Gryffynhall (the Danu Cycle: Fiann Trilogy Book 1)

Chapter Five

"Do you know who she is?" a voice yelled, pulling Niamh out of sleep.

She struggled against the black, soft and warm though it was.

"I don't need to know who she is to treat her, Shaun!" a woman yelled back.

Niamh recognised the name.

"But, you do know? Kane told you?"

"He did. Nevertheless, I was hardly going to send her home to die. They wouldn't have appreciated that either!" she snapped.

"Eileen! They forbade it."

"Don't 'Eileen' me, Shaun." She sounded sad.

Niamh opened her eyes. She was in what looked like a ridiculously bright hospital room. There were beds and trolleys, all cascaded in what seemed to be sunlight, but much too pure. The wood accents were much more pale and smooth than anything she'd ever seen before.

She blinked a few times and sat up. She recognised Shaun the policeman instantly. He was frozen in the midst of angrily waving his arms around, staring right at her.

"She's awake..." Eileen said, making a shushing noise, and hurried over. "How are you feeling, Niamh?"

"What's Shaun doing here?" she asked, still feeling groggy.

"He...lives here, dear."

Niamh looked around. "Are we at a police barracks?"

Eileen looked at her strangely. She wore flared horn-rimmed glasses over green eyes daubed in sparkling green eye shadow. Her hair was a faded red and tied back in a frizzy bun on top of her head. She smiled widely, her lips a startling shade of pink.

"Why would you think that, dear?" she asked, looking between her and Shaun.

"Because he's a policeman," Niamh said, sitting up and wondering if she had been kidnapped by serial con artists.

"He's not a-" Eileen started.

"Right, Eileen. Can I have a word with her?" Shaun bustled up, pushing Eileen out of the way and sitting on the bed next to Niamh.

Eileen raised her eyebrows, but said nothing as she sauntered away.

Niamh edged away from him a little, wanting to be able to make a run for it if he tried anything funny. She didn't remember a lot about the night before. She was fairly sure she'd been hallucinating something, and she wasn't entirely convinced that these people hadn't drugged her. She looked around, trying to find the exit.

"Where are my aunt and uncle?" she asked.

"Amy and John are at home," Shaun replied. His hand hovered over her knee as though he was going to pat it. Then, as though he thought better of it, he put his hands in his lap. "They are fine. They know you are fine. It is all fine."

"You don't sound very convincing..." she said slowly. "Yesterday you and...Oona...said I looked like my father. Did you know him? I found a picture of you with my parents..."

Shaun smiled sadly. "Oona and I knew your parents. We grew up with your father. Our mas were good friends. Your mother...we met her much later."

"So you know how they died?" Even Niamh was surprised by the words that came out of her mouth – she knew how they'd died. She could tell Shaun was shocked too.

He ran his hands through his hair, not looking at her. He looked immensely sad, as though his whole world had come crashing down. "That's not a conversation for just now, lass," he said softly.

Niamh suddenly thought of something. "Are you the Vatican?"

"Am I the...what?" He looked right at her now, all sadness gone from his face.