The Unicorn Hunter (9 page)

‘But the girth snapped,' said Maddy. ‘It was an accident!'

‘Well, it doesn't take a genius to fray a girth to the point of breaking,' said Meabh, spreading her fingers out and admiring her nails. ‘And even if it didn't break, I could trust Embarr to throw him to the ground.'

‘That's murder,' said Maddy, her voice flat with anger.

‘No, it was a convenient accident,' said Meabh, wagging a finger playfully at Maddy. ‘Because now I have a monarch of a rival court who is in my debt. The point I am trying to make here is that when you are equal to your opponents in raw power, being clever, even devious, is the only way to get the upper hand. It is also a useful weapon when you are weaker than your opponents, as you are. As the new Hound, you're going to need all the help you can get.'

‘I'm not the new Hound,' said Maddy. ‘None of this has got anything to do with me.'

‘That's how I know you have a talent for this game,' said Meabh, smiling. ‘That was a very clever trick you played on Cernunnos, asking him to prove he was
telling the truth. And I saw the way you looked at Niamh. Saw right through her, didn't you?' She stood up and had to bend her neck against the ceiling of the little cottage, she was so tall. The room suddenly got darker and the flames rose higher in the fireplace, throwing the Tuatha's shadow huge against the wall. ‘But I'm not Niamh,' Meabh said, her voice darker and thicker, with a rumble of thunder along its edge.

She moved so fast Maddy didn't have a chance to call for help. She saw a white blur and then the Autumn Queen was bending over her, her long white fingers wrapped around the back of Maddy's skull, her palm pressing against her chin. Maddy kicked out and clawed at Meabh's hand, gasping for breath as Meabh lifted her from the chair to dangle in the air, her feet inches above the carpet. The Tuatha was so strong her fingers didn't even twitch as Maddy's body jerked like a fish on the line.

‘Quiet, little one,' crooned Meabh, her green eyes glowing. ‘Have you ever seen a rabbit break its own neck trying to get loose from a trap? Hush, hush!'

Maddy gasped and then hung still, her fingers white at the knuckles where she clutched at Meabh's wrist. Her neck ached as her head tipped back on her spine and the muscles in her jaw and cheeks burned where the bones of Meabh's fingers dug in.

‘There is a war coming, but it will come at a time of my choosing and when it benefits my court most,' hissed Meabh. ‘But this time I will have the Hound on my side.'

Maddy tried to speak. ‘I'm not …' she began to mutter through clenched teeth, but Meabh squeezed tighter and cut the words off.

‘Don't lie to me, child,' said Meabh. ‘
I can smell your blood.
I
know
you're the Hound. But you're only a pup and you won't last long in a Tuatha war, not without friends. Bend the knee, swear fealty to the Autumn Court, and I can help you find the unicorn hunter.'

Maddy would have loved to reply to that, but gravity was keeping her jaw clamped shut in Meabh's hand. Meabh cocked her head and looked at her for a moment as the muscles in Maddy's neck and face screamed with pain. Then, without warning, she opened her fingers and dropped Maddy back into her chair.

Maddy gasped with relief and flexed her neck. She glared up at Meabh. ‘How exactly are you going to help me out?'

Meabh laughed, a throaty chuckle that excited the fire to leap and dance. ‘See how you negotiate the terms of your capitulation,' she purred. ‘No words of defiance or anger – you play well. I am the Witch Queen – my court as your ally will strengthen your hand enormously
here and in the Land. Not to mention the protection my faeries can give your loved ones. Especially those without the Sight – like your lovely granny.'

Maddy's blood ran cold to hear Meabh talking about Granny. ‘I need to know your help is worth having before I hand over my allegiance.'

‘Do you now?' asked Meabh, settling herself back down in Granda's chair by the fire. ‘Well, I can't tell you
who
you are looking for, but I can tell you
what
.'

‘And?'

Meabh cocked her head again and looked at her with just one green eye, a bird-like movement that gave Maddy the creeps. ‘What do I get if I tell you?' she asked.

‘My word that I will think about bending the knee,' said Maddy.

‘Is that all?' sneered Meabh.

‘Trust me – it's more than you're getting right now.'

Meabh stared at her, tapping her teeth with one long fingernail. ‘You have sharp teeth for such a little Hound.'

