he passed the Barn, Clip heard a sound that made him stop in his tracks. It was the sound of somebody choking, followed by a growl of laughter. Puzzled, he peered into the vast cavern of the building. The Jack o’ Lanterns hadn’t yet been lit but ordinary lanterns glowed around the walls. The games had been set out already and it was by the big half-barrel of water, filled with bobbing apples, that he saw them. Two figures in black cloaks – Clip gasped as the man forced the girl’s head over the edge of the barrel and into the water filled with floating apples. Her head was held underwater and her arms flailed wildly about as she fought to escape while he laughed, keeping her in position almost effortlessly.
In horror Clip watched her struggles becoming weaker and her body limper as the man relentlessly held her head down. Shouting, Clip launched himself across the floor and the man looked up in surprise, releasing the girl as he did so. She staggered upright, coughing and choking and making a terrible rasping noise as she struggled to fill her lungs with air.
‘What in the goddess’ name are you doing?’ yelled Clip, wrenching her from his grasp. The wet face turned to him and he saw it was Leveret, her eyes almost starting from her head, her lips blue. He realised that the man was very young, only just a man, and he recognised the porcine features of one of Leveret’s brothers whose name he never remembered. The lad was scarlet with fury but backed away at the sight of Clip.
‘Just teaching her a lesson, that’s all,’ he mumbled thickly. ‘No harm done.’
‘No harm done? You bloody idiot, you’ve practically drowned her! Get out of here! And I’ll be talking to your mother about this!’
Clip took hold of Leveret’s shoulders and made her breathe more slowly, pushing the wet hair away from her face and rubbing her back rhythmically to help her calm down and take steadier breaths. Gradually her lips lost their blue tinge and the whooping sounds stopped. She leaned into him and he put his arms around her, comforting her in her distress.
‘It’s alright, Leveret,’ he said soothingly, ‘it’s alright. Your brother’s gone and you’re safe now.’
She began to sob and he held her tight, small and pathetic in his arms like a frightened wild creature. Clip felt a great rush of affection for her and thanked the goddess that he’d arrived when he did. He heard the chanting outside as darkness fell and knew he must get up to the Dolmen quickly before he became swept up in the celebrations. He held the girl away from him slightly for a better look, and was shocked at how very dilated and unfocused her eyes were.
‘How are you feeling now?’ he asked softly.
‘The stars glitter but the night is dark,’ she whispered in a strange, faraway voice. ‘I need to fly in the blackness.’
‘You took the Fly Agaric,’ he said, nodding. ‘Silly girl, you should never take it alone when you’re inexperienced. You said you knew what you were doing and I thought you’d have friends with you to take care of you. When did you take it?’
‘The blue is black and it’s so speckled.’
‘Leveret! When did you eat the mushroom?’
She gazed up at him with unseeing eyes. Her bedraggled curls were stuck to her face and her eyes were enormous, the pupils great black pools and only the bright green rim of her irises showing. She was a strange girl, he thought, feeling an affinity with her. He knew she was in another reality altogether and not aware of him or where she was.
‘I can’t leave you here alone in this state, not when you’re so new to this. You’d better come to the Dolmen with me.’
There was no response so he took her arm and led her out of the Barn and up the track leading away from the Village. She followed docilely enough but darkness was deepening by the minute, so he scooped her up in his arms and carried her. It reminded him of the Moon Fullnesses when he and Magus had carried Sylvie to and from the great stone at Mooncliffe. He felt a stab of guilt at the awful memory, but this was different. He was helping this girl, rescuing her, and it was the Dark Moon not the Full Moon. He sensed Leveret was a girl of darkness and depth, not quicksilver