The energy built inside her, as though she was part of a vast flowing circuit, connected to the stars and the trees and the deepest part of the earth. She gasped as an orgasmic pressure began building inside her – not even just in her abdomen, but through her entire body. With every breath, she felt pulsing pleasure build and break across her body like the deep, sonorous vibration of a gong.
In her mind’s eye, she saw fae creatures dance around her in a circle, but these were different to the fae creatures of Murias. They were still varied, as the ones in Murias had been, but here, they were made of branches, wood-trunked, some with bonnets made of petals, some with bodies like young green saplings. Some of them were beautiful in a human-like way, and some ofthem had no discernible faces. But they danced and sang around Faye, raising the energy that pulsed through her.
Faye Morgan, welcome home. Faye Morgan, blessed of the fae.Seo àite do chumhachd; gabh ri cumhachd na talmhainn.This is your place of power; embrace the power of the earth.
Faye raised her arms to the sky, her feet rooted to the ground. Eyes open, she saw a sigil glow in the air above her, between her raised hands. It was a different sigil than the one she had used to summon the element of water, but she recognised it as a magic fae sigil of a different kind. And, somehow, she felt that it was being given to her; impregnated in her aura, given as a gift.
The sigil glowed bright between her hands and then slowly dissolved into the space between them. She felt its energy merge with her aura, tinting it with rose petals and sunlight.
She opened her eyes, and the fae had gone. But Faye was different: full of a new power which coursed through her veins like liquid gold.
Someone stood next to her; she opened her eyes and glanced to the side.
Gabriel Black cleared his throat politely.
‘I’m so sorry. I didn’t want to interrupt your communion,’ he said, holding out his arm formally. As before, he was dressed impeccably in a well-cut black suit and crisp white shirt undone at the neck. ‘But when you’re finished, I wonder if you’d like to come to my shop for a cup of tea?’
15
Excerpt from Grainne Morgan’s diary
10 November 1588
Gwyn Beatha came to me at home this time. He asked not for my usual observance, but to pleasure me and me alone. I have never experienced this from a faerie, let alone a faerie king. Afterwards, he revealed that he had brought me a gift from his private library: a grimoire of deep power. I give this to you with ultimate trust, he said, looking into my eyes. I was taken aback; this is unusual behaviour. I received it with thanks.
Later, he held me to him and kissed me deeply. It was altogether a most unusual – but wonderful – evening.
Fortune’s was down a narrow street opposite the park, with a pub at the end of the road and a small café opposite. Next door to the shop there was another bookshop with statuettes of Egyptian gods in the window among many leather volumes. On the main street outside, regency terraces lined the road with black cast iron railings, smart against white walls that featured a blue plaque here and there, remembering the great men and women that once occupied their high ceilings and graceful reception rooms.
‘Come in, come in!’ Gabriel swung the shop door open and ushered her inside. ‘I’m so happy that I ran into you. Providence,’ he said, smiling over his shoulder. ‘Or something magical at work, more likely. Don’t worry about wiping your feet.’
Faye glanced at shelves heaving with a mix of garish occult novels, old hardbacks with cracked spines and new and luxurious slipcases adorned with mysterious symbols in gold foiling. Her feet squeaked on the dark floorboards. The high-ceilinged shop was lit cosily by a Lalique-style pastel-green glass lamp on a mahogany desk that was slightly bowed in the middle. Two dusty crystal chandeliers hung from the plastered ceiling, adding their milky luminescence to the atmosphere. An ornate incense holder, like a small silver minaret, scented the shop with the meditative, churchy aroma of frankincense.
‘Everything from ritual magic to druidry, crystal grids to spiritual healing, Atlantis to grimoires of the damned and famous.’ Gabriel smiled as she scanned the shelves. ‘Open eighty years and they haven’t closed us down yet. Do you know this area? I don’t suppose you do.’
‘No, not at all. I just took the bus and got off when I saw the park.’ She frowned. ‘I didn’t plan to come here.’
Gabriel smiled and offered her a teal leather armchair with bronze studs around the edges. Faye sat in it gingerly; it looked ancient, but as she relaxed into it, it tilted backwards slightly and seemed to hug her in an unexpectedly comfortable posture.
‘London’s chock full of magic, dearest Faye. Secret societies, covens, antiquarian bookshops, magicians, strange antique dealers…And, I like to think that Fortune’s is like a gigantic occult magnet to anyone with even the slightest inclination for the distinctly un-mundane. Or, perhaps we were destined to meet again. We are merely pawns at the bidding of the higher forces, I sometimes think.’ He chuckled, brushing imaginary fluff from his jacket.
‘It’s a lovely shop.’ Faye gazed about her. ‘I stock some books, but only a few shelves’ worth. This is such a wonderful collection.’ She looked around the shelves and saw a shelf markedScottish Myths and Legends. She peered at the spines.
‘That was some introduction to the coven the other night. Talk about making an impression.’ He took out a brown hardback from theScottish Legendsshelf and handed it to her. ‘Here. This’ll be useful, I’d say. A gift from me.’
Faye took the book, surprised and pleased.
‘You don’t have to…’ she stammered, touched by the act of generosity. She looked at the spine:Faeries in Their Elementsby Reverend R.W.Smith.
‘It’s my pleasure. I didn’t know if I was going to see you again after the ritual – you ran out of there like a scared rabbit as soon as the circle was closed.’ Gabriel placed his slim, long-fingered hand over hers as she held the book.
‘Was Sylvia angry? I got the feeling she was.’ Faye blushed.
‘Maybe a little. We all wanted to talk to you about it more than anything. Make sure you were all right. I’m glad you’rehere,’ he said quietly, looking into her eyes. Embarrassed at his intimate scrutiny, she looked away. She didn’t quite know what to make of Gabriel Black just yet.
‘I doubt I’ll be allowed back after that performance,’ she said, expecting him to agree, albeit kindly. She’d disrupted the whole ritual; granted, it wasn’t something she’d planned, but again, Faye’s faerie half had threatened her normal life, and any illusion she had about being able to control it was ruined. Her eyes strayed to a glass-fronted mahogany cabinet opposite, inside which a number of crystal balls sat on a velvety, mustard-coloured shelf. The shelf below held a variety of crystal skulls – large and small, and carved from black, clear and even pink stones. Faye got the impression that, if she asked, Gabriel would be able to show her some far more unusual magical artefacts and tools.
Fortune’s reeked of old occult magic in a way that was very different to her own cosy shop in Abercolme. Mistress of Magic was a place of dried herbs by the hearth, herbal soaps, wands and spell kits. It was a place where anyone could be assured of a warm welcome, advice if they asked for it, their fortune told and their worries assuaged.
