Reagan (Hengist-People of the Horse Book 3)

by Jacky Gray

  2 Badger Day

  All ideas of his journal were forgotten as he researched the important project. He started well; discovering Imbolc was also known as Candlemas, a festival of light which fell between the Yule and Ostara feasts. As he studied the books in the librarie, two girls from his year, Amiera and Rowena, came in. They were both shy and studious and always treated him kindly, unlike many arrogant Magi girls. Rowena was slightly bolder.

  ‘Hello Reagan. Found anything interesting about Imbolc?’

  ‘Not so far - just things we already know, like wearing white or green and lighting candles in every window.’

  ‘And the corn dollies,’ Amiera added shyly. ‘I cried when my first one got burnt, it took so long to make.’

  ‘You thought you could keep it to play dress-up,’ Rowena teased her friend, who blushed and looked at the top shelf.

  Reagan stood. He’d grown several inches recently and was at last taller than most of the girls in his class. ‘If there’s anything you can’t reach, I’ll get it. You’re welcome to share my books; we’ll find out more if we work together.’

  ‘Thanks. But my cousin said the rites are different for girls and boys, so we may not be able to.’

  ‘Oh. It was just an idea. Never mind.’ He moved back to the table to sit down when Amiera put her hand on his arm.

  ‘If you could reach that blue book, I would be very grateful.’

  He stretched up for the huge tome, entitled “Fire Festivals, A Complete Guide.” The reference book had small writing and complicated charts. Returning to his study of ancient folklore, he copied down the sayings explaining the weather prediction at Imbolc. The first sounded unmistakably Scottish:

  “If Candlemas day be dry and fair,

  the half o’ winter’s to come and mair.

  If Candlemas day be wet and foul,

  the half o’ winter’s gane at Yule.”

  An old German tradition talked about Badger Day.

  “If the badger sees her shadow it means there are still six more weeks of winter, but if she doesn’t see her shadow, spring is only six weeks away.”

  Sitting back, he let the ideas work their way through his head. He tried to explain it to the girls. ‘If Imbolc is sunny, the second half of winter will be wintry.’

  ‘I don’t see what it’s got to do with a badger.’

  ‘If it’s sunny, the badger would see her shadow.’

  ‘And if it’s wet she wouldn’t,’ Amiera finished. ‘It seems to be saying it would be more spring-like for the next six weeks. It’s the wrong way round, but I like it. Can we use it?’

  ‘Sure. Have you found anything about the initiation?’

  ‘No, there’s nothing in any of these books.’

  ‘Not to worry, I’m sure Father will know.’ Reagan gestured at the pile. ‘He knows everything about this stuff.’

  ‘Why not just ask him in the first place?’ Rowena asked.

  ‘Because he says if he simply tells me something I will forget it again as soon as he’s left the room.’

  Amiera agreed with him. ‘My father says if I have to make an effort to find things out for myself then I’m far more likely to remember them.’

  Reagan nodded. ‘Father says the more I suffer, the more I remember.’

  ‘Sounds harsh. Do you have to get someone to beat the information into you?’

  ‘Rowena, what are you saying? That’s the sort of thing your brother would say.’ Amiera looked shocked.

  ‘Edlyn? Oh he wouldn’t just say it, he’d show you what he meant.’ Rowena shuddered. Her brother was a few years older and nothing but a nasty bully as far as she was concerned.

  Reagan didn’t want to say anything against Edlyn, but his reputation was well known. He wore his hair long to cover the scar where he’d been burnt in the previous year’s Beltane bonfire, and a glove covered his shrivelled hand. Many a junior had suffered for staring at his wounds. Reagan changed the subject. ‘What else did you find out?’

  Amiera was happy to talk about something else as she read from her notes. ‘Imbolc comes from the word Oimelc, meaning “ewe’s milk” because this is the time when ewes are milked.’

  ‘It’s the feast of Brighid, the Spring Bride, who is the Celtic Goddess of poetry, healing and smith craft.’ Rowena added her findings then returned to the book, searching for something.

  ‘So we have to write a poem about healing blacksmiths.’ Reagan grinned. ‘Doesn’t sound too difficult.’

