Children of Avalon

by Meredith Bond

  And now, through her good work, the trio would soon be torn apart. Certainly, they wouldn’t be able to fight against her if they were at each other’s throats. Nimuë couldn’t help but laugh.

  ~~~~~

  My sword deflected the fireball Bridget threw at me with ease. That was fine. I didn’t mind starting out slow and easy. Nimuë, of course, wouldn’t do that, but this training was as much for Bridget to practice throwing the balls of energy and magic as it was for me to practice defending myself against them.

  “I can’t believe she actually left,” Bridget said, finally putting voice to what I had felt bothering her.

  I’d known that I wouldn’t need to ask. Bridget could never keep quiet for long, especially when something annoyed her.

  “Who left?” I asked, deflecting another fireball, this time thrown with a little more force.

  “Scai!”

  “Oh, did Lady Morgan give her permission to go?”

  “Yes,” Bridget responded, hardly taking a breath before throwing the next fireball and the next. “I just can’t believe that she did. It’s so unfair. Why does she get to leave the island to visit her family while we’re stuck here? How could Lady Morgan allow her to do that?”

  I had to move faster as Bridget’s anger increased the speed of the fireballs she was throwing at me. “Well, why shouldn’t she?” I spat back, and then realized that I was channeling her anger. I wasn’t upset; I thought it was a good idea for her to practice the new magic Merlin had taught her.

  Speaking of which, I realized that I should probably do the same. Instead of strengthening my internal wall to block out Bridget’s anger as usual, I tried to do as Merlin had said and just let her anger flow through me.

  “I suppose you could leave, too, if you wanted,” I continued, trying to let go of my anger and Bridget’s. “It’s just that it would take weeks for you to get back to Gloucester and your family.” I missed the oncoming fireball, I was concentrating so hard on the emotions within me. The fireball singed my tunic as it flew past. Luckily, her aim was off. It landed with a loud sizzle in the lake behind me.

  “Oh, that’s great. That’s really nice of you, Dylan.” Bridget’s anger shot out at me. I held my breath, ready for it, but then remembered I was going about this the wrong way. I needed to relax. Let the emotion flow through me like water. That wasn’t easy when she was also throwing fireballs at me. I shook out my arms and rolled my head around to try and relax my muscles.

  The next fireball flew even farther off. “Watch your aim. It’s not my fault that Scai can now travel with the wind. I wonder how long it takes her to get home,” I added.

  “I hope it takes her a long time and completely exhausts her strength,” Bridget snarled.

  I felt the impact of her anger even as I watched another fireball go sailing off into the lake. “That’s not nice.” My own anger spiked in response, mimicking her emotion. I fought to keep it under control and not allow myself to get riled up with her. Relax, relax and let it flow through you.

  “I don’t want to be nice. She’s not being nice to me, going off like that.” She threw another wild one.

  I dropped my sword to my side and forced myself to relax again. The anger inside of me faded. “Bridget, she’s practicing her new skill. She’s got to, just like we both need to practice our own. When you begin to get angry your aim goes way off. You’ve got to control either your arm or your anger.”

  Bridget stopped herself from randomly lobbing the next fireball in my direction, caught my gaze with her own, and threw it straight at my head.

  I ducked just in time, turning to watch it drive into the water with a splash and a whoosh of steam. Her anger had been shot at me right along with the fireball, and that, too, I seemed to have ducked, I realized with relief. “That was a hot one!” I turned back to Bridget. “Er, that’s good, I think.”

  Bridget smiled at me with satisfaction, but then lost her smile just as quickly as her mind returned to the topic at hand. “And why would Scai want to go back to that stupid little village anyway? Didn’t the people there threaten to burn her as a witch if she didn’t leave?”

  I shrugged, just catching the next fireball with the tip of my sword. “I guess she still wanted to see her guardian. Why do you care so much?”

  “Because it’s not fair,” Bridget repeated. “She doesn’t even have a real family, and yet she’s given the power to go off wherever she wants. I have six brothers that I would die to see right now.”

