Scáthach’s Protégé
by
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“No sound or I will cut your throat,” Gaelen whispered in English as she covered the spearman’s mouth with her left hand, pulling his head back as she did. With her right, she placed the tip of her dirk next to his jugular vein. “Who do you wait for?” she asked.
“Wah—” he began to speak. Gaelen pressed his head back, holding it between her breasts. The other spearman stirred, opened one eye briefly, and then closed it again. “Whisper,” she said. “Now, who is it you wait for?”
“The rebel traitor, Princess Audrey.”
“Did you serve King Rolf?”
“I did.”
“Were you among those who fought the Patriots at Desea?”
“I did not fight; there was no fight to it. We had defeated the Picts once before, when they were led by Duke Rand. If it had not been for his daughter, Princess Audrey, and her dishonorable tricks in individual combat, King Rolf would still be the ruler of this kingdom.”
“Who do you serve now?”
“My lord is Duke Punt,” he said in a normal voice.
Gaelen instantly flicked a cut through the front edge of his nostril as she whispered, “It could have as easily been your neck. I will not warn you again. Whisper. Did you not swear your allegiance along with Duke Punt to Gaelen on the field of battle?”
“I did, but just as My Lord Punt said, promises made to the pagans on the battlefield are often forgiven by the bishop at court.”
His blood dripped from the point of her dirk as she said, “You should remember there are many Patriots in these forests, and they will never accept the rule of a foreign pope or king.” He went limp from a quick blow to his temple. She laid him back and crept into the moon’s shadows to sit a short distance away to watch. Soon, the spearman she had struck began to moan. His companion woke, sat up, and looked around. Then quickly standing, he went to the side of his companion.
“Ha, ha,” the second spearman chuckled loudly while helping his companion sit up. “Asleep at your post, aye? Too bad he picked you and not me.”
“It wasn’t a he,” the wounded spearman said as he pushed his companion away, then held his nose while weaving back and forth.
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About the Book
Before Scotland was called Scotland, the territory north of Scotland’s isthmus was called Alba. Before Alba it was called Pictland, before Pictland, Caledonia. Originally scattered tribes of Picts, loosely governed by chiefs, lived there. However, by 800 AD Saxons, Angles, Scots, Vikings, and Roman Christians were eradicating them or absorbing those Picts who would give up their Celtic gods into their own culture. Scáthach’s Protégé continues a story set in Scotland’s darkest century, in the twilight of the enigmatic Picts. Gaelen, a deposed princess, trained by Ana (the personification of Scáthach, the legendary Celtic goddess) in personal combat, fights them all to try to regain her kingdom. Kirkus DISCOVERIES says: …Miller’s Scotland is a fascinating and detailed country, split by scheming royalty, warring tribes and ancient prejudices. …Different races—Picts, Angles, Irish, even Vikings—all compete to rule Scotland, or whatever part of it they can get for themselves. Gaelen …had won the right to rule by killing her father on the battlefield, but leaves that behind after a religious revelation to raise her son away from her former life as a would-be queen. But as she and her son have a legitimate claim to the throne, she is sought out by others with royal ambitions trying to eliminate the competition—and gets drawn back into a battle that may finally achieve her goal of uniting Scotland. Miller successfully establishes the competing elements of medieval Scottish civilization—Druid philosophy clashes with emerging Christianity while the little-known Pict race struggles for survival against Angles and other populations. The whole world seems to be in play...
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About the Author
Robert McLaws Miller (EdD, MIE, EE), after retirement from a university several decades ago, turned his attention from technical-professional studies to become a student of the history of