by Linda Jordan
“Stronger for what?”
“To live. To do whatever each deity or spirit is meant to do,” said Ancient Woman.
“Will that be harmful to the village?”
“Who can say? Deities are often unpredictable.”
“How is that affecting me?”
“Magic which you’ve repressed your entire life is coming in.”
“What type of magic?” asked Cady.
“Magic beyond anything you’ve experienced before. We can’t say more,” said Ancient Woman.
“Why?”
“It is not our place to tell you.”
Cady felt frustrated. Her guides had never denied her knowledge before. She looked down at the glowing shapes below, growing closer as her guides descended with her.
“What am I to do? How am I to use this magic?”
“All will become clear,” her guides said.
On the jagged island in the center of the lake, Cady saw three distinct deities. Their hands were linked and they danced in a circle. As Cady came closer she saw they were Kali, Brigid and Artemis. They danced around a large glowing stone, giving off white light so bright it hurt Cady’s eyes to look at it, even in a journey.
Then her guides said, “You must look. You must act.”
She felt her guides let go and Cady fell, dropping onto the white-hot boulder. It felt soft, molten, although it didn’t hurt her physical body. She was being cleansed by the heat and light, inside and out.
The three goddesses kept dancing. She could hear their chanting now, but didn’t understand the words. She could only see their dark shapes moving around her and the whiteness.
Cady could feel the heat of the energy, burning away her old self. Forcing a transformation. There was no getting away from this, no fighting it. The only way through was surrender.
She let go and was immediately flooded with all the colors that ever existed, swirling into form inside her and bringing with them unimaginable knowledge. The colors filled up the emptiness created by what had been burned away. Cady felt as if she would burst from the fullness. Tears of gratitude ran down her face.
And then plop.
She was back in her chair in the cabin. Wood stove burning. Cat sleeping. The now-cold tea sitting on her table. Her face wet from tears and her heart full.
“Thank you,” she whispered.
She sat listening to the crackle of the fire in her dimly lit house and the rain pouring down for a very long time. Just being.
There were never any words to describe what happened in a journey. It was all so emotional.
She knew something had changed with her body, but not what. She felt freer, more connected to herself. The magic would flow now, whatever it was that wanted to come through her.
“The Universe never gives you anything you can’t handle,” she mumbled, as if to reassure herself that everything would work out fine.
Finally, Cady stood. Stretching her stiff legs, and picked up her cold mug of tea. She should set it on the wood stove to warm up. Then energy moved through her fingers and warmed the mug and the tea.
“Well, that was something,” said Cady, unsure if she was talking about the journey, warming the tea or both.
Cady spent the rest of the day to herself. Quietly making some soup out of the potatoes, carrots, onions and chicken given to her by the other villagers. She used some of her fresh oregano and the soup cooked, filling her house with wonderful smells.
She gave some of the cooked chicken to Monster, who’d perked up when Cady began tearing it into pieces for the soup. He was ecstatic at the gift. The cat was growing almost plump from hunting.
The heavy rain continued steady throughout the night and the next day dawned crisp and clear.
Cady ventured out into the village. She had a sense that Mazzy needed her advice about something.
The village looked sparkly clean from the heavy rain. The air had that smell she missed, the scent of moist earth and trees after a good rain. It had been a long dry summer, except for the few night showers that Bao had created. Fall was definitely here.
She found Mazzy in the Commons. Pacing around and around.
“What’s up,” asked Cady.
“Oh, hello. I’ve been thinking. In the old village, we had festivals to mark the seasons. We’ve been so busy since we got here, scrambling to plant, build and harvest. None of us have had a free moment to even think about such a thing. I think it’s time.”
“I agree,” said Cady. “What did you have in mind?”
“Well, the fall festival is always a harvest festival. A fire festival. In ancient times they celebrated the harvest of wheat, baking bread. But we don’t have wheat. We used to trade for it, since our forest didn’t encourage the growing of wheat. But we haven’t even had time to reconnect with our trading partners. So I was thinking about what we’re growing here. Still mostly greens and a few root vegetables. We weren’t here in spring to plant. Mostly, people have just planted a winter crop in the last month or so. We won’t harvest most of it till late fall or early spring.”
“But we have all the bounty from our gardens at the last village. Corn, squashes, pumpkins, tomatoes and onions. Yesterday I made a soup using onions, carrots and potatoes that someone had left here for everyone to share. We should celebrate that too. And the chickens, goats and other animals who share our lives. And we should celebrate the amazing wealth of our people. We are blessed to have each other,” said Cady.
