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I remained standing in front of her desk, with Father Ailbe beside me.
    â€œAbba, we should go to the church with the others. I want to say a prayer to Brigid to watch over the soul of Grainne.”
    We walked out the door and made our way across the monastery yard with the other brothers and sisters. The spring day that had started out so bright and beautiful had turned dark and cold, with rain pouring down from the heavens.

Chapter Four

    T he shock of the sisters and brothers after the abbess made her announcement in the church that evening was heartbreaking. There were gasps of disbelief at first, then moaning and weeping, and finally looks of anger among a few as they turned to stare at me.
    I wasn’t hungry and didn’t want to talk to anyone at dinner, so I remained in the church after the others left so that I could pray and think. After perhaps half an hour, Sister Macha entered and cleared her throat.
    â€œDeirdre, I’m sorry to bother you, but Sister Anna would like to see you in her office right away.”
    â€œAll right. How are you doing, Macha? I’m sorry I talked you into leaving Armagh and coming here to go through this terrible time with us.”
    Macha had returned with Dari and me when we had visited the monastery of Armagh in Ulster a few months earlier. The nuns there were treated almost like slaves, laboring at menial tasks for the abbot and denied any kind of education. Macha was already making great progress in learning to read and write.
    She managed a weak laugh.
    â€œDon’t be sorry at all, Deirdre. The last few months here at Kildare have been the best of my life. There’s plenty of sorrow wherever you go on this island.”
    I left the church and went across the monastery yard to the cold stone hut of Sister Anna. It was small, but served as both her office and sleeping quarters. I knocked on the door.
    â€œCome in.”
    Sister Anna was sitting at her desk, finishing a letter. I stood in front of her and waited in silence until she was done. She wrote with her left hand, her right arm hanging useless at her side as always. The deep scars on the right side of her face were illuminated by the light of the oil lamp on her desk.
    â€œThis letter is to King Dúnlaing,” she said at last. “I’m sending it to him by messenger this evening. I called you here because I need your help, Sister Deirdre. I’m sure the king will conduct his own inquiry into the death of Sister Grainne, but I’m not prepared to wait for him, nor would I fully trust his results. Kings often care more about politics than discovering the truth. I therefore have a task for you. You recovered the stolen bones of Brigid last winter after I put you in charge of that investigation. Your success in that venture recommends you for another. In addition, you are uniquely suited for this new commission since you are, as you so often remind me, a druid. I want you to investigate Grainne’s death yourself, using your knowledge of the Order. But I need to know first that I can trust you.Will you place the needs of this monastery above all other considerations?”
    I had been expecting this and on the way over from the church had been considering what I should say to the abbess. I took a deep breath.
    â€œSister Anna, I am both a druid and a nun. I see no conflict between the two. I worship Christ and serve the church while respecting the ancient traditions of my people as a bard. I am honored that you have asked me to find the killer of Sister Grainne. I will use all my skills and training as a druid to find the man who committed this vicious act. It is as much an offense to the druids as it is to any Christian. I believe I can do this without betraying the vows I took to either the Order or to this monastery. But please do not ask me to reveal to you or anyone outside the Order any secrets of the druids.”
    She tapped her stylus on her desk several times before she