Scenting Hallowed Blood (46 page)

‘Yes!’ Daniel interrupted.
‘With your help, I know I can reach him.’ He laughed shakily. ‘I
can’t believe how lucky I am to find you. Some greater power must
be helping me at this time.’

‘It’s the power of the
serpent,’ Meggie answered, and smiled gently. ‘Of that you can be
sure.’

Privately, Emma considered how
it was more a case of the Pelleth finding Daniel rather than the
other way around, but she kept her thoughts silent, content to
observe.

‘I know how you must guard your
secrets,’ Daniel said. ‘I can’t thank you enough for allowing me
into your circle.’

Meggie shook her head. ‘Believe
me, it is we who should be thanking you. This is a crucial time,
and we have lost our oracle. We are debilitated without one. You
are the Shining One’s vizier. It is of great benefit to the Pelleth
that you are prepared to work with us.’

Emma, smoking a cigarette,
watched Meggie through slitted eyes. She felt that the woman was
leaving quite a lot unsaid. The Pelleth were too eager to have
Daniel in their ranks, and although Meggie and Betsy cleverly
disguised their fervour, Emma could sense it behind their words,
boiling away like a kettle on the old black range. The heavy,
ancient atmosphere of the cottage, with its sense of magic
stretching back into the past, was clearly lulling Daniel into a
sense of security. He was fixed on the grandmotherly aspects of the
Pelleth women, blind to their aura of power, which Emma suspected
could sometimes be cruel and passionless. Still, as long as she
remained close to Daniel’s side, she could make sure no harm came
to him. Unlike the Parzupheim, in their arrogance and pride, the
Pelleth had respect for Daniel’s position and ability. Emma had to
agree, grudgingly, that they might be able to help him, and as they
so readily admitted, they’d long been preparing the land for
Shemyaza’s arrival.

That evening, the rest of the
Pelleth Conclave arrived at Meggie’s house. Jessie and Agatha, took
Daniel away to a room upstairs and there prepared him for the
ritual to come. Emma was asked to bathe, then dress herself in a
simple green robe. It was the garment of a rank and file Pelleth.
The rest of the women waited for her in the kitchen. When she
returned to them, Meggie told her, ‘None but the Conclave have ever
experienced the secrets of the sacred cave. I ask you to respect
this privilege, that we allow your presence there tonight.’

‘Don’t worry, I’m not going to
say anything to anyone,’ Emma said.

Lissie was more friendly. She
placed a hand on Emma’s arm. ‘You will make up the numbers,’ she
said. ‘Since we lost Tamara we’ve been incomplete, although you’re
really a bit young to take her place, even for a single night.’

Emma laughed. ‘What? Don’t you
know what I am?’

There was a silence in the
kitchen. ‘What do you mean?’ Lissie asked.

‘I’m a Grigori dependant, over
a hundred and fifty years old,’ Emma answered, taking pleasure from
the shock that sprang to the Pelleth’s faces. ‘That’s right.
Believe it. The Grigori extended my life. If I’m lucky, I have many
hundreds of years of life left to me.’

‘They can do that?’ Rachel
cried.

Emma smiled slowly. She knew
that within each mind around her, the tantalising thought bloomed
and shone: they could have this gift for themselves. Some of them
banished the idea quickly, thinking it an abomination, but their
denial was firmly rooted in horror at the sudden rush of desire and
longing that had spired within them. ‘I thought that was what you’d
want of Shem,’ Emma said lightly.

‘We want no dark Grigori
magic,’ Betsy Penhaligon boomed. ‘The Goddess gives us a life and
it is her privilege to take it back when she desires. We will not
cheat her.’

Emma shrugged. ‘Oh well. It’s
your choice. But surely working with Shemyaza in any respect is
“dark Grigori magic”. Where do you draw the line?’

‘Shemyaza is pure,’ Betsy said.
‘He is the Son of the Sun, born in an age before the Grigori fell
to corruption.’

‘You clearly haven’t met him,’
Emma said, enjoying herself immensely. ‘And, believe me, he is
Grigori through and through. He’s no pure-born angel.’

‘He could not choose the flesh
his souls inhabits,’ Meggie said.

