Authors: L. M. Roth
It was Dag who
prevailed upon Kyrene to stay, as he did not feel equal to the sense of menace
that he felt brooding over Leith. He did not have her gift to discern and to
see what remained hidden to others, he explained, and he felt that he would
need her before the end had come.
His invitation
lightened the heart of Lucius, but weighed down the heart of his old friend.
Kyrene wished to return to her own family, and her students in Solone. She had
lingered in Eirinia for nearly two years now, and she feared that the time lost
for her pupils was time wasted for the Kingdom. She fretted inwardly, reluctant
to let Dag and Judoc see her frustration, and finally set it before Dominio.
Send word to
Xanthe to take her place and train the others, was the word she received. She
did not think she heard correctly at first, but as peace slowly spread within
her spirit, she knew that she had indeed received the guidance that she sought.
Xanthe was
faithful to Dominio, she knew, and had improved rapidly since the day she and
Felicia had been students together. And quite suddenly, Kyrene realized that
the desire of her heart had finally been granted. She had yearned to be
released to set sail on the winds of adventure again, strangely enough a desire
that had been sparked when the daughter of Marcus and Tullia Maximus had
alighted on her doorstep like a wild bird that seeks to evade a gilded cage.
And now, with the instruction to have Xanthe take her place, she was free! free
to go wherever Dominio sent her, just as in the days of her youth.
It was with
joy and peace that she sent the word to her young cousin to carry on until her
return, whenever that day might happen to be.
Dag had not
believed the reports of the night creatures when first told of their return. He
had never heard them, as Marcus had heard them during his wanderings through
Eirinia on his way home from his captivity. He had never heard the trees
whisper as his own daughter did on her travels through the land to find him.
And so he was truly stunned when he heard them for the first time.
Dirk woke him
late one night long after the family had retired to bed. His son put a finger
to his lips and beckoned for him to follow where he led. Dag crept out of the
hut as silently as possible and followed Dirk to where Kyrene stood waiting,
just in front of the walled gate.
She looked at
Dag with widened eyes and the stare he recalled, the stare she invariably shed
on those around her when not truly aware of their presence because she had been
called to some faraway place that only she could see. She was muttering under
her breath, and occasionally closed her eyes. He stood before her and waited.
At last she
returned to the world around her and spoke.
“Two of them,”
she whispered, “like sentries on patrol, back and forth, back and forth. They
are as vigilant as though the land was theirs and we the intruders. I sense
plotting, a campaign of attack being carefully and precisely organized, with
the purpose the destruction of Leith. Of Leith, and Annick also! For they have
called on them in Annick, but they do not know what they have summoned. And it
is coming to destroy them.”
Dirk looked
first at Kyrene, and then at his father in alarm. He opened his mouth to
question Dag, but he did not see it, and addressed the seer.
“How soon?
When are they coming?” he asked her, never taking his eyes from her face.
Kyrene closed
her eyes again, and resumed her muttering. Occasionally she paused and raised
her head in a direction beyond the gate. Then she nodded.
“Quite soon,”
she replied. “Summer Festival. We must be ready to meet them.”
The villagers
were assembled on the green and the festival had begun. There was music and
dancing among the young people, laughter and games among the children. But
their elders separated into tight little circles, circles which Dag noted,
consisted of all women or all men.
Loana had come
from Annick, bringing young Pierrick with her, a fact which caused Nolwenn much
consternation. The youth was prepared to follow her around all night and sought
every opportunity to engage her in conversation. But Nolwenn evaded him with
the dexterity of a fox, and Dirk was amused to see his little sister flee
before the ardor of her would be suitor.
It was one of
the few light moments of the evening. Clouds were gathering overhead,
threatening to bring rain to hinder the celebration. And it would not be a bad
thing if you asked Dirk. He did not like the glances that came his father’s way
from the women, headed by Niamh and Enora, who was openly baleful in the glares
she cast in Dag’s direction.
Dag seemed
oblivious to their hostility and kept an eye out for Kyrene. She circled the
gathering, giving the appearance of mingling with the villagers, but in reality
taking a reading of their intentions as she listened to their scattered
conversations. Occasionally she shot a look at Dag, and inclined her head
toward this man or that woman, as if to give warning; or so it appeared to
Dirk.
Maelys did not
join in the festivities but walked the perimeter with Lucius, who kept her
close to his side, as if to guard her from hidden danger. Judoc and Brit joined
a group of the women with an attempt at community spirit. But even from this
distance Dirk caught the averted gazes and the furtive glances exchanged when
Judoc was not aware.
And he knew
then for certain that some plot was afoot. He caught the eye of Dag and jerked
his head toward the women around Judoc. Dag nodded his head slowly and waited
for the women to make their move.
One of the
young men advanced to the center of the green, bearing a large drum, and as he
came into view the others around him scattered. He began to bang on the drum,
and the sound made Dirk shudder. This was not the usual drum used for dancing
and celebration; it had a deep and ominous boom that sounded like a summons to
war.
For Niamh, it
was the signal she had waited for. She walked defiantly into the center of the
green and raised her arms slowly over her head. All eyes turned their gaze upon
her, and Dag was ready.
“Ainah!” she
cried out. “We welcome you to our celebration. Come and grace your summer
festival with your presence. We summon you to join us; for we owe our lives to
you, great Mother. Enter, we say, enter!”
“No!” Dag
shouted as he strode to the center of the green where Niamh stood with upraised
arms.