“You’re right. I just don’t know quite how to structure a festival around all that.”
“Well, what symbolizes everything that’s happened in the last few months?”
“Our relationships. To the earth, to nature, to each other.”
“A hand?”
“Clasped hands,” said Mazzy.
Cady remembered her journey and the three goddesses dancing around the white-hot stone.
“Dancing. We should have a dance. And music. And a fire. And to tie in our harvest, there should be a feast.”
“Perfect. When?”
“It will take people some time to prepare. Will this clear weather hold a bit I wonder?” asked Cady.
“It will,” said Mazzy. “Tomorrow night. I’ll pass the word.”
“Good,” said Cady. “You’re right. It’s important for us to give thanks.”
The village spent the next two days abuzz with preparation. A large pile of wood began to form near the commons. People dragged out their instruments and the sound of sporadic music throughout the village could be heard now and again. Piles and baskets of fruit and vegetables began appearing in the Commons. There was a charge of excitement in the air.
Cady washed all her clothes and dried them outside, draping the wet pants and shirts from a rope between her house and a tree. She turned them throughout the day, so all parts of them would dry. The slight breeze softened the aged fabric. She took herself over to the stream and bathed, using lavender soap that Sarah made. Then she smoothed comfrey lotion, made by Jeanne, over her old wrinkled skin. And dressed in clean dry pants, a shirt and socks.
It took a long time to untangle her long hair. She braided it and tied it with an old piece of leather. Then put her old boots back on. Monster watched her preparations as if entranced.
“Are you going to the festival or out hunting?”
In answer, he bathed and curled up to sleep on her bed.
“Well, we each give thanks in our own way. Don’t wait up, I’ll be out late.”
She left the house and walked through the dusk to the Commons, where the pounding of drums had been growing louder ever since the sun set.
The air felt cool and damp from the moist earth. The sky was clear overhead. Stars and planets were visible. Cady didn’t know any of the constellations, but the night sky was lovely, something that they didn’t get to see every night around here. Not with all the clouds and rain.
As she walked closer to the light from the Commons, the stars grew less visible. A huge
fire was blazing, giving off enough of a glow to make most of the village visible in the dusk. There were a couple of smaller fires nearby where two deer were being roasted. The scent made Cady’s mouth water. She’d only eaten an apple for lunch, in anticipation of the feast tonight.
Everyone was there. Wanting to celebrate with the community. Mazzy began the proceedings just after Cady and the other stragglers arrived.
“Welcome everyone to our first harvest festival at Enchanted Lake. The first of many. We’d like to bless this wonderful village and thank the earth for the bounty she has given us. For the harvest which will help us move through the next seasons.”
Everyone cheered, helped on by some hard cider that Tank had made and mead from Joe.
“In the name of everyone in our village, I thank the earth for our wonderful harvest and the gift of this village. For our friendship and the wonders of magic that she has given us.” Mazzy walked to the large fire and poured a cup of the cider on it.
The fire roared in response.
“Let the feasting begin. And after that, dancing and more music!” Mazzy whooped and the rest of the village joined in.
Several people had been cooking the entire day and it showed. There was food that Cady had no idea what it was. Recipes passed down through generations. She tasted flavors that were completely new to her and had no words to describe the flavors. Some were sweet and fruit-like. A plum sauce spread over chicken tasting rich, buttery and divine. Others hot and spicy, a sauce of tomatoes, hot peppers and herbs that Bella, Joaquin’s daughter, put in between layers of eggs, cheese and corn tortillas.
Cady sipped some of Tank’s sweet mead and hard cider. One glass of each and she felt giddy, her head spinning.
By the time the feasting was over, the musicians started up. First the drummers, pounding out an irresistible beat that made everyone able to move, get up and dance. Cady couldn’t move as fast as the younger ones, but she danced.
Beth was giddy. Dancing herself into a spinning circle. Obviously celebrating her freedom. Then she began twirling so quickly and out of control that at one point the young woman shot sparks out all around her, burning those around her. The space around Beth cleared quickly as the sparks got larger and flew farther. Finally, she stopped, her face red. She breathed heavily and looked embarrassed.
“Sorry, I just couldn’t stop. It felt so good and I guess I lost control. I didn’t know I could do that. I tried to stop earlier, but the magic wouldn’t let me.”
