Dreamer's Daughter by Lynn Kurland Page B

she said quietly. “I’m sure Ceangail was much worse.”
    He smiled briefly. “I suppose it depends on how you look at it. Ceangail is evil, whilst Beul is merely grim. Let’s just say that neither locale inspires a burning desire to set up house within its confines.”
    â€œI wouldn’t live here again if the inducement were all the gold in the world.”
    â€œWhat if the inducement were me with a shop on some seedy street where I peddled paltry magical spells?”
    She couldn’t help a brief smile. “Well, I might reconsider for that.”
    He took her hand in both his own. “I would never ask. Just testing the waters, as usual.” He watched the lads playing ball in front of them for a moment or two in silence, then turned to her. “So, what do you think?”
    â€œI’m not sure why this surprises me, but I think things are worse than when I ran.”
    â€œMore soldiers than one might reasonably expect, to be sure,” he agreed. “’Tis obvious we’re not going to be able to simply walk up to the palace and toss Sglaimir off his perch. Not that we ever expected it to be that easy.”
    â€œDo you think King Uachdaran was correct about who he is?” she asked. “That he’s the grandson of that terrible mage whose name escapes me?”
    â€œI have no reason to disbelieve it,” Rùnach said slowly, “but I’m not sure it matters whose grandson he might or might not be. He is the problem we must solve. I asked Soilléir for details about him, but he had none to give. I suppose I should have asked Mother Fàs about him, but I was too busy worrying that we might not escape her back porch alive.”
    Aisling smiled in spite of herself. “She is very fond of you. And nay, it isn’t simply because you built shelves for her greenhouse.”
    â€œWhen her alternative is her beloved youngest son Acair as a houseguest, perhaps she has reason to prefer you and me,” he said with a smile. He studied something in the distance for several minutes, then sighed. “I’m not sure it would be wise to ask too many questions here. Sglaimir isn’t going to be noising about any of his secrets to his underlings, I don’t imagine, but I suspect he’s perfectly happy to learn about anyone who asks questions about him.” He frowned thoughtfully. “Did you ever hear any gossip about him at the pub?”
    â€œNone that I remember,” she said, “but I’ll confess I wasn’t paying all that much heed to what the lads were saying. I was too busy trying to forget the Guild.”
    â€œI imagine you weren’t the only one,” he said, “which is perhaps something Sglaimir counts on. Easier to control the populace when it’s distracted with endless amounts of work.” He looked off into the distance thoughtfully. “’Tis a pity we don’t have Ochadius here with us. Or a way to connect with Freàm’s niece in the palace.”
    â€œIs it worth trying to find either of them?”
    â€œI don’t think so at the moment, not that there would be any guarantee we would manage it even if we tried. I wouldn’t recognize the king’s niece if she appeared in front of us and introduced herself. And for all we know, Ochadius is dead.”
    She started to agree that such might be the case, then realized it might not be true. She closed her eyes, stilled her mind, then saw without effort things that didn’t belong to her dreams. It took a moment before she thought she could speak.
    â€œHe’s not,” she said hoarsely. “He’s dreaming.”
    His mouth fell open. “How in the
hell
do you know that—nay, never mind.”
    â€œI fear they aren’t pleasant dreams, if that makes it more palatable.”
    â€œAisling,” he began, then he shook his head. “Let’s just say that if I didn’t know you