The three girls intoned a modulated incantation that made Elinas flinch at each rise and fall of their clear voices. Gradually, the strange words thickened the air, filled the vaults, and swirled, repeating themselves endlessly. Then, a blue mist rose from the stone floor and surrounded Elinas, muffling all sounds. Soon, the blue fog curtained everything except the basin over which Elinas now bent, thankful for the silence and the privacy.
His heart kicked wildly against his ribs as he gazed into the still waters. Instead of his reflection, he wasn’t surprised to behold the beloved face of his gracious queen staring in the distance. She looked just as young and beautiful as he remembered. Behind her, against a cloudless sky, stood the statue of the Black Madonna.
“Who summons me?” A frown of uncertainty creased Pressine’s forehead. A gentle summer breeze frayed her braid with rebellious strands of dark hair.
“Pressine!" Elinas poured into her name all the hope he’d held tight over the years. His heart almost stopped when her misty eyes full of joyful surprise focused on him.
“Is that you, my love? How did you overcome the curse? Each day, from the top of mount Elenore, I have searched for your spirit beyond the sea.” The sweet sound of her voice suddenly soothed fifteen years of loneliness and suffering.
Elinas reveled in the sight of her. “You have not changed. It is so good to see your face again.”
“The gray in your beard and hair suits you well, husband. You look noble and wise.” Pressine frowned. “How did you manage to use a water basin?”
“Our daughters helped.” Elinas stumbled over the words. “Will you ever forgive me, my love?”
“I already have. I see you suffered as much as I did.” Pressine’s face turned serious. “I kept my bitterness to myself so it would not bleed on our beautiful daughters. As soon as they learned of you, they wanted to meet you.”
“I am glad you sent them to me.”
“I miss our time together, my love. Where are you?”
“In a sacred place, a crystal cave.” Elinas spoke easily now. Just seeing Pressine alleviated his years of solitude.
“Not Brumborenlion!” Pressine’s melodious voice rose in alarm and her face tensed.
Picking up on Pressine’s distress, Elinas suddenly remembered his nightmare. Foreboding filled his chest. “That is the very name of this place. Why?”
“Dear Goddess, help us all!” The sheer panic in Pressine’s eyes increased his fears. “Run, my love, flee now if you still can. It’s a trap!”
“It cannot be. Our precious lasses would not betray me...” As he said it, Elinas remembered being betrayed by his own son.
“Our daughters must hate you to lead you to that evil place.” Pressine sounded frantic. “I am so sorry, my love. It is my fault for giving them such a low opinion of mortals.”
Torn between fear and the precious link with the woman he loved, Elinas did not move. “I cannot bear to leave you now, no matter the cost.”
“Neither can I, but you do not deserve such a dreary fate. That cave is a prison from which no mortal has ever escaped. It is where Morgane had Merlin trapped for decades.” Her tender eyes implored him now. “Hurry, my love. Get out before it’s too late.”
“If this is our only chance to meet for the rest of my life, I would rather stay and talk with you than save an empty existence.” Once he’d made his decision, a strange calm filled Elinas.
Tears welled in Pressine’s clear gray eyes. “But you can still have a productive life, even find happiness with another woman. I give you my blessing to do so.”
Elinas shook his head, biting back a sad chuckle. “I have not desired a woman since the day I lost you.”
Tears now rolled down Pressine’s lovely cheeks.
“Do not cry, my queen. Let us savor this moment so we can remember it forever.” Elinas reached for Pressine’s face but didn’t dare disturb the water surface. Any ripple might break the contact and erase her beloved features.
Pressine wiped the tears from her face. “I loved you since the day I first saw you at the spring, and I always will,” she murmured, with a tender smile.
“And I have loved you since I heard you sing that same day in the forest, even before I ever laid eyes on you.” After a slight hesitation, Elinas asked, “Am I going to die here?”
