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Great. As if I couldn't hear every word they said. But I knew better than to do what I wanted, which was to blurt out, "Excuse me, but I'm right here, people." Maybe I did go off half-cocked at times, but now wasn't going to be one of them.
Mees-Mees wiggled her finger at me. "Follow me."
Without another word, she turned and swiftly strode toward the temple. I followed as fast as I could, but we didn't go in. Instead, we hurried past the gleaming marble walls as we made our way around back to where a small, unobtrusive cottage sat on the outskirts of the forest.
Mees-Mees held up her hand. "Wait here." She entered the cottage, leaving me alone.
I glanced up at the moon. "Don't forsake me," I whispered to the glittering orb. "Don't turn me away. Please." My entire life had been focused on two things: becoming a witch pledged to the Moon Mother, and taking care of my sisters since our mother had died. I was doing all right on the latter task, but wasn't up to snuff on the former. Even if I did manage to pledge in the Moon Mother's service, I seriously doubted I'd ever make priestess.
After a moment, Mees-Mees reappeared. Teribeka followed behind her. Teribeka was one of the oldest priestesses to the Moon Mother, and one of the strongest. She'd been passed over for the spot of High Priestess, though, and no one ever knew why.
"I hear you are destined to visit the grove," Teribeka said, waving at Mees-Mees, who abruptly departed, returning the way we'd come.
I swallowed. Damn it, if only Lyrical had given in and agreed with Nigel, I'd be taking my oath and then spending the night on my first Hunt.
"Yes," I said, suddenly nervous. So much was riding on tonight.
But to my surprise, the old witch just smiled. "Then we'd best hurry, girl. We can't keep the High Priestess waiting."
The High Priestess of the Moon Mother cared for nothing but to serve the will of the Lady. Her only vows were to the Moon herself, and to the Moon Mother she'd pledged her life and her death. She was the gateway to the goddess.
As Teribeka prepared me for the journey, the stars clustered thickly overhead, raining down showers of sparkling light. I licked my lips, staring up at the ancient orb, feeling the weight of the metal as Teribeka bound an engraved belt around my waist, then fastened my hands with silver chains and cuffs behind my back.
She glanced at the sky. "I feel her pull, too," was all she said, but her words steadied me. I flashed her a wary smile as we started down a woodland path from the cottage. As we crept among the trees, the night air was rife with the sounds of whistling birds and feral cats that padded silent through the foliage, prowling on their hunt.
When we approached the entrance of the Grove, Teribeka stood back. "I can go no farther, child. This is a solitary journey, and you must go forward alone into Derisa's garden."
She paused, then placed a gentle hand on my arm. "Think long and hard before you set foot on this path. If the High Priestess Derisa approves, and you kneel before the Goddess this night, your life will never again belong to you. Your heart and soul will be bound inexorably to the Moon."
I glanced at the orb overhead, listening to the breath of the forest. My breast rose and fell to the woodland's rhythm.
"I don't have a choice," I said. "The Moon Mother called me when I was born. There is no other way." I rattled the chains binding my wrists. "My shackles to her are far heavier and stronger than these will ever be."
Teribeka nodded. "Then think before you speak. Death is less terrifying than the wrath of gods. The High Priestess holds the light of the Lady in her hands, and both she and the Moon Mother reward stupidity with a swift and painful death. The Moon not only watches over the night, but she is the forest incarnate. She is the Light Mother of sparkling magic, and she's the Dark Huntress who leads the pack. She will devour you should you stumble."
I forced my feet forward. The branches and decaying leaf detritus clutched at my ankles as if to call out, Stop, don't go! but I kicked it away. As I came to the line of trees guarding the entrance to the Grove, I recognized both oak and willow—strength and intuition.
Pushing through the foliage, I paused to rest my forehead against the gnarled bark. The ancient sentinels of the Grove towered so old, so wide that within their crevices they held the bodies of priestesses from ages past, curled in burial repose. Ivory bones gleamed from the voids hollowed in the trunks. Instinct spurring me on, I curtsied at each grave, paying respect to the lineage that had spawned the Moon Mother's order.
Past the sentinels stood an arched trellis, tightly cloaked in wild roses twining up the stone arc. Wisteria draped from the curved ceiling, pregnant and lush. The scent was heady, intoxicating with a hint of decay curling the edges.
The weight of my chains grew stronger with each step. Would I end up permanently scarred? Blistered from the cold fire of the silver? Or was it merely a reminder that I was near the Grove?
The wind fell to a whisper as I entered the Moon Mother's domain.
Hewn of an ancient oak, fashioned by hands long dead, the great throne of the High Priestess was inset with emeralds and peridot, garnets and moonstone. Polished arms wrapped Derisa in their embrace, curving like some great dragon's feet, and iridescent scales of metal covered the back of the seat against which she rested her head. Sprawled in the throne, a booted leg thrown over the arm, the High Priestess of the Moon remained silent until I approached.
And then she stood. Her silhouette cast a tall shadow against the backdrop of moonlight. Clad in a plum and black silken tunic with breeches and boots, she was dressed for the Hunt, and a nimbus of lavender fire surrounded her, her aura crackling with magic. Dark she was, and beautiful, with tumbling black hair that reached her knees and waxen skin so incredibly pale that it mirrored the moonlight. Her eyes sparked with cold fire as she inspected me, her gaze slicing to the bone.
My knees buckled, and I found myself kneeling on the ground, forehead touching the soil at the foot of the throne.
Derisa stepped down and gently prodded me in the side with one booted toe. "Lyrical recommends we cast you out, Nigel that we take your oath. What do you say? If the need arises, are you truly prepared to forsake your family, forsake your life, forsake even your soul?"
Her voice swept past on a gust of wind as her lilting words wove into my heart and took hold, sucking me under. I looked up, terrified. And yet I managed to meet her gaze.
"The Moon Mother called me when I was a child," I whispered. "This is the only path I've ever wanted to walk. I need her—I can't ignore her summons."
Derisa hesitated, then knelt beside me. She reached out and, fingers resting under my chin, lifted my head to look me straight in the eye. My trembling stopped. She alone would decide my fate, she and the Moon Mother. Fear slipped away like a snake shedding its skin, and I inhaled deeply as I gazed into her beautiful face.
