Moondance of Stonewylde (45 page)

‘I need your help this month with the Mooncliffe business.’

Clip waved airily.

‘I’ll help if you want, but you really don’t need me. The hypnosis hasn’t worn off, has it?’

‘No, I’ve checked and Sylvie’s still under, but there’re other things that could go wrong. After missing it last month, the moon energy’s gone completely from the big stone at Mooncliffe. There’re only a couple of charged eggs left and it’s Samhain in a fortnight. For some reason I’m not getting anything from the Altar Stone any more so I
must
have this power next week. You know what Samhain’s like – I really need the extra energy. So if something were to go wrong at the next full moon and I’m up there all on my own, I’d be stuck. I need your help, Clip.’

‘Well, it’s nice to be wanted. Mind if I have another little cake? They’re so more-ish, aren’t they?’

He sat eating the cake slowly, savouring each morsel.

‘I’ll help you,’ he mumbled, wiping crumbs from his lips, ‘but Sol, I don’t want Sylvie kept up there for hours and weighed down
with all those heavy stone eggs. It’s cruel and I can’t stand it.’

Magus sighed and shook his head slowly.

‘I wish there could be some other way of taking the moon magic but regrettably there isn’t. Sometimes, Clip, to be part of a community one has to make sacrifices and this is Sylvie’s sacrifice in return for all that we give her. At the moment she’s the only one we know of with this ability to channel the moon’s energy. Sadly it takes some of her own energy to do it but she does recover fully, and I think she overdoes the suffering just a little, don’t you? It can’t hurt that much surely. I think there’s something of the teenage martyr about her and she enjoys wallowing in it. She needs to toughen up a bit, don’t you agree? And it’s not as if she gives anything else back to Stonewylde after all. Here, have another cake.’

‘Well, possibly. But her distress on the rock is genuine.’

‘Oh no doubt it’s a little uncomfortable for her, but this time we’ll lie her down after a while so it’s not such a strain and more of her body will be in contact with the stone. She can even sleep if she wants and she’ll barely notice it then. Are you happy with that?’

‘Alright, alright, you’ve persuaded me, just like you always do,’ laughed Clip, his pupils dilated. He waved his hands expansively. ‘Just don’t be cruel, will you? I hate it when you’re cruel, Sol, and you so often are.’

‘I think the cakes have affected you, Clip,’ said Magus smoothly, his eyes gleaming. ‘I’m not cruel at all.’

‘Come on Sol, I’ve known you all your life, remember? I understand what you’re capable of, and it’s why I have to leave sometimes. I can’t cope being around you for long – you’re too demanding, too overwhelming. In fact, I might as well tell you this now – I’ve decided to leave Stonewylde after the Winter Solstice so you’ll need to find someone else to help you out with the ceremonies and things.’

‘I expect I’ll manage until you come back – I usually do.’

‘No, you don’t understand. I’m planning an extended stay in the Outside World this time, not just a quick trip.’

Magus looked hard at him.

‘This is a very bad time for you to be away for a long period, Clip. There’s so much going on and I need you – we agreed this.’

Clip closed his eyes, blotting out his brother’s handsome face and the ruthless eyes that bored into him so relentlessly.

‘No we didn’t! You know how I get when I’m trapped in one place for too long, Sol – I need to get away. That’s why I handed everything over to you in the first place. I don’t want the pressure and responsibility of Stonewylde. You can’t make me stay! You know I can’t take it.’

His voice had started to crack. He’d only found the courage to stand up to his brother because of the cakes, and even their effect was limited. Magus watched him carefully, eyes narrowed, gauging how far he could push.

‘Don’t get upset, Clip,’ he said soothingly, his voice soft. ‘I’m sorry – don’t even think about it now. We’ll talk another time. It’s just that with all my plans for expansion there’re going to be some big changes at Stonewylde in the New Year, and you’re so good at getting difficult people to comply with my wishes.’

He sighed, gazing through the window at the huddle of gardeners still raking up the endless fallen leaves on the misty, dew-soaked lawns.

