Shaman of Stonewylde

by Kit Berry

  ‘How on earth do you know that?’

  Leveret shrugged and gave her a little smile.

  ‘I can see him.’

  ‘You’re amazing!’ breathed Sylvie. ‘You really are magic, aren’t you? I wasn’t sure at the Story Web – whether it was all some kind of very clever trickery. But it’s not – you really are Clip’s natural heir.’

  ‘Thank you! He’s up there, Sylvie, and he has no idea what’s going on down here. Shall I go and get him for you?’

  ‘Oh Leveret, would you? I’d be so grateful. I don’t like to leave Holly to her own devices for long. I just don’t trust her, and with Martin back to his old “Hallfolk are my masters” ways, I dread to think what she may get up to. Could you tell him what’s happened and bring him back straight away? If you can persuade him to come, of course.’

  Leveret contemplated taking Magpie along, but knowing how upset Yul had been about his painting, she decided against it. She dreaded being alone with her brother but also knew he must be fetched back to deal with this situation. He’d be furious and might well decide to shoot the messenger, but there was no choice.

  She hurried up the dry track leading into the hills, where the earth was pale grey and laddered with roots from the silver birches that sprung up in profusion in this heathland area. The gorse all around smelled sweetly of coconut and Leveret noticed several adders amongst the heather as she climbed the track. There’d been many sightings of adders this year, perhaps because it was so hot, and she remembered the old skins they’d found that night near the boulders at Hare Stone.

  That got her thinking of the Moon Fullness; soon it would be the Blue Moon on Lammas Eve, and Leveret wanted to spend the evening in Mother Heggy’s cottage with Hare and Crow. The moon magic at the Blue Moon was especially potent and she must tap into that. She also had many plants to gather and harvest whilst the Bright Lady wore her blue robes, and would ask Magpie to help.

  All these thoughts jostled in her mind as she crossed the edge of the heath and headed away from it, further up into the hills. Soon the Dolmen would be in sight and she must face Yul. He’d doubtless be livid at being disturbed, and especially by her. They hadn’t really spoken since the early days after Imbolc. She knew he’d wanted to send her away from Stonewylde altogether, to attend boarding school in the Outside World. If Clip hadn’t intervened she’d be there now; Yul hadn’t liked to be over-ridden by his father-in-law and consequently had ignored Leveret ever since.

  She focused on Yul for a moment, trying to visualise him. What hit her was a maelstrom of seething, unrelenting misery. At that moment the distinctive stone portal of the ancient edifice came into view and she saw Skydancer tethered in the shade of a nearby rowan tree. Of Yul himself there was no sight, but as she approached the tomb she saw it was clearly occupied. It was littered with Yul’s paraphernalia: a bedding roll, a big stone water jar, the remains of a fire and a pile of books.

  She called his name but there was no answer, so she went over to Skydancer. The great horse dipped and shook his head, allowing her to stroke his soft nose. Leveret didn’t share Yul’s affinity with horses but she’d known Skydancer since her childhood, when he’d been a beautiful foal. She was standing under the rowan tree with him nuzzling her chest as she stroked him when Yul appeared. His heart leapt with shock to see an intruder in his territory; this subsided to irritation when he realised it was Leveret, looking very grubby in her old work clothes.

  She looked up and their eyes met, and for just a second he felt a jolt of affection for his little sister. He recognised the apprehension in her expression and knew that his scowl was fierce and unwelcoming. But the flicker of affection was soon smothered by exasperation; why had she come when it was obvious from his choice of bolt-hole that he wanted to be left undisturbed? He had no desire whatsoever to start mending his relationship with her, so if she’d come for that she’d be disappointed. She gave him a tentative smile and stepped forward.

  ‘Blessings, Yul,’ she said softly. Her green eyes sought his and held him in a luminous gaze. He felt something tugging at his mind and was instantly taken back to the time in Mother Heggy’s cottage when the crone had ransacked him with her soul-searching. Surely Leveret couldn’t do that? He broke eye contact immediately.

  ‘Blessings,’ he said tersely. ‘Why are you here? If you think that—’

  ‘You’re needed urgently at the Hall. Sylvie sent me.’

  His face changed, losing the closed hardness and softening into concern.

  ‘Sylvie needs me? Right – hold on just a moment!’