‘True,’ Emma agreed, ‘and it is
very fine flesh.’ She sensed her attitude offended Meggie and
Betsy, although the two younger women found her intriguing, and
would have liked to hear more about Shemyaza from someone who
actually knew him, but before any questions could be asked, Jessie
and Agatha brought Daniel back into the room. Emma uttered a sound
of surprise and admiration. He was dressed only in a very short
skirt of black and white feathers, and his head was crowned in
coral. Clearly, the girls had already been working on inducing a
trance state in his mind, for his dark eyes were dreamy, the pupils
wide. His whole body seemed to shine from within. Emma realised
then how beautiful Daniel had become. In Little Moor, she’d seen
him as a gawky boy, but now, his svelte body was that of a very
attractive young man. His hair, which had grown quickly since
they’d left Little Moor was scooped up and confined inside the
crown. His neck was as long and swan-like as the neck of an
Egyptian king, and his head was a perfect shape, the skull swelling
backwards from the neck in a graceful curve. Emma shook her head,
and her voice was full of wonder. ‘Daniel, you look like an
angel.’

He smiled at her. ‘I was
Grigori once, Emma. Perhaps sometimes I can remember what that was
like.’

The Pelleth had fallen silent
in awe at the sight of him. Emma went towards him and took his
hands in her own. ‘He
must
love you, Daniel. You
will
reach him. Don’t worry.’

They walked in silence down to
the cove below Meggie and Betsy’s garden. Since seeing Daniel,
Emma’s mood had changed. She could feel the magic of the land
throbbing all around her. She felt like weeping and laughing at the
same time. When Lissie caught her eye and smiled in complicity,
warmth ignited in Emma’s heart. She felt as if she’d finally come
home, to people who had always been
her
people. Women
working magic together, a tradition as old as the earth
Herself.

The sea lunged angrily at the
shore as the women filed into the cave. Emma felt the hair on her
skin prickle and rise. Power gusted all around them. While the
Pelleth busied themselves with lighting candles and incense, Daniel
went to stand before the chair. Emma stood beside him. ‘Are you all
right, Dan?’

He shook his head, his eyes
wide. When he spoke, his voice was a whisper, for Emma’s ears
alone. ‘Em, he’s
been
here!’

‘Are you sure?’

He looked at her, his brow
creased into a frown. ‘No... I don’t know. Perhaps he
will
come here. I can sense him in this place. He’s connected to it in
some way. Maybe because of the chair...’

‘Will you tell the others
this?’

‘I don’t know...’ He shrugged.
‘Something doesn’t feel right.’

Emma squeezed his arm. ‘Stay
cool, Danny. I’m with you.’

He smiled at her uncertainly.
‘My guardian spirit.’

She leaned over and kissed his
cheek, reached out to smooth his hair. ‘Always that, my Daniel.
Always that.’

Once the preparations were
complete, Daniel sat down cautiously upon the chair. Only Emma
noticed that he winced slightly as he did so. Then the Pelleth
began to circle him slowly, and intoned their ritual chant: ‘Om
Sefer, Tu Sefer, Sefer, Sefer, Sahar!’

Lissie took Emma’s hand and led
her round the circle. Emma whispered the chant beneath her breath
for a few circuits, then wanted and needed to speak it aloud.
Lissie let go of her hand. She was with them now, enfolded by their
magic. The chant became louder and faster. Their feet stamped the
ground, as the circle became a wild, shamanic dance. They clapped
their hands, slapped their thighs, spun around so that their hair
flew out in whirling arcs. ‘Om Sefer! Tu Sefer! Sefer! Sefer!
SAHAR!’

On the chair, Daniel’s
breathing became more rapid and more shallow. He groaned and
gripped the stone arms beneath his fingers. His head jerked
backwards, and he uttered a female-sounding cry. ‘Ma-ta-har!
Rani!’

The women fell silent, and
stopped dancing. Their panting breath steamed in the chill air.
Their hair hung around their shoulders in damp rags.

‘Ai! She comes!’ Daniel cried.
‘She rises from the sea! So cold! Her winter hands enfold my
heart!’

‘Seference speaks through you,
my son,’ Meggie said soothingly, stepping forward. ‘Let her come
through.’

Daniel was breathing quickly
now, as if fighting for breath. His eyes had rolled back in their
sockets. Then he spoke, and his voice was low and raw, a woman’s
voice. ‘He will go back to the old kingdom.’

‘Where?’ Meggie asked.

Daniel’s head rolled on his
neck, then his chin sank onto his breast. His eyes stared out
through a fringe of hair. They glowed with a greenish light. ‘Down
to the sea. He will go down to the sea with her. They will drink
the jewels of the old kingdom and make salt upon the ancient
altars.’

‘Is Shemyaza in the
underworld?’ Meggie asked.

Daniel’s head twisted painfully
to the side. He regarded the women like a bird. His voice was a
sibilant rasp. ‘In the darkness he is, waiting for the serpent’s
breath. In the dark. She is there. She is with him.’

