Peter Tremayne - Valley of the Shadow

‘But most clans in this kingdom would support Cashel,’ Eadulf pointed out.

‘Possibly. But the northern Uí Néill, expressing themselves appalled by such acts,’ went on Ibor, ‘would then encourage and supply its allies to march on Cashel. Once Cashel had been destroyed, Mael Dúin would begin the process of obtaining the High Kingship and exert its will over all the kingdoms. With the Eóghanacht of Cashel destroyed, there would be no one to challenge the Uí Néill.’

Fidelma was incredulous. But she realised the grim logic of what Ibor was saying.

‘And all this might well have happened,’ she murmured.

She did not have to glance at Eadulf to make the Saxon feel uncomfortable. The Saxon lowered his head when he remembered his advice to her on the finding of the bodies and the realisation of what they symbolised. He had a feeling of growing horror.

‘Do I understand you correctly?’ he asked Ibor. ‘The slaughter of those thirty-three young men was carried out for no more reason than for our benefit? That it was a grotesque charade the purpose of which was to make us return in panic to Cashel and call for a holy war against the pagans of Gleann Geis?’

Ibor regarded the Saxon with some solemn amusement.

‘That is precisely what I have explained.’

‘And these sons of Satan were watching us all the time,’ Eadulf muttered reflectively. ‘Do you remember,’ he turned to Fidelma, ‘that we saw the sun flash on metal as we climbed to that valley? We were being watched. They must have watched our approach and knowing the path by which we were entering Gleann Geis they then arranged their terrible show along the course which we were taking, assured that we would see the bodies.’

Ibor of Muirthemne smiled grimly at Fidelma.

‘A war such as they planned might have happened had you reacted in the manner that was expected of you. But, God be praised, you did not. You kept your head and went on into Gleann Geis in search of the truth.’

There was a silence as they reflected on the quirk of fate which had prevented this carefully laid plot from coming to its hoped for fruition.

‘Sechnassuch once told me that you were an individualist, Fidelma,’ Ibor continued appreciatively. ‘Sechnassuch claimed that you were a rebel against the conservative ways of doing things.’

‘It was a plot that was well thought out,’ she admitted. ‘But, Ibor, you have not told us who was responsible for that slaughter?’

Ibor replied without hesitation.

‘Warriors from Ailech itself. Chosen men from Mael Dúin’s own bodyguard, with sworn allegiance to him and no one else.’

‘Did you witness this slaughter?’ demanded Eadulf.

‘No; we did not witness it otherwise we would have done our best to prevent it,’ Ibor replied quietly.

‘How then do you know that it was men of Ailech who did the deed?’ pressed Eadulf.

‘Easy enough. Our small band, there are twenty warriors and myself, were following Brother Solin and Brother Dianach. We knew that they would lead us to the substance of Mael Dúin’s plot. We followed them from Armagh on their journey south for many days. Then Brother Solin met up with a strange cavalcade. There was a band of warriors from Ailech. They were escorting the column of prisoners. Each man of them was …’

‘Shackled in leg-irons?’ interrupted Fidelma.

‘How did you know?’ Ibor asked. ‘I saw the bodies after the slaughter and the men of Ailech had removed all signs of identification; leg-irons, clothes, anything which might have identified the perpetrators of the deed.’

‘I saw the chaffing and scars left by the irons on the ankles of the slaughtered. I also saw the soles of their feet. They were covered with blisters and abrasions. That told me that the men had been forced to walk a long distance.’

The lord of Muirthemne did not seem astonished by her deductions.

‘They had, indeed, marched all the way from Ailech. May the place now be cursed. They must have been special hostages rounded up by the tyrant, Mael Dúin, and marched south specifically for the purpose of this appalling crime. With the warriors were men on foot controlling several large hounds, presumably as a precaution against escape. An interesting thing, which puzzled me at the time, was that this strange procession was followed by two empty carts, large farm carts used for transporting hay.’

‘Ah yes.’ Fidelma nodded. ‘The carts. I would have expected them to be there. What exactly happened at this rendezvous which you witnessed?’

‘Brother Solin and the commander of warriors from Ailech greeted each other in friendly fashion and they camped together for a day before Solin continued on with Brother Dianach …’

‘Did you identify the commander of these warriors?’ interrupted Eadulf.

‘Not by name, although I do not doubt that we will find him in Mael Dúin’s shadow. One person with these warriors I can tell you more about …’

He paused, obviously to make a better impact but when he saw Fidelma’s irritation he hurried on.

‘There was a woman who rode into their camp. She was obviously expected and greeted with courtesy. I have seen such a woman in Gleann Geis. A slender woman of commanding appearance.’

Fidelma raised her head with a satisfied smile.

‘Was it Orla, sister of Laisre?’

‘I can think of no other woman in Gleann Geis who bears resemblance to the person I saw meeting with the men of Ailech and with Brother Solin,’ replied Ibor gravely.

‘Orla!’ breathed Fidelma in satisfaction. ‘I was sure that it was her who I saw outside the stable.’

‘Let me be absolutely correct,’ Ibor hastened to add. ‘I could not swear to the fact that it was Orla meeting with Solin and the men of Ailech. We were spying on this scene from a distance, don’t forget. I did not know Orla at that time. But I saw no one else at Gleann Geis who had the same style of dress and authority of command as the woman I saw. One interesting fact I should point out. There was a disturbance during this meeting. It seemed that one of the hostages had managed to escape. The men with the dogs made ready to hunt him down and the woman spoke with their leader. It appeared that she requested to lead the hunt herself, for the next moment she set off on horseback with three huntsmen and their hounds.’

‘Did you try to rescue the escaped prisoner?’ Eadulf asked.

Ibor shrugged resignedly.

‘It was impossible without betraying our presence. It was only a matter of an hour before he was caught and brought back again. It was then that we noticed that he was a priest because he wore a tonsure. The possible fate of the shackled men did not cross my mind at that time otherwise we would have attempted to rescue them all. I was more concerned with following Solin and, to my shame, I left them to their fate not realising what horror would later be perpetrated against them.’

‘Indeed, no one would have guessed the terrible slaughter that was about to take place,’ Fidelma reassured him. ‘There is no blame on you. What did you do then?’

‘It had hardly taken her any time to track the poor hostage down. After the woman returned to the encampment, she spoke a while and then left with Brother Solin and Brother Dianach and two warriors of Ailech. They rode for Gleann Geis.

‘Brother Solin and Brother Dianach went directly through the gorge but the woman did not do so. With the two warriors from Ailech she went across the valley to the point where the bodies were later placed. It could be that the woman showed the warriorsthe place. These warriors rejoined the rest of their company while the woman vanished into the hills.’

‘That is a pity,’ Fidelma sighed.