Solstice at Stonewylde (15 page)

All was now calm and peaceful as Sylvie lingered in the shadows, waiting a little longer, her heart thumping with anticipation at the prospect of seeing Yul. She didn’t notice Holly, who
also loitered around the side of the Barn, hiding in the lee of a buttress. When Sylvie thought the coast was clear she hurried across the Green where plump woodpigeons pecked in harmony on the damp grass. She reached the yew tree and disappeared into the half-light. Holly was careful not to be seen as Sylvie melted into the shadows beneath the tree, and waited before moving forward herself.

Sylvie entered the yew’s sphere and felt the atmosphere alter. The air was somehow different, time was a little changed and her skin felt strange. She thought of the scientific explanations possible; perhaps the oxygenation process caused by the transpiration of such a huge tree ionised the air all around it. But her heart told her it was the magic of the tree spirit causing the changes, however irrational that sounded. She smiled, knowing that in her old life she’d have laughed at such a theory but now knew it to be the truth.

Yul leant against the massive tree trunk, dark curls falling across his face, his grey eyes shadowed. She felt a starburst of excitement at the sight of him, tall and pale and waiting for her. She ran the last few steps and was enfolded in his arms, his lips bruising hers as he kissed her long and hard.

‘I can’t stay long,’ she gasped, pulling away reluctantly. ‘Mum will wonder why I didn’t return with the others. They’re all on my back at the moment and I must be careful. How are you feeling?’

‘Much better thanks. I’m going up to the Circle tomorrow, which will help, and Old Greenbough’s said I’m not to go back to work for a while. He’s on our side, Sylvie! He said if we need help he’ll do anything he can.’

‘That’s good news. We’ve got Marigold and Cherry up at the Hall too, and they said there are many others who feel the same way.’

‘I think most of them do. The time is coming closer, Sylvie, and we need to make plans. The next Moon Fullness …’

He felt her shudder as he spoke and held her close against his body, stroking her hair.

‘Sylvie, I let you down last time and I swear it won’t happen again. I’d die rather than let him to feed off your moon magic on that rock again.’

‘No, Yul.’

She pulled back a little and looked up at him in the fading light. She could see the shadows in the hollows of his lean face.

‘Dying wouldn’t help. Awful as it is, I can survive moongazing on the rock. Don’t sacrifice yourself for nothing.’

‘No!’ he said vehemently, shaking his head. ‘He won’t do it to you again. I’ve sworn an oath to myself. I need to get you away before moonrise next Moon Fullness – not so early that he has time to look for you, but not so late that there isn’t time for us to get far away. You understand we won’t be able to go to Hare Stone?’

She nodded. ‘I don’t think or act rationally at moonrise so I’ll do whatever you say, and you know I trust you completely to take care of me.’

‘I’ll find somewhere we can hide, and once the moon’s high the danger’s mostly passed. I think Magus can only take your magic at the rising. But he must believe everything’s fine and not get suspicious, or he’ll lock you up or make Clip put another spell on you. I know it’s awful, but you must go along with whatever he says over the next couple of weeks. Can you make him think you’re coming round to his way of thinking? Because if he found out we’re meeting like this …’

‘I’ll try my best. He’s due back very soon, and I know he’s going to give me a hard time, but I won’t stand up to him—’

She stopped abruptly as he bent to kiss her again, his tongue skilful, his hands now more assured than the first time they’d kissed under this tree at the Summer Solstice. She’d wanted him then, but the feelings were now infinitely stronger. Everything was more intense and she felt herself dissolving into a wave of pure desire. Sylvie wondered if Yul felt the same, little appreciating just how tightly he controlled his longing for her.

‘Stop, Yul,’ she said shakily, pulling away from him. ‘It’ll show and Mum will know what I’ve been up to. I must go.’

She stumbled a few steps towards the grass.

‘Will you be in the Great Barn tomorrow?’ he called softly.

‘Yes. I’ll see you here again?’

‘You will, but a little later, after sunset. Wait here for me if you can. I love you, Sylvie.’

