28. Visions

Maria walked ahead of Eachann towards the keep, where some of the outlaw band’s members, who had seen them approaching, were waiting at the door.

She looked to see if the one she had come to find was there, but did not see him.

"What do you have there Eachann?" asked one of them looking Maria up and down in a way she did not like.

"A complication." Eachann answered.

They walked through the door into the keep, followed by the others.

The keep was still in fairly good shape. It had not been very long since they had been needed, but neglect was beginning to show on the walls and doors.

They walked into the main hall where it looked as if all the others were gathered.

There were about a dozen men in total. The room was also filled with some of their stolen goods, including sacks filled with what looked like silverware and gold coins.

Standing in the middle of these men, looking defiantly at them, was a young girl of no more than 14 maybe 15 summers, as best Maria could guess, with her hands on her hips and a scowl on her face.

Maria saw a lot of Paul in that face. Though Morag had more of the features of the native folk she still drew a lot from her father. Her Red hair contrasted with the brown of her eyes, which at this moment where throwing daggers at the laughing men around her.

Morag turned and saw that Eachann was coming in. At first she smiled, obviously thinking that he was there for her. The smile quickly left as she saw that he was using his sword on Maria and not the others.

She turned her gaze to Maria and she saw Morag’s eyes widen, and she seemed to grow pale. She recovered almost immediately. So quickly that if Maria had not been looking directly at her, she would not have seen it.

The others turned to the new guest.

"What did you bring her here for?" asked one of the men.

"I had too." answered Eachann. "She is friends with Paayl."

"My brother?" blurted out Morag before she could stop herself.

"Yes." said Eachann. "She was going to come and get you. I managed to come as well to try to throw her of the trail, but she was better than I thought. So the only thing left was to take her prisoner, before she could do anything."

"This complicates matters." said another one.

Maria looked to the one who spoke, and saw that it was the one she had found and lost back at the village.

He seemed to recognise her.

"I have seen this one before." he said.

The others looked at him.

"She was in Aarin, around the time they tried to hang me." he said.

"Typical of you Bowen." said another. "You always anger people enough that they want to hang you just to shut you up."

The room erupted in laughter, as Bowen flushed red in frustration.

"Enough!" shouted Eachann. "We have to get ready to go. We have a package to deliver, and I think you should move to a new place. This area is becoming a liability. There is talk of forming a group to find you."

"Eachann." said Morag. "Why have you fallen in with this crowd?"

He looked her in the eyes.

"Money."

"But my family has always treated you well." she said.

Eachann smiled.

"Yes." he said "But I have expensive tastes, and like the games a little too much. And lately your father has been talking of a replacement for me as I am getting on in years and slowing down."

Anger crossed his face.

"Or so he feels." he continued. "I am as good as I ever was. Its that wife of his. She never truly liked me and wants me gone. Now that I am facing being forced to leave and not having put away enough, I find myself having to find a new career."

"Why take Morag?" asked Maria. "Do you plan to ransom her off to the family to get one last bit of money from them?"

"No." he answered. "Someone else has offered us a great deal of money for her. A sum that her family, as well off as they are, could not hope to match."

"Why would someone want her?" asked one of the brigands. "She is not that great to look at and has a temper one would not like in a wife."

"I don’t know." said Eachann. "And I don’t care either. Lock them away while we get ready to leave. Then we will drop off young Morag to her buyer."

"And what of the other." asked Bowen, pointing to Maria.

"We will deal with miss Moire after we have finished our business concerning Morag."

The two women were heard roughly by two of the brigands while the others started preparations to leave.

They put them in a small room and tied their hands behind their backs.

They heard the lock click as the door was closed and they found themselves alone.

They stared at each other in silence for a while.

Finally Morag broke it.

"Are you really a friend of my brother?" she asked.

"Yes." answered Maria "I work with him as a hunter for the Lord of our city."

"Yes I know, from his letters, that he was working in the south. I do not recall his mentioning you though in any of them." she said suspiciously.

"That is because he has probably mentioned me by another name." she said. "Just as we call him Paul and not Paayl, he calls me Maria."

"You are Maria?" asked Morag.

"Yes." Maria answered. "But while I am here my name is Moire."

"Why?"

"Because I am here on a mission and do not wish to use my real name. But during it I stumbled across your kidnapping and knew that I had to help or Paul would never forgive me."

"It may not be just a unhappy coincidence that you were here at just the right moment." said Morag in a low sad voice.

"You are starting to sound like another friend of mine." said Maria. "He does not believe in coincidences and feels he is being manipulated."

"He may be right." said Morag. "I recognised your face when you arrived. I had seen it before."

"Where?"

"In a vision."

"A vision?"

Maria suddenly understood.

"You are a Farseer. One who can look into the future of others."

"Yes."

"And you saw me in someone’s future?"

"Yes." Answered Morag. "My own."

"I thought Farseers could not see their own futures?" said Maria.

"Technically that is true." she said. "But we are shown one vision of our future."

"And I was in it?"

"Yes."

Maria did not like the sad look on Morag’s face or the quiet voice she was speaking with.

And thinking back to the first time Morag had seen her she asked.

"What part do I play in this vision."

Morag was quiet for along time, staring at the floor, and finally answered in voice so low and soft that if they had not been the only ones there, Maria would not have heard.

"You kill me."