“Not today, my love. The curse is still strong, and I feel it straining against our tenuous link.” Pressine looked so brave. “But when your time comes, I promise to be there to hold your hand.”
Elinas managed a smile as his chest tightened and warm tears blurred his vision.
Suddenly, the water hissed and steamed. Sudden flames leapt toward him, and Elinas jumped away from the crystal rim. The water burned out and the fire cracked and blackened the precious basin. The smell of sulfur hung in the air.
When the flames abated, the mist had dissipated to reveal the three girls, just outside the circle of pillars, watching Elinas with interest. They had stopped chanting. No voices mitigated the vibrating power filling the cave and the gentle murmur of running water.
“Your little reunion is over, father,” Melusine said, abruptly. “I wager our mother was not happy to see you.”
Elinas wanted to protest, but the intent stare of the three lasses kept him paralyzed. He struggled, unable to free himself from their magic. They held him paralyzed, unable to avoid their gaze.
“We kept our promise.” Palatina straightened her shift. “Now, the time has come to atone for your mistakes.”
Finally shaking the unnatural lethargy, Elinas marched toward his daughters but hit an invisible wall at the circle’s edge. “You have no right to judge me!”
Melusine laughed at his bewilderment. “You cannot harm us, old man, we have seen to that. But I am surprised you managed to break our paralyzing hold. The potion we slipped into your wine last night was supposed dull your willpower.”
Elinas surrendered to sadness. “I love you and your mother with all my heart. I never meant you any harm.”
“Neither do the Christians who torture the Pagans for the good of their immortal souls,” Melusine railed, staring at him with open defiance. “Neither do the Vikings, only searching for new lands to farm. Neither did your son Mattacks. But at least he received his just punishment. The weakness of mortals is no excuse for their vile actions or failures.”
Elinas dropped his shoulders and bent his head. He had no fight left in him. “I deeply apologize for any hurt I caused you.”
“And what about our mother?” Melusine’s sharp voice carried her anger. “Did you apologize to her? Do you think a simple apology can erase years of suffering?”
Elinas saw no point in fighting the girls. “I know she suffered because of me. But she forgave me in the end. Why can’t you do the same?”
“Our mother forgave you? No. You lie, old king, like all mortals.” Palatina’s voice remained even. “Our mother could never forgive you. She endured too much.”
“Old wounds do not heal that easily.” Meliora flashed a sad smile. “She never took another man, you know, and probably never will.”
“Tell me, old king,” Melusine cut in with contempt. “What good is immortality if you cannot enjoy it?” Slowly, she raised her hands to the high-vaulted ceiling. “Now, hear your fate.”
In the thick silence, Elinas dared not breathe.
“My sisters and I,” Melusine declared solemnly, “decided that although your life is short compared to that of our mother, you will not enjoy it either. You will rot in this cave for the remainder of your days.”
Elinas shivered, the small hair along his spine rising in protest. “But no one can survive in this cold, barren place!”
“You would be surprised.” Melusine smiled mysteriously. “Food will appear when you are hungry, but it will have no taste or smell. You can drink the water from the spring, but it will not quench your thirst. And you will never know whether it is night or day, what time of year, or what is happening in the land.
You will wither away, forgotten. No mortal will ever know about your fate.
“Please, reconsider,” Elinas pleaded with little conviction. “I can still do some good in this world. Give me time to prove myself to you.”
But his words sounded empty. His precious daughters had betrayed him, and he did not really care what happened to him now.
“More time?” Melusine scoffed. “To fool us like you fooled our mother, with empty words and promises? No. The best justice is swift. Besides, even we cannot undo the magic we have woven in this cave. Farewell, father. I shall never lay eyes on you again.”
Melusine turned to leave, imitated by her two sisters, pale with shock but determined nevertheless.
“Wait!” Elinas had to try a last plea.
Melusine stopped in her tracks and faced him cooly. “No, Father. We waited too long already. Now you have ample time to meditate on the consequences of your actions, for the remainder of your miserable life.”
