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I darted a glance that way and saw everyone looking at Manannan Mac Lir, who had clapped a hand over his mouth. Flidais threw in a girlish titter, and then they all erupted—which gave everyone else permission to laugh as well, though they had no idea what they were laughing at. What had happened is that the Tuatha Dé Danann had » heard « Oberon’s comment. My eyes slid back to Brighid, and her mouth was quirked upward on one side; as I watched, her hounds subsided and sat down. I told Oberon to lay off as well.
    You might have just saved our bacon there , I added.
    › You brought bacon for us? ‹ Oberon asked, a hopeful note in his voice. › And I saved it? I am the Savior of Bacon! Atticus, I want you to introduce me from now on as » Oberon, Savior of Bacon. «‹
    » Please explain, if you will, « Brighid said in a much more cordial tone, » why you found it necessary to conceal your existence from me and the rest of the Tuatha Dé Danann. «
    » I needed some assurance that I would be undisturbed for a span of years, for I have been hard at work training an apprentice. You may remember her. « I gestured over my shoulder. » Granuaile MacTiernan. «
    Brighid bestowed a nod of recognition, and I assumed Granuaile returned it. A murmur of appreciation rippled through the Tuatha Dé Danann. A new Druid would be most welcome.
    » She is not yet bound to the earth, « Brighid noted, seeing no tattoos on Granuaile’s right arm.
    » No, but she is ready. I was on my way to begin the process when we were interrupted. «
    » On your way where, if I may ask? «
    » I was searching for an appropriate place in Arizona. «
    Brighid frowned. » You cannot bind a Druid to the earth in the New World. «
    That set me back on my heels a bit. » You can’t? «
    Brighid seemed as bemused as I was. » It may be done only in Europe. Only the Eurasian plate has agreed to participate in the ritual. I thought you knew this. «
    » No. « I had never tried to bind an apprentice elsewhere—in truth, I had bound precious few apprentices to the earth in the first place. All three Druids of my » issue « were dead now. Two had been ambushed—or perhaps assassinated, shot in the back—and another had died in the civil war that resulted in the dissolution of the Carolingian Empire. I hadn’t attempted to train anyone since the death of Cíbran, my last apprentice, in 997. And so it was no wonder I had never discovered this particular proviso to a Druid’s binding, but it made sense. All levels of the earth, from elementals to plates to Gaia herself, must be involved, and the plates were notoriously loath to get involved in anything but their own slow movements and ceaseless grating against one another.
    Manannan spoke up. » Brighid, if I may interject? « She waved at him to continue, and he rose to address me. He commanded everyone’s rapt attention. » I cannot speak for all, but I hope I speak for many of the Tuatha Dé Danann when I say we welcome Granuaile MacTiernan to Druidry, and I, for one, would like to see you train many more apprentices. Druidry has been neglected far too long on the mortal plane. « Emphatic nods among the Tuatha Dé Danann supported his statement.
    » Thank you, Manannan, and all of you who agree, « I said, and privately cursed myself for not taking note of who hadn’t visually concurred. » If I could find such excellent apprentices as Granuaile, nothing would give me greater pleasure than to continue teaching. However, for me to accomplish this goal, I need to have a modicum of security. To that end, I humbly request that you keep my existence a secret, especially from the Olympians and the Norse. «
    Furtive glances warned me that I had made a troublesome request.
    » If … that is possible? « I asked.
    Flidais spoke up. » The Olympian Bacchus asked us to inform him if you ever showed your face here. «
    » Well, the Olympian Bacchus can go blow a goat. « There was no love lost between us. I had