Time Raiders: The Avenger

by P. C. Cast

  Behold, life from change and death.

  Inside the bubble a chrysalis materialized, then broke open to expose a magnificent Monarch butterfly. Its spread wings burst the bubble and it fluttered gracefully away.

  Caradoc bowed to the elemental, and turned Alex to the right, leading her to the southernmost part of the meadow. “Hail, Guardian of Fire, behold Alexandra Patton known as Blonwen, who will be made Priestess of Andraste!”

  The forest shadows burst into orange light and a woman stood there, her glowing body wrapped in a diaphanous piece of cloth that Alex thought was the exact shade of candlelight. Her hair was fiery red and her eyes a deep amber that reminded Alex suddenly of Caradoc and his mother. The guardian smiled.

  Well met, son of Eilwen.

  Caradoc, not so formal with Fire, nonetheless bowed to her, but also smiled warmly. The elemental then turned to Alex. From the air she plucked a flame-colored rose and handed it to her.

  Behold the rose, but beware its thorns.

  As if on cue, one cruel thorn pierced Alex’s finger. Automatically, she dropped the rose, which disappeared, as did the Fire guardian. Caradoc turned her to the right again and led her to the westernmost part of the meadow circle.

  “Hail, Guardian of Water, behold Alexandra Patton known as Blonwen, who will be made Priestess of Andraste!”

  The air rippled and, in a joyous rush of sea-blue water, a lovely woman was carried to the edge of the trees. Her skin was the color of the Mediterranean, her hair the green of sea plants. Her almond shaped eyes were sapphire depths. She was wearing crystalline water that wrapped snuggly around her body and was perfectly transparent. Her smile when she saw Caradoc was radiant.

  Caradoc! My father will be pleased that you summoned me here! She turned her smile on Alex, and the feelings of jealousy Alex had been harboring instantly evaporated. Ah, Priestess! So it is you who has won the heart of our druid. I wish you both the blessings and the bounty of the sea.

  The water elemental opened her hand to expose a shell that spiraled round and round to a point, that then seemed to spiral out again. Behold how life never truly ends. Instead of handing the shell to Alex, she gave it to Caradoc, saying, I give you this gift, Druid, as it will just disappear should she touch it.

  Caradoc bowed deeply to her and the water elemental washed away, leaving her laughter to echo on the departing waves.

  “One more,” Caradoc said as he turned Alex again to her right and the northernmost part of the meadow. “Hail, Guardian of Earth, behold Alexandra Patton known as Blonwen, who will be made Priestess of Andraste!”

  This time the guardian literally lifted from the ground at the edge of the forest. The Earth elemental was no less beautiful than the other guardians. Her skin was smooth and brown, and her body was decorated with raw crystals, leaving her full breasts and her round, generous hips naked.

  Priestess, you and I have already begun to know one another. Earth’s smile was warm, and reminded Alex of how she wished her mother would have smiled at her after she’d learned Alex could see dead people. Know that you are close to my bosom, Priestess. Call upon me, and I will always try to strengthen you. The Earth elemental held up her hand, in which was a lacey, insect-eaten oak leaf. Behold how life feeds on life.

  “Thank you,” Alex said, and as Caradoc bowed to Earth, the elemental crumbled and was absorbed back into the ground. Alex sighed, sorry to see her go so soon. “Now what?” she asked Caradoc.

  Now you approach your goddess and, if you accept my charge, swear your life to my service.

  Alex turned around to see Andraste standing beside the fountain in the middle of the meadow. And at the sight of her, so mysterious and yet so familiar, everything within her rejoiced.

  Chapter 24

  C aradoc took her hand and led her to stand before the goddess.

  Greetings, child.

  Alex thought the goddess was the most exquisite thing she had ever seen, and had to clear her throat before she could even speak. Finally, she managed to murmur, “Andraste, I’m sorry that for so much of my life I’ve been confused, and I didn’t even know you.”