Palatina stared at him, her face unreadable, and Meliora had tears in her eyes. Both, however, kept a condemning silence.
“I forgive you,” Elinas whispered, resigned to his fate.
“Forgiveness is for the weak.” Melusine turned to her sisters. “Come! Our work is done here.”
Dread clenched his heart as Elinas watched his daughters walk away. Only Meliora, trailing behind, turned around and mouthed the words, “I am sorry, father.” But the two others never turned back, even when Melusine stopped to pick up the torch hanging on the wall.
As soon as the girls disappeared into the tunnel, a deep rumble shook the cave. Blocks of blue crystal fell from the high ceiling, thundering down to a deafening crash. Clouds of dust filled the vaults and dimmed the shimmering blue light.
Off balance, Elinas dropped to the floor. Instinctively, he raised both arms to ward off falling debris. But no dust or rock fell into the circle of power. His daughters had intended for him to remain safe from bodily harm during the sealing of the cave. How touching!
With ice in his heart, Elinas watched as his nightmare of the night before unfolded. Once again, he had been betrayed by those he loved most. Suddenly, in the midst of the destruction, he realized the true nature of his punishment. Nothing here would distract him from the unbearable pain of the separation, not even an impossible quest.
“Pressine!” he called with longing, then sobbed uncontrollably.
* * *
On Mount Elenore, Pressine still knelt at the edge of the pond near the spring, her back to the black statue of the Goddess. Helpless, Pressine wailed inside when she heard Elinas call her name.
She had witnessed the scene on the tranquil waters, unable to interfere or make herself heard. Why would her daughters commit the irreparable? Where had she gone wrong in raising such ungrateful girls?
“Elinas,” she answered in anguish, but he was deaf to her, unaware of her presence.
Soon, darkness engulfed the water surface, erasing the images. Then all Pressine could see was her own reflection in the pure water of the pond. She struggled to see more, but the tenuous magic thread had snapped, stinging her deep inside.
Reluctantly, she sat back on her heels and whispered, “Farewell, my love.”
What would become of Elinas? How long would he survive, condemned to utter solitude?
Their daughters had done the unimaginable. That they possessed such power did not surprise Pressine, but she could not forgive their cruelty. The lasses had deceived her and brought despair and suffering upon their own family, a perfidy unworthy of their great destiny.
“Ungrateful children, what have you done?” Pressine cried out, reeling with grief. “How could you condemn the man who gave you life? My only love...”
But no one heard her lament. Sudden rage flooded Pressine, giving her new strength.
“I shall teach you to take matters into your own hands,” she shouted to the sky. “I have been too lenient, too weak with you all these years.”
What the girls needed was a smarting dose of their own justice. Turning on her knees to face the statue of the Goddess behind her, Pressine stretched her arms toward the sky.
“Dear Goddess, help me chastise my daughters fairly. I know anger can blind, and I need your guidance.”
She gazed at the black statue, uncertain whether or not the Goddess would inspire her. “How can I teach them respect for age and human life? They must learn not to hurt and destroy at every vengeful whim.”
The Goddess remained still and silent.
“Please, in your wisdom, suggest a fitting punishment they will never forget, something to carve our sacred laws deep into their heart.”
The statue shimmered and came alive, as it had in the church long ago, but this time, it was not Pressine’s doing. As bright as liquid silver, the statue turned her head to look down at Pressine.
“Your daughters have broken more than the sacred law of loving and honoring their father.” The formidable voice boomed overhead and made the ground shake enough to scare the strongest sorcerer.
Frightened, Pressine prostrated herself, unable to move or breathe.
“The disobedient girls acted with total disregard for the curse,” the Goddess thundered. “I forbade all contacts between you and your mortal king. They challenged my power and ignored my sentence. They misused their powers for selfish revenge, and they must now suffer my wrath.”
“Powerful Goddess,” Pressine croaked, terrified of what the Great One might do to her daughters. “I implore you. They are only children acting out of love, however misguided.”
