Moonlight
Chapter
19
Ian could barely walk or keep his eyes open when he arrived home. He noted with some surprise that his hall was filled with people on mattresses and blankets. Who were they? He did not have the energy to wonder -- all he wanted was his bed. On his way over he passed many more guests, most of them young women and girls. They were everywhere where one could possibly accommodate a sleeping person.
Even his bed was not free from them, he saw in amazement and annoyance. There were four of them on his bed, none of them asleep and they stared at him fearfully before taking off in haste. Ian slumped down on his bed, ignoring the pervasive smell of something that was stewing in the kitchen and soon falling fast sleep.
Ania was making a big pan of soup for the now homeless inhabitants of the temple that Meri had brought home. Meri and the boys had found as many blankets and mattresses as they could. The four who had lain in Ian's bed now came to tell her that the Commander had arrived home, with an enormous scowl, no doubt, to scare them out of his bed.
She and Ciara had been waiting for someone to vacate a bed so they could get some sleep themselves, although Ciara had said she could not sleep because her hand hurt. Ian coming home and displacing four people was not going to give them a free space they could occupy, since Ania herself could not go to bed and leave everything to Ciara, who was one-handed and who did not know where to find anything in the house. She gave the girls a bowl of soup, glad that they did not all wake at the same time, even though it was well into the morning. Ania ignored her headache and her stiff muscles. These girls were far more to be pitied. Look at how they sat there, huddled over their soup very quietly, probably not having slept a wink.
Ciara had talked to a few who had needed it, but she was not really needed now. Ania thought about the free space in Ian's bed, which was really the only place anyone could lie down in at the moment. If there was anyone whom she could assign that place to, it was Ciara. She would not be daunted. During the night they had not spoken much to each other, except trivialities, so Ania did not know what the current situation was between Ciara and Ian. However, she did know there had been something between them in the past.
"I'm not tired," Ciara protested when she was being led to the bed. "And not here."
"He's asleep," Ania snickered, because that fact really did not need any elaboration. It was all too obvious.
"But he's dirty."
Ian's clothes looked awful, which was no wonder. They were dirty and torn and he had not bothered to take them off. It looked as if he had just fallen forwards onto the bed and not moved again. "You don't have to touch him," Ania said. "All you have to do is sleep. Or are you afraid of him? He looks harmless and he won't stir for the next twelve hours."
Ciara had been very strong all that time. Some people had died, although they had not been her favourites, but she had to present a strong exterior to the outside world and especially to her apprentices who were far more easily shaken. Perhaps it would not be such a bad idea to get some rest for a while. She would be out of here before Ian woke up. Twelve hours! She would be up long before that.
It was decided that everyone from the temple who was staying there would stay another few days until a better solution had been found.
Not many of the possessions from the temple had been saved yet and while Ania was asleep, the priestesses and apprentices went down to the ruins to see what they could rescue or would be allowed to rescue. Perhaps they would not be allowed near at all.
Meri and her cousins left to do some shopping. Fortunately they belonged to a good family who could take the suddenly greater expenses that were needed to feed all of their guests. The only thing they had problems with was carrying the shopping home. They had to go twice.
Ania woke even before Ian or Ciara did, but she had not done any strenuous labour. Her husband and her sons had kept things rolling, quite liking this sudden influx of young women in their house and doing their best to provide them with space to stack their books and other personal belongings they had found among the debris. Some of the girls had already left to stay with relatives and it was much quieter in the house when Ciara appeared.
"I'd like to refresh myself," she said with dignity.
"But of course," Ania nodded and showed her the way. "Ian?" she inquired.
"Still asleep. Fortunately." For himself most of all, Ciara reflected. Her natural mischief had awoken too and she had placed a mirror so that his own face would be the first thing he saw when he opened his eyes. And he looked a wreck.
"Ania," Ian did not sound too pleased and more than one girl looked at him in fear while he appeared before them unshaven and dirty. He held up a mirror. "What's this?"
"A mirror?"
She was not laughing, so he began to suspect that she did not know anything about it, nor did Meri. He glanced around the group of girls he did not know, thinking they might be from the temple. That would surely mean that their High Priestess would also be here somehow. It was just like her to do something like this, he thought sourly.
"Get dressed," Ania told him gently. "Even though we're almost going to bed." He would at least have Ciara to talk to while everyone else was in bed.
Ian encountered Ciara in the kitchen where she was trying make herself something to eat with her unbandaged hand. Since it would take longer before he could use that knife and he really could not make himself anything without it and he was very hungry, not because he was actually willing to help her, Ian took over the knife and helped her. He made her something to eat in an instant, immediately proceeding to make something for himself so she would not get the wrong idea.