  The goddess smiled tenderly. Are you so sure you did not know me, child? I always knew you, though your journey to me has been a long one. Before Alex could answer, Andraste continued, Are you ready to swear into my service?

  “I am,” Alex said with no hesitation.

  Then I charge you with this triple oath—to honestly seek to walk my path, to hold to the truth, and to revere and protect nature as well as your sister priestesses and brother druids.

  “That’s all?” Alex blurted in relief, thinking that she had been prepared to literally slay dragons to be in the goddess’s service.

  Andraste lifted one perfect brow. I believe that is quite enough for several lifetimes, child. Do you accept my oath?

  “Yes, I do.”

  Then the goddess did something that utterly shocked her. She knelt and kissed Alex’s feet, saying Blessed are your feet, that brought you to me. Andraste, Goddess of War and Vengeance, then lifted her head and kissed Alex’s knees. Blessed are your knees, that kneel at my sacred altar. The Goddess of the Celts, Mistress of Forests, kissed Alex’s core. Blessed is your sex, without which mortal man would not continue. The Great Goddess stood and kissed each of Alex’s breasts. Blessed are your breasts, formed in strength and beauty. Andraste then kissed Alex on the lips and said gently, Blessed are your lips, which shall speak my sacred rituals and lead the people in my blessings. Finally, the goddess took Alex’s right hand, turned it over and kissed the middle of her palm. And blessed is this hand, which shall proclaim to all who see it that you have been chosen as High Priestess in my service.

  Amazed and filled with the warmth and power of the goddess’s blessing, Alex looked down at her right hand to see the same deep blue spiral that she’d noticed on Caradoc’s mother’s palm. It now decorated her palm, too, and proved to every ancient Celt that she was truly a High Priestess of Andraste. Then the goddess made a sweeping gesture that took in Alex’s naked body, from her feet to the top of her head.

  This priestess belongs to me! she shouted in a voice that rang throughout the meadow.

  Alex dropped to her knees before her and bowed her head. “Thank you, my goddess. I’ll try really hard not to disappoint you.”

  Rise, child, and take with you this token of my protection.

  She stood up and the goddess handed her an amethyst crystal wrapped in a delicate silver chain. Alex heard a small sound of surprise from beside her, and she looked at Caradoc.

  Ah, Druid, I see you recognize the homage piece you paid me the last time you visited my realm, Andraste said to him.

  “I do, Goddess,” he said.

  As it still holds your heartbeat, I thought it an appropriate token to give to this particular priestess. Andraste waved her fingers and the necklace disappeared, to reappear around Alex’s neck, the purple stone resting between her breasts. She closed her hand around it and could still feel the steady thump-thump of Caradoc’s heart. And then, as she was still holding the crystal, it warmed and magically turned liquid, literally soaking into Alex’s skin and her heart beneath.

  Alex didn’t realize she was crying until the goddess asked, What troubles you, child?

  She looked into Andraste’s bottomless eyes and saw power and passion, as well as understanding and love.

  “I’m afraid I won’t be able to stay here, and I know this is my home.” Alex gazed at Caradoc, who was watching her with a strained expression. “And I want to be with him, but when I really think about it, instead of just listening to my heart, it seems impossible.”

  Come, child, gaze into my fountain. Perhaps you will find your answer there. Andraste led Alex over to the bubbling fountain, from which shining crystal water cascaded with a sound too beautiful for mortal description. The goddess passed her hand over the surface and told Alex, Look and think of your heart’s desire….

  Alex took a deep breath, th
ought Caradoc is my heart’s desire, and gazed into the water.

  What she saw amazed her. Though the two of them looked different in each scene, she saw image after image of Caradoc and her. Sometimes they were children playing together; sometimes she caught glimpses of passionate teenagers clinging together as they discovered the first ecstasy of physical love. She saw them around the ages they were now, only in the vision she glimpsed she was heavily pregnant, with two young children playing by a fireplace. And she saw herself and Carador in their old age, stooped, but still sitting close beside one another, hands and hearts linked.

  Then the water rippled and the images were gone. It was then Alex realized what she hadn’t seen.