  He strode to the entrance of the Dolmen and gathered up all his bits and pieces, shoving them into the back of the cave then covering them with dried bracken. Leveret noticed it with a pang; Samhain and her first journey. Then he unhitched Skydancer and began to lead the horse down the path. Leveret had to run to catch up.

  ‘Aren’t you going to ride down?’

  ‘No, I’ll walk with you, so you can tell me what the problem is. I’m assuming it’s nothing mundane or Sylvie wouldn’t have sent for me, but nor is it life and death or you’d be more agitated. Are Sylvie and the girls alright?’

  ‘Yes, they’re all fine – it’s nothing to do with them but it’s pretty bad. Aitch and all the fashion people are here.’

  ‘Yes, that’s one of the reasons I chose to absent myself. I made it very clear to everyone that I didn’t think we should do any kind of deal with them.’

  ‘Yes, I felt the same,’ agreed Leveret. ‘I couldn’t believe it when Clip signed that contract.’

  They’d now reached the laddered path and started to pick their way down, trying not to trip over the roots that became more exposed as the dusty earth eroded further under their feet. Leveret went first, and Yul, leading Skydancer, followed.

  ‘It was a stupid thing to agree to!’ he said vehemently. ‘We do need money urgently, but not by these means. I can just imagine the type of people they are – shallow and commercial and totally at odds with Stonewylde and all our principles. I’m sure they see us as anachronistic and quaint, and—’

  ‘Yul, we’ve been duped.’

  ‘Duped? What do you mean?’

  ‘Aitch stands for Holly.’

  ‘What? Bloody hell!’

  ‘She runs her own fashion label and Finn the photographer is actually Fen. Or Fennel.’

  ‘I don’t believe it! The bastards!’

  ‘They’re horrible,’ said Leveret.

  ‘I know they’re horrible! Bloody Hallfolk and their damn sly, sneaky, underhand, deceitful . . . Oh, it makes my blood boil to think they finally managed to worm their way in by the back door – how bloody clever! Goddess, this is awful!’

  ‘You can imagine what it’s been like at the Hall since the two of them arrived this morning.’

  ‘Holly and Fennel back in Stonewylde . . . I just can’t believe it!’

  ‘It was bad enough yesterday, when the models and crew descended on us. But today when the pair of them arrived—’

  ‘Didn’t anyone think to throw them all out? Clip? Sylvie?’

  ‘Clip’s away for a couple of days.’

  ‘Away? Where?’

  ‘Seeing a lawyer, I believe.’

  ‘Really? Not about this matter?’

  ‘No – he’d already done that before signing the contract. He’s seeing his lawyer about something different and, like you, he wanted to be away during the photoshoot. He said he couldn’t bear the thought of Outsiders crawling all over the place.’

  ‘Pity he didn’t think of that before he signed the damned contract!’ spat Yul.

  Leveret glanced back over her shoulder at him. He was dirty and his hair a wild mess, and now his face was thunderous. She shivered; if anyone could get rid of these unwanted Hallfolk, it was her big brother.

  ‘Sylvie did try to throw them out,’ she explained, ‘but it seems the contract Clip signed is legally binding. We have to go through with the photoshoot and fulfil their ord
er or else we’re in breach of it, and apparently Holly says she’d definitely sue.’

  ‘The bitch! That sounds just like her. How come you know so much, Leveret?’

  ‘Sylvie told me.’

  ‘Since when have you been Sylvie’s confidante? I thought you didn’t like her?’

  Leveret glanced at him.

  ‘Sylvie and I have become much closer recently. We get on very well now.’

  ‘Well lucky old you!’ he said bitterly. ‘I wish I could say the same of my relationship with her.’

  Yul dropped Skydancer quickly into the stables, pre-empting Tom’s attempts to pass on Sylvie’s message with a dismissive wave of the hand. He was about to dash upstairs to his apartments to clean up when he remembered they’d been requisitioned by the Aitch crowd. Cursing, he flew into his office to have a quick forbidden shower and change of clothes before confronting the intruders, only to be greeted by Sylvie and Holly sitting in there on opposite sofas.

  ‘Ah, the wandering hero returns!’ cried Holly, jumping up. ‘Good to see you at last, Yul!’

  She went to kiss him, a charming smile on her face, but he glared at her and pulled back.