Her glare was
venomous but he did not care. He returned her glower with an icy one of his
own. They stood with their eyes dueling silently, hands clenched into fists.
And then they
all heard it. The pacing began, but this time it was not back and forth. It
came with a slow and steady purpose, and it came from beyond the walled gate,
advancing with each step.
Every eye
turned to the gate, waiting with drawn breath.
Suddenly a
boom heaved the gate and those near it insisted they saw the gate move as if
battered by something heavy. The women shrieked and gathered in a circle, but
Enora stood strong.
“Hush now, it
is simply Ainah come to join us,” she said.
She turned a
withering frown on the women around her. They cowed under her glare and turned
their eyes to the ground.
“It is not
Ainah, but one of the Astra, who masquerade as any deity you wish to summon,”
Kyrene pronounced. “She is false, just as the Astra are false, just as the
Tuadan are false. Only Dominio is supreme, and you must bow to Him alone.”
Enora scoffed
at her and the women around her joined her laughter, albeit nervously and with
uneasy glances at Dag.
Dag decided it
was time to speak.
“All of you
who call on this false goddess or any others repent! If you have called on them
in secret, if it is your cries that have brought the night creatures back to
walk the land, repent now. For if you do not repent, you will be devoured by
them.”
Enora strode
forward without warning and raised a cane in the air. She lunged at Dag and
would have struck him with it, but his daughter was faster. Maelys threw
herself at Enora and knocked the woman to the ground. She struggled to her feet
and would have lunged again, but this time Kyrene stopped her in her tracks.
“I know who
you are,” she announced in a stern voice, startling to Lucius who had never
heard her speak other than softly. “You are the one who leads others astray,
teaching them to practice your sorcery and your witchcraft, ensnaring them in
your web of spells. You shall never do so again: I declare your day is over
witch. Repent, and forsake your sorcery or face the wrath of Dominio.”
Enora puckered
up her face in a mask of pure malice. She raised her cane at Kyrene now and
threw it at the seer. But Kyrene raised her hand and the cane fell abruptly to
the ground in mid flight before it ever reached her. The women gasped and Enora
was momentarily stunned. She saw the looks of doubt the women cast on her and
she turned her attention to the gate.
“Come in, I
say, come in at once!” she shrieked in a piercing voice that to Lucius seemed
to penetrate to the core of his being.
Kyrene whirled
around to the gate and raised another hand.
“I say be
gone, foul spirit; be gone and never come back!”
Enora raced
over to her and attempted to push her aside. But Kyrene stood her ground; she
was younger and stronger and she did not flinch from the attack. She faced
Enora and the look of fury on her face brought fear to all who beheld it.
Kyrene’s face had taken on a strange glow, and her hazel eyes blazed with a
fire that burned all those present with its intensity.
She turned to
Enora and locked eyes with her.
“Your day is
done witch. Repent or face the wrath of Dominio for your sorcery and leading
people back into idolatry.”
Enora refused
to budge but so did Kyrene. A sudden knocking at the gate startled them both
and they turned simultaneously to face it.
Dag came
forward now, but Kyrene motioned for him to stop. He waited a moment,
listening. And then he knew what he must do.
“People of
Leith and Annick,” he thundered in his booming voice. “You have a visitor who
has come to call, one whom you have summoned, here by your own invitation. Do
you want to invite them in? Or do you wish them to leave and never return?”
He stared at
the villagers, their faces white with fear and uncertainty. Some of them looked
to Enora for guidance, while others were looking at Kyrene whom Enora could not
cower.
He decided the
time had come for more drastic measures.
“Very well,”
he said in a voice that was low yet somehow menacing. “Allow me to decide for
you.”
He turned to
the gates and lifted his hands.
“Dominio, I
call on You to work your will. Let them see what they have done.”
He flung out
his arms to the gates and called out, “Enter!”
Suddenly the
gates blew outward off their hinges and the pacing steps drew nearer. A woman
screamed and Enora turned white. Kyrene faced the unseen menace and ran to take
her stand. Dirk, Maelys, and Lucius stood behind her, linking their arms
together to form a wall of flesh to prevent Enora from approaching her once
more.
“You have no
power here except what they give you! Do not enter until you are bidden to do
so!” Kyrene declared to the unseen presence.
The footsteps
ceased at once; and the villagers gasped.
Enora suddenly
cried out.
“Ainah! I see
her beautiful face!”
And indeed, a
face had suddenly materialized, and slowly the figure of a tall woman took
shape before their eyes. The women exclaimed and started to bow, but Kyrene did
not give them an opportunity.
“Let me show
you who your Ainah really is!” she shouted
She turned to
the spirit that now towered before them to a great height with a beatific smile
on its lovely face.
“Unmask
yourself and remove that false identity!” she commanded.
Without
warning the face appeared to melt, and beneath it was seen a visage so hideous
that the women screamed. It was only the semblance of a face, with the flesh
melted away and red glowing eyes that glared fiercely at those assembled.
Beside it stood another demonic presence, this one even taller and more
frightening, the complexion pasty white and with lips of blood red, that
stretched out grasping hands with pointed nails resembling claws toward the
villagers.
Dag challenged
them once again.
“What will you
do? Will you invite them in? Or will you repent of your idolatry and return to
Dominio? Invite them in and they will destroy you, even as they have devoured
your land, turning it brown as they feed on it, just as they would feed on your
souls. Repent, and Dominio will forgive you and bless you and turn His face
upon you once more.
“What shall it
be?”