Aridmis emerged from her cabin to welcome Balor and Banquo, and Uald stuck her head out of the smithy.
“Cerridwen,” Uald called. “You and Banquo can come help me.”
Banquo and I crossed the square while casting nervous glances at one another. My stomach was full of butterflies. I felt so happy but also uneasy. Had Banquo talked to his father? Did he have any news? Would he be angry to learn I had nothing to tell him? Would he wait longer? My mind was filled with a thousand questions and worries.
“Are you all right?” Banquo asked. “When you sent the casting, I worried.”
I smiled at him. “I just missed you desperately.”
“I’m glad I was able to make it in time. I nearly had to enchant Lord Thorfinn in order to get him to release me. But he is a romantic. When I told him I traveled to see my love, he let me go.”
I squeezed Banquo’s hand, but remembering Madelaine’s words about Thorfinn, my mind spun with a flurry of questions. “A romantic, eh? Is Thorfinn wed? In love?”
“He’s mad for a girl from Norway, doing anything he can to win her hand. He’s almost as mad as I am for you.”
We stopped at the gate of the smithy. Uald was in the barn.
Banquo leaned in and kissed me quickly. I reached up and touched his face. His beard was filling out. It looked handsome on him and was long enough that it felt soft to the touch. I gazed into his chestnut-colored eyes.
“Later…let’s talk?” Banquo asked.
I nodded just as Uald came around the corner of the smithy. She stood with her hands on her hips, a bemused expression on her face. I noticed then that she was dressed for hunting. Her hair was pulled up into a braided bun at the back of head, her bow strung on her back.
“Well, did I give you enough time?” she asked.
I winked at her. “No.”
“Sorry,” she said with a laugh. “Hurry it up a bit next time. Let’s go.”
“Go?” Banquo asked.
“I’m headed out to check my traps. We need game for tonight’s celebration. The ancestors will be hungry. But if you’d rather stay…” she said, looking behind us.
Banquo and I turned. Balor, Epona, Aridmis, and Bride had already gathered in a circle to begin what Sid had forewarned me would be a long day of prayer.
“Lead the way,” Banquo said, and soon we were following Uald into the forest.
Kelpie and the other horses nickered at us as we passed the pen into the woods. Soon, we were deep in the forest. Most of the trees had lost their leaves. The bright autumn hues of orange and red had faded to dull brown. It was cold at night, and in the morning, the first frosts froze the grasses, making them brittle. The loamy scent of the decay of fall had started to fade, replaced by the nose-chilling wind and the threat of snow.
Uald led us to an area in the woods where I’d never traveled before. Here, the trees were massive. The last leaves clung to the branches, twisting like bats hanging from the limbs.
“A moment,” Banquo called as we passed under an ancient oak tree. He pulled a small golden sickle from his belt, stuck it between his teeth, then grabbed a limb and pulled himself up into the tree. “Mistletoe,” he explained through clenched teeth.
As he pulled himself up, his tunic lifted, and I saw the line of dark hair trailing down his muscular stomach and below his waistline. My body tingled as I thought about that day at the spring and the feel of his hands. Banquo easily pulled himself up into the tree.
“Cut a bundle for me as well,” Uald called up to him.
We stood under the tree and watched as Banquo moved adeptly amongst the limbs harvesting the herb. For the Druids, mistletoe was one of the most sacred of all herbs.
“He is nice to look at,” Uald said. She cocked her hip and grinned as she looked at Banquo, her lips pulling to one side.
“I thought you didn’t care for romantic nonsense,” I teased.
“I’m not being romantic. He’s just nice to look at. But I do like him. I hope it ends well for you.”
Madelaine. Madelaine, where are you? I thought. How could I explain to Banquo? I still wasn’t sure what I was going to say. I knew, without a doubt, that Banquo and I belonged together. But I still could not tell him who I was for risk of losing it all.
Banquo jumped from the branches and landed with a grunt, righting himself at once. He handed a clutch of mistletoe to Uald who nodded to him in thanks, stuck the herb into her game sack and headed back into the forest.
“I was surprised to see you,” Banquo told me when Uald was a good distance ahead of us.
“The casting?”
He nodded.
“Sid is teaching me to control my power.”
“You once mentioned that you too have walked in the forgotten spaces.”
I nodded.
“Where did you go?”
For a moment, I thought of the Wyrd Sisters. I had not seen them in so long. Perhaps they were done with me. “I’m not exactly sure,” I said with a shake of the head.
“Once I—” Banquo began.
“Here,” Uald called.
We hurried up to Uald who was standing over a trap where a small hare struggled to get free. Uald motioned for me to open up the bag. Grabbing the hare with her gloves hands, she snapped the creature’s neck then tossed him in the bag.
My mind drifted, dreaming of the taste of roasted rabbit. I hadn’t eaten since the evening before. I was starving. The fast had me feeling dizzy. But of course, this flesh was not for me. Tonight we would serve our ancestors. We would welcome them back to the realm of the living, offer them a feast, and pray for their guidance. It was Samhain eve. Tonight, the dead would walk.
After we emptied Uald’s traps, we started back toward the coven. Then suddenly Uald stopped.
“Nine Ash,” Uald said as she pointed west. “Follow nine ash trees. They will lead you home. I have something I need to take care of. You’ll reach the coven in about half an hour…or so,” she said with a wink then left us alone. She disappeared into the trees, whistling as she wandered away from us.
“Where is she going?” Banquo wondered aloud.
I suspected she was headed to check on Druanne and Sid, but I didn’t say so. It was not my place to divulge my sister’s secrets. And I also suspected Uald had formulated this plan just to give us this time alone. I was grateful to her.
Despite the chill in the air, the long walk had made me hot. I was parched and my head hurt, but Epona had forbidden us to drink. “Can we rest a bit?” I asked Banquo, motioning to a boulder near the first ash tree.
He nodded then joined me on the rock. I rubbed my eyes and stretched out my long legs.
“So you missed me?” Banquo asked with a teasing smile as he took my hand, “my lady with the violet eyes.” He touched my chin gently.
“Enough to jump out of my skin for you!”
He laughed. “Then it must be love. I certainly haven’t had a woman do that for me before. But then again, I’ve never met anyone quite like you.”
I smiled softly at him.
He leaned in and gently kissed my lips. “Sweet priestess of the cauldron,” he whispered. “I did stop in Lochaber when I traveled north. My father…he wants me to serve alongside Jarl Thorfinn for a year before he will hear of any marriage. But he did say, perhaps, if he knew more about the lady he could be convinced otherwise. He wasn’t keen on the mystery of your identity, though Balor vouched for your lineage without divulging details. It seems my master knows who you are. And your aunt, did she…?”
“I spoke to her and pled our case. We have a male relative—my uncle—who must decide. Ultimately, it is for him to say. I haven’t heard from my aunt. I don’t know my uncle’s decision on the matter yet.”