Ciara stood beside him. She looked up and he looked down and all her hunger was gone. She stared at her sandwich with mixed feelings. How on earth was she ever going to swallow that?
There he went again, Ian felt. He should not feel so susceptible to injured women. She might have hurt her hand, but her tongue was no doubt still in excellent order to tell him off. Oh right, but he had not done anything yet. He had merely imagined it and he could keep it this way if he was strong. He would not give in.
Ciara sat down, looking at her sandwich. "Is the search over?" she asked when she could not muster up any appetite.
"Yes."
"Good." Did she have to spend the whole night sitting here with him? She hoped she would feel sleepy very soon. Or not. Was there a free bed to sleep in? She remembered what he was and what her suspicions were. "Ian…" she said as he took a bite.
He looked at her inquiringly.
"It's probably a stupid superstitious feeling," she grimaced apologetically. "But I can't believe it." Her hands made a crashing gesture to signify what she meant.
"There are a lot of things I can't believe," he said carefully. He was interested in her idea, though.
"Nature has never concentrated her power in one spot such as yesterday."
Ian stopped chewing. It had struck him too that only buildings in the immediate vicinity of the temple had been damaged and not even very badly. "And you say it was not nature."
"I don't see how anybody could have given nature a hand. Things weren't that quiet underground the past few days. It's hard to predict when the next shock will come, though. Do you see what I mean?" How could anyone have taken advantage of the occurrence of small earthquakes?
"Is this your husband punishing you?" Ian asked ironically. "Mr. Moon?"
Ciara looked sad. "Really. I thought you were more intelligent than that. If that little circle up there had the power to do anything, surely he would have acted right after you and I had --" she stopped. "I don't know what's happening."
Rather than sit in a sleeping house with Ciara, Ian had decided to go and look at the ruins, despite the fact that it was dark. Ciara went with him and he did not object. He was not sure whether what her intuition was telling her was true, but he was willing to investigate.
They hurried through the dark streets towards the place where the temple had been. Big lights were shining on the ruins and from the bottom of the steps it looked an eerie place. The steps were unbroken, only littered with pieces of stone, and they climbed up to survey the damage.
For the first time Ciara seemed to realise the magnitude of what had happened and her breath caught in her throat with a choking sound. This used to be a place where people gathered at night and now it was all gone. People gathered now too, but only to look at what was no longer there. She could not help herself as she turned towards Ian and cried against his chest, grasping his arm with her unwounded hand.
Ian was surprised at Ciara's reaction, but instinctively he rubbed her back soothingly because this was real grief. This had been her home. He held her until she stopped crying and then a little longer. The people around them were focused on the ruins and not on who was standing beside them in the dark. There was not much danger of being recognised.
"We have to find out how this happened," she whispered in an emotional voice.
Ian was surprised again. "Mmm," he answered. There was something happening between them that left him rather at a loss for words. He liked holding her and she did not pull away. Rather, she pressed herself closer.
"We must," she continued urgently. "Before you give permission to build a new temple." The evil force would strike again if they did not find him. She was absolutely convinced that there was one.
"Will I give permission?" Ian asked.
"Ian, you must."
"I must do a lot of things," he replied, looking at the ruins over her shoulder. A part of it was smouldering. Earlier on there had been a fire that had been put out very quickly. Still the rescue workers were pulling objects from the debris and putting them on carts. They had to work quickly before the plundering would start and plundering would inevitably start at some point, despite the fact that it was forbidden. People would perhaps think that the priestesses no longer needed their own possessions now that they were covered with stones and dust. He took Ciara's hand and led her towards the Captain who was in charge that night.
"Commander," the Captain nodded respectfully. "We've recovered many objects so far."
"Good, good," Ian said. He lowered his voice because what he was about to say would instill hysteria, suspicion or divine fear in the wrong kind of mind. "Any strange ones? Signs of explosives?"
"No, sir." The Captain thought about it. "Is there any reason to suspect it?"
"The High Priestess thinks it wasn't a clean quake."
The Captain stared at the lady who was with the Commander and only then noticed the white bandage around her hand. So that was the High Priestess. He bowed in acknowledgement. "Then I shall keep my eye out for strange findings," he promised and paused for a few seconds, obviously debating whether or not to tell Ian something. "But don't you know, Commander, that not many people could get their hands on explosives?" He hesitated. "And there has been a whisper that a certain person is after power."
"I've heard the whisper," Ian answered. "Kulko." It had seemed a relatively innocent threat, since he had never believed that Kulko would actually take any steps towards reaching his goal, if he had such a goal at all.
The Captain nodded. "He might have a way of getting explosives."