  ‘No, silly. But there could be poetry. Or you might have to make something in metal. Or heal someone.’

  ‘It’s also about birth and rebirth. You know, with all the lambs.’ Rowena didn’t look up as she spoke.

  ‘I get the birth bit. But rebirth? What does that mean?’

  Amiera shrugged, she obviously had no idea either.

  Rowena finally found the right place. ‘Here it is. It talks about an old Celtic belief about Brighid being “bathed in milk, drawing the two concepts of lactating and washing together.” Mmm.’ She stopped reading and smiled up at them. ‘Sounds like fun. Maybe we all get to bathe in milk like Cleopatra.’

  ‘What do you think you’re doing, talking to a boy about taking your clothes off?’ Edlyn appeared from behind the shelves, making them jump. ‘What will Father say? Or Mother for that matter. She sent me to find you. Wait ’til I tell her what you were doing.’

  ‘We weren’t doing anything wrong, simply looking up facts about Imbolc.’ Reagan stood to defend the stricken girl.

  ‘Who gave you permission to speak?’ He peered at Reagan. ‘I know you. You’re Archer’s pet Magi. He’s not around to defend you right now. You’d better not cross me or I’ll teach you a lesson in how to respect your elders and betters.’

  Reagan automatically backed down and started walking away; he was no match for the older boy. But he heard Rowena protesting and turned to see the bully grabbing her arm roughly. He couldn’t allow that. ‘You’re hurting her, Edlyn. Let her go.’

  ‘Or you’ll what? Tell someone? She’s my sister and I’ll treat her how I like. It’s none of your business.’

  ‘It is my business when you hurt a girl. It’s not how boys are supposed to behave.’

  ‘How dare you think you can tell me how to behave? I am a senior and you are just a junior.’ Edlyn closed the gap with a stride. He grabbed the front of Reagan’s tunic, pulling him up so their noses were almost touching. ‘You apologise right now.’

  ‘I haven’t done anything wrong.’ Ignoring his predicament, Reagan addressed the girls. ‘Rowena, you must go home now, your mother is waiting.’ Pleased his voice didn’t show any fear, he held his ground. Edlyn seemed like the worst sort of bully, one who would only hurt someone with a gang backing him up.

  Catching Amiera’s eye, he smiled. ‘Could you tell the librarian I need some help putting these books away? I’ve forgotten where some of them go.’ Reagan could tell she understood his coded message; she nudged Rowena who seemed so upset by her brother’s violence she was rooted to the spot.

  ‘Come on, let’s go.’ Taking Rowena’s arm, Amiera pulled her away and Reagan appreciated their looks of support as they departed.

  ‘Wait, I haven’t finished with you, yet.’ Edlyn was obviously not impressed by losing both his unwilling audience and the opportunity to terrorise his poor sister all the way home.

  Reagan could almost see the cogs whirling in Edlyn’s brain as he calculated whether he would have time to finish his persecution and still get to Rowena before she reached home. It was a close thing. To protect her, Reagan would have to detain the bully a little while longer. But how could he achieve that without suffering any actual damage? A plan formed in his head.

  3 Willow Wand

  ‘You little brat, how dare you interfere with my family business? You’re going to suffer for that.’

  Reagan was sure he would, but maybe not today if he played it clever. ‘I’m sorry Edlyn, I didn’t mean to interfere. I’m sure
you didn’t realise you were hurting her, I merely wanted to let you know.’

  ‘What? What are you saying?’

  ‘Simply that I know you’re not the sort of person who would deliberately hurt a girl; it’s not how we are supposed to behave.’ Reagan kept his expression and posture submissive as he used his father’s technique of diffusing a potentially violent situation with diplomacy and reason. ‘But you know this. As you said, you don’t need me to tell you.’

  ‘Is everything alright, boys?’

  Startled by the librarian’s question, Edlyn let go of Reagan’s tunic as though it blazed with fire.

  Reagan gave her a reassuring smile calculated to dismiss any questions about what she might have seen before they even began. ‘Yes, it’s fine. Edlyn was merely helping me with some research on Imbolc.’

  ‘Five more minutes. Can you put the books away, please?’

