But two warriors had suddenly appeared at the end of the alley and one gave a shout as they bore down on Fidelma, swords in hand.
The attacker was disconcerted for a moment, glancing behind him.
Fidelma moved forward, turning slightly sideways, and aimed a swift kick, using the flat of her foot in a jabbing motion, at the attacker’s genitalia. There came a scream and the figure dropped to its knees. In another second the two guards had reached them and one rested his sword point lightly on the figure’s neck.
‘Move and you are a dead man,’ he said curtly.
The second guard, whose eyes seemed well used to the dark, had obviously recognised Fidelma. ‘Are you harmed, lady?’
‘I am not. But let us see who it is that would wish me harm.’
The first guard had disarmed the man and he and his companion took an arm each and dragged the still moaning figure out of the darkness into the light of the brand torch.
Fidelma was aware of a babble of voices as people, disturbed by the commotion, now came forward. She saw Eadulf, his face pale, pushing through them.
‘Fidelma! Are you all right?’
She nodded briefly.
Accobrán had also come forward.
‘Is it the moon killer?’ he demanded.
The two warriors pulled their captive forward so that the light fell on his face.
‘Brocc!’
There was a gasp from the crowd.
The tanist stared at the burly man, who glowered with hatred at them.
‘So you were the moon killer? Even when you tried to stir up the people against the strangers it was you all the time!’
Brocc scowled. Fidelma moved forward and returned Brocc’s glare with a slight smile.
‘It is true that you tried to kill me in that dark alley, Brocc, but I doubt whether you are the moon killer.’
‘You know I am not!’ snapped Brocc.
‘Why did you attempt to kill me?’
‘Because you are protecting the real murderers.’
‘How do you make that out?’ she said with a frown.
‘I knew it when you first came to Rath Raithlen. You religious are all the same, protecting one another. It was obvious that the strangers killed Escrach, killed Beccnat and Ballgel. Yet I have seen you meeting them and being friendly with them. You are protecting them and therefore you must accept the guilt with them.’
Fidelma looked at the man with an expression of astonishment, which dissolved into sadness. Then she shook her head.
‘How anyone can become as confused as you are is beyond me, Brocc. And it saddens me. I do not know how to answer you. But you must know that what you have done is a serious crime. You have attempted to murder a dálaigh-’
‘Worse still,’ interrupted Becc, who had joined her, the crowd having parted respectfully to allow the chieftain to come forward, ‘worse still, you have attempted to kill the sister of the king.’
Fidelma grimaced, dismissing the fact. ‘It is more important to consider the law above all things and what this man has done is not an affront to me but to the law that I represent. That is the more serious of his crimes. There is a fixed penalty for homicide and attempted homicide, which is seven cumals irrespective of rank. But this matter goes deeper-’
‘It does go deeper,’ interrupted Brocc, his temper not yet controlled. ‘It goes deeper in that you are the guilty one in preventing the truth coming out and blame being laid where it should be. At least I struck a blow for the truth!’
Fidelma sighed and shook her head sadly. ‘You struck a blow for your own prejudice, which is eating your very soul, Brocc, so that it blinds you to the truth. The most serious offence one can commit against another person is to deprive them of their life. In some lands it is called justice to balance the taking of a life by taking another. Even those of the New Faith are beginning to say that we should adopt the way which demands “life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth”. But we are an old and wise people and we allow a killer to atone for his crime by compensation and entry into a process of rehabilitation. We have an ancient system of law that says that evidence must be gathered against a person first, then the person is allowed to answer in public and counter that evidence. Only when it is judged that the evidence is overwhelming is the person convicted.
‘I have been sent to gather the evidence and, until tonight, I have still been gathering that evidence. That you think you can stand above the law and its process, and even assassinate the appointed representative of the law system, is something I have never encountered before. All I can say is that you must be suffering from a loss of sanity — whether permanent or temporary needs to be judged at a later time.’
Brocc continued to scowl in defiance. ‘Your words are designed to disguise the truth, lawyer. All lawyers have lying tongues.’
Fidelma was sarcastic. ‘I thought it was the fact that I am a member of the religious that caused you to think I was hiding the truth?’
‘Lawyers! Religious! Black dog and white dog, both are dogs,’ snapped Brocc.
Becc looked towards Fidelma in a troubled fashion. ‘What shall we do with him, cousin?’
‘There is little to do but to confine him until tomorrow. Then we can bring a resolution to the case of the moon killings.’
The chieftain of the Cinél na Áeda sighed unhappily and motioned for Brocc to be led away. As the crowd began to disperse he said quietly: ‘We are approaching the feast of Samhain, Fidelma. It lacks only a few days. Are you sure all will be resolved tomorrow? It would certainly be best if we could see a resolution before Samhain. I would hate bad luck to be visited on our people.’
Fidelma turned towards the entrance of the chieftain’s hall. Becc and Eadulf followed her inside and Fidelma took a seat before the fire.
Becc was regarding her anxiously.
‘Are you recovered from the attack?’ he asked nervously. ‘Are you sure that you were not hurt?’
She made a negative gesture with her hand.
‘I have survived worse things,’ she said. ‘Brocc’s attack was very clumsy. However, he is a very stupid man and his stupidity makes him dangerous.’
‘What is the concern about this feast of Samhain?’ Eadulf demanded.
Becc regarded him for a moment or two and then decided to explain. ‘The significance of the feast of Samhain is that it is the one time of the year when the Otherworld becomes visible to this world. From sunset until sunrise those who have departed to the Otherworld in the preceding year can return to this one and wreak their vengeance on those who have wronged them.’
‘But that is an old pagan belief,’ said Eadulf dismissively.
‘So it might be,’ intervened Fidelma. ‘but a change in religion does not necessarily mean that people have ceased to believe in the ways of their fathers. In Rome, fifty or so years ago, Pope Boniface decreed that the old pre-Christian Roman feast of the dead, Lemuria, held in May, should be sanctified as a festival to commemorate all the martyred saints. So even Rome clings to its pagan past.’
‘It is true that the people of the Cinél na Áeda continue to celebrate the feast of Samhain with full rigour,’ added Becc. ‘They believe that the wraiths of Beccnat, Escrach and Ballgel will return and seek revenge on all the people here until justice is given to them.’
Eadulf shook his head in bewilderment. ‘Surely if such ghosts existed they would come back seeking only their killer.’
‘The belief is that the whole clan is responsible if the killer is not caught and punished. The clan is the kin and the entire kin is responsible for what one of its members does. So unless the killer is caught and punishment announced, then, on Samhain, any one or all of us might be visited by the vengeful wraiths.’
‘Well, have no fear, Becc.’ Fidelma smiled.
The chieftain looked at her expectantly.
‘When we meet at noon tomorrow in this hall, then I shall reveal the guilty to you.’