a thrill of power shiver through her when the stars glittered in a moonless sky. She didn’t know that she shared this affinity with Yul, as he had always been secretive about it too.
The day had started auspiciously when she’d been woken by a crow cawing in the trees outside her bedroom. She’d smiled as she dragged herself from the world of sleep and dreams and had greeted the spirit of Mother Heggy. Leveret was convinced that the old Wise Woman was watching over her and that tonight, when the veil was at its thinnest, the crone would make contact with her from the Otherworld.
She planned to journey for the first time after she’d walked the labyrinth in the Village Green. The Fly Agaric, harvested the week before, would take her on this journey. She knew what to do and had secretly prepared the mushroom’s scarlet cap as instructed in the Book. Even without the hallucinogenic effects of the mushroom Leveret was already a little light-headed as she’d been fasting for three days. It had taken some doing with Maizie breathing down her neck, and she’d had to feign an upset stomach to avoid her mother’s hearty meals.
Not everyone was so delighted that the Dark Moon fell on the day of the festival. The Great Barn was needed for the children’s drama this afternoon and the dancing that would continue for most of the night. If the weather turned wet, the feast would be eaten in there too. But this was also the day when most women of Stonewylde began menstruation. The first couple of days, at least, were spent in the Great Barn and usually the Dark Moon nearest to Samhain was spent knitting long woollen socks; a pair for each member of the community. These dark green stockings were for Yule and would be filled with small gifts for each person.
But today menstruation had to take second place; not such a hardship as it would have been since the compulsory contraceptive implant had been introduced, making women’s periods lighter and less uncomfortable. The women were busy preparing food for the feast and putting the finishing touches to the decorations in the Great Barn. Leveret should have been in there now, helping to arrange the carved Jack o’ Lanterns and attaching the papier-mâché crows and skulls and the elder twigs to the walls and rafters.
Instead she sat in the battered wooden chair, its back scarred from years of assault by the crow’s scrabbling claws, clutching her stomach. She ached from the onset of her period, for she was too young for the implant, and she felt hollow from lack of food. Although everyone else was fasting today as part of the Samhain rituals, this was her third day and she was very hungry. But the Book was clear; fasting was important before Samhain and especially before a journey. She also knew that Fly could induce severe nausea, so a completely empty stomach was best. Leveret sighed and thought grimly that becoming the Wise Woman might be tougher than she’d imagined.
Yul stood under his special tree on the Village Green hidden beneath the dark green foliage. From this shelter he surveyed the people of Stonewylde – his people. He felt the familiar stirring inside, a heady cocktail of pride and power. He breathed deeply of the earthy scent and threw back his head, shutting his eyes. Swirls and eddies of magic threaded around the ancient bole and wreathed him in their enchantment. This yew tree held many memories for him and he visited it regularly, especially when he wanted to think about Sylvie.
They’d shared their first kiss here on the Summer Solstice of her fifteenth birthday, while Magus was at the Stone Circle performing his rituals. They’d snatched forbidden meetings here during the December Dark Moon, whilst Magus held her captive in his rooms at the Hall. And the most vivid, electrifying memory of all – here, on the soft earth where nothing else grew, he and Sylvie had first made love.
Yul could still recall the smell of the dew out on the Green and the old yew needles mixed in with the fine, dry soil. He vividly remembered the grainy softness of the earth under their bodies, the seclusion of the great dark dome of foliage, and the magical sight, smell and feel of the girl he loved as they finally came together after waiting for so long. The years had not dimmed the memory in the least. Yul