Holder of Lightning

Jenna glanced worriedly at the throng, at the faces overlaid with smiles and politeness. "How do you stand it, Banrion?" she asked. "Doesn't it drive you mad?" The crowd parted momentarily, and through the silken rift, Jenna saw Tiarna Mac Ard across the room, with her mam at his side and a quartet of the Riocha women also surrounding him. Maeve looked uneasy in the midst of the other women, her smile lopsided as her atten-tion went from one to another of them, all of them obviously much more at ease and more skilled at the game of flirtation. Maeve's hand cradled her abdomen more than once. Jenna felt Cianna's gaze shift, following her eyes.

"There are rules even in this, Jenna. You've already learned some of them; if you want to keep the stone and also stay alive, you must continue to learn. You think Padraic Mac Ard doesn't

understand how our society works? He does, all too well. That’s why he doesn’t marry your mam-because marriage to him is another weapon, one that often can be used only once, so he won’t unsheathe it lightly."

"He uses my mam, then," Jenna said heatedly.

Cianna coughed, though it might have been a laugh. "I don’t doubt that Padraic also loves her, or he wouldn’t be so openly with her-he knows that his relationship with your mam dulls the blade of the marriage weapon, because it says that his true affection is elsewhere. He does love your mam, and that may have saved you as well, Jenna."

You said to trust no one, and I wondered… I wondered if Tiarna Mac Ard sent the assassin."

Jenna felt more than saw Cianna shake her head. "Mac Ard would take Lamh Shabhala if he could, I agree. But I know him well, and his person-ality is more suited to the frontal attack. He can be subtle when he needs to be, but when action must be taken, he prefers to do it himself and openly. I wouldn’t entirely trust him, if I were you, but I also doubt that the assassin was his man."

Jenna wasn’t certain she was convinced, but she nodded her head in the direction of the Ri, still in conversation with O Liathain. "The Tanaise Rig, then," Jenna said, and watched Cianna purse her lips.

"Possibly," she said. "Hiring someone to do his killing for him is more his style, certainly-he wouldn’t want to bloody his own hands. And through the Ri Ard, he has the money and connections; the assassin could have come from the east rather than the west. The Ri Ard used an assassin himself to kill his predecessor-or at least that’s the rumor-and Nevan is more ambitious than even his father. Holding Lamh Shabhala and being Ri Ard: that would place him in a very powerful position indeed."

"You think it was him, then?"

Cianna shrugged. "Possibly," she repeated. "Maybe even probably. But there are other contenders here: my husband is certainly one; Tiarna Ah-eron, whose uncle is Ri of Infochla and who has been snatching any re-puted clochs he can find, buy, or steal, is another. Jenna, any of the

Riocha here could be the one."

Jenna's head whirled. She'd taken anduilleaf a few hours ago; the effects were already starting to fade, and her arm throbbed with a promise of pain to come. She looked out at the crowd and saw skeletons and ghouls underneath the fine clothing and polite speech.

A gong rang. "There, we're being called to table," Cianna said. "Come, walk with me. You will sit next to me tonight-we'll let Padraic move a seat farther down."

"Banrion?"

Cianna smiled. "Just a little object lesson, Jenna. Everyone will notice your elevation, though no one will say anything until afterward when they're alone. Even Mac Ard will gracefully make the shift, but he'll also see the message in it: that the Holder is now more important than the one who found her, and that what happens to you will be of intense concern to me." She coughed, and cleared phlegm from her voice. "That also means no one will question too much what you do, even if you should decide to consort with a simple harper."

Jenna felt her cheeks flush. "Banrion, I… "

"Oh, he's handsome enough, I'll grant you, and has talent for what he does. A little dalliance with him won't hurt you as long as you take the proper precautions-I'll make sure the healer sends a packet of the right herbs to you. But he can't help you, Jenna, not in this. Tell me, is it true you knew this Coelin in Ballintubber?"

"Aye, Banrion."

Cianna nodded. "Convenient that he should arrive here in Lar Bhaile just at this moment, don't you think?" she asked, but she gave Jenna no chance to ponder that question or to try to answer. "Come. All the tiarna are seated by now. Time to give them something to contemplate… "

"You were wonderful. The Ri and the Banrion were rapt-did you notice?"

Jenna could see the grin tugging at the corners of Coelin's mouth as she complimented his performance. "Aye," he said. "I did. I thought I might forget some of the words, but they came back to me in time. The captain said that I might be