Page 114 of Broken Veil
“They’re terrible about fence destruction,” he continued, “but I’d have a hard time calling them demonic.”
In fact, the bison grazed calmly in the underbrush beneath the trees. One of the calves nursed, and the lone bull in the group appeared to be taking a nap in the sun, dust floating around his thick brown fur.
Laura and Cadell were sitting on a fallen log while Duncan and Lachlan leaned against a sturdy wooden fence.
Naida, of course, appeared to be having a conversation with one of the bison, and Angus was nowhere in sight.
“The Mothers are in Swansea.” Joshua pulled a business card from his pocket and handed it to her. “They have a shop on High Street.”
Carys looked down and read the card. “Pages and Portals? There are three mother goddesses in Wales, and they run a bookstore in Swansea?”
“Booksandrecords, but there’s also a tea shop in back and a corner that’s reserved for Oshun’s jewelry. Stunning goldsmith, that one.”
“Oshun?” She was a goddess from West Africa and a powerful fertility goddess. “She’s one of the Mothers?”
Joshua nodded. “The Mothers are… well, old. Older than all the rest of us, I think.” He glanced over his shoulder, back in the direction of the cottage. “Maybe not Angus.”
“Whatishe?”
Joshua laughed a little bit. “He’s a character.”
“To say the least.”
Joshua paused and turned to her. Carys stopped and faced him.
“Can I give you some advice?”
“Everyone else seems to, and I like you more than most of them.”
Joshua smiled again. “Your father has a family in Wales. He left them behind because they found your mother too strange. They were very… conventional people.”
“So they did know my mom?”
Joshua nodded. “You can’t know your future unless you understand your past, but I would encourage you to focus on your mother in this chapter of your story, Carys Morgan. Not all mysteries can be solved in one tale.”
She flipped the business card in her fingers. “Pages and Portals?”
Joshua nodded. “The Mothers will be able to guide you where you need to go. I think Jibril brought you here because he wasn’t sure about you. But I am.”
“Well…” Carys sighed. “Thanks. It was great to meet you, and…” She took the handkerchief from her pocket. “I appreciate this.”
“Your mother made these for him, didn’t she?”
Carys nodded. “Yeah. She did the embroidery in the corners.”
“So you have a bit of both of them in that talisman.” Joshua smiled. “I’m glad I could give it to you.”
She glanced at Duncan where he stood leaning against the wooden fence.
“You’re not going to mess up his life,” Joshua said. “You two belong together.”
“How do you know?”
“Well, I don’t like to brag.” Joshua threw a wiry arm over Carys’s shoulders. “But I’m kind of all-knowing about most things. Not everything, mind you. But most.”
Just then, he froze. His arm dropped from Carys’s shoulder, and he turned to face the herd of bison.
There was a huff and the bison bull rolled up to his knees, then his feet, grumbling and turning in circles.