"Why me?" Ciara asked, equating herself with the temple. She answered her own question after some thinking. "The Commander would not agree with me, but a society without spiritual guidance is much easier to corrupt. Perhaps by eliminating me and my values he thought it would be easier to get rid of Ian."
"That was too simple of him," Ian said decidedly. "I don't follow your guidance and I cannot be corrupted. How long does he think it takes for all values to be stripped from the people? How long does he plan to live?"
"He judges from a wicked frame of mind," Ciara answered in a quiet voice. She did not know this criminal, but if he was whispered to be planning a revolt against Ian, he had to be wicked. "You judge from a just one." She knew him well enough now to be able to say that he was just, even though he was bloody arrogant.
Ian was silent at her quiet compliment and squeezed her hand almost imperceptibly. "And we don't understand one another, you mean?"
"Never completely," she said gravely. It could be taken to refer to Ian and herself as well. What had that small squeeze been for? Did Ian the Iceman have some kindness? But no, it was unfair of her to think of him like that. He kissed like an angel. "Could you arrange for two lights to be mounted at the top of the steps near where the entrance used to be?" she asked the Captain. "I have to hold a service. I feel it's imperative."
"Why?" Ian asked.
"I feel it." She looked at the Captain.
He nodded. "Of course I will, madam. I'll do it right away." One had to obey the High Priestess immediately and without questioning. She was a just woman or else she would not have been chosen. However, for a tiny moment he wondered if she should not warn the Commander and her that they were making it very easy for the likes of Kulko to grasp power if they presented themselves as a single target instead of two. But perhaps that was what the Commander was shielding her from and that was why he was holding her hand. It was understandable that he should not want to leave the protection of the High Priestess to a subordinate, especially now that her sanctuary had been destroyed.
"Thank you." Ciara turned towards Ian and pulled him back towards the top of the steps where she stood looking down. "I have to, you see? Probably not. But people died. Died," she repeated to make it clearer. "What if they can look down on us after their deaths? And we did absolutely nothing? No. Besides, I have to reassure the people. They seem nervous."
She waited until the two lights were in place and then stepped forward so that she was caught in their beams. Raising her arms up to the sky, she chanted softly. It did not matter that nobody heard her. That was not the point. Her movements would say enough.
Ian remained far enough outside the circle of light to be able to see that people gathered on the lower steps and in the square below. He knew Ciara would not be able to see further away into the darkness. Only a moment ago when he had been closer he had not been able to do that himself either. He watched her graceful movements that had very little meaning to him. To him they just seemed like a slow dance, but to the viewers below they had a special significance since they had seen her perform them nearly every day accompanied by words.
Chapter 21
Ian kept an eye on the crowd while Ciara performed her act. That was what he called it -- an act. Most people did not think so, because some even mirrored her gestures and movements. He had to look at them to see if no one would pose a threat. It was possible that someone might attempt something, what with her caught in the spotlights and the crowd hidden in the darkness. But he saw nothing. Nobody came closer.
Ciara stepped out of the circle of light when she was finished, feeling a little blind because of the sudden darkness. Lower down the steps and in the square she could hear the crowd move and talk. They seemed closer now than usual, because there were no barriers between them, only steps. A hand she recognised pushed her down to a sitting position.
"You have the sky behind you," said Ian. Her silhouette would be too much of a target.
For moment Ciara thought he had become spiritual because of her service, but then she realised what he meant when she turned and saw the silhouette of the ruins rise up behind her. She chuckled, until she felt that he sat down behind her with a leg on either side of her. "What are you doing now?"
"Shh," Ian admonished. "Sit still until the crowd has dispersed."
Ciara sat still and let her eyes get used to the darkness again. The lights were turned off and suddenly her surroundings came into better focus. She saw that half of the crowd walked away and that the other half came up higher to look for her out of curiosity. They had never done that before and she felt a little fear, even if the people were only curious.
Ian even heard people talk about Ciara, so he leant forward a little to make her more invisible. They could never see which woman he was sitting here with now. Fortunately she did not protest, but she seemed a little exhausted by her show. Suddenly he realised Ciara was not his daughter and that there was no reason to protect her as if this was Meri he did not want to come to any harm. He sat up again, but Ciara seemed content to lean against him. He did not know what to do with that.
"Ian, stop thinking," she said softly. "I need it." She needed someone to put his arms around her, she felt. Otherwise she would feel lonely.
"Need what?" he asked, still stiffly keeping his back straight.
"You."
"Me?" Could she possibly say anything more distressing than that?
"Your body," she corrected. "Only your body. It's not a big deal."
"My body?" Alright, that was more distressing. What did she want with his body?
"For the time being. You'll get it back," Ciara said dreamily, feeling very safe sitting there with Ian behind her. "But right now, I want it." She wanted to lean back against him, until it would no longer comfort her.