  Andraste didn’t say anything, seeming to wait for Alex’s question.

  “I saw Caradoc and me together in many different lifetimes, but none of them were who we are now.”

  That is because your decision hasn’t been made yet. Fate has set events in motion, but you still have free will—you still have choices. Clearly, my sweet priestess, you have not truly made your choice.

  “But I have made my choice!” Alex said, not looking at Caradoc. “I pledged myself to Caradoc. I love him!”

  The goddess nodded. You do love him. She glanced at Caradoc and smiled warmly. And he loves you, too. Still gazing at the druid, the goddess’s eyes widened almost imperceptivity. I see that you have a decision to make, too, child.

  Caradoc appeared surprised. “I have made my choice. As you said, I love Blonwen and have this day handfasted with her.”

  But love is often not enough. The goddess looked kindly from Caradoc to Alex. Duty and the world often intrude, and the two of you have more worlds to deal with than most. Still, remember that you do have a choice. Fate spins the thread, but you can often use it to stitch together a life garment of your own dreams and desires.

  Alex opened her mouth to ask the goddess to please explain. What exactly had Fate spun, and how could she make things work with Caradoc. But the goddess had begun to change. Surprised, Alex watched as the lovely woman she’d pledge to began to shift her appearance from mother, to maiden, and then, jarringly, to a very old woman.

  You must return, child. Time has passed while you have been in my presence, and you have a task you must complete below. I have made a way for you there…. Andraste waved her arm toward the edge of the woods directly in front of them. The darkness within the forest wavered and a path suddenly appeared leading into the trees, illuminated as if a playful summer sun shone down on it. Follow my path and you will emerge where you are needed. The goddess shifted form to a maiden, who smiled mischievously at Alex. I would not have my newest priestess be made a spectacle of, though. This, then, is another gift from me to you. Andraste flicked her fingers at Alex. The air around her shimmered, and then Alex, who’d completely forgotten that the entire time she’d been naked in the presence of the goddess, felt the weight of clothes settle over her body. She looked down to see that she was wearing a moss-green tunic and chemise that was embroidered with rowan flowers.

  “Oh! It’s beautiful! Thank you, Andraste!”

  You please me, child. Stay true to yourself, and you will continue to please me. Her gaze turned to Caradoc. Son of my beloved Eilwen, I charge you to care for my priestess.

  Caradoc bowed his head. It is a charge I am honored to accept.

  Go then, and blessed be….

  The goddess disappeared in a shower of diamond sparks.

  “Come, love, let us follow the goddess’s path together.”

  “That’s what I want more than anything—to follow the goddess’s path with you.” Alex took his hand and together they walked into the woods of the Otherworld, following the illuminated path of Andraste.

  They stepped off the Otherworld path and into a misty morning, soft and pale in a predawn eastern glow. Feeling a little disoriented, Alex looked wonderingly down at herself. Yes, her tunic was the gorgeous green one she remembered Andraste giving her.

  “It wasn’t a dream, love,” Caradoc said.

  She met his eyes and opened her right hand, palm toward him. “It is really there?”

  He glanced at her palm and smiled. “It is, indeed.”

  Alex turned her hand over and caught her breath at the wonder and beauty of the spiral circle that danced around and around it. “I am High Priestess of the goddess Andraste.” She spoke slowly, savoring each word.

  “You truly are,” Caradoc said.

  Before he could pull her into his arms, half-naked warriors, fierce and formidable with their ancient tattoos and their weapon laden bodies, seemed to materialize from the fog surrounding them.

  The lead warrior, a woman with blazing red hair, a golden breastplate and a torque of power, strode up to them and clasped Caradoc’s arm.

  “You came! I worried for you, kinsman,” Boudica said.

  “We had the goddess’s business to attend to,” Caradoc said, returning his cousin’s embrace.

