the grate at their feet, and Leveret stared around completely spell-bound. She was fascinated by his collection of objects from all over the world but most of all by the walls of books, some of them ancient and leather-bound, others very modern. There was an antique globe, a telescope and a computer; it was a juxtaposition of old and new, ancient and modern, and Clip told Leveret this was how she must see her learning.
‘You need the old wisdom of Mother Heggy,’ he said, gazing into the flames and toasting his toes in the heat. ‘You need to know the old ways, the cunning ways and the healing power of plants. There’s much to learn there, Leveret, and you must continue with your gathering when the growing season starts and make your notes and illustrations. You must also observe the seasons and watch how the goddess changes her robes during the year. See the creatures and the birds, how they behave, whether they’re giving clues about events that have happened or are about to happen. You must learn so much about nature, including human nature – you don’t have to be a crone to be the Wise Woman but you do need a great deal of wisdom and that’s hard when you’re so young.’
Leveret nodded at this. She’d wondered how it would work, being only a young girl.
‘I wish there were someone to teach me all the herbal lore,’ she said. ‘There’s only Old Violet and—’
‘No!’ said Clip forcefully. ‘On no account get mixed up with her!’
‘Never,’ agreed Leveret. ‘She’s evil and after the things those three women put poor Magpie through, I’d never trust myself near her.’
‘There are many old ones in the Village who know herbal tradition,’ said Clip. ‘Don’t be afraid to ask. Seek them out and talk to them – I’m sure you’ll find they’ll be delighted to share their knowledge with you. You’ll need to write it all up, create a—’
‘A Book of Shadows!’ she interrupted happily. ‘Yes, Clip, that’s exactly what I want to do, more than anything in the world! I want to record my remedies, my own discoveries and wisdom, and create a detailed encyclopaedia of plants, bark and fungi. I hadn’t thought of asking some of the old ones for help but that’s a really good plan.’
‘Nobody will have old Mother Heggy’s knowledge,’ said Clip, ‘nor even Old Violet’s. But if you ask enough people you’ll build up facts and information. There are plans afoot to move the most elderly and frail people up to the Hall, which is a good idea, so why don’t you get involved with that? Once they’ve made the move it’d be easy for you to sit regularly with a group of them and make notes, that sort of thing.’
‘That’s a brilliant idea!’ she said.
‘But Leveret, you need to do more than that,’ said Clip frowning. ‘I don’t know – I have the strangest inkling … I think you’re destined to be far greater than simply the Wise Woman, for all that’s a special role.’
‘Really? But that would be enough for me,’ she said. ‘Please don’t suggest I study to become a “proper doctor” like Mother wants. I’m not leaving Stonewylde.’
‘No … it’s something else. You’re a magical girl and you need to feed that part of you too. I want you to learn about other cultures and how they celebrate life. You must read and study the writings of wise people from all over the world and of every religion and spirituality.’
‘Okay,’ she said with a gulp. ‘If you say so but it sounds like hard work.’
‘From what I’ve heard you’re very clever,’ Clip said with a smile. ‘You’ve the gift of a fine intellect and a good memory and you must make full use of those gifts. Because there’s another role you need to fulfil at Stonewylde other than healing the sick.’
‘Is there?’
Leveret began to prickle all over, knowing that she was stepping along a path of no return. Clip’s words were leading her towards her destiny and he took her hand in his gently, gazing into her green eyes.
‘I think you know this in your heart already, Leveret. You need to start your own inner journey towards spiritual knowledge from the divine. You must learn to be a shaman – to be Stonewylde’s shaman. I think it’s what you were born to do.’
As he spoke, Leveret felt a great rush of emotion and her eyes filled with tears. Hearing Clip spell it out