His original intention had been to shield her from curious eyes that were looking up, but he had soon realised that to those who really climbed up, they would appear an amorous couple sitting there like that. He glanced around himself. Most people had gone away. "We can go."
"No."
"Why not?"
"Please Ian. I feel very small and scared. I know you are you and I would have chosen another person to lean against, but there isn't one. I have to make do with you and it's sufficient."
"Sufficient," he muttered. "I'm sufficient." In a flash of insight he could look into the future and what he saw there was no reassurance. "Get used to it," he told her. "I have an inkling that someone's out to punish us by throwing us into each other's arms. I fear that any direction things will go, you'll be there in some way."
"Horrible."
"I know."
"What can we do about it?" Not that there was anything she wanted to do about it at that moment. No, she was rather comfortable as she was.
"Very little."
"Let it happen," Ciara shrugged.
"Come to my house," Ian suggested. "You're not really safe here."
"Neither are you."
"I can defend myself," he answered. "And they didn't attack my office…" If there had been an attack at all. He still could not be sure and he would have to wait until someone would produce some conclusive evidence from the ruins. Without evidence it was all superstition.
Ciara let him lead her down the steps into the square. There were many more people out than on an ordinary night and the atmosphere was different too, understandably. To her surprise he did not take the main roads, but he criss-crossed through backyards and courtyards. If they did not encounter so many waste bins, it would actually be a quicker route too.
She held him back when he obviously had the intention to drop her off at the house and then leave for his office. "No. You heard your Captain. You might be in danger. Nobody attacked me on the steps and I was plainly visible. Maybe it's not me. Maybe it's you."
"There's no reason to think that."
"I don't want you to go." Ciara put her arms around his neck when he tried to step back. "You must stay here. Think of your daughter."
"She's mine when it doesn't suit you to call her yours."
"Our daughter. Ian…I don't have any premonitions about things that will happen to you if you go. Honestly I don't." Ciara figured he would run if she said she did have them and she did. He should not go away. "I just… love you."
"That's your worst lie ever," Ian said suspiciously.
"True," she admitted immediately with a crooked grin. "That doesn't mean I don't want you to stay. The reason isn't that important. Just stay."
From her window, Meri saw the couple arguing by the front gate. In the moonlight she could see who they were and she watched with the same kind of crooked grin of delight. They had come home and she would no longer have to be afraid for them.
Barefoot, she ran towards them and wrapped her arms around her father. "I'm so glad you came home. I couldn't sleep." It was good that it was dark, she thought, because what kind of behaviour was this for someone of nearly eighteen? But it was the truth. She had not felt at ease when she had found out that they were gone.
Ian felt outnumbered when they both pulled at him. He allowed the females to drag him inside. Tomorrow he would continue the investigation he had begun tonight but which he had not got far with. If they allowed him. And if there was really something to investigate.
Chapter 22
Ciara almost regretted that she had begged Ian to stay when Meri cleverly manoeuvred them towards Ian's bedroom and then left them there. There was not even a door, but only a curtain that could close off the room and Ciara gave a small shriek when the curtain moved to admit a large dog. It lay down on a rug just beside the curtain as if that was its rightful place.
"Are you afraid of dogs?" Ian asked.
"No, I was just surprised to see it come in." She wondered if Meri had had anything to do with it. Meri herself appeared again with another large dog. Ciara had not known Ian had so many dogs, because these were not the ones who always lay at the gate. She wondered what Meri came to do, but it was made clear soon enough.
"Which side of my Dad do you want to sleep on, Ciara?" Meri asked, climbing onto the bed with the dog following her. "Or should I go in the middle?"
Ciara stared at her. "You don't mean to say that we're all going to sleep in the same bed?" Ian had a big house. Why should they? Was it still full of other people? Surely there was some other way to arrange it? She could sleep in Meri's bed, for instance.
"Yes." It seemed pretty obvious to Meri, considering that she had asked which side Ciara wanted. That had been very plain.
"Go in the middle, Meri," said Ian, wondering why he did not say she should go to her own bed, but Meri could be just as stubborn as he was and he would never be able to send her away if she was set on doing this. He wondered if he secretly liked the idea. Ciara might be in danger, yes, and maybe he ought to keep an eye on her. At the same time, he did not like it well enough to have Ciara by his side. Meri must go in the middle.
"I'd rather not lie next to a dog," said Ciara. "Then I would even prefer Ian."
"You're so sweet," he said sarcastically. "You go in the middle then." Was it good to be preferred to a dog? It did not mean she liked him. Did he even want her to? No, this was for protection purposes only. He should remember that.