  Boudica turned to Alex. “Blonwen, well met. Just when I had begun to despair that you would not be here to bless us before our great battle, I was gifted with a dream from Andraste. In my dream I saw you in a meadow before a fountain, and the goddess was marking you as high priestess.” The queen reached for Alex’s right hand. When she saw the spiral circle her smile was fierce, and she lifted Alex’s hand for all the warriors to see. “I told you Andraste would not forget us! Blonwen has returned after a fortnight, bearing the goddess’s marking!”

  As the crowd cheered, Alex mouthed the word fortnight! to Caradoc, who blinked in obvious shock.

  “Blonwen, High Priestess of Andraste, the Roman legions await our charge, which I will lead as the sun rises behind us. Would you bless us now, as dawn—and our fate—are upon us.”

  “Now? The battle is now?” Caradoc said.

  “It is, cousin,” Boudica said. “We have trapped Suetonius and his legions in a narrow valley just through there, past where the people have drawn the wagons. There is forest on either side of him, and a rocky cliff behind him. The only way out is through us, and we shall not give way to him.”

  “What are the legions’ numbers?”

  Boudica smiled that fierce grin of hers that was at the same time frightening and wildly beautiful. “We outman, and outwoman him, almost three to one.”

  Alex felt as if she were in the middle of an avalanche. They’d been gone two weeks.

  “And yet the governor allowed you to trap him here?” Caradoc was saying, as if he couldn’t quite grasp all that his queen was telling him.

  “Allowed!” Boudica sounded indignant. “We have cornered him like the mad dog he is, and now we will rid our land of this Roman pestilence once and for all.”

  Caradoc locked his gaze with Alex. “Do you understand what is happening here?”

  Alex knew what he was really asking her—if this was the final battle history reported, one that Boudica did not win.

  “Yes,” Alex said solemnly. “I do understand.”

  “And will you bless us before we go into battle, High Priestess?” Boudica asked, eyes shining.

  “It’s the only thing I can do,” Alex said.

  Chapter 25

  T he blessing ceremony was a blur to Alex. Later she would remember the warmth of the rowan tree and the way it made the spiral circle on her palm tingle. Her voice had been magically amplified so that the simple blessing that came gently to her mind echoed through the clearing mist, reaching even the families that barred the exit to what would become known as the Valley of Death. Boudica embraced her when she finished the blessing and she could literally feel the power radiating from the queen.

  As Boudica shouted for the warriors to come to the killing field, Caradoc appeared at Alex’s side with a skin of strong red wine.

  “Drink deeply. You have not grounded yourself after our return from the Otherworld,” he said to her as the tide of excited warriors swept them after Boudica. Caradoc put his arm around Alex, steadying her whil
e they moved forward. She drank deeply, leaning closely to him. “It is a trap,” he whispered to her.

  She nodded.

  “The legions have lured her here. They mean the attack to be on their terms, not ours.”

  She nodded again. “Here they can finally use the legions’ phalanx maneuvers against the warriors. The Romans are a killing machine.”

  They stepped out of the trees and Alex gaped at row after row of Celts, all battle ready and barbarically ferocious. Behind them, to the east, was the open end of the valley, except that today it wasn’t open. Lined across the exit, several deep, were wagons and carts, livestock, old men and women—and children. A great cheer went up as Boudica climbed up into the golden battle chariot that awaited her.

  “No…” Caradoc’s voice was filled with horror, but the word was drowned by the shouts of the Celts. His fingers dug into Alex’s arm. “The people block our retreat,” he whispered frantically.

  “Yes.” Alex felt as if she would be sick. “Our army can’t get out. They’re slaughtered, along with many of their families.”

  “I have to tell her!” Caradoc cried. “She has to stop it!” He sprinted forward, trying to get to his cousin, but his way was blocked by a press of her most faithful warriors, so that all he and Alex could do was to watch helplessly as Boudica faced her army and raised her arm for silence.

  “Ah, gods,” Caradoc said in a broken voice filled with despair. “There truly is no stopping this.”

  Alex held him tightly, her gaze riveted by the Celtic queen. She was a glorious sight, and knowing what would become of her broke Alex’s heart.