Page 65 of The Daughters of Avalon
“Or, perhaps how birds will fly together seeming to know where their fellows will fly?”
“Messenger pigeons are drawn to whatever place they were born,” he argued.
“Of course. But I do not mean them. Rather, I mean, have you never seen them fly in formation? Altogether suddenly they will turn and fly in a different direction? Or even how Merry Bells may seem to know your intentions without your command?”
Still he said nothing, and Elspeth continued. “My grandmamau explained to me that long, long ago—many thousands of years, perhaps—people were far more accustomed to conversing with their minds. Not merelydewines, but everyone. You can imagine the cacophony they must have endured. A constant barrage of words, not merely their own, everyone’s all at once.
Still, he listened.
“Well, she claimed folks went mad, rising up against one another. And whether the Goddess decided to save them from their tumult, or whether they eventually learned to block this ability is not known. Perhaps in self-defense, it simply went away?”
Still, he said nothing.
“The only reasonIstill have the ability is because my people learned to control the skills our Great Mother gave us. But even amongst my own kind, all these many years gone, we are not equally skilled, and some of us are more open to thehudthan others.”
For such a simple concept, Elspeth realized that thehudwas not so simple for others to comprehend. She laid her head on Malcom’s back, letting him ponder what she’d already told him. And though he remained silent, he was calmer now; she could tell by the slowing of his heartbeat.
The sun was lowering on the horizon, filling the sky with a warm, dusky light, heralding the approaching Golden Hour—a time she and her sisters had once cherished. Depending upon the nature of a man’s heart, it was either the most peaceful hour of the day… or the most treacherous.
“What about Rhiannon?”
Elspeth lifted her head, encouraged by his question. “Rhiannon is one whose skills surpass all others, though in truth, I do not believe Rhiannon knows all she is capable of. And now that I am gone from the priory, I am discovering I, too, have skills I did not realize I possessed.”
“Such as?”
“Well… as I said… I have always been able to influence animals, but I suppose the ability to speak without voice is a surprise to me. And, of course, you know I have the ability to heal. I can sometimes manipulate elements as well, but, mostgifts are bestowed by the Goddess, and I must speak rites to summon her divinity.”
“Rites?”
“Sacred words known to my people. I spoke them the night I healed you.”
“But I do not remember you speaking any words when you roused the torches at Amdel?”
Never having really considered why she needed rites for some spells, but not others, Elspeth considered his question a long moment. For most of her life she had simply accepted her abilities in much the same way that one accepted that some folks could croon like songbirds and others croaked like frogs. But though she didn’t have any plausible answers, she supposed. “For some reason the kindling of a flame comes easier than most spells. I suppose that some spells require more of thehudthan I can summon on my own.”
She wanted to tell him about the aether spell, but didn’t want to think over the consequences she might still face over that, much less explain how it worked—especially when she didn’t know anything with certainty.
But he seemed pensive now, ready to hear more, so she tried to help him understand. “Only think of it this way, Malcom: All spells come from my own inner light. Harnessing it is like focusing sunlight through a glass.”
“And your visions?”
“Much the same, but different. Most who are sensitive still use a scrying stone—or fire, or water. Some might descry by touching an object and focusing on something connected to it. Yet others might do so in dreams. But, in truth, I did not know I could have any visions. That night, in the hall was my first, and before then, I had not known it was possible for me to see without rites.”
Again, only Rhiannon had the ability for this, and she seemed to need nothing but her mind and her desire to do so. But, in truth, there was little of thehudthat existed beyond the natural world, and in theory, anyone should be able to do so. A dream was a dream was a dream, and it was not so difficult to summon, but rather it was the interpretation one attached to the occurrence. Most people simply took such things for granted.
“I don’t think it was your first,” he suggested.
“Nay?”
“Nay.”
And before Elspeth could ask precisely what he meant, she remembered the waking vision they’d shared, and her cheeks burned over the memory.
But then, the more she thought about it, the warmer she grew, and after a while, she felt a stirring in her womb that was exacerbated by the trot of his horse. She wiggled in the saddle, and much to her dismay, it only made matters worse.
“Sweet fates,” she said, aloud.
“What?”
