Stone of Destiny(24)

As I thought that, Samantha’s eyes darted to mine.

Can you hear me? I thought.

Her blue eyes narrowed and I held my breath. She seemed to weigh her answer before she nodded.

Niamh moved from behind the couch to stand where we could all see her. She held her hands behind her back, facing Samantha and Ciarán.

“We’re very glad you agreed to meet with us,” she said. “I’d like to get right to the point and ask what brings you here, what your intentions are?”

Samantha fidgeted in her seat and licked her lips. “Well, the whole having a father and sister thing was kind of intriguing, you know?”

Unable to help it, I laughed. “I know exactly what you mean.”

“Right?” she said, laughing too.

“Of course,” Niamh said giving me a cool, measured look. “But what I’d really like to know is whether Aoife asked you to come here.”

Samantha flinched, probably because of Niamh’s directness. It wasn’t in her nature to be subtle.

“No,” Samantha said, eyebrows drawn down low. “I don’t even know what she wanted from me. It was like, maybe, I disappointed her or something. Once she met me, she couldn’t get away from me fast enough.”

Ciarán glanced down at her, his jaw clenching. “It wasn’t like that, Sam,” he said quietly, but Samantha didn’t look convinced.

Liam cleared his throat behind me. “If there’s one thing I know about Aoife, it’s that she is an entirely selfish creature. Whatever her reason for wanting to meet you, chances are they were purely for her own benefit.”

“I have my own ideas about why she would want to meet you,” I said. I was met with varying expressions of interest.

“I met Aoife mostly by accident,” I said, meeting Samantha’s eyes. “The only reason I knew you existed was because she thought I was you. She even called me Samantha.”

“This is news to me,” Liam said.

“I know, but just hear me out. She was stressed because she thought Liam would find out she’d kept his child a secret. She wanted to send ‘Samantha’ back home before Liam discovered what she’d done. When she realized I wasn’t you, and that Liam had another daughter, I think she decided you might make a useful weapon she could use to bring Liam back.”

Liam scoffed. “How would that work?”

“Well, she knows your sense of responsibility. You said it yourself -- she’s selfish. Is she selfish enough to use her own child as bait to lure you back to her?”

“Oh, I see. You might be right, Allison,” Liam said.

Niamh didn’t say anything, she just stood still. I wondered what she made of this.

Without meeting my eyes she said, “I think you’re right. That sounds just like what Aoife would do.”

“So, what did she say to you while you were together?” I asked Samantha.

“Well, at first she asked a lot of questions about my… abilities,” Samantha said, toying with one of the rings on her finger. She looked up and met my eyes. “She wanted to know about the voices I hear.”

Before she could continue, Ciarán stood up. “There’s something you should know,” he said in a low voice. “I don’t think Aoife came looking for Sam.”

Samantha looked up at Ciarán, pursing her lips.

“Why don’t you think so?” I said.

“Aoife showed up at the house, troubled about something. She wouldn’t tell us what happened, but she had this hunted look, like someone was after her. The next day, Sam showed up and Aoife knew instantly who she was.”

“How is it possible that of all the people in the world, you end up with Aoife’s daughter?” I asked Ciarán, skeptical that it was merely a coincidence.

“Nobody is more surprised by that than I am,” Ciarán said.

“Ciarán and I met almost a year ago,” Samantha said, cutting him off. “I used to go and watch him and the guys play. I didn’t know anything about the Tuatha de Danaan or magic. I just loved their music.”

“We had a band, Finn, Seamus, me and Aengus,” Ciarán said. “I didn’t even know she was Aoife’s daughter until a few weeks ago. I knew she had Danaan blood, though. It was what drew me to her.”

Samantha rolled her eyes.

“But you’re Aoife’s guard. Why should we trust you?”

It’s the truth, Allison. Niamh told me in my thoughts. She raised her hand to Ciarán, signaling him to wait.

“Okay, so then what?” I said.

“She was making preparations for something. She refused to tell us what she was up to, though,” Ciarán said, looking away.