"No, you go in the middle," Meri decided. "Please, Dad? Ciara and I both want to lie next you."
"I don't," Ciara said.
"Of course you do. The dog will be as far away from you as possible, because it will be on my legs," Meri said.
"I don't know why I let you get away with this," Ian grumbled as he brushed his teeth at the small washbasin in the corner.
I do, Meri said silently. Because you like her and you wouldn't mind at all. "Because you love me, Dad, and you know I'd worry if I didn't know you were safe." She put on her most angelic face when she said that.
Ciara felt she did not care and used Ian's toothbrush when he was done, because he was beginning to undress and she would much rather not feign a disinterest in that. Meri was -- Meri was exactly what she would have been like if she had been trying to force some development between two unwilling people, she realised. She should not blame her, but she also should not fall into the trap with open eyes.
"You can look now, Ciara," said Meri's amused voice. "He's all done."
How did the girl know? Could she read minds? Ciara turned and saw that Ian was not all done and that he was only wearing shorts. It was very annoying to deal with a person who thought exactly like her. "You," she pointed at Meri. "Will be killed in your sleep."
"You know what you have to climb over," Meri said cheerfully. "He's not going to let you."
"Ladies," Ian said hopefully as he pulled on his pyjama pants. "Does this fight mean that you'll leave me alone?"
"No," said Meri, killing all his hopes. "Poor, helpless you! You need female protection. Ciara, do you think I'm clever?"
"I think you're exceptionally clever. You take after me, girl."
"You're both too mischievous for your own good," Ian commented. He could see it too, that Meri had inherited a good deal of mischief from her mother and that they understood each other so easily when it took him much more trouble to know what they were getting at. How was this possible when they had only met a few days ago? He supposed it was some innate trait they shared. It was annoying, but also fascinating to be an outsider and he knew Meri was playing a game and he also knew what sort of game, but he could not put up any resistance against it. That was the most annoying thing of all.
But maybe it was funny that Ciara was trying and that she could not do anything against it either. He had revised his opinion of Ciara tonight -- a little, he told himself. He had seen that she cared about things. Not about him personally -- no, it was just that she cared about general things that she wanted him to stay home. She would have said that to any person. He got into bed and dutifully shifted to the middle, with Meri climbing in to his right.
Meri had closed the window first, being very thorough. Nobody would be able to climb in through it. She snuggled against Ian. "Nobody can take you now, Daddy."
"They wouldn't want me," he answered softly, touched by her concern. "If anyone wants anything, they want her."
"But you wouldn't let them, would you?" Meri asked. "And they might do something to you as well if they try. I love Aunt Ania and the rest, but I love you better because you and I are a family together."
They were and they were the only two members of that small family. He did not want to lose her either. "What makes you think somebody would try something?"
"I'm not stupid. It doesn't feel right. I must help Ciara undress," Meri said when she saw Ciara struggle because of her bandaged hand.
There was nothing he could do with things that did not feel right, Ian thought as he watched Meri rummage through his closets for something. She gave Ciara his favourite shirt to sleep in. To sleep in! He would almost protest, but then realised this was childish.
"Dad, don't stare," said Meri.
"Then don't undress her before my eyes," he replied. "What are the bruises from?"
Ciara stared at the numerous bruises on her legs. "I have no idea. Same sort of thing that caused this, I suppose." She held up her broken finger. "I didn't feel them. Did you feel it when you got those scratches and bruises?" She had got a quick look at him earlier on.
"Which scratches and bruises?" Ian pulled his arms above the covers and stared at them. "Oh."
"I would have had things to rub on," she said regretfully. "But they're all under the ruins now. Maybe tomorrow I could find out if they've been recovered. Or I could see --" she paused as she realised something. "Is Nina still here?"
"Yes," said Meri.
"Nina will have some. Where is she?"
Meri and she left the room and Ian studied his arms. He had not felt it either, but it would maybe be better if Ciara had something he could put on the wounds. They returned with a small glass pot and Ciara gave it to Ian so he could rub a little of the contents on his scratches. It smelt strongly and he pulled up his nose. "Do I have to sleep in that stench?"
"Yes. We all do." She took a fingerful from the pot and rubbed onto her sides and ribcage. "Ian -- do you like my bruises better than yours?" she asked when he stared again. It did not bother her much, but she liked to tease him.
"I was just wondering how you could have bruised your ribs," he said defensively.
She could not remember. "I fell -- I think." Ciara let Meri assist her with pulling on a shirt and then she got into bed.
Meri got into bed on the other side and kissed her father goodnight. "Ciara…"
"Yes?" Ciara was trying to be very indifferent about the whole undertaking of sleeping in one bed with three people and a dog.
"Can I call you Mummy?"
