Free Seer of Sevenwaters by Juliet Marillier Page A

outburst you picked yourself up and we finished it. You did a good job.”
    I was reluctant to tell him that what had caused my collapse was more than simple weariness. The flaw that had made Ciarán send me away, the open window I seemed to have in me to the fears and sorrows of others, had never been more evident than today. To speak of it was to admit to a weakness that few knew about.
    “I hope Svala can recover, given time.”
    “Time,” echoed Johnny. “That’s just what we don’t have, unfortunately, with these men from Connacht due soon.”
    “Why does that make a difference?”
    “Secrets,” put in Gull from where he was chopping something at the bench. “Nobody comes to Inis Eala without prior arrangement. We’re more accustomed to welcoming parties of warriors than hapless seafarers. When we have men here for training, we take precautions to ensure they learn only what we want to teach them.”
    “I understand that.” Ever since Bran’s time, they had taught not only methods of fighting, the construction of weapons and battle tactics, but many other skills a leader could put into use to maintain the advantage: mapmaking, for instance, and covert surveillance and codes. What had made Bran’s outlaw band feared and envied throughout the north of Erin now made Inis Eala much sought after as a training ground for elite warriors. “What has that to do with Knut and Svala? And him?” The man on the pallet was asleep, his heavy lids closed, his face a study in white and gray.
    “We know very little about them, Sibeal,” Johnny said. “It seems Knut was happy to offer his services as an oarsman, and took no interest in who owned the ship or why certain folk were traveling on her. He can’t even give me a name in Ulfricsfjord so I know where to send my message. My inclination would be to dispatch him and his wife, along with this fellow, over to the mainland before our visitors arrive. My people in the settlement there could arrange passage home for them. But even if this man survives, Muirrin tells me he won’t be fit to travel for a long while. And Svala clearly can’t go anywhere. We’ll have to keep them for some time.”
    “I don’t imagine any one of them is a spy,” I said, wondering if that was what he meant, “or they would have arrived by less dramatic means.”
    “No, I imagine not. But while they’re here, we’ll have to keep an eye on them. And with this man needing so much care, our healers are going to be very busy. When we’re conducting training, there are always injuries.”
    “I’ll help, of course,” I said.
    “Good,” Johnny said. “Sibeal, I sense you didn’t give much credence to what I said before. You shouldn’t let what happened at the burial weigh on your mind. I never lie to my men about their performance in the field, and I wouldn’t lie to you. When I tell you that you completed your task well, you should believe me.”
    “Thank you, Johnny.” His men reported to him as commander, and it was up to him to determine whether they had done well or not. In the absence of Ciarán, only the gods could determine my success or failure. I could not help feeling they would be watching me with some disappointment.
    “You’re very hard on yourself,” Johnny said.
    “The path is one of constant learning. Constant striving for improvement.”
    “Don’t forget that your family is here. You may be a druid, but you should lean on us if you have need. Now I must go. Good night, Sibeal. Good night, Gull.”
    “Good night.”
    I moved over to sit on the mat before the fire, watching the patterns in the flames. Gull moved quietly around the infirmary, securing shutters, opening the door for Fang to go out, letting her back in with a muttered, “Your ladyship.” Eventually he settled himself on the shelf bed in the corner. He had assured me that he slept lightly and would wake if the sick man needed him, so I should go to bed whenever I wanted to. The dog was asleep