  ‘Forgive me for the dirty clothes and stink of the outdoors,’ he said abruptly, ‘but I’ve been camping out and wasn’t expecting visitors.’

  ‘And we’ve commandeered your bathroom, poor thing,’ she laughed. ‘Not to mention your bed. When I saw—’

  ‘Yul, I’m so glad Leveret found you!’ said Sylvie. ‘I’ve been entertaining our surprise guest all day and I’d hoped you’d come back to help me.’

  Yul shot her a look of sympathy and then crossed to sit by her side on the sofa. He took her hand in his and squeezed it.

  ‘Sorry I’m so dirty,’ he apologised to her. Turning to Holly, he spoke smoothly. ‘You must be feeling very pleased with yourself to have fooled us so completely. That was one hell of a trick, Holly.’

  ‘Trick? There’s been no trick, I assure you.’

  Yul rolled his eyes.

  ‘Let’s not play games, please.’

  Her thin, pointy face broke into a smile, revealing perfectly shaped teeth and razor-sharp lines around her mouth.

  ‘But I love playing games, Yul. You should remember that. And as for fooling you . . .’ She shrugged nonchalantly and drummed her long fingernails on the arm of the sofa. ‘Well, I must say I was pretty sure we’d be rumbled before arriving here, and I knew you’d never agree to the deal if you discovered who you were doing business with. Not after you’d rejected Buzz’s offer of help.’

  ‘Such powers of deduction!’ said Yul. ‘But you took the risk anyway.’

  ‘My only hope was to get the contract signed before you realised who actually owned Aitch. I honestly thought you’d find out – it’s not exactly a secret. A search at Companies House, not to mention a good dig on our website, would’ve given the game away.’

  ‘We clearly didn’t do our homework very thoroughly, did we?’ he said mildly, and Sylvie was amazed at his restraint. Holly’s smug satisfaction was unbearable.

  ‘Well, no disrespect, but I don’t imagine homework’s ever been your strongest point, Yul,’ she said, her brown eyes roaming over him insolently. Sylvie longed to jump across the coffee table that divided them and slap her hard around her nasty little face.

  ‘True,’ said Yul ruefully. ‘I didn’t even know my alphabet till I was sixteen, poor Villager that I was. And here you and Fennel are now, having completely hoodwinked us.’

  ‘Yes, here we are and very lovely it is to be back,’ said Holly, stretching like a little cat. Her scrawny arms showed off great muscle definition and the elegant shift dress she wore, boldly patterned in caramel, black and white, rode up slightly to reveal her trim legs, tanned and smooth, and shod in dainty black patent high heels. Her body was perfectly toned and expensively maintained and as she stretched, showing as much thigh as was decent, her eyes watched Yul very carefully.

  He yawned hugely and turned to Sylvie.

  ‘Shall we ring for tea? I’d like to see a copy of this contract. I’m sure it is watertight, but there may be something Clip’s lawyer missed. Perhaps there’s some loophole meaning we can legally eject these undesirables from the premises at the earliest opportunity.’

  ‘Why Yul!’ squealed Holly, her sinuous pose abandoned. ‘There’s no need to be so aggressive! We—’

  ‘You were all asked to leave Stonewylde nearly fourteen years ago,’ he said in a voice as cold and hard as black ice. ‘Nothing has changed, Holly. You’re not welcome here and the sooner you leave, the better.’

  18

  Fennel was having a tantrum as Yul, still dirty and wild, rode into the Village on his stallion. The models were posed around the water pump wearing Earth Ethics creations: voluminous skirts of woven material, little knitted jackets and Stonewylde felt hats and leather boots. Kestrel and Lapwing, wearing the male version of the new collection, stood behind them as if in deep conversation; both brandished pitch-forks. Rufus held a scythe and was in the centre of the scene, and the three Stonewylde girls stood in the background with wicker baskets on their arms.

  Chelsi, Benjy and all the stylists were to hand, darting in and out of the tableau to tweak strands of hair and folds of skirts. Lighting assistants hovered just out of shot with the big white panels carefully angled to bounce light back up from below, and Fennel stood with a large camera getting more and more irate as the afternoon wore on.