‘I don’t know, Clip, I do my best for these people and sometimes I wonder if it’s all worth it. I’ve such dreams for Stonewylde, but does anyone appreciate my efforts? I’m going to build another school to accommodate all the children, and more cottages in the Village, larger ones for the bigger families. Do you know the average Villager family now has seven children, and that’s risen every year?’

‘Maybe you should encourage more birth control,’ said Clip glumly, toying with another cake.

‘Oh no, on the contrary – I’ve been urging the women to produce more children,’ said Magus. ‘There are some really large families now and that’s what I want. We need more labour and skilled craftspeople for the future if Stonewylde’s to expand, and we’ve plenty of food to feed the extra mouths. No, I want lots
more Village children and I shall be offering lovely new cottages with loads of space and extra amenities as an incentive to women to keep on having more babies. They’re all so healthy and fertile, and just imagine how rapidly our community will expand when this new generation starts to reproduce! We’ll have to do something about the gene pool then, but I’ve some good ideas about how to bring in fresh stock.’

‘We’ll be over-run with Villagers,’ murmured Clip, rolling his eyes.

‘Not over-run – supported by their labour and skills. And I intend to build a complex of holiday homes up here for Hallfolk so we can get all of them to stay more frequently. We need to keep their money pouring into the coffers and holiday homes will generate excellent revenue. The wind farm will have to be expanded to cope with the extra power needed. And then there’s the quarry – I really need that stone. Jackdaw proved to be an excellent site manager back in the summer and got so much work out of those men before that damn accident. I’m planning to re-open the quarry properly next year, with experienced workers this time. So you can see just how much I’ve got on my plate and that’s why I really need your support. You’re my right-hand man, Clip. There’s no one else – please don’t leave Stonewylde.’

Clip gazed helplessly at his younger brother, so vibrant and determined. He felt worn out and frail just looking at him and knew that he must stick to his plan or Magus would talk him round, as he always did. But it was so difficult to stand up to him and go against his wishes; Magus commanded obedience.

‘You don’t get it, Sol. I hate all that. I just want to live in a simple hut in the hills and devote my life to my calling. I’m a shaman not a businessman. All this empire-building stuff – I hate it, so please don’t look to me to get involved. You need to find someone who shares your passion and who’ll want to help build it all up – that’s certainly not me. And obviously I won’t be having children either, so it’s up to you to pass it all on. I know you were considering Buzz; that must’ve been a disappointment to lose him.’

Magus’ face darkened.

‘Buzzard was a complete waste of time. He’d no backbone at all, the snivelling wretch, and he cared nothing for Stonewylde. I’m better off without him.’

‘Are there really no others? I know you abstained from procreating for years, although you’ve two on the way now, haven’t you?

Magus shook his head.

‘There’s nobody. After Buzz, I … well, I decided to wait a few years. It would’ve been tempting to father children all over the place of course, but that would’ve been irresponsible and a genetic nightmare too. I just hope that either Rowan or Miranda’s baby proves to be a worthy heir, although I probably won’t stop there. But that’s all years away – they’re not even born yet.’

Clip sat up suddenly, his face brightening.

‘Of course!’ he said excitedly. ‘Why didn’t we think of this before? I always forget about him, but what about the Village boy Yul? They don’t come much tougher than him and he seems bright and intelligent, from what I’ve noticed. There’s something special about him, something steely there. I know he hasn’t been brought up as a Hallchild, but—’

Magus glared at Clip, his black eyes glittering.

‘Yul? Why mention him of all people?’

‘Because he’s yours, isn’t he? I remember he—’

‘You’re mistaken, Clip – he’s not my son.’

‘Come off it, Sol, of course he is! It’s obvious! I know he’s as dark-haired as his mother, but in all other ways—’

‘I repeat: Yul is
not
my son. I’ve been through this with you before and he can’t be my son, so just leave it, Clip. We
don’t
talk about this.’