  ‘But I didn’t get any out.’ Edlyn would never do something if he could get away without.

  ‘It’s alright Edlyn; I’ll soon finish this lot. Except I’ve forgotten where this one goes.’ He turned to the librarian. ‘Maybe you could help me?’

  Reagan sneaked a glance at Edlyn, who glared in frustration before stomping off. He’d been well and truly out-manoeuvred. By a junior. Not only had he lost the chance to bully his sister or said junior, but the librarian witnessed the pair of them.

  By using Edlyn’s name twice in front of her, Reagan ensured she would remember it. He wasn’t in the clear yet; the snake could still be waiting outside. So when he finished putting their books away, Reagan stayed until each book had been returned to its proper place.

  ‘You didn’t need to do that. But it’s very good of you … I don’t know your name.’

  ‘Reagan. I thought you might help me in return.’

  ‘Oh yes. Have you got an unpaid fine? I know what you boys are like for forgetting things.’

  ‘No, I was hoping to stay here until you finished and maybe walk down the street with you.’

  ‘It’s that boy, Edlyn. He wanted to hurt you, didn’t he?’ Her expression became guarded. ‘You think he might assail you on your way home.’

  Reagan tried to make his demeanour as innocent as possible. ‘No, of course not. It’s simply that my mother’s a bit nervous about me walking too far alone in the dark.’

  She looked as though she didn’t believe him, but her company meant he got home safely that night.

  Reagan tried asking his father about the initiation, but he was not very helpful. ‘Sorry son, I’m not allowed to say anything. You will find out soon. Was there something else? I have a meeting in ten minutes.’

  ‘I need to know about lactating.’

  ‘That’s definitely a question for your mother, not me. I’m sure she’ll be able to tell you more.’

  Reagan wasn’t too optimistic; his mother always answered a question with another question. ‘Why do you want to know about lactating?’

  ‘Rowena was talking about Brighid being bathed in milk at Imbolc and …’

  ‘Rowena? As in the daughter of councillor Cedric? My, you are keeping fine company. I always hoped you might become friendly with his son, Edlyn. Such a shame, he was a fine-looking young man before…’ She sighed. ‘A son to be proud of.’

  ‘If having a nasty arrogant bully for a son makes you proud.’ Reagan muttered the words under his breath as he walked away, knowing he would not be able to distract her from her scheming. She’d have him wed to poor Rowena by the end of the day given half a chance, and she wouldn’t be interested in anything he said about anything else. For once, luck was on his side. Kimbra sat in the kitchen, peeling vegetables for dinner.

  ‘What’s up with you? Mother been at you again?’

  ‘She thinks I should be more like Edlyn, but I never want to sink that low.’ He noticed her frown. ‘Sorry, I forgot. You had a crush on him didn’t you?’

  ‘I did not. Well, maybe a little one. But I soon saw him for the bully he is after … never mind. Don’t suppose you want to give me a hand with these?’ She gestured at the pile of potatoes, carrots and parsnips.

  ‘If you could help me out with something.’

  ‘There’s always a price with you, isn’t there? Not some hard geometry question, is it? You already know far more than I ever did about that.’

  ‘No, it’s about Imbolc. I need to know what lactating is because it’s part of the initiation ritual. It sounds violent. Father said I should ask Mother and …’

  ‘Calm down, it’s nothing like that. Lactating just means producing milk. For feeding babiesked about.’

  ‘Of course. Amiera said Imbolc means ewe’s milk and Rowena talked about bathing in milk like Cleopatra.’

  ‘Amiera and Rowena? One girl isn’t enough for my baby brother.’ She glanced at him. ‘Rowena as in Edlyn’s sister?’

  He stood up in disgust, flinging down the knife and carrot. ‘Not you too! You sound exactly like Mother. Can’t I talk to girls without you all planning the handfasting?’

  ‘Oh whist, I was only teasing. Sit down and I’ll tell you everything I can.’

  ‘Really?’ He sat down and started chopping carrots and parsnips as though his life depended on it. ‘I’m so worried about this initiation thing, and I can’t find anything written about it anywhere.’

  ‘I can only tell you what happens to the girls, but I’m sure it’s not too different for the boys.’

