Page 175 of The Daughters of Avalon
If, in fact, Seren were aligned to air, then water would be her divergent—nowitchwaterthere.
If, instead, she were aligned toaether, it should be fire. She tapped the ground where the fire symbol would go.
Witchwaterwas, indeed, quite possible with a fire affinity, but here was the case: If she were aligned to air, as she’d so long believed, she would also be aligned toaetherand earth, butnotto water, makingwitchwateran impossible feat.
On the other hand, if she were aligned toaether, with a bit of practice, all elements could be hers to manipulate, including fire and water, but, in truth, she’d never had much luck with fire. And this is why that was important: A pentacle mustalwaysbe drawn precisely to one’s own affinity—precisely. If she drew it wrong, and made the mistake of choosing the wrong element to place at the vertex, it would leave them defenseless. The pentacle would be useless.
To make matters even more complicated, there were two types of spells to be cast: All things were either summoned or banished, accepted or denied, created or destroyed, transformedor reformed. A protection spell was in essence a banishing spell, meant to repel. Therefore, she must begin drawing with her divergent at her southernmost point, and end with her true element at the vertex, always with the properly drawn symbol. For a summoning spell, it would be exactly the opposite, and she would begin drawing at her vertex, ending with her divergent, always leaving her most vulnerable ingress at her feet.
After all, she could play it safe and choose the affinity Rhiannon had claimed was hers, but Rhiannon was hardly infallible. She was flesh and blood, like anyone else. She could be mistaken. And, if Seren chose air, when her affinity wasaether… well, then… these two might seem similar, but they were entirely different.
She took the stick and erased her drawing, still contemplating…
She didn’t know how to explain the feeling she’d had… it wasn’t like anything she’d ever experienced in all her life. It felt…strange—as though if she merely let herself go, if she’d allowed the first tear in a moment of fervor…
Well, she might never know, because it didn’t happen, and still, she had a feeling that she, like Rhiannon, was aligned toaether.
Could it be? Was it possible? Could two blood sisters be aligned to the quintessence?
Inhaling a breath, Seren decided uponaetheras her primary and began drawing the pentacle precisely as she remembered, murmuring softly as she worked.
Goddess of light shield us tonight.
Ye who would harm, ye who would maim,
Proceed and face the same.
A band of light burst at the edges of her diagram, thrumming softly, then vanishing, and she exhaled in relief, never realizing she’d been holding her breath.Aether, it must be. If she were doing this wrong, there would be no power in her words. Encouraged, she continued again, murmuring softly, so as not to disturb Jack.
With cloth and cord of darkest night, I shroud my soul.
Light is the weapon I wield to keep us whole.
By all on high and law of three,
This is my will, so mote it be.
Chapter
Fourteen
Wilhelm held back, reluctant to disturb.
After their encounter with the Shadow Beast, her sister had insisted upon casting that very same warding spell every night before sleeping; he recognized the strange motions Seren was making with her stick.
Doubting the power ofmagikwasn’t an option. The alternative was far worse. God only knew, he’d witnessed the unbridled power of evil with his own two eyes, and ifmagikcouldn’t protect them, Wilhelm would never sleep again.
His gaze drifted to Jack. Somehow, the boy was fast asleep under his blanket in the middle of her rendering, completely unaware of the protection spell Seren was summoning—oh, to be so innocent. Clearly, he trusted his elders to keep him safe. Poor boy, he couldn’t possibly understand what menace surrounded them, and if Wilhelm could spare him that truth, he would. As annoyed as he’d been over having to bring the lad into their fold, he was coming to admire him. His father had taught him well. He was polite, intelligent, respectful, and ifhe had a wandering eye for Lady Seren’s breasts… well, then… Wilhelm hadn’t any stones to throw. He was hard-pressed not to look himself. But, more and more, he was coming to see that whatever beauty Seren possessed on the outside, she possessed it threefold within. For all that she was angry over her sister’s fate, and for all that she seemed to need to blame Wilhelm, she took good care of the boy, willing to challenge even Wilhelm over the child’s well-being.
And, in truth, had Wilhelm not been so ill-humored, he would have jumped to her bidding. Helping that boy was the right thing to do.
He bided his time, watching her work…
Before meeting Rosalynde, he’d never believed a word of those rumors. He was not a believer in witches; the very word was but an epithet for women the likes of Morwen Pendragon. But now he was a believer. There was no denying the things he’d witnessed over these past months. And he still couldn’t conceive it, but his weedy little brother, the boy who wouldn’t put down his books to consider a sword, was a Paladin for the Church—a huntsman Rosalynde called him.
Huntsman… executioner… headsman…
God only knew, there was so much about Giles Wilhelm still didn’t know—and to think he’d once doubted his brother’s prowess with a blade.