“Proud, unruly children who dared defy me!” The rumbling voice carried an open threat. “I shall curse their miserable lives, and you will serve as my instrument.”
“No, please, Great One, have mercy. Not a curse.” Pressine could not imagine her precious daughters stricken by a Faery curse like she was.
“Would you join them and disobey me?” The quicksilver face gave a wry smile.
“Banish the thought, O Great One.” Pressine’s heart beat like a war drum.
“Then rise, and take heed.”
Dreading the outcome, struggling between wrath and compassion for her daughters, Pressine swallowed her fear and rose to face the Great Goddess.
Chapter Eighteen
Torn between joy and dread, Pressine stood on the beach and squinted against the glare of the sparkling sea, to watch the sailboat emerging from the mist.
Five months ago, when she had sent off her daughters to find Elinas, Pressine had dared to hope. Now, upon their return, anger at what the girls had done battled with foreboding. The Goddess said She would punish them with a curse... but what kind? The Great one did’t say.
When Meliora jumped down from the small barque into the shallow surf and ran to embrace her, Pressine could not resist the urge to return the enthusiastic hug. Despite the hurt they had caused, these were her precious daughters. How she had missed them!
The girls suspected nothing yet, and Pressine wanted to enjoy this last moment of innocence.
“Mother!” Melusine called excitedly, hugging Pressine in turn. “Do not grieve anymore over our father’s treachery.”
Palatina took her mother’s hand. “The old king who behaved badly toward you is now punished.”
“No, do not speak of it!” Pressine warded them off with a wave of the hand, dreading what must come next. Around them, fishermen and servants came to fill the beach, but as she’d ordered, none rushed to unload the barge. Pressine spread a glamour to cover herself and the three girls, so the servants could not hear what she had to say.
“You already know what we did?” Meliora asked in obvious awe.
Pressine’s anger rose in her throat, and hard as she tried, she could not control it. “I did witness your perfidy toward your father. You acted with a hard and bilious heart.”
“The only perfidy was his.” Melusine’s eyes narrowed. “He deserved his punishment.”
A powerful presence, that of th
e Great Goddess, invaded Pressine’s mind. What Pressine feared the most now unfolded as the Goddess also filled her body.
“Not only did you turn against your mortal father, the man who gave me the only pleasure in this world...” Pressine heard the words coming from her mouth but had no control over them. “You also defied the Great One by bending the curse and creating a link, however brief, between your father and me.”
“But, Mother,” Melusine turned pale. “We only avenged you! And we never meant to defy the Great Goddess.”
“Ladies of the Isle do not take revenge against powerless mortals,” Pressine heard herself say. “It is as cruel as stealing food from a starving child.” She straightened her back. “As for defying the Goddess, whether you meant to insult Her or not makes no difference to Her.”
The girls did not argue, staring at Pressine with bewildered eyes.
Had they felt righteous about their deed all along? Pressine pitied them but could not express her compassion. A formidable power held her, prompting her to speak and act as the instrument of the Goddess.
“Melusine,” she heard herself call, her voice rising to match in intensity that of the Great One. Although her mouth spoke and her body moved, she still had no control over it. “I know you concocted this evil plan. As the leader, I shall punish you first.”
Tears surged in Melusine’s shiny eyes. But the girl bit her lips and raised her chin to face her mother’s wrath and her punishment.
Pressine knew not what the Goddess had decided and dreaded the sentence. She witnessed with growing horror the ire of the Goddess flowing through her words. “For abusing your power, I curse you with a malediction.”
“A curse?” Panic registered in Melusine’s gray eyes, mirrored in the faces of her two sisters.
A shimmer on Mount Elenore made Pressine glance up. The statue of the Goddess shone like quick silver, brighter than the sun itself. As if emanating from the wind, the sea, the sand, and the high cliffs, Pressine’s supernatural voice filled the air.
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