My dreams had not shown me this. I had been weary from my long journey. Last night I had slept soundly. Now I wished I had resisted sleep and made use of my scrying bowl. But then, if I had been granted a vision of the storm, the wreck, what could I have done to prevent it? A seer was not a god, only a hapless mortal with her eyes wider open than most. Too wide, sometimes. Even as I stood here beside my sister, there was a cacophony of voices in my mind, folk shouting, screaming, praying to the gods for salvation, crying out as lost children might. It happened sometimes, my seer’s gift spilling over into chaos as the thoughts and feelings of other folk rushed into my mind. It was one of the reasons my mentor, Ciarán, had sent me here to Inis Eala.

“Cathal’s down there on the jetty,” Clodagh said. “I know exactly what he’s thinking. A freak storm, a boat wrecked so close to our shore . . . He believes it’s his father stirring things up, trying to make him leave the island.”

I could see the black-clad figure of Cathal, his cloak whipped by the wind, his eyes trained on the flotilla moving out across the bay. He could not go with them; everyone understood that. There was a powerful ward over Inis Eala, something ancient and good that held the whole island in its protective embrace. Here Cathal was safe from the clutches of his father, a devious prince of the Otherworld.

“What could he have done that Johnny and the others can’t?” I asked, ignoring the clamor of voices in my mind.

“He could have calmed the waters, Sibeal. Maybe. But he can’t even try. If he performed a feat like that beyond the confines of the island, his father would soon know about it. That man has spies everywhere. It’s hard for Cathal, standing there watching men drown, knowing he could save people if it weren’t for the need to protect me and the child.”

“Don’t blame yourself,” I said, putting an arm around my sister’s shoulders. “You and Cathal came here so you would be safe, and you are safe. Ask Cathal, and I’m sure he’ll say that matters more to him than anything else. Besides, the storm seems to be over—the water’s much calmer already. And look, they’re picking someone up.”

The sharp rocks jutted from the water like the toothed jaws of some ancient sea creature. Around them the waves had subsided and the ferocious gale had dwindled to a stiff breeze. Two men were leaning over the side of Johnny’s boat to haul someone in. The other vessels had spread out to cover the area all around the reef.