  ‘Why isn’t anyone listening?’ he cried. ‘Sabrina – chin up there, towards the Barn. Jojo – point that foot, I want to see the boot! All to me, to me!’

  He leapt around, twisting and turning, as the camera shutter whirred continuously. Village folk stood on the sidelines staring in bemusement, although many had grown bored as the shoot had been in progress for some time. Muttering and sniggering could be heard, which made Fennel spin round and glare at the culprits, only to find that someone on set had moved the second his back was turned.

  ‘For Christ’s sake, let’s lose the damned yokels!’ he hissed. ‘Chelsi – sort them out!’

  The girl with the fierce glasses and clipboard moved towards the gaggle of Stonewylders who lounged against the stone wall making wry comments. Just as she was about to remonstrate, the Nursery opened its doors and children began to pour out, laughing and shouting.

  ‘What?’ Chelsi, Benjy – deal with this! I cannot work under these conditions!’

  Fennel ran a hand through his long, tousled hair and actually stamped a foot in distress. Benjy set off towards the swarm of tiny children heading their way, and two of the models began to sneeze violently.

  A large woman in an apron came out from the Barn and walked straight across the set. She stopped in front of Fennel, planting her hands on her hips.

  ‘Maizie sent me to say that tea’s ready in the Barn,’ she said. ‘So come and get ‘un now.’

  The Stonewylde teenagers immediately unfroze from their positions and turned hungrily towards the Barn, causing Fennel to shriek at them all.

  ‘Did I say the shoot is done? Did I say anyone could move?’

  Into this chaotic scene came Yul. He sat astride Skydancer and held him on a tight rein as the grey stallion clattered over the cobbles. The horse was spooked by the strangers and particularly disliked the reflective panels. Yul had come straight from meeting Holly and was still dishevelled and unwashed, his clothes rough and his boots dusty. None of the Aitch team had seen him before and everyone stared up at the dark man in fascination.

  Yul regarded the crowd and located Fennel, still recognisable as the youth of Yul’s memory. His immediate thought was to jump off his horse and punch Fennel on the nose, as he’d always longed to do as a boy. But now . . . he had an example to set, but more to the point – what had Rainbow told her brother and Holly? This was a terrifying thought, but he’d just have to assume that Rainbow had been discreet.

  ‘Tea in the Barn?’ he said loudly. ‘What are you all wai
ting for?’

  The six Stonewylde teenagers, all bored and tired with standing around for hours on end, gave him grateful looks and immediately trooped off to the Barn. Fennel was furious at having his shoot disbanded like this, but couldn’t take his eyes off Yul. So this was how the Village boy had turned out. He still looked rough and ready, but no less attractive for that. The set emptied until only Fennel and Chelsi remained. She stared at the dark and authoritative man with open admiration.

  ‘Go and keep an eye on them all, Chelsi,’ said Fennel, putting the camera carefully into its lined bag. ‘Make sure the clothes are covered if they’re stuffing their faces, and don’t let anyone wander off. We’ll be regrouping over by that yew tree in twenty minutes.’

  ‘Okay, Finn. With the Russet Rustics range?’

  He nodded.

  ‘Yes, but nobody’s to get changed until I’ve come in and spoken to them all. It’s like herding cats today and I need everyone together when I talk to them.’

  She smiled up at Yul, who was still engaged in keeping Skydancer under control, and then she walked briskly towards the Barn. Fennel snapped the camera bag shut and then turned to Yul.

  ‘You haven’t changed much.’

  ‘Neither have you,’ Yul retorted.

  ‘Have you seen Holly yet?’

  ‘Yes, and she’s on her way down with Sylvie.’

  ‘We were wondering when you’d stop skulking in the shadows and actually make an appearance.’

  ‘I’d hoped to avoid you altogether, but Sylvie asked me to come.’

  ‘Why avoid us? You didn’t even know it was us, surely?’

  ‘True – it was a clever ruse. But let me tell you, Fennel – as soon as this photoshoot’s finished, you’re out. Gone – and not coming back again.’

  Fennel gazed up at him, his eyes narrow with dislike.

  ‘Well, we’d better make sure we take our time, hadn’t we?’

  Martin looked around in horror, a handkerchief held to his face. He’d grown up here in squalor, but that was many years ago; the scene around him brought back memories of the worst aspects of his childhood and made his heart beat faster in panic.