‘What does that even mean?' asked Maddy. ‘What's so special about being a Hound?'

Meabh shrugged. ‘In truth, nothing,' she said. ‘It's just a title. It simply means you have the blood of heroes running through your veins, although it is much diluted these days. But you have seen the rest of the Sighted – timid, cowering creatures. So when one such as you
comes along and dares to defy us, they get all excited and brave and call you the Hound, thinking back to Cú Chulainn. And some of the weaker-minded Tuatha think of him too and they get nervous, thinking the Hound has returned to give us all a beating. It's only a title and yet at the same time it's a nuisance for the feelings it whips up. So if you are going to go round calling yourself the Hound, girl, and causing ripples, I'd rather those ripples flowed out from my court and not into it.'

‘From what I've read, Cú Chulainn gave you lot a run for your money,' said Maddy.

‘Cú Chulainn was brave and unnaturally strong,' said Meabh. ‘He could have married, had children and lived a long and peaceful life, but he was told that if he picked up a spear he would live a short one, full of glory, and his name would live on forever. He was too vain to resist. If anything is the mark of a Hound, it is stupidity; you've all been a little bit thick.'

‘So?' asked Maddy.

‘So what?' asked Meabh.

‘You were going to tell me what, but not who, I am meant to be looking for?' prompted Maddy.

‘So I was,' said Meabh. ‘Right after you swear an oath of fealty.'

‘Nice try.'

Meabh grinned at her. ‘The Coranied told you the hunter was neither human nor faerie, but something with stripes of both, correct?'

‘Yeah. So?'

Meabh tutted. ‘Patience! No child with both faerie and mortal parents has been born for centuries, so that leaves only one other possibility – a split soul.'

‘What's that?' asked Maddy.

‘It is what is left behind when a mortal has a near-death experience in Tír na nÓg. They seem to hold on to a sense of themselves and they gather in the Shadowlands of the Coranied, listening to the whispers of your kind.'

‘I thought stolen children didn't come back,' Maddy remarked.

‘Do you always believe what you are told?' said Meabh. ‘And it's not just children that get taken – Liadan isn't the only one who likes to play with mortals.'

Maddy gave Meabh a sharp look but decided not to ask any questions about that. ‘Nothing you have said explains why I need the dog Bran.'

‘Have you ever seen a soul?' asked Meabh. ‘Ever felt the weight of it in your hands? How it feels, how it
smells?
'

Maddy nodded as the obvious dawned on her. ‘The hunter has no scent. So why do I need a hunting dog to track it?'

‘The unicorns are magic made flesh;
they smell
.'

Maddy was confused. ‘But we know where the mare is. She's five minutes up the road.'

Meabh rolled her eyes. ‘Give me strength. We know where she is
here
, in this world, but we have no idea yet where she fell in Tír na nÓg.'

‘I don't get how they are in both worlds at the same time,' said Maddy.

Meabh sighed. ‘They are old magic, girl, older than the Tuatha. They are the life force of the earth, the male and the female, the yin and yang that keep
balance
within and between all living things. They are the magic that breathes life into this world, made of flesh, and into Tír na nÓg, realm of dreams. They are the foundation stones our worlds are built on, so they exist in both at the same time.' She leaned forward. ‘And someone has decided to take away one of those foundation stones. Now do you understand?'

Maddy nodded. ‘How can you be so sure the hunter will attack her again?'

‘The mare is sure it wanted her death – that's enough for me. Mortal-side we can ring her with Tuatha guards and fend off an attack. But we still don't know where she is in Tír na nÓg, and sending ordinary hounds to track her is risky. Their instincts might take over and they might attack if they found her vulnerable.

‘But Bran never would, right? She always brings her prey back alive. Why is that?'

‘Bran has certain qualities that make her a bit special,' said Meabh, a sly smile playing about her lips.

‘So you want me to go into the Shadowlands of Tír na nÓg to persuade Finn mac Cumhaill to hand over Bran and then go chasing the unicorns around in the hope of catching the hunter on its next attempt?' said Maddy.

‘Bravo! The penny drops …'

‘And time is obviously a factor, seeing as the hunter might already be looking for the mare and I'm still sitting here?'

‘Obviously.'