"Umm…if you want," Ciara said with some embarrassment. She was sure Ian would be against it, but he said nothing.
"Mummy, can I have a goodnight kiss?" Meri asked innocently.
Two people closed their eyes and cursed her existence, because they were acutely aware of what Ciara would have to do in order to give Meri a goodnight kiss -- she would have to hang over Ian and Meri was asking this very much on purpose. It was silent for a while before Ciara spoke. "Of course, dear. Just come here and don't hurt your father when you hang over him."
Ian breathed easier. He found himself give Ciara a conspiratorial nudge. What was happening? Were he and she suddenly conspiring against the matchmaking forces of their daughter?
Meri grinned and did so. "You are cleverer, Ciara."
"I know," Ciara said smugly. Even Ian had thought her clever, because he had nudged her.
"Doesn't matter. I'll keep trying."
After that, they did not speak anymore and they soon fell asleep, even Ciara. She just ignored any thoughts of who was sleeping beside her. Ian had a little more trouble with it, because he kept smelling the stuff on their bruises, but he turned his back on her and that reduced the smell by a good part. Meri slept nearly immediately, content as she was.
They were woken towards dawn by fierce barking outside
Chapter 23
Ian woke instantly and he felt that Meri and Ciara had also woken up, because they were moving next to him. The dogs in the room growled ominously when they heard the other dogs bark. Meri slid away from him and he heard her drop under the bed. Ciara now lay very still, but he felt her bandaged hand against his side. She could not grasp his hand with that hand, but he did not know if she would have. "Get out of bed," she whispered to him. "Let's go outside."
"I am not going outside with you," he answered just as softly. She was not wearing enough and she was injured, but he could have known that words would be unable to keep her back.
The sight of Ian in his pyjama pants and Ciara appearing beside him in only a shirt of the exact same light-blue colour stunned the assembled people in the hall into deep silence.
"What is wrong?" asked Ian, who did not know what picture he made.
"The dogs scared away a burglar," said his brother-in-law. Was that not Ian's favourite shirt?
"An ordinary burglar?" Ian wanted to know.
"We don't know -- he ran off. We only caught a glimpse of him. You can go back to bed now. I'll stay awake with the boys." He had four sons and the youngest boys looked very proud upon hearing that.
"I'm not going back to bed," said Ian folding his arms across his chest.
But Ciara did not agree. "You must," she said, pulling gently at the band of his pyjama pants with her good hand. "You need your rest."
"Don't undress me."
"Looks like she already got your shirt, Uncle Ian," said Timo gleefully.
"It's not my pyjama shirt," Ian said automatically.
Ciara turned and placed one arm across his stomach so she could push him back to his bedroom, but Ian did exactly the same with the intention of keeping her in the hall. He was the strongest and he could keep her from moving, but she kept pushing. She was more tired than she had thought and she wanted to go to bed.
"Go to bed, Ian," said his brother-in-law, who was very amused by the spectacle. Was Ian daft? The woman wanted him to come to bed and he insisted on ignoring her.
"Listen to him," Ciara said. "He's wise. I sense that." She realised she was trying to move a large rock and gave up. Instead, she wrapped her arms around his waist and leant into him. "Let's go to be-e-e-e-ed," she said plaintively, trying if this approach might work.
It did, because Ian turned abruptly and dragged her with him. "Meri!" he called as he got into his room. "Out. And take the dogs."
"I am already out," Meri said from behind him. "I was talking to Susan." Susan was standing besides her, looking very interested.
"Stay with Susan," he advised her, lest she and Susan would both insist on sleeping in his room. They were nearly twins and it was not unthinkable. "It'll be safe."
"Alright." Meri glanced at how he was holding Ciara and thought it was probably best. They might have something to discuss. She and Susan giggled and turned.
Ian released Ciara's arm and got back into bed. "Now, Ciara…" he began.
The bed was still warm, she discovered. "We gave them the wrong idea anyway," she said, referring to their joint appearance and the fact that they seemed to be sharing one set of pyjamas. "You might as well do what you want to do."
"And what's that?"
"Hug me."
"Why would I want that?"
"Because I tell you that you should," said Ciara, who felt a great need for a hug herself. "Oblige me. If you don't, I'm going to hug you, but I'd rather be hugged."
"What's the difference?" Ian was fascinated.
"It's all in the mind," she replied. "If I hug you," she said as she hugged him. "You think let go of me, you crazy woman and if you hug me, you think you have to protect poor little Ciara."
"And you say that's what I'm thinking." She could not be wanting to be poor little Ciara.
"I wish you couldn't think -- your body is wasted on your brain," Ciara sighed and pushed herself up so she could kiss him. Then at least he would shut up.