‘Who?’

‘The Maiden. His love.’

Meggie glanced at Emma.

‘Ishtahar,’ Emma said. ‘It
could be.’ She addressed Daniel. ‘Is it Ishtahar?’

‘She has made herself so. Her
cup is the grail for his loneliness.’

‘Daniel,’ Emma said in a slow,
steady voice. ‘Speak to Shem. Call to him.’

Daniel whined and threshed his
head around. When he spoke, it was in his own voice. ‘No! No! She
has covered him with her veil! He cannot hear me! Shem! Shem! It is
I, your vizier. Turn to me!’ He paused for a moment, and closed his
eyes. Emma feared he had lost consciousness, then he spoke again in
a voice that was barely more than a murmur. ‘Shem, I love you. I
have worn your wings, held you inside me. Why do you turn away?
Remember our contract.’ He shook his head. ‘Ah, she dances before
you on the yawning beaches, and you can see nothing else. You are
powerless and entranced. It is as it was before.’ His voice rose in
bitterness. ‘Ishtahar, you deceived me! You want him only for
yourself. You have seduced him and doomed him.’

For several minutes, all was
silence. The Pelleth instinctively joined hands, Emma among them,
and projected a tide of strength towards the chair. Then, Daniel
opened his eyes and raised his head. He looked directly at Emma.
‘It is no good.’ Slowly, he lowered his head again until it rested
upon his raised palms. He wept.

Meggie nodded at Emma. ‘It is
over.’

Emma let go of Lissie and
Rachel’s hands and ran to the chair. She took Daniel in her arms.
He leaned against her shoulder and rested there, shuddering.
Against her hair, he whispered his pain. ‘Em, I could see him, but
it didn’t make sense. He couldn’t hear me or sense me. He didn’t
even want to. Something’s blocking me. A female influence.
Ishtahar. But she’s my guardian, my goddess. Why is she pushing me
out?’

Emma held him close, kissed his
hair. ‘Give it time, Danny. We’ve made a start. Try not to
grieve.’

‘You don’t understand,’ Daniel
said. ‘He gave me everything. We are one, Emma. I can’t bear this
separation. If Ishtahar and Shem are together again, I should be
part of it. Why is she doing this? I’m no threat to her. It
hurts!’

‘I know, I know.’ Emma made a
sound of distress, wishing she could do something to help. Meggie
came and touched her on the shoulder.

‘Let’s get him home,’ she
said.

Emma looked up into the old
woman’s face and saw only love there. All her reservations about
the Pelleth had fled. She nodded. ‘Yes.’

‘Do you think it would cause
trouble if you stayed at my house tonight?’

Emma sighed and stood up,
helping Daniel to his feet. ‘The Grigori probably won’t even notice
we’re missing. Daniel means very little to them.’

Meggie put one hand on Daniel’s
face. ‘You’ve done well,’ she said. ‘Now, take your rest. I’ll give
you the best night’s sleep you’ve ever had. No nightmares. Not even
a dream.’

Daniel smiled at her, and wiped
his eyes with the heel of one hand. ‘Thank you.’

Meggie held out her arms and he
went to her. The embrace was short, but poignant. Emma was
surprised to find she didn’t feel jealous or wary about it at
all.

As the days slipped by towards
the solstice, the temple at High Crag was in use continually.
Rituals took place designed to help and guide Shemyaza through his
lonely journey. After a couple of days, the Parzupheim became
suspicious of Sofia’s claims that Shemyaza had gone into the
underworld. If he had, surely the serpent would be awake by now?
Strange phenomena abounded in the land, but the earth energy was
still dormant. Sofia, visiting the house every day, argued that in
the underworld time passed in a different way. The Shamir would
awaken on the solstice and then Shemyaza would rise up from the
serpent’s lair. Reluctantly, the Parzupheim accepted her
explanation.

Privately, Sofia rejoiced. How
easy it was to manipulate everyone around her. The Parzupheim were
stupid and short-sighted: Salamiel was a gullible fool; Daniel was
nothing more than a lovelorn sycophant, while Tamara Trewlynn...
Sofia smiled to herself. The silly witch was drunk on sex and
highly suggestible. She believed every word spoken by her Grigori
friend, Barbelo. Sofia had intuited by now that Emma and Daniel had
joined the Pelleth, but as her opinion of the Cornish witches was
so low, this did not concern her. Once the serpent was awake and
Shemyaza was in her power, Daniel must be brought to Pharos, but
until then, she was prepared to let him indulge himself with the
Pelleth.