That night around the fire, I put that point to Dad.
‘I remember when I was working at the university,’ Dad said, ‘I used to laugh at the science professors who were so sure that everything could be explained. They were all buffoons except for one of them. His name was Tobias, he was Italian.’
‘I remember him. He taught physics, didn’t he?’
‘That’s right. Even though his entire life was dedicated to provable facts, he believed in the Evil Eye.’
‘The what?’
‘The Evil Eye – some Italians think that a person with special power can harm you with just a look. Tobias even wore a gold necklace to protect him from it.’
‘That sounds like one of Mom’s amulets.’
‘Exactly. I asked him once how a man of science could be so superstitious and he told me about quantum physics. Apparently there are things going on in the tiniest of matter that just cannot be explained. He told me about an experiment where a scientist made an atom spin in some laboratory and it made another one spin in the opposite direction ten miles away. He couldn’t explain it – no one could. He said if the smartest people in the world can’t explain something like that – then he was keeping the necklace on. I liked him, he had an open mind.
‘One day, he explained the Chaos Theory to me by holding up a piece of paper. He asked, “What would happen if I let go?” I told him that the paper would flutter to the ground, but then he asked me – “Where will it hit the ground?” He let the paper go and it landed not far from his feet. He said he could explain mathematically how the air and gravity reacted with the paper and why the paper landed where it did – “but,” he said, “no one could ever predict where the paper would land before it was dropped.”
‘That is the essence of the Chaos Theory. We know things will happen but until they do, we cannot tell how they will happen. I am sure Ona was right – she always was – but we don’t know the how, or the when. Just because we have a glimpse of the future does not mean we should run and hide. We must do what must be done. Cialtie must be stopped and I must get my hand and fix the damage my brother has done.’
I looked at the man I had spent my entire life with, and realised just how much I had underestimated him. I remembered a Mark Twain quote: he said something like – ‘I left my family at fifteen because my parents were so stupid. When I arrived back home two years later, I was amazed how much they had learned in that time.’
‘I haven’t said it in a long time, Dad, but I love you.’
‘And I you, son.’ He kissed me on the cheek. ‘Get some sleep, we have a long day tomorrow.’
We spent the next day riding fields dotted with poplar trees – the Eadthlands. I think the poplars are my favourite trees in The Land. They are solitary, straight and unimaginably high, like huge green rocket ships. I leaned back to try to see the top of one as we rode by and almost fell out of my saddle. I wanted to stop and speak to one of them but Mom said they are not very good conversationalists – their thoughts are too much in the clouds. Apparently the Fili used to converse with them about philosophy, but only if they would climb to the top. If I was to climb that high, the tree had better say something pretty important. I would be angry if I risked life and limb to get to the summit and the only thing the poplar said was, ‘I can see your house from here.’
The other nice thing about the Eadthlands is that the trees are so far apart. It gives you a chance to notice all of the other plants and animals that populate The Land. Rabbits the size of puppies came out of their burrows to watch us go past. I saw a fox with a coat so red and lush I wanted to hug it. The wildflowers were in full bloom. Fields were covered with colours that you just don’t get in the Real World. There were reds, yellows and purples the like of which I had only ever seen in a tropical fish tank, and then colours I didn’t even have a name for.
Essa rode up beside me and said, ‘Stop it.’
‘What are you talking about?’
‘Stop looking at The Land like you are never going to see it again.’
‘That’s not what I am doing,’ I protested, but she had fallen back already. The thing is, she was right – that is exactly what I was doing. I think everyone was. Even Gerard was quiet. To give you an idea of how nervous we all were, Araf came abreast of me and started a conversation without me even saying anything to him!
‘I went to Castle Duir with my father once, when I was a boy,’ he said without prompting. I almost fell out of my saddle with shock. ‘I remember sneaking off and exploring the castle and getting terribly lost. I ended up in the library. I had never seen so many books before, but being a child, what interested me the most were the weapons. There was a beautiful oak banta stick on the wall. I was climbing on a desk to have a closer look at it when Lord Finn – your grandfather – came in. I must have startled him – he shouted, “What are you doing here?” I was terrified and ran out of the room. He gave chase and caught me at the end of the corridor. I kicked and screamed as he picked me up by my shoulders and held me at arm’s length. Then he laughed, that wonderful laugh that your family seems to own, and he gave me a smile – now that I think of it, it was a smile just like the one Fergal has.
‘I stopped kicking and Finn said, “You must be young Prince Araf.” I only managed a nod. Then he said, “Come with me. I want to show you something.” I followed your grandfather down, deep into the castle until we came to a chamber lit with a hundred candles. He told me that the Leprechauns make the candles with wax mixed with gold dust and that they burn for years. Did you know that?’
‘No,’ I said, smiling. This was an introspective and loquacious Araf that I had never seen before. I liked it.
‘I will never forget what he told me. He said, “This is the Chamber of Runes; some day you will undergo the Rite of Choosing here. I suspect, my young Imp, that you will eventually choose the Major Rune of Ur. When you do, you will be a Runelord. Most people think us lucky to become Runelords and they are right – but it is also a responsibility. We do not choose the runes – the runes choose us. To hold a Major Rune means that you give up part of your life to The Land, or even all of your life if The Land demands it.”
‘When I left, Finn gave me that oak banta stick. It’s in my room in Ur Keep. I wish I had it with me now.’
‘It will still be there when you return home,’ I said.
‘I hope so, Conor, but if we fail, and tomorrow we are no more, then at least I know I have done my duty.’
Believe it or not, Araf chattered on for the rest of the day. He talked about his home, banta fighting and the joys of farming. It worked for both of us – Araf talked and talked to allay his nerves, and I concentrated on what he was saying and didn’t have time to think about my possible impending doom.
I spoke to Fergal only once in the day. When I pulled up next to him he said, ‘If you ask me how I am, I’m going to punch you.’
‘How are you?’
He did punch me, on the arm. It made me sad that Fergal and I had just met. We should have grown up together. His punch was like a punch between brothers, not hard enough to do any