Meri, Susan and the boys had searched the surroundings of the house for clues and they had come up with a shoe -- which did not mean much, as the dogs frequently came home with stolen shoes -- and some sort of screwdriver.
A glance -- or six of them, since they had all wanted to take a peek after Meri's gasp -- past Ian's curtain had revealed that they had best not wake Ian or Ciara in that position. Meri had thrown the covers over them and then run off quickly in case it had woken them up.
They sat giggling outside with their tea, trying to discuss the importance of their findings. The screwdriver could mean a lot of things. It might have been to open a door or a window. The shoe was more mysterious and keeping the dogs in mind they examined it for teeth marks. There were none and it looked as if it had only been there for a night or so. It looked freshly deposited.
"So we have to look for a man with one shoe," said Jaran.
"Clever of you, Jaran!" said Susan. "As if the man wouldn't go home and put on another pair!"
"Maybe he doesn't have another pair."
"Then he'll go barefoot! Have you ever seen a person walking around with one shoe?"
"But we know he's a man." The shoe was too big for a woman.
"We can let the dogs follow the trail," Meri suggested. They had lifted it up with branches and they had not touched it. "I'll get them." She got two of the dogs and took them to the spot where they had found the shoe. "Smell!" she held the shoe in front of them. "Follow!"
The dogs did not understand what was expected of them and they began to jump, thinking she was going to throw the shoe away for them. They acted confused when it did not happen.
"It's not working," said Timo in disappointment. He fetched the other two dogs from the gate, but they did not understand the idea either. "We never trained them to do it."
"You have to ask very nicely," his youngest brother hoped, but he was only eight. He tried it out a few times, but that would not work either and he only succeeded in being thrown against the ground by the wildly jumping and barking dogs.
Ania came out of the house when she heard barking. "What are you doing?"
"Investigating," said Jaran importantly.
The youngest boy was crying and ran to Ania and she took him inside, shaking her head at the investigation. It was good that the children had no school today, she reflected, because they were too excited. Too much had happened for them to keep their attention on their schoolwork. The last of the temple girls had moved out this morning and she was secretly glad for having the house all to themselves again. Her husband Edan was at work and she wondered where Ian was. He should have gone to work as well, but she had not seen him yet.
"You're all dirty, Myhas," she said, brushing off his clothes.
"The dogs jumped on me," he sniffed. "And I fell. It wasn't my fault."
"What were you doing?"
"We were helping Uncle Ian. He is still in bed with the lady," said Myhas just when Ian entered the room.
Ania looked at Ian. She had known that they had been sharing, because they had all seen them in the middle of the night and they had gone back to bed together. It had not seemed to mean anything. "Not any longer."
"We found a shoe, Uncle Ian," Myhas said enthusiastically. "And we came to tell you, but you were still asleep."
Did Ania imagine it or did Ian really change colour? She kept her eyes on his face.
"You came to tell me?" he asked. Had they looked into his room?
"Yes, but you were asleep." Myhas giggled.
"With the lady," Ania nodded at him.
"And you found a shoe, you say?" Ian asked. That giggle said quite enough and he tried to keep his face straight so Ania would not be able to guess anything.
Trust Ian to focus on the shoe instead of the lady, Ania thought, but perhaps he had been focusing on the lady all night. She snorted, drawing a menacing look from her brother. "Aren't you supposed to be at work?" she asked.
"We -- Ciara wants to look at the ruins again to see if she can rescue some of her things." Ian realised this was a lame excuse. He did not have to accompany her and it was not even the reason why they had woken up late. "I just overslept," he mumbled.
The others came running into the room and solemnly handed him the shoe and the screwdriver, wrapped in cloths. "We found this."
Oddly enough, he knew the shoe, but he had forgotten where from and who had been wearing it. He turned it around and around and tried to remember it, but it would not come to him. At any rate, it should not have been here in his garden.
Chapter 24
Ian kept looking at the shoe because he knew that he recognised it, but he just did not know where from. His relatives all looked at him expectantly. "Well done," he said eventually. "I've seen it before, but I can't remember it right now. It looks as if the owner was scared away by the dogs. I'll take the shoe to headquarters and see if anyone recognises it. And this instrument looks interesting as well -- meant to gain entrance into the house, no doubt."
That meant that someone was after something or someone. For his part, Ian had come to think that it was connected to the dismantling of half of Kulko's criminal organisation. That was the only thing that had happened recently and that was serious enough. What this would have to do with Ciara, he did not know. Maybe she had offended the gang in some way too.
Ian decided he would keep an eye on her and take her with him, although she would probably refuse to come.
Ciara appeared a few minutes later, looking fresh and innocent. Too innocent, Ania thought. But Ciara's expression soon became serious when she saw the object that looked like a screwdriver that Ian was holding. "Where did you get that?" she demanded in a tone that was both insistent and worried.