‘But you
know
he’s yours! Your grand passion with his mother all those years ago, not long after you’d taken over here – your lovely little dark-haired Maizie, with her pretty grey eyes and joie de vivre. I remember it so well. That Moon Fullness – it was a Blue Moon too! You took her up to Mooncliffe and the stone and you couldn’t stop talking about it the next day, in far too much
detail as I recall. What a night for her first time! It was that spectacular Blue Moon – you
must
remember it! The moon had the most enormous moon-bow arched around it, absolutely huge and glowing – remember? And everyone was saying it was a special sign from the Triple Goddess in her blue robes, and you and Maizie—’

‘Nothing came of that union,’ said Magus in a dangerous voice. ‘Maizie did
not
conceive that night.’

‘Of course she did – she had Yul!’

‘Oh for Goddess’ sake, she
didn’t
conceive that night! She couldn’t have because she was already pregnant.’

‘Already pregnant? But you know that’s not true! She was a very popular girl, being so pretty, but you were the only one she had eyes for. That night was her initiation,
you
told me so. She was mad about you and you were pretty keen on her too, I recall. She’d only just reached adulthood and she’d been with no one else. She couldn’t possibly have conceived before that Moon Fullness.’

Magus regarded him coldly.

‘You’re completely wrong, confused. She was very popular, as you say – I hadn’t appreciated just how popular. And Alwyn was always in the picture, sniffing around her and trying to muscle in. Maizie lied to me – Alwyn had her first. I thought at the time that I was her first, but in fact she was already pregnant with his child when we made love during that Blue Moon. She must’ve been; Yul was born eight months later.
Eight
months, not nine, at the Winter Solstice. He was born on the Solstice itself.’

‘Oh yes! It was so long ago but it’s coming back to me now! It was a full moon that Solstice too, and a total eclipse at that. A blood-red moon, so dark, and the owls calling and calling, all that wild noise echoing around the Circle. Remember, Sol?’

Magus shook his head, refusing to look his brother in the eye. Clip continued excitedly, cake crumbs flying as he gesticulated.

‘It was very potent magic – solstice, full moon and total eclipse all in conjunction. An auspicious time for a baby to be born, especially in the middle of the ceremony with the Earth Magic
at its most powerful. I remember Maizie giving birth in the Circle right up by the Altar Stone.
Blue and red, blue and red
, Mother Heggy kept screeching it out like a mantra, with poor Maizie squatting on the ground groaning and pushing. Her labour lasted only as long as it took the moon to be completely shadowed.
The blue moon and the red moon – conceived under the one and born under the other
. Out came the baby and Old Heggy held that tiny boy up to the eclipsed moon, and said that one day when your son reached adulthood, he would—’

‘WILL YOU SHUT UP!’

Magus’ face had turned white and he sprang up from the sofa, his hands trembling as he raked them through his hair.

‘
We don’t talk about that!
’ he shouted. ‘I told you years ago to
never
mention it! It’s all rubbish anyway, just a crazy old biddy’s rantings that no one ever believed for a moment. Enough, Clip! Yul is
not
my son, he’s Alwyn’s! Maizie was pregnant before I had her and Yul was
not
conceived under that Blue Moon. Heggy’s mad, her insane prophecies are pure nonsense, and Yul’s just a stupid, ill-bred Village boy. He’s no threat to me; never has been and never will be!’

Clip regarded Magus warily, shocked by his reaction. He’d never seen his brother quite so shaken.

‘If you don’t believe the prophecy, Sol, then why are you so scared? Why do you hate the boy so much if he’s nothing more than an ordinary Villager?’

Magus glared at him and sat down again, taking a deep breath.

‘I’m not scared! But I’ve had enough of Yul’s bad behaviour, his defiance and disobedience. He’s got above himself in the past few months and he’s over-stepped the mark once too often. I intend to finish him off before he reaches adulthood.’

‘Finish him off? What …
kill
him? Surely even
you
wouldn’t go that far!’

‘No, not kill him – don’t be ridiculous! I don’t go around killing members of my community.’

‘And you couldn’t even if you wanted to, could you, Sol?’ said
Clip slyly. ‘Now I remember! Mother Heggy put a binding spell on you that night.’