  ‘Don’t we all do it together?’

  ‘No. On Imbolc Eve, the girls are taken to the winter house and they make a huge corn dolly of Brighid and get to stay up all night long.’

  ‘What do they do to stay awake?’

  ‘Lots of things. Every girl brings some old clothes to cut into strips for bandages and Brighid blesses them.’

  ‘The blessed bandages that the healers use.’

  ‘Exactly. In my year, we made a crown with pictures of candles on it. Then we held hands in a circle, wearing our crowns, and said prayers to Brighid. The older girls lit candles from the perpetual light and we sang the songs we’d been practising.’

  ‘We haven’t been practising any songs.’

  ‘Haven’t you? There’s still a couple of weeks yet.’ She tipped the chopped vegetables into a pan.

  ‘Is that it?’ He looked round and lowered his voice. ‘I heard about a special ceremony involving blood …’

  ‘Reagan, there are some parts of the evening I’m not allowed to talk about or it will spoil the surprise. And there’s lots of things I don’t know about because it’s different for the boys. But nobody dies, I can tell you that.’

  It was like a huge conspiracy designed to unnerve even the most placid thirteen-year-old boy. As the time grew nearer, the older boys delighted in standing round whispering in huddles when they saw a fourth year coming. Then a few nightmarish words designed to invoke fear would be tossed out at randomly. Some of the most popular phrases were “Blood fest,” “Willow whip,” “Penance,” “Serpent” and “Trial by fire.”

  On the next lesson, Professor Cathair gave everyone a willow wand. ‘Who can tell me what the willow-moon energy does? Rowena, have a go.’

  ‘It puts us in touch with our feelings and deep emotions, sir.’

  ‘Good. Our deep, unconscious thoughts speak to us through our dreams and the willow helps us to express those feelings. Now here comes the homework.’ He paused for the inevitable shuffling as everyone reached for their homework slates and chalk. ‘For the next five nights, starting tonight, you will place the willow wand under your pillow and write down something about your dream. Any questions? Taryn?’

  ‘But I can never remember my dreams, sir.’

  ‘The willow wand will help to keep them at the forefront of your mind for a few minutes after you wake. I suggest you keep the slate and chalk by your cot. Molan?’

  ‘I’m no good at writing about thoughts and feelings, sir.’

  ‘Many boys aren’t, so you’re not alone. The willo
w will help you not only to express your thoughts, but also to understand your dreams. Who can tell us why now is a good time to be doing this task? Reagan?’

  ‘Because the full moon is on the third night, so these five nights will have the strongest energy from the moon.’

  ‘Very good. There’s more?’

  ‘Yes, sir. Early spring is when the willow’s energy and the moon’s energy are aligned so the willow-moon energy will be stronger than at any other time of the year.’

  ‘Excellent. I can see you’ve been spending your time in the librarie effectively, as usual. Now you must all make sure you bring in your wand and slate for the next lesson.’

  Analysing his dreams was fairly straightforward for Reagan because he always dreamed the same thing. Every night, he rode a white horse to Stonehenge, passing through fields of crops filled with strange shapes and patterns. Then he died in a fire.

  Professor Cathair was quick to reassure that dreams of death did not mean you were going to die. ‘Dreaming of death usually means some kind of change, but there is no cause for alarm as it’s normally positive. A dream of your own death usually means big changes are ahead for you.’

  For the final lesson, the girls were taken to a different room where Professor Gail instructed them on their initiation ritual. The boys were merely told to make good use of the willow wand and to ensure they brought it with them for the ceremony.

  The night finally came and all the boys were taken to the council building. Malduc described Imbolc as a ceremony of penitence involving fire and blood. With a grave face, he said each boy would be forced to do something against his nature, something he would hate doing. He paused to nod at the other professors and the boys looked at each other in horror.

  Professors Niall and Cathair walked among the boys, giving each one a pencil and piece of parchment as Malduc continued. ‘I am sure you have heard many rumours about the terrible things which go on at this rite of initiation. I can assure you it’s worse than your worst nightmare. You will need every ounce of courage and every last drop of honour to survive this ordeal.’