When Lann, addresses me as "mister" it gives me a push in a direction I'd been considering anyway. Until I can be sure I'm safe and accepted by the Magh Croimor clan for who and what I really am, it might be better to keep with the guise that has protected me for so long. My closest friends, Baine, Winter Mist and Sean, will have to be trusted to keep the secret.

Baine collapses into my arms. Her strength is gone. I see that she'll get no sympathy from Becuma, who is mourning her own loss as well as facing the problem of what to do about the ailing sidhe-woman, Winter Mist, her new daughter-by-marriage. Led by Lann, whose favor has been won with a piece of silver, I carry Baine to the strange dwelling that she and Hadaig shared. It is something between a hut and a cave, dug into the hillside with the sheltering branches of an ancient tree for its main structure.

Lann is anxious to return to Becuma's hut. The boy is curious about the rites of death that will be celebrated for Nion and Hadaig. I, too, wonder how their fellow outcasts will honor them but Baine should not be left alone. At the back of the tree roofed hut, I find a pile of pelts topped with some wolf furs stitched together to make a cozy blanket plenty big enough for two. Baine sighs when I let her fall gently onto the bed. By her breathing, I can tell she's still exhausted and in need of a long, dream-filled rest. I'm staggering from weariness too, as well as the uncertainty of not knowing my place here - or, for that matter, who I am supposed to be! The bed looks so warm and inviting, I stretch out beside Baine, pull the wolf-quilt over us both, and I'm almost instantly asleep.

The moon was full when we came to Magh Croimor. Night by night, she goes to a more slender crescent, and then there is one dark night with only the stars to brighten it. That was the night when Baine awoke with raven feathers in her hair. She has been wearing them, woven into a strip of leather and braided into her black tresses, ever since then. She says they were a parting gift from her Night Raven and I can't think of any other explanation. The feathers seem to have slowly restored her strength, and that's all that matters. By the next full moon, she is going about her healer's work again. Lann's new brother was a difficult birthing and Baine is busy with the baby and his mother.

On the next morning, Sean calls for all able bodied and willing men to help him make a new home for himself and Winter Mist. I'm one of the first to meet with him in the place he marked out. He looks at me without saying anything while he takes in my appearance, from head to toe. I don't know what he's thinking, but after awhile he nods. "I'm glad you are here, Labraid," he says with a wink. I am introduced to the other men by that name and no one seems the wiser. I keep my head down and my voice low.

When Winter Mist, followed adoringly by Lann, suddenly appears, I'm secretly amused by what happens. None of the men want to look at her. Some of them wave their fingers at her, as if that would protect them, and leave. The ones who stay form a tight circle, like a herd of cows! To keep from laughing out loud, I turn my back to everybody and gaze at the sky.

I hear Winter Mist's voice ring out. “I do not wish ill for anyone who does not wish ill on me.” There's silence. Then Lann pipes up, and his father challenges Sean. He sounds like he's joking with him, with an undertone of fear in his voice. I don't dare to speak or I could betray myself and this is certainly not the time to stir up more trouble. So I stand very still and prepare myself to rush to my friends' defense if necessary, while praying to the sky that peace will win out.