\u201cMy father was furious with her,\u201d Neve said. \u201cI remember it so well. He practically forbade us from helping her.\u201d \u201cNot \u2018practically,\u2019\u201d Phelan said. \u201cHe forbade us from helping Brigh\u00edd in any way. We just decided that she was right, he was playing the fool in this, and we helped her in any way we could without getting caught.\u201d His eyes half lidded. \u201cWe should have done more, honestly.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe should have,\u201d Neve agreed. Her gaze flicked toward Carolyn and Leinth. \u201cCiar had been possessed by a powerful spirit, one that terrified even us. He sowed havoc across Ireland and the whole of the surrounding islands before he made it to the continent, leaving chaos in his wake. Where he came, death and destruction often followed. If I didn\u2019t know better, I\u2019d say the phrase \u201clike a man possessed\u201d came about because of him, because of what he did.\u201d She hugged her knee as tight against herself as she could, no mean feat at that stage. \u201cVillages burned. People died. Crops failed. Animals that had been perfectly tame, perfectly docile\u2014they turned on their human neighbors with vicious abandon.\u201d Her voice shrank. \u201cHe didn\u2019t know his friends when they saw him. Everyone was in danger from him.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd then the Southrons got their claws into him and things went from bad to worse.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWorse?\u201d Carolyn blurted. \u201cAfter what you just said, it got worse?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThey used him as a weapon,\u201d Phelan said, his voice dull. \u201cThey used him as a weapon against everyone they could, one they could barely control. They just whipped him into more of a frenzy, pointed him in a direction, and let him run.\u201d He glanced at me, swallowing hard, then looked back at Carolyn. \u201cAnd he ran. And he killed. And he destroyed<\/i>. He did exactly what they wanted to do and it nearly started a war then.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s what they wanted, after all. They wanted a war so they could destroy us all.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u201cMy father was furious with her,\u201d Neve said. \u201cI remember it so well. He practically forbade us from helping her.\u201d \u201cNot \u2018practically,\u2019\u201d Phelan said. \u201cHe forbade us from helping Brigh\u00edd in any way. We just decided that she was right, he … Continue reading