Page 4 of The Daughters of Avalon
It was true. If Morwen didn’t insist upon Rhiannon being next, all hope of profiting from her second eldest would be lost. And, unless he were forced to, Stephen would never saddle any of his barons with a cross-eyedWelshwitch—more’s the pity, because Rhiannon was as inherently lovely as she was loyal—even if she did tend to make men cross themselves at a glance.
Sounding more hopeful now, Arwyn added, “’Tis true, Elspeth… Morwen will be steadfast… how many times has she said her daughters must each wed according to their turn. I do not believe Stephen will test her. Remember, when his wife insisted Morwen be removed from their apartments? He would not even remove mother to satisfy his lady—and that woman scares me more than mother.”
The sisters all laughed nervously, but it wasn’t precisely true. No one was more frightening than Morwen. And still, the king’s wife was no wilting flower. They’d only chanced to meet her on a single occasion, when Morwen first settled into her quarters in the White Tower, and the girls were summoned to meet Henry’s successor. As petite as the queen might be, she was like a mastiff. She’d marched into Morwen’s quarters and told their vicious mother in no uncertain terms to be discreet, lest she defy her lord king and feed Morwen’s eyeballs to her precious ravens.
Elspeth contemplated out loud. “So, then… if I leave? What then? Eventually, Stephen will tire of waiting and he’ll endeavor to convince Morwen to offer Seren. But regardless of who is next, if I leave tonight, it only buys you time.”
Sensing victory, Rhiannon’s smile unfurled. “Oh, dear sister, you of all must realize there is so much a witch can do given a little time.”
Elspeth blinked, enthralled by the twinkle in her sister’s gold-flecked eyes. And then suddenly, as though everyone were singing the same chorus, Arwyn said, thinking aloud, “Tomorrow is the day they bring ale from Abbey Dore.”
“There will be comings and goings,” agreed Seren. “We could say Elspeth remained abed with some malaise. Nobody would be any wiser until the envoy arrives.”
“She’ll need a disguise,” said Rose. “I have one.”
The sisters all turned toward their youngest sibling in surprise.
“If, indeed, I cannot dissuade you, I would give you the tunic and breeches I use on occasion to steal into the woods and look for herbs—and before you lecture me,” she added defiantly, “remember that had I not done so, we’d not have the mugwort we need for tonight.”
Rhiannon’s smile widened. She swept a hand before them. “You see,” she said. “The Goddess has preordained this.” She turned again to Elspeth. “I do have a plan, Elspeth. And if you leave tonight,” she promised, “we’ll soon follow.”
Elspeth bit at her lip, pressing the tender skin between her teeth with a trembling finger. “Art certain?”
Rhiannon nodded enthusiastically, and Elspeth considered the logistics a bit more soberly. If she left tonight, she would have naught but the clothes on her back—or rather, whatever clothes Rose had stolen from the guards. They had no money, and unless she pilfered something from the chapel, she would have naught to trade, not even for food or a horse for travel.
And yet, she did not have the blood of cowards in her veins, nor was she without her wiles. She knew well enough how to forage for food, and she knew how to make her way using thetalents her grandmamau taught her. “Very well, then,” Elspeth relented. “I’ll go.”
Rhiannon clapped.
“’Tis settled,” Seren said, suddenly excited, bouncing up from her chair to meet Elspeth halfway across the room. She took Elspeth by the shoulders, and said gently, “If Rhiannon says there’s a will and way, there’s a will and way.” And then, smiling, she hugged Elspeth and moved past her toward the bed, digging beneath the mattress for the herb pouch she’d hidden there.
Knowing their time was short, the rest of her sisters all rose from their chairs to gather around the hearth. Elspeth moved to bar the door, swallowing the lump of fear that rose to choke her. And once the door was barred and the shutters closed against prying eyes, she joined her sisters by the cauldron, knowing intuitively what they were about to do.
The cauldron in their hearth was not unlike the ancestral cauldron in the quadrangle at Blackwood, only that one was large and black, licked by a hundred thousand smoky tongues. This one was small and squat and smelled like cabbage stew.
Unlacing the small pouch that contained the necessary herbs, Seren placed two fingers inside to remove a pinch, then tossed the mixture into the cauldron. Her words were breathy and low, as she sang, “Our song arises from the cauldron, unrestrained be our tongues.”
Rhiannon stepped forward to pass a hand over the bubbling water, and then plucked a strand of her own dark hair, tossing it into the pot. Then, one by one, each sister offered a benign sacrifice of her person—a strand of hair, a bitten fingernail, an eyelash, plucked.
Beneath the cauldron’s black belly, the fire quivered, then leapt, reborn. Flames in the shapes of fiery hands moved to cradle the pot in much the same way a woman might stroke a pregnant belly. And then, after each of the sisters had given ofher essence, they joined hands, and Elspeth said with a lump in her throat, “Mother Goddess hear us calling…”
“We are your daughters,” continued Rhiannon.
And Seren added, “Wherever we may roam.”
“Sister Moon hear us calling,” said Arwyn.
And the youngest rejoined, if only reluctantly, with tears brimming in her wide blue eyes. “In your light we are never alone…”
Outside, the last ray of sunlight stretched thin, quivering as though the incantation had forced it to linger against its will.
Altogether the sisters whispered low, “Breath of life, powers lend. We hail the sky your mist to send. By all on high and law of three, it is my will, so may it be.”
In answer, a thin, cold mist crept out from the cauldron, sliding down the dull black belly and spilling onto the dirt floor. Slowly, it coalesced about the sisters’ feet, and then after swallowing the dirt floor of the hovel, it crept out beneath the door…
Chapter
Two
