Shadowmagic - Sons of Macha by John Lenahan Page B

Fand, but do you think maybe you could answer one of my questions with something other than another question?’
    Fand laughed; it was not something I had ever heard her do before. It was sweet. ‘Sorry Conor, it is just that this appearance of Lugh, or whoever he is, has raised many questions.’
    â€˜OK,’ I said, ‘let’s forget about this Oracle guy we have locked up. What are the old stories about Lugh?’
    â€˜Well, that depends on who you are talking to. Among most of the houses of Tir na Nog, Lugh is thought of simply as Banbha’s consort.’
    Banbha, there was that name again. Whenever there are dark tales of the early days of The Land, Banbha is the name that usually comes up. ‘Banbha was one of the three original sisters that founded Tir na Nog right?’
    Fand nodded.
    â€˜So Lugh was Banbha’s husband.’
    â€˜This was long before customs such as marriage came about but that is essentially the idea.’
    â€˜So why did Gerard call him a god?’
    â€˜Well, as you know, many in The Land worship one or all of the sisters as gods. Leprechauns pray to Ériu for gold and most Imps venerate Fódla.’
    â€˜I’ve seen Araf make a blessing gesture when hears Fódla’s name.’
    â€˜Yes, I imagine he does,’ she said. ‘But others in The Land revere Lugh as much more than a consort. There are many, especially the Brownies, who look at him as a deity.’
    â€˜Why?’
    â€˜Most in The Land believe that the first land of Tir na Nog was Duir – the Oaklands – and this was found or created by Ériu who then sent for her sisters who in turn created other lands.’
    â€˜I know this much,’ I said. ‘Fódla created Ur – the Heatherlands – and Banbha created Iodhadh – the Yewlands.’
    â€˜That is what the Faeries believe, but lore reads differently. Most Brownies believe that the Yewlands were first and that Lugh was already there when Banbha found it. They say Banbha was the first sister and that Ériu and Fódla betrayed and banished her. What happened to Banbha no one knows but when she vanished – so did Lugh.’
    â€˜Yeah, but the Brownies will believe anything if it gets them closer to Duir’s gold.’
    â€˜It is not only the Brownies that believe that Lugh was The First – my mother believed it too.’
    Fand’s mother was Maeve. As the inventor of Shadowmagic, she had decimated a forest to steal sap, the blood of trees, to fuel a war against my grandfather and the House of Duir. At almost her moment of triumph she blew herself up along with many of the Fili, with a giant Shadowspell that went terribly wrong.
    â€˜No offence, Fand, but your mother had a lot of wrong ideas.’
    â€˜I will not argue with you on that point, Conor, but she once told me that she learned these tales from an Elf.’
    â€˜So the Elves are in the Lugh-is-a-god camp too?’
    â€˜Who can tell what the Elves think. I’ve never had a conversation with an Elf that was not about trees or wine. They do know the yews though. They are the only ones that can pass through the Yewlands unmolested by the trees.’
    â€˜I’ve been to this Oracle guy’s house. You know it’s made from yew wood.’
    Fand thought and then poured us both some more tea. ‘As I said, Conor, this man raises many more questions than he answers.’

    When I got back to my room Ruby was waiting for me. She was sitting in my big leather chair.
    â€˜How did you get in here?’
    It was like a scene from a spy movie.
    â€˜I walked in. I’m blind, not lame.’
    â€˜Well, you can walk right out again. Last time you came here I almost got killed by a tree and then again by your father and now that I think of it, I’m pretty sure your grandmother wants to kill me too.’
    â€˜Yeah,’ she said with no intention of leaving, ‘sorry about