She smiled and blew him a kiss as she turned away. Leaving the thrall of the ancient yew tree, she hurried home with wings on her heels.

Y
ul waited for a while beneath the boughs of the yew. He knew there was some special magic here; not the Earth Magic but something else, something primeval that called to him and fed a hunger in his soul. He belonged in this place and always had done. He leant back against the soft, flaking bark of the great bole and shut his eyes, his mouth still tingling from kissing Sylvie so hard. He took a deep, shaky breath. His body was highly aroused and his hands trembled from the torture of wanting her so badly but knowing he must rein himself in whenever he was close to her.

Darkness was almost complete as Yul pulled himself away from the massive trunk and ducked under the boughs and onto the Village Green. He looked up at the moonless sky now glittering with bright stars, feeling the magic of the Dark Moon deep inside. As he began to head for home and supper, his heart soared wildly from his encounter with Sylvie and the prospect of seeing her again tomorrow.

Nothing in the world compared to the feel of Sylvie in his arms; so willowy and pliant, so willing and passionate. Every moment they spent together was something magical, snatched and stolen time from their lives. One day Yul knew he’d wake to see her face next to his, feel the whisper of her breath on his cheek as they lay close together. He quivered with another rush of longing and then miraculously felt her hand slip into his as he walked across the Green. She’d come back! He turned, smiling,
but his face froze into a mask of disappointment at the sight of Holly. Immediately he shook her hand out of his with a gesture of dismissal.

‘What do you want?’ he muttered angrily.

‘That’s not very nice, Yul!’ she replied in a hurt voice. ‘We’ve known each other all our lives and there’s no need to be nasty.’

He continued to walk briskly, trying to throw her off.

‘I need to talk to you,’ she said. ‘Please – just for a few minutes.’

‘I’ve got to get home,’ he said. ‘My supper will be waiting.’

‘It’s important. Just a couple of minutes.’

‘Alright then,’ he sighed, ‘but be quick.’

She slid her hand around his arm and guided him under the nearest tree, for they’d now crossed the Green and reached the other side. There was a very different atmosphere under the chestnut tree. It had shed most of its leaves, and the bare branches and twigs made an intricate pattern against the starry night sky. Holly stopped and Yul turned to face her, anxious to get this over with. He remembered how jealous Sylvie had been in the orchard during the apple harvest, and didn’t want to do anything that might upset her again.

‘What do you want then?’ he asked brusquely, barely able to see Holly in the darkness.

‘I want some of what Sylvie’s been getting,’ she replied and threw her body against his. She flung her arms round his neck in a limpet grip, trying to pull his head down to hers. Her lips brushed his as he jerked his head away and tried to shake her off. But she clung on tightly, deliberately pressing herself hard against him and despite himself Yul felt a jolt of desire, aroused as he was from his earlier passion with Sylvie.

‘
Get off me!
’ he snarled, grabbing hold of her arms and flinging her away from him. She stumbled backwards, shocked by his vehemence.

‘Don’t be like that!’ she wailed. ‘Why do you hate me? What have I done to you?’

‘Nothing! Everything! I don’t know!’

He was angry with himself for the momentary lapse, for wanting her even if only for a split second.

‘Please, Yul, sit down and talk to me,’ she said, her voice small and unhappy. ‘Stop being so angry with me.’

She sat on the wooden seat built around the trunk of the tree and patted the spot next to her. Yul shook his head and remained standing.

‘Okay, stay there if you like but I’ll have to speak louder and anybody could hear us. It’s about you and Sylvie – I know what’s been going on.’

He sat down reluctantly.

‘I don’t know what you’re talking about.’

‘Oh yes you do!’ The plaintive tone had been replaced with her customary supercilious drawl. ‘I know what you’ve been up to under the tree with her. She gets about, doesn’t she?’

‘What do you mean by that?’ he demanded.

‘First Buzz, then Magus, now you. She can’t get enough.’

Yul stood up abruptly, not trusting himself so close to her. He had an urge to slap her nasty little face.

