“It is not important now—none of this matters—there are men in need, men suffering, I must go there—”

“Enough.” There was a certain voice, a very quiet voice, that I imagined made even the most hard-bitten of Johnny’s warriors take heed. Johnny used it now, and Felix fell silent, but the tension in him had me on the edge of my seat, full of unease. “Perhaps it’s better if Felix goes to rest now, and gives us his story in the morning,” Johnny added. “Evan? Muirrin?”

“No!” Felix shouted, springing to his feet and suppressing a sound of pain. “You must hear my tale tonight! There are lives in the balance!”

“You seem in no fit state to tell it,” Johnny said.

“I’ve a suggestion,” Gull put in quietly. “Let Sibeal ask the questions, and the rest of you back off a bit. It’s quite plain that Felix needs to tell this now. But the man’s been through hell. Anyone who can’t see that on his face must be half blind.”

It made sense. Who could be relied upon to be calm and even-handed, if not a druid? And if Ardal—Felix, I must think of him as Felix—trusted anyone here, it was me. But to do this with all of them watching, to do it with Knut only a few paces away, Knut with his jaw clenched tight and his eyes glinting and the anger building in him with every speech that Kalev translated . . . I must view this as a test of inner strength.

“Please,” Felix said. “Please hear me.”

Words burst from Knut, a torrent of furious Norse.

“Knut objects to this idea,” Kalev said. “He believes that because of Sibeal’s attachment to this man, she cannot be impartial. She will persuade you all to believe Felix’s story over his, no matter how outrageous it may be. No doubt he has already told her this tale, and she has instantly taken it as truth, as a woman does whose feelings hold her in thrall. This man is a liar, a manipulator. Knut offers his respect to you, Johnny, and asks if this can wait for morning, so it can be heard before a representative group from the island community.” He cleared his throat, looking down at the floor. “I translate exactly what Knut has said.”

Johnny turned quite slowly to face Knut. He addressed him in measured Norse. When he was done, he said, “I’ve told Knut I’ll hear his story before Felix’s—that will give Felix time to compose himself. I’ve made it quite clear that I believe we have a representative group here tonight and, in addition, that I have gathered this particular group because I have complete trust in each member of it. Knut does not understand, perhaps, what it means to be a druid.” He looked at me, and I saw the ghost of a smile cross his lips, gone almost as soon as it had appeared. “Lastly, I explained again what the agitation of the moment may have caused some people to forget. On Inis Eala, I am leader and the final decision on any weighty matter is mine alone.” He looked at Kalev. “Kalev, please ask Knut to give his version of what happened tonight. Tell him to stick to the facts and to keep it brief. He can start by telling us why he was in the infirmary at night, carrying a weapon.”