‘So why are the Tuatha not going straight to Finn mac Cumhaill? He's in your world – it would be a lot faster than trying to force me.'

‘Ah,' said Meabh, sitting back in her chair and steepling her fingers in front of her face. ‘There we have a tiny little problem.'

‘Which is?'

‘Oísin was Finn's son,' said Meabh. ‘And Finn's wife was a Tuatha who disappeared under strange circumstances.'

‘Did the Tuatha make her disappear?'

‘That would not be an unreasonable assumption
to make,' said Meabh. ‘But regardless of who did what to who, the fact is mac Cumhaill hates the Tuatha and he will never listen to us. But he might –
might
– be persuaded by a mortal. He might have respect for the Hound, although you do not make a very awe-inspiring figure.'

Maddy sat back in her own chair and stared at Meabh through narrowed eyes. ‘You're frightened of him, aren't you?'

Meabh lowered her hands to grip the armrests of her chair. ‘What makes you say that?'

‘You've got an ancient Irish hero sitting in Tír na nÓg who could sort all your problems out and you're telling me that there is not a single Tuatha who dares to go near him? No one who can make him do what you want, no matter how desperate you are?' said Maddy, a smile lighting up her face. ‘He has made the Shadowlands his own territory, right under everyone's nose.'

‘Do I look frightened of
you
, Feral Child?' asked Meabh, her voice soft with menace.

Maddy gulped. ‘No.'

‘Remember that,' said Meabh as she stood up, the crown of her head brushing the low ceiling of the cottage. She gathered her plaid around her shoulders to keep her warm, stray shadows climbing her body to
nestle into the folds of the cloth. She walked to the door of the cottage and opened it on to the night. The Pooka sprang to his feet and padded to her side, nuzzling her palm.

‘What are you?' asked Maddy. ‘God or faerie?'

‘Your people have so many names for us,' said Meabh, as she scratched the Pooka behind the ear. ‘You used to call us the Fair Ones and that is where the word faerie came from – did you know that? Your names mean nothing to me. I am Tuatha, and that is enough. But again, Maddy, you're not asking the question you really want to ask.'

‘Which is?'

‘“Who would be safer to anger – a god or a faerie?”' said Meabh. ‘That is what you really want to know. And the simple answer is that making any Tuatha angry, especially me, would be a very, very big mistake. And it would be a mistake to fail with mac Cumhaill, so tread carefully.'

‘He is
never
going to hand Bran over!' Maddy was practically yelling with frustration.

Meabh tutted, her eyes sparkling with laughter. ‘There's always a way, Maddy.'

‘Care to explain how?'

‘Care to swear an oath of fealty?'

Maddy ground her teeth while Meabh laughed, her
fingers buried deep in the shaggy fur of the Pooka. It wagged its tail as it gazed adoringly at its mistress.

‘Why would I care about keeping the hunter alive? I know it's a faerie that did this – the Sighted are scared of their own shadows!' said Maddy.

‘Because you want to know who sent it, don't you, Maddy? You have all sorts of theories buzzing around that busy little mind of yours and you won't be happy unless you find out who gave the order to poison the mare.'

‘How do you know someone else besides the hunter is involved?' asked Maddy.

Meabh shrugged her shoulders. ‘I don't. Join my court, Maddy, and you will have all the help you need,' she said. ‘All my faeries, all my powers, all my riches, will be at your disposal.'

‘But only for your advantage,' Maddy pointed out.

‘Of course,' said Meabh. ‘That is the nature of the game we play. Why should you be given all the power of a Tuatha court for nothing? Think on it.'

She turned to go.

‘Wait!' said Maddy. ‘How will I find you again, if I change my mind?'

‘Just swear your oath, Maddy,' said Meabh. ‘Say it to the air and I will hear you. But I must admit, you've disappointed me tonight.'

‘Why?'

‘Because there is one very important question you have forgotten to ask.'

‘What's that?'

‘Well, if the boundaries between our worlds have broken down so much I am able to walk among mortals outside the Samhain Fesh – who else is here?'

It was the click of the lock on the kitchen door that woke her, just a small snick that was almost drowned out by the dull tick tock of the clock on the mantelpiece. But she was so tense that her mind had not surrendered to a deep sleep and that small sound had cracked like a gunshot to her straining ears.