? Nay, he didn’t think so. She was too shrewd to venture out into the open along the coast, especially since she knew the slavers were about. A lone woman would have no chance against a group of men, even if she were armed.
    Which was another puzzle. Why was she carrying a sword and shield? Was the weapon for protection? But protection from what? If she feared attack, she would have taken an escort.
    Perhaps she wearied of being confined in the rath. He could well understand such a feeling. After only three days behind the fortress’s walls, he was also growing restless. It was a comfortable enough settlement, but small and crowded nonetheless. Nothing like the vast walled towns of Gaul, or even the old Roman colonae of Britain.
    But if the queen sought fresh air and freedom, where was she headed? Bridei tried to recall the landscape around the rath.