  Her temper was cooling, being replaced by a desperate sadness that was easier for me to deal with. “Really? I mean, I knew you had brothers, but you want to see them?” The concept was a little alien to me. I not only didn’t have any siblings of my own, but couldn’t imagine wanting to see my foster brothers.

  “I miss them terribly.” The words came out soft and slow; the fireball, formed in her hand, stayed there.

  “I’m sorry, Bridget. Really, I am.” I debated whether I should go over and put an arm around her, maybe give her a shot of happiness. She was so sad.

  She gave a little sniff and then lifted her head, her eyes popping fire once more. “Well, we wouldn’t be having this problem at all if it wasn’t for your girlfriend.”

  “My what? Scai?” Now I was just confused.

  “Not Scai.” She scowled. “Morwen. She was the one who convinced Lady Morgan to allow Scai to leave the island, you know.”

  “Morwen isn’t my girlfriend.”

  “No? You two sure spend a lot of time together,” she snapped.

  “She’s been helping me to train, just like you’re doing right now.” This time, I didn’t know if I was channeling her anger or brewing my own.

  “Yeah, and why do you think she’s been doing that?”

  I had never stopped to think about that. She was available. Scai and Bridget were busy with their own training. This afternoon had been unusual in that Bridget had sought me out to ask if I would work with her. But Morwen didn’t seem to have anything else she needed to do, and she’d offered. I wasn’t going to say no. But I didn’t think I needed to share my reasoning with Bridget, so I kept my mouth shut.

  Bridget didn’t seem to think this was a good answer. The next fireball she lobbed at me went straight at my head.

  “Have any other priestesses been helping you or me or Scai?” Bridget taunted. But I didn’t respond, I just defended myself from the fireball.

  “Don’t tell me you hadn’t noticed how often she’s with you?” She threw another, this one faster than the last. “I can assure you, Scai’s noticed,” Bridget added meaningfully.

  My anger peaked right along with Bridget’s; only mine had a tinge of worry added to it. “And just what do you know? Has she said anything to you?” I asked.

  “No. She doesn’t need to. You see, even those of us who are not empathic can tell when someone is feeling upset.”

  I swallowed the anger she shot at me along with the next fireball, my own hurt distracting me enough that I hardly noticed her emotion as it passed through me. “I don’t want to make her upset,” I said, stepping aside to let a fireball fly past.

  “Well then, you’d better do something to make it up to her. And stop seeing Morwen,” Bridget told me.

  I didn’t know about the part about not seeing Morwen, but she was right about needing to speak with Scai. I didn’t want to hurt her, intentionally or not.

  Chapter 8

  The quiet hum of the crowd of people drowned out the ever–present roar of the waterfall. In only two days, I had become so used to that sound that not having it made me feel as if something wasn’t right.

  It was just the number of people, I reassured myself. Although they were speaking quietly, just the fact that there were fifty or sixty people milling about the green was enough to drown out ordinary sounds. Now, I just needed to find out why there were so many people about.

  I caught sight of Sir Dagonet, Lady Morgan, and the girls standing off to
one side. I couldn’t help but notice that while Bridget and Scai normally stood together, this evening they were standing on either side of Sir Dagonet, not even looking toward each other.

  “Good evening,” I said, approaching the group.

  They all turned toward me. Only Sir Dagonet and Lady Morgan wore any sort of welcoming expression. Scai looked past me over my shoulder and Bridget glared openly.

  I tried letting her anger flow through me, but failed so miserably I was forced to shove my corresponding anger back behind my wall so that I could maintain civility. I did allow some embarrassment to creep over me, however, as I remembered that I’d intended to apologize to Bridget that morning for criticizing her sword–making skills the other day. I’d truly meant to make amends to her about that, but had completely forgotten when I’d gotten caught up in her anger and our conversation. I hoped it wasn’t too late, but with the crowd all around us, I decided that perhaps now wasn’t the time to bring up the subject. I also desperately wanted to speak to Scai—alone. Making things right with her was much more important than apologizing to Bridget.

