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Everything blurred except the passion for the chase, the drive to seek and catch those who belonged to the night. As reason bled away from my soul, the silver light of moon magic welled up in my heart, and I let go of my last worry, my last fear, and gave myself over forever and always to the Moon Mother.
Chapter Twelve
"Camille? Camille?" Delilah's voice jolted through my thoughts. I shook my head, dazed. The unicorn horn was back in its box, which was still on my lap, and Kitten was shaking my shoulders. "Are you all right?"
I blinked, trying to sort out my thoughts. "I guess so. Apparently, I decided to take an unexpected trip down memory lane. How long was I out?"
Morio glanced at his watch. "Six minutes. At first we thought you were communing with the energy of the horn, but when you let out a squeal and put the horn back in the box, I figured that you'd checked out."
A squeal, huh? Delightful. At my most mystical, I was an intimidating and beautiful sight. I knew it was true, so why bother denying it? However, it would seem this hadn't been one of those times.
"I guess my mind decided it needed a vacation." Inhaling deeply, I savored the awareness a lungful of oxygen brought to my thoughts. Breathing did wonders for the brain.
"I think I jumped into something far deeper than a trance. Unless I miss my guess, I stepped out of time, bilocated, and whisked myself back to my initiation night," I said, letting out a delicate cough. "I could swear I just relived the entire evening—but six minutes? Not quite enough time for that."
"The horn didn't harm you, did it?" Feddrah-Dahns's eyes flickered.
"Harm me? No, not at all." I cautiously reached for the crystal again. "I just wasn't prepared for the intensity of its energy. That crystal spire packs quite a wallop. The shock sent me looping back to… to another time in my life when another great power took hold of me."
Took hold of me, sank in her teeth, and never let go.
As I reached for the horn, it occurred to me that it might be sentient. I could sense stray thoughts and emotions emanating from the spire, and they sure as hell weren't grounded to anybody else in the room.
I raised my finger to my lips, motioning for everyone to hush as I reached deep with my aura, rooting my energy into the soil and branch and root and twigs that lay just outside our door. Though I was no earth witch, I communed just fine with the forests and plants. Their mana would keep me centered.
Once I was prepared, I gently wrapped my hand around the horn and lifted it out of the box again.
This time, when the sweeping range of power swept over me a second time, I was able to keep myself afloat. When I started to flounder in the sea of energy, I forced myself to focus on the horn in my hand, on the chair on which I was sitting, on Feddrah-Dahns and Mistletoe and Delilah and Morio, all of whom watched me anxiously.>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.