‘I’m not listening to this! You’ve got it all wrong. She’s never been interested in Buzz or Magus.’

‘But she’s interested in you?’

‘No, I …’

He stopped, realising he’d made a blunder. She jumped in.

‘I saw her going under the tree with you, Yul. I saw everything and we both know it’s not allowed between a Villager and Hallfolk, not like that. I’m going straight to Magus.’

‘
No!
’

He sat down next to her again and grabbed her wrist, peering at her in the darkness. He could only make out her shoulder-length blond hair but knew her face well enough to imagine her pretty feline features looking smug with malicious satisfaction. She didn’t struggle in his grip but almost melted into him, reaching into his jacket to caress his chest.

‘Yul, stop fighting me. What’s she got that I haven’t? You and I could have such fun together.’

‘Stop it! Get off me! Look Holly, you really mustn’t go to Magus. I—’

‘Who’d suffer the most if I told him – you or her?’

‘I don’t know,’ he said, not sure how best to play this. She was clever and manipulative and at the moment, at least one step ahead of him.

‘Because I don’t want you to be punished again, Yul, although it would be nice if
she
got into trouble. I could tell Magus—’

‘NO! Don’t, Holly, please, you mustn’t say a word to him.’

‘What’s it worth?’

He shrugged, at a loss to understand what she wanted from him.

‘You’re very slow aren’t you, Yul? I want you to kiss me like you kissed Sylvie.’

‘No! I couldn’t kiss anybody else like that!’

‘Try, Yul. I’ll be patient with you. Come on, it’s not much to ask in return for keeping your secret. Not when Magus would be so very angry with both of you. My silence in exchange for a little kiss, just for old times’ sake. You were keen enough once and I haven’t changed. Come on, Yul.’

Reluctantly, knowing this was madness but unsure what else to do, he allowed her to link her hands behind his head and pull him down. Her lips fastened onto his and she kissed him. He remained passive, not responding in any way, and she pulled away from him.

‘What’s the matter with you? It’s only a kiss, Yul, and Sylvie will never know. Kiss me properly or I’ll go straight to Magus the minute he gets back and tell him everything.’

So he did, hating himself for it and hating Holly even more. It was mechanical and soulless and she felt horrible and tasted different. Finally, unable to endure it any longer, he wrenched himself from her clinging grasp. He stood up again, wiping his mouth hard with the back of his hand in the ultimate gesture of disgust.

‘Alright, I’ve done it! Now let me go home, and leave Sylvie alone, Holly. If I hear you’ve been upsetting her …’

‘Yes? You’ll do what, exactly? Don’t threaten me, Yul! Or I might tell Sylvie what we’ve just been doing, and she wouldn’t like that, would she?’

The light from the pub just illuminated her face as she looked up at him. Her eyes glinted and her smile was triumphant.

‘That was very nice for starters, Yul,’ she purred. ‘Although a little more passion next time, I think. It’s not long till our Rite of Adulthood, remember, and I’m looking forward to it.’

He turned on his heel and strode off, ignoring her laughter. He’d betrayed Sylvie and hated himself for it, realising he’d made a stupid mistake by giving in to Holly but also seeing it was too late to go back now. He must just make sure it never happened again. He crashed into the cottage, the door rattling on its hinges as he flung it open, and Maizie and Rosie exchanged worried glances. It was a while since they’d seen Yul in one of his terrible black moods.

Yul left his cottage the next morning whilst it was still dark, wrapped warmly against the chill November air. He started up the track that led to the Long Walk and the Stone Circle and was surprised to find Edward, the farm manager, waiting in the tunnel of bare trees.

‘Blessings, sir!’ said Yul, taken aback.

‘Blessings to you, Yul.’

They fell into step together. Yul was pleased to see that he was now almost as tall as Edward, although he had a long way to go to match the man’s huge physique.

‘Why are you up here this morning, sir?’ asked Yul. He kept an eye on the sky through the trees, not wanting to miss the sunrise.