Defiance (The Priestess Trilogy) Read Free Page A

pale face to her mother. “T hey come…” she breathed, fear weighing heavily in her voice. “They come!”
    Tríonna blinked , confused . “Who comes?”
    She brought a shaking hand up to point towards the door. “Angry kin of Ith…”
    Tríonna frowned, then realization set in and she blanched. Glancing hastily at Réalta, she gathered her skirts and quickly made her way to the door. As she threw it open , a piercing scream ripped through the air. Down the hill and all around, fires could be seen dotting the dark village.
    Réalta came to stand behind Tríonna, her own face ashen. “What is this…?” she murmured. “Has the battle come to us so soon?”
    Tríonna spun from the door and took the Mahon’s sword from his hands . Turning to her el der sister, her face pleading, she said , “Get them away from here. Take them by way of earth, make sure they are safe. Please, sister, it is all that I ask.”
    Réalta nodded , her face firm . “Aye,” she replied. “That I shall do.” Taking hold of Shiovra ’s hand, she beckoned Mahon and Daire to follow her. “Come, now, come quickly.”
    As she was being led away from her mother, Shiovra looked back, a terrible feeling filling her. “Mother!” she cried out.
    Tríonna smiled reassuringly . “Go with her, Shiovra . Everything will be all right,” she told her daughter, voice warm and comforting.
    Yet, something told the girl not to believe the words spoken to her . Stumbling as she was tugged along, Shiovra bit back tears as Réalta led them from their tiny cottage and towards the chieftain’s .
    The night air was cold and the fires a frightening sight. Screams an d shouts filled the air, seemingly surround ing them. Warriors rushed to meet with the enemy, paying little heed to Réalta and the children as they hastened their way up the path.
    Réalta ushered the children urgently int o the main cottage. She ran to a large woven rug sitting along the back wall of the cottage, casting it aside to reveal a wickerwork door set into the earthen floor . Pulling the door open, she urged the children down the ladder and into the souterrain, a small dirt room dug beneath the cottage and primarily used for food storage. After they were safely in the earthen chamber, she made her way down, pulling the wooden door shut behind her .
    Light flared in the small chamber as Réalta called flame s to life on a torch, handing it to Mahon.
    “Hold this a moment, and keep your voices down,” she ordered quietly. Moving to the far si de of the chamber, she place d her hands on the larg e stone serving as a wall. Closing her eyes , Réalta began to murmur in a hushed voice. “Great Mother Dana, please grant us passage so that I may led these children to safety.”
    At first, silence greeted them , but Shiovra could feel it, a change to the air, and a shift in power .
    Then, slowly, the stone shifted, moving aside to reveal a long, dark passageway through the earth itself . Ushering the children into the narrow passage, Réalta took the torch from Mahon. Silently, she beckoned them to follow her down the dark, packed earth tunnel.
    The heavy grating sound of the stone sliding back into place behind them filled the air.
    Shiovra ran her finger s along the cool, damp earth. She could still feel the lingering shift in power as i t pulsed through her veins , a wild and dancing energy .
    Mahon trudged behind her, his face foreboding . Daire followed his mother and glanced back at Shiovra periodically, worry evident on his face. After a third glance , he reached back and took hold of her hand, lacing her fingers with his own.
    Off in the darkness behind them, muffled shouts could be heard . Shiovra froze as fear rushed through her and Mahon glanced anxiously at his aunt.
    Réalta paused briefly and considered her sister’s two children as well as her own son. “Shhh…” she whispered softly. “They cannot find us here, for they cannot find what has never been. Come now, we have