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The knock on his door should not have surprised him, but it did. His number-one soldier was early for their meeting.
Walsh invited the man in, but he shook his head and said, “Not here.”
His older brother—half brother, and that half did make a difference—was a suspicious man. Walsh was careful, as well, but he wasn’t paranoid. Still, until things were settled it was best to humor this man he had relied upon as the plan came together.
They walked around the building, into a deserted field. The grass that grew so high all but disguised a long-deserted famine graveyard. Walsh felt as if a ghost were walking up his spine, but his brother didn’t seem to be bothered at all.
The man who walked in step beside him finally said, “I think we should move up the timeline. We need to move now, tonight.”
Walsh tried to be patient, he truly did, but this man and the woman, they were not as reliable as he had initially thought them to be. When this was over... Well, when this was over he would need them still, for a while. But if all went well, he would not need them for very long. “No. We’re not changing the plan now.”
“Why not?”
Walsh had been very careful about what in
formation he shared. He only had two soldiers in Cloughban. One was family. The other had shared his bed on several occasions. The others—those headed this way very soon—were pawns he had no qualms about sacrificing.
His brother was anxious. Until now, Walsh had kept much of his plan to himself. They were so close to success, so very close. Perhaps he could afford to explain why the wait had been necessary. It wouldn’t do for things to be set into motion too soon.
The girl was of the proper age for optimum transference. He’d waited for this. He’d waited four long years. Four years of research, careful planning and waiting.
“The cycle of the moon must be just right for the incantation to work,” Walsh explained. “The girl is the right age, and soon the moon will be full. Days, we are down to mere days.”
“Days.”
“On the three nights when the moon is fullest, the time to take her will be perfect. Be patient, brother. Our rewards will be great.”
He would rule. His brother would be his right-hand man. His woman would have everything she’d ever wanted, and more.
And he would bring his mother’s people, the once-powerful Ansara, back. When his army was strong enough, he’d wipe every Raintree off the planet.
Some might argue that he was not true Ansara, that they had been wiped out when the Raintree had defeated them, six years earlier. True, his mother had been adopted; she’d had no true Ansara blood in her veins. But in Walsh’s heart the Ansara survived through him. He was the last, but he would soon rebuild what had once been a powerful clan.
The grass was waist-high where his brother came to a stop and turned to face him. “You have the incantation with you?”
“Of course.” The words were few, the language ancient. But they were powerful words. Beyond powerful.
His brother smiled. It was a smile much like his own; it was their father’s smile. Their father had been gone for years.
Walsh didn’t see the knife until it was too late. The fact that his brother’s hands were visible and empty and relaxed meant nothing. The blade appeared from behind him. It flew through thin air, twisting and turning, rising up to slice across Walsh’s throat.
His last thought was, This was not part of the plan...and then...
Betrayal.
* * *
Echo climbed into her own bed, burrowed under the covers and closed her eyes. She was so exhausted she’d thought sleep would come instantly...but it didn’t.
Her life had been a series of disasters. There had been good moments, too. Family, friends, making music. But disasters had always been a part of her life. She would willingly admit that more than a few of those had been of her own making. Other disasters had been seen and experienced through dreams and visions.
Her curse. Her gift.
Why did she never see anything nice of the future? Why did she never see happiness and joy?
She went to sleep on that thought, and dreamed.
She dreamed of green fields, fairy forts and children. Not her children, certainly, since she did not plan to have any of her own. Maybe these were her cousins’ children.
