“Cerridwen?” he whispered.
Could I speak? “Hello, Love.”
He paled. “Is something wrong?”
“All is well. It is only that I missed you. Are you coming soon?”
“Lord Thorfinn has just given us his leave. We ride south in the morning.”
“This is the stronghold of Thorfinn the Mighty?”
Banquo nodded.
Another man stirred and sat up. He stared at me. He had long black hair, a long black beard peppered with white, and a sharp gaze. He wore black robes and had the pelt of a fox draped over his head. Around his neck, however, he wore a medallion carved with runes; it was the badge of a skald.
“Soon then,” I whispered to Banquo and pulled back. As if I was being reeled in like a fish, I felt my energy snap back, and I stood once again in Sid’s room. Her shadow was waiting. Both of our bodies still lay on the bed.
“You spoke to him?” she asked.
I nodded.
“Let’s go back to ourselves before you tire too much,” she said.
“How?”
“Don’t look at your body, simply lie back into it.”
Looking out the window, I lay back down on the bed, lying back into myself. I heard a loud noise as I took a sharp inhale. Suddenly, my flesh felt solid. I felt my heart. It was beating very softly. After a moment, Sid took a similar breath. She rolled over and rested her head on my chest.
“There was another man there who was able to see me,” I whispered.
“Besides Banquo?” Sid asked, lacing her fingers in mine.
“A skald. Banquo is north with Lord Thorfinn. They will leave in the morning to join us.”
“Thorfinn is said to have a gifted seer who travels with him. Those with the gift can see you when you cast.”
“That must have been him then,” I said and closed my eyes. “I feel so tired. And dizzy.”
“It’s always like that after a casting,” Sid replied. Her voice sounded distant. “You’ll get more used to it, but it always wears you out.”
I wanted to reply but was too weak. I snuggled closer to Sid, inhaling the scent of lemon balm soap in her hair, and fell asleep, the moonlight casting silver rays down on us.
Chapter 20
In the days before the Samhain, I stayed busy preparing for the celebration and tried not to focus solely on Banquo’s return. Uald and I arranged rocks around the center cauldron in the shape of a star. We then banked up five fires at each of the star’s points. Aridmis and I collected gourds, acorns, and late fall herbs to adorn the tables. The others were busy as well. In preparation for the event, Druanne and Sid had gone to prepare a special elixir that would loosen the spirit and allow us to interact with our ancestors.
“The elixir of the ancestors is a heavy potion. Druanne must fast and pray in order to prepare it properly. She and Sid have journeyed to a sacred place to prepare the draft,” Epona told me when I’d gone looking for Sid.
“The mound?” I asked.
Epona shook her head. “There are many sacred places nearby. You will learn them all, in time.”
I frowned. I didn’t like the idea of Druanne and Sid together. I knew Sid would watch over Druanne, would keep her safe, but who would watch over Sid? The thought of the two of them together made me feel nauseated. As I waited, I also worked alongside Bride, who had been repairing and making new ceremonial masks.
One evening before Samhain, I sat working in Bride’s small house. Her home had two small bedrooms, one reserved for the mysterious Tully who I had not yet met, set off from a main sitting room where we worked in front of a stone fireplace. Her room was adorned with dried flowers and framed embroidery. It was warm and clean and smelled like milled soap. Bride had unbraided her long, gray hair and let it fall freely all around her. She looked lovely, but ancient, in the firelight. Her lined face wrinkled like ripples on the water.
“When the moon rises, we will all wear our masks so the gods may come more freely amongst us, and the Samhain potion will loosen our spirits. The dead will wander freely amongst the living. You never know who you will see, my dear,” she said as she handed me one of the completed masks, “but I know the last person I want to see is my late husband!” she added with a laugh which I joined.
“You suppose old MacAlpin will visit me?” I asked jokingly.
Bride smiled and shook her head. “We both best be careful whose names we whisper on the wind. After all, you keep what you conjure,” Bride said, then looked thoughtful. “Maybe I’ll see that young buck who lifted my skirts on Beltane eve when I was fifteen, if he’s on the other side,” she said, then laughed again. “He had such lovely eyes, lovely skin. In fact, he looked a bit like your druid.” Bride winked at me.
My druid. I grinned at her then studied the stag mask I held in my hands. Half of the mask had been made from the skull of a stag, its antlers still intact. It had been sewn onto a pelt so it might be worn over the head. Small bells and feathers had been strung to the antlers. I set the mask into the basket with the others. Within, I saw that Bride had made a mask with black raven feathers. I lifted the mask. She had shaped the leather so the face looked like a beak.
Bride smiled. “I made that one for you.”
“Thank you,” I said, lifting the mask to my face. It touched me that she had made something for me in particular, a gift for the new me. I looked out the eye-slits. I was struck with a strange, dizzying sensation.
“Not yet,” Bride said, gently taking the mask from my hands. “It may look simple enough, but every stitch is a spell. It is the craft of the Crone,” she said with a grin, her blue eyes twinkling. “One day you will learn,” she added then set the mask into the basket with the others, “when you are gray like this old hare,” she added with a chuckle.
* * *
On Samhain eve morning, the jingling of rigging woke me. With no regard to the tangle my hair had become, I jumped from bed and ran to the coven square: Banquo had come. My heart pounded in my chest. Finally, he had returned.
“Merry met!” I called to Banquo and Balor.
Balor smiled as he removed the red hood he was wearing, uncovering his bald head. “Blessed Samhain to you, Lady Cerridwen.”
“And to you, Wise Father,” I replied, but my eyes had already turned to Banquo. I fought back tears of joy.
Banquo dismounted and rushed to me, catching me up in his arms. “My dear,” he whispered in my ear, kissing me on the cheek.
Behind me, the door to Epona’s house opened. I didn’t see her, but I could feel her behind me. She cleared her throat.
Banquo set me down. Blushing, he turned and bowed respectfully to her. “My Lady,” he said, “may the Old Ones smile on you.”
She laughed good-naturedly then clapped him on the shoulder. “Dear Banquo. May your ancestors bless you on this holy day.” She then gave Banquo an odd look, the expression looking like something between curiosity and sympathy, and I wondered why. Was she unhappy with the relationship that had grown between us or did she know something?
I didn’t care. It was Samhain eve, the night when the dead walked, and Banquo and I were together again. It was the holiday that marked the new year for those who celebrated the old ways. The harvest done, the Goddess would begin her winter slumber.