  “Good evening, Dylan.” Lady Morgan was the only one to respond.

  “Good evening.” Morwen’s voice came up from behind me. She slipped her arm through mine and grasped on to my bicep, giving it a meaningful squeeze and me a sweet smile.

  I returned her smile politely, but was staggered by the gust of anger coming from Scai. It was so rare that she became angry at anything that I almost didn’t recognize where the feeling was coming from. I gently removed my arm from Morwen’s grasp. “Do you know what’s going on tonight? Why are there so many people about?” I asked.

  “It is a very exciting evening for the people of Avalon,” Lady Morgan answered, giving off more excitement than I had ever felt from her.

  “Oh yes,” Morwen chimed in. She stepped closer to me again and put her hand on the arm I’d just taken away from her. “There’s going to be a hand–fasting!”

  Her excitement tingled through into my arm, and I couldn’t help but return the brilliant smile she was giving me. I took a quick glance over at Scai. She wasn’t only not smiling, she was coming as close to frowning as I’d ever seen her. I definitely had to get away from Morwen and alone with Scai before this got any worse.

  “We are all very thrilled. It has been a long time since we’ve hosted one,” Lady Morgan said, clearly as caught up in the excitement as everyone around us. “It is much more common, even for the people of Avalon, to be married in a church in the Christian fashion. But not tonight. Tonight one of our own priests and priestesses will exchange vows in the traditional manner.”

  “That sounds fascinating,” I said, trying to push some of the happiness and excitement that was all around us toward Scai and Bridget who had both walled themselves off from it.

  “Only been to one before in my life, don’t you know? And that’s saying quite a bit considering how long I’ve been around.” Sir Dagonet chuckled.

  Lady Morgan laughed. “You are hardly more than a young man to me, Sir Dagonet. You truly don’t want to know how many ordinary years I’ve been alive.”

  “I would never presume to ask, my lady,” Sir Dagonet said, bowing low and then, somehow, losing his balance. I had to grab a hold of his arm so that he didn’t topple right over.

  Lady Morgan burst out laughing again, and even the girls’ expressions softened some.

  Sir Dagonet turned pink. “Don’t know how that happened,” he stammered. “Don’t know what it is...”

  I gave the old man a pat on his shoulder and even gave in to my own smile. “It’s all right, sir.”

  Before it became too late, I slipped closer to Scai. “Could I have a word with you?”

  She glanced at me and then back to Morwen. “I don’t think this is a good time.”

  “Please, Scai. It’ll only take a moment, but it’s important,” I urged. I was tempted to put some magic behind my words, but I knew that if I did she would not only be aware of it, but even more angry with me than she already was. I really wasn’t used to people who could sense magic as well as she could.

  Scai gave a nearly inaudible sigh and then a nod of her head. We slipped away as unobtrusively as possible.

  I took her hand as we walked to the edge of the green, but she pulled it from my grasp. I did my best to hide my frown.

  At the edge of the green, she crossed her arms over her chest and turned towards me. “What is it that’s so important that it couldn’t wait until after this exciting ceremony?”

  And with that all of the words I’d practiced, all of the excuses and words of endearment I’d been thinking of all day to try to convince her of my true feelings seeped right out of my mind. All I could think of was how beautiful she looked. Her hair glowed white in the twilight. Her arms were crossed over her beautiful slender form—arms that I knew were a lot stronger than they appeared. Her strength of will and the soft compassion she held deep inside were evident even in her anger. I admired this girl—no, this woman, much more than I had ever admired anyone in my life, except maybe my father. But certainly, no other woman could ever compare to all that Scai was to me. The question was—how could I convince her that I felt this way?

  “Well?” she asked, beginning to lose patience with my silence.

  “I’m sorry.”

  “Sorry for what?” she asked. She looked over my shoulder, pretending not to care.