"We found it in the garden," said Timo, who decided that maybe this was not the right moment for trying out to call her Aunt Ciara. "Someone dropped it there during the night when the dogs barked."
They had not touched it yet and consequently they had not discovered the secret button or handle on it through which an evil-looking blade sprang out. Ciara demonstrated it with a grave face. "It's a tulmend."
Ian had never heard of such a thing, but it looked far more serious than he had at first assumed. The children might have hurt themselves with it. "What is it?" Why did Ciara know what it was?
"It's a ritual dagger," Ciara said slowly, realising that this pointed to a figure from the temple, since nobody else could have a tulmend unless they had found one among the ruins, in which case they would not have known how to operate the button.
"For which ritual?" It sounded and looked rather gruesome to Ian. Such things ought to be forbidden. He had no idea they still existed.
"It's not been used for fifty years, I think, but before that it was mainly used on chickens."
"I don't have any chickens," said Ian. "What could a fellow possibly want with such a dagger in my garden?" Unless they had meant to kill him or Ciara. "We're going to my office," he announced. They would be safer there too.
Arriving at his office, Ian called his higher-ranking subordinates into his office. He explained Ciara's intuitions about the disaster and that a dagger had been found in his garden, but he found that he could not demonstrate how the blade sprang out, even though he had seen Ciara do it. She had to do it for him.
The assembled inspectors whistled. They had never seen such a thing either. And it was likely that someone had it in for their Commander if this had been found in his garden. "After all," said one. "It's not likely that someone would take just a screwdriver that isn't even a real screwdriver, if you know what I mean. It doesn't look all that useful. He had to have known about the dagger."
Ian agreed with him. The screwdriver looked harmless, but would not even be able to unscrew anything. "I heard Kulko wasn't too happy with me."
"Who's Kulko?" asked Ciara when she saw that she appeared to be the only one who had never heard of that person.
The inspectors had studied her with interest. Until they had been introduced, they had been wondering which woman had won the Commander's trust. It was quite something for an officer to be allowed to attend a meeting with his handpicked group of subordinates, let alone for an outsider. They had not recognised, because she looked like a normal woman now, without any paint or funny clothes. They did recall that Ian had dragged one woman home who was rumoured to be his insane wife pretending to be Ciara, but this woman looked mentally healthy, even if it was confusing that she was also Ciara. Maybe she was the real one and the insane wife had also been her.
"It's a bit of a mystical figure. Nobody's ever seen him. He runs a big network of petty criminals. Pickpockets, small thieves…they usually name Kulko when they get caught, but they always say they've never actually seen him. He's got intermediaries that we've never been able to catch."
"Petty criminals?" she asked. "Why suddenly grow bigger?"
"That's what's odd about it," Ian nodded.
"Unless we've never known about his larger schemes," said Fanni ominously. "He might have been working on something for a while and it's now time to put it into action."
"I hope not," said Ian. "But if it is so, then we'll act against it. H.A."
"What's H.A.?" Ciara asked.
"Heightened Awareness. Listen, look and report."
"And what do I do?" Ciara inquired. She was probably going to be left out of everything.
"You're injured."
"So I wear a bandage and a splint. That doesn't make me disabled," she protested. "I can still walk and think. I'm not dead. Don't make me stay home. I don't have a home. It's gone. It'll never be back, because you think it's nonsense. I am deprived of everything I had and you make me feel as though I'm as destroyed and useless as those lumps of stone that lie there on the hill." There was a catch in her voice that sounded as if it might any moment turn into a sob.
"Ciara," Ian said urgently in a low voice. All of his subordinates were still here. She should not be doing this in their presence.
"Insensitive Iceman," she said, stubbornly looking the other way with her arms crossed.
There were some gasps and suppressed snickers among the inspectors.
"Don't act," Ian requested. He was fairly sure that she was exaggerating.
Ciara sniffed and raised her nose, still not looking at him, and winked at one of the inspectors.
"Do you know the penalty for offending the Commander?" Ian asked.
"I am sure it is not half as bad as having to lie in bed with him," Ciara said sweetly.
"Ciara!" he thundered in shock. Trust her to reveal that in front of everybody. He had hoped that nobody would find out about that. Yet. Not until he had spread word that all the beds in his house had been taken. It was better to have the excuse out before the rumour.
"You give me a function or I speak up," she negotiated. "I'm the High Priestess. You can't ignore my function."
He knew what she would speak up about and he did not want that. "Alright. You'll be my assistant."
"Thank you graciously, Commander," she said in a satisfied tone. "That's going to suffice for the time being."
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