AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Hush, my girl. You had to take on too much. But you can let it go now…you can let some of that go. You have so many responsibilities, but your sisters are grown. You don’t have to play the role of their mother anymore. You can live for yourself and your lovers. Lean on them, and lean on your friends. And when you need me, remember, I am here. I am listening.”
I pressed my face against the soft touch of the spirit, like I did Misty, at home, and cried like I had never cried before. I cried for the years of trying to meet Father’s expectations. I cried for having to face Menolly’s death and rebirth without Mother’s help. I cried for the isolation I’d felt when Hyto kidnapped me. And, after a long while, my tears lessened. It felt like a lump that had been lodged in my throat all these years had shifted and loosened. With a hiccup, it vanished, and I sat back, hanging my head.
“I’m sorry. I’m sorry I said all those things—”
“No,” my mother said. “You needed to face the fact that as much as you love me, you’re also angry. You squashed those feelings down so hard, they were eating you alive. They were draining you.”
Sniffling, I nodded. She rose, and I stood beside her.
“I miss you.”
“I miss you, too, honey.”
“I love you.”
And my mother looked at me, and for a flicker, I saw the lovely hazel eyes that used to watch over me, and they twinkled with tears. “I love you, too. I have to go, now. Please…I’m happy. I’m waiting for you—but it will be a long, long wait, I think, and I hope. Which is as it should be.”
And then, before I could say another word, she turned, walked back into a misty veil, and vanished.
Spent, I turned back to stare at the figure in the shadows. “Why her? Why me? I thought this was your challenge.”
“It was. My challenge was to stand back and let you fight your own battle. My challenge was to watch you work through one of the deepest losses you’ve ever experienced without stepping in to help. And so…three.”
And then he moved forward, and the moonlight shimmered over him, revealing his face. Morio. My magical match. The priest to my priestess. The King Stag of the Woodland, and I was his goddess.
Once again, the moon swept down to gather me up in her frenzy. I opened my arms. He moved into my embrace, sliding out of his kimono. As he held me, naked and erect, the Moon Mother shimmered overhead, and the night-singing birds echoed through the woodland, and then I was off and running and he followed me, into the dance, onto the web, into the arms of the Moon Mother and the Horned One.
Chapter 9
>Aeval lit a black candle at the center point at the top of the pentagram, and whispered, her words faint and distant.
“Spirit of the Universal dance, bring to this rite your sacred trance.”
As the invocation echoed on the breeze, I was sucked deep into a long tunnel, swiftly moving inward, toward the core of my being, with everything around me surreal and vivid. The eye catchers glowed deeper, the stars twinkled brighter, and the auras of the trees began to shimmer and glow until the forest was lit up like nature’s carnival.
Lastly, Aeval lit a silver candle to one side of the black, and a gold to the other side. She raised her hands to the sky and turned to the crescent moon, her voice echoing through the glade.
“Mother Moon, shining bright, over Earth, Air, Fire, Water, ride your priestess, take her now, Camille, your sacred daughter! Lord of Horns, Father of Earth, Guardian, Provider, Brother, call now, your newborn priest, Our Beloved Lady’s Lover.”
As the Moon Mother descended to ride my shoulders, I turned to see a figure edge out of the forest. Male, that much I knew; he was glowing with the light of a priest. Of a god. And he was mine. I knew he was mine, and I dropped my kimono where I stood. As he began to walk toward me, I shrugged out of my dress. Aeval forgotten, the ritual forgotten, all I could think about was how I needed to rid myself of my clothing, for the chase was on.
Naked, I stood bathed in the moonlight, waiting, edging slightly to the left.
He moved, darting in my direction, and I ran lightly out of the Circle, laughing, turning to beckon him on, to tease him in. I wanted him, but he’d have to earn the right. No one claimed me without proving himself worthy, and whether he be mortal or god, he would have to meet me and match me.
I circled around the outside of the pentagram, the wind nipping my heels. He laughed, throaty and rich, and from someplace deep within me, I recognized the voice but could give no name to it. For he truly had no name, and neither did I. We were male and female, god and goddess, polarities in the great dance of the universe. Like magnets, we were drawn together, but the moment he came too close, I pushed away, running out of reach.
I still could not see him; he was cloaked in shadow, covered by a veil that I could not penetrate. But I did not fear him. He was my match, he was the Chosen One. And I—I was his Sovereign Queen. To be worthy of his status, he must meet me and convince me he was worthy. And then I would allow him in, ride him into the night, and he would emerge sanctified and holy, cleansed in my sacred light and sex.
His laughter faded as he paused, eyeing me. I stopped, shoulders back, hair streaming in the wind. The mood shifted, and intent now—the playfulness vanishing—he began to advance. I stepped back, into the pentagram, into the center.
“You must earn the right to taste my body. You must earn the right to be King Stag of the Forest.” My voice echoed into the night, the words coming from deep within me.
“I claim you.” Again, the voice resonated with me, even in its quiet ferocity. “Name the challenge.”
He must pass three tests, as it was in the days of old. Before I could stop myself, I said, “The challenge of demons.”
“So be it.” His words echoed with a frightening clarity.