  “Sorry for the rumors that for some reason are being spread about me and Morwen. I want you to know that they’re not true. Not anything that anyone is saying is true.” My practiced words were finally back. I only hoped they were enough.

  Scai continued looking over my shoulder. Giving a nonchalant shrug, she said, “I don’t care what you do or don’t do with Morwen. It’s really none of my business.”

  “You know that that’s not true.”

  She finally met my eyes. “Yes it is. We said that we should just be friends until this quest is over with. Friends don’t mind if their friends are intimate with other people. It doesn’t matter. If you’re happy being with Morwen, then I’m happy for you.” The words came out of her mouth, but I could see through the dullness in her eyes that she didn’t mean a single one of them.

  “We both know—”

  “Dylan, I don’t want to discuss this right now. There’s going to be a hand–fasting, and I don’t want to miss it. What you do is your own business; none of mine.” And with that, she strode back to where Lady Morgan, Sir Dagonet, and Bridget were still speaking.

  I watched her go, unable to understand why I couldn’t get through to her. It was true—I hadn’t used any magic. Maybe I needed to use magic. But then she’d get annoyed and accuse me of toying with her feelings. I just didn’t know what to do! I had to convince her that I cared.

  I stopped. No. I didn’t just care.

  I loved her.

  The noise level throughout the green dropped suddenly. Had I said that out loud?

  No. No one was looking toward me. They were all looking toward the temple.

  I ran over to my group to find out what was happening. I’d deal with my crazy emotions later.

  “Ah, here come our bride and groom,” Lady Morgan was saying as I rejoined them. She indicated with a nod of her head the young couple who were coming across the green, the crowd parting for them as they moved through. “They have been praying to the Goddess and forming their necteres. Now that they’re done, we’ll start walking up to the top of the hill.”

  “I beg your pardon, ma’am, but what are necteres?” Scai asked, following Lady Morgan into one of the two lines of people that had begun to form.

  The bride and the groom began to slowly make their way to the far side of the lake, each leading one line of people. I and the others in my group all joined in one line or the other, but kept to the back so that we could speak quietly.

  “Ah, a nectere is a very special, very magical object, Scai. It is usually a piece of jewelry—a ring
, a necklace, or bracelet that is created by a Vallen for his or her mate. When placed on the other’s body and touched, it joins them so that all of their thoughts and feelings are shared. It brings the couple closer together, forming a very strong bond.”

  “That would take a great deal of trust to share all of your thoughts and feelings with another,” Scai said with some astonishment to her voice.

  Lady Morgan turned and gave her a bright smile. “That is precisely the point. It also allows for them to live together in harmony and makes for fewer misunderstandings between a couple.”

  “So after they have exchanged these necteres they will know everything the other is thinking?” I clarified. I knew just what Scai meant—I just couldn’t imagine sharing that much with anyone, no matter how strong my feelings for them. On the other hand, if Scai and I shared something like that, then she’d know that I didn’t care for Morwen. She’d know that I only loved her. Mentally I shook my head and swallowed the crazy wish.

  “That depends,” Lady Morgan said. “The stronger your magic, the stronger you are able to make your nectere. If your magic is not strong at all, the one who wears your nectere will only have a vague knowledge of your thoughts and feelings, but if you are a strong Vallen, they will be aware of more, possibly everything.”

  “It sounds unnerving giving someone that much of yourself,” I said, following along in her footsteps, but then added, “but I can see the benefits.” I caught Scai’s eyes with my own. They were wide with innocence and, I hoped, a beginning of understanding that what I’d tried to tell her earlier was the truth.

  “I agree,” Bridget said from beside me. “I couldn’t imagine anyone knowing all of my thoughts.”

  I couldn’t help but laugh at the idea of getting even a glimpse of what went through Bridget’s mind. That was one place I didn’t want to go.

  She laughed for the first time that night as she added, “I’d probably drive anyone crazy with everything that’s always rushing through my mind.”