Now that was something to consider. Magic taking over one’s body. Cady tucked the incident into her mind to explore later.
The dancers began filling up the space again. Beth left the dance to get some water to drink.
The teens, young women and men danced the entire night, nonstop. Cady remembered that passion. The endless desire for a partner, mingled in her own life with the violence and bloodshed of the Zoo. That insistent yearning to join with another had passed for her. She still longed to share her life with another, but doubted it would happen. That desire had faded to a voice small enough to ignore. Which was helpful as there was no one who Cady felt attracted to.
She stopped dancing to breathe awhile and stood watching the others. The entire village had put on their finest clothes. Some people wore jewels and beads, either passed down in their families or salvaged from the ruins through the years.
Gia wore strands of glittering white stones threaded through her braided dark hair. The very withdrawn former librarian of the village, who had previously spent her time hiding behind shelves of books, was blossoming into a confident young woman intent on cataloging the village’s talents and magic. She looked completely at ease and happy out there dancing in her finest clothes, a dramatic red shirt with dark purple pants.
Mazzy had let her long dark hair flow free. It contrasted with her glowing skin and the brilliant blue and white dress she wore. Her dark eyes flashed while spinning in circles around the fire, releasing the control she always had over everything.
By now the fiddle and guitar players had taken over for the drums and the music grew more subtle and melodic, but no less fast. Most of the drummers moved out to join the dancing. A few stayed on to play with the strings. Sam had joined in, playing a harmonica.
Even Joe, probably the oldest person in the village, was out there dancing. Unruly white hair stood out against his black skin as he danced circles around some of the others. Cady had never seen him dance. He concentrated more on his feet, doing amazing things that made her dizzy just looking at them.
Tank walked past, offering her more cider from an old chipped glass pitcher.
“No thank you. My head’s spinning already,” said Cady.
“And isn’t that what it should be doing on a night like this?” he asked.
“Yes, but I don’t want to taste all that glorious food on its way back up again.”
“Good point. Nice to see someone who knows their limits,” said Tank, putting a warm hand on her shoulder, before he moved on to the next person.
Cady walked around the fire, stretching her legs out so they wouldn’t get sore. As she moved to the other side of the blaze, the lake became visible behind the bonfire. The white light of deities and spirits was brilliant now. There were more of them than she’d ever seen before.
Then again, she wasn’t often up this late, preferring the quiet of the morning, rather than the solitude of night.
Were more of them actually here? Would more spirits and deities be coming? What would happen if they did? When they were all filled up with that light, or was that even possible?
What would this area be like when all the deities and spirits came into their full being? The old stories, myths she’d heard as a kid, were all about deities quarreling with each other.
She hated to think the village would become a casualty in the power struggles of gods and goddesses. Or that they would take notice of the village at all? The myths were full of bored deities messing with human lives. Then again, they might just have been stories created by bored humans on a cold winter’s night. Or not.
Cady worried about that. What had the village gotten themselves into with this move? Was there any way her new powers, whatever they might be, could be used to help protect the village?
She’d grown to love these people. Passionately. In a way that she hadn’t ever loved anyone. Not even when she’d joined a family in the Zoo. This was different. This wasn’t out of a desperate need to belong. This was a full-fledged choice to be part of the same world as these folks. To love each and every one of them, no matter their faults or gifts.
Her heart felt full to bursting and tears leaked out of her eyes.
Sharine came up to her and asked, “Are you okay?”
“I’m good. Just feeling so much love for everyone,” said Cady, looking up at Sharine.
Sharine hugged her and said, “That’s what this is all about. Caring for each other.”
“Yeah, it is.”
The night flew on and deities came to dance above the fire, as if drawn to the flames. Cady didn’t know if they were on their way to the island in the lake or returning from there. The heat of the fire seemed to attract them.
Then she saw her. Morrigu.
Cady would have recognized her anywhere. Morrigu paused slightly before she moved through the flames. Their eyes met and Cady saw a moment of recognition before the Goddess stepped into the flames, ten feet above the earth, and came out the other side heading towards the lake.
Had Morrigu left the Zoo and her people? Had the Zoo been destroyed by those planes?
Cady hoped the people had escaped, especially Damon. He’d seemed like someone she could have been friends with under different circumstances.
Would Morrigu have left her people if they were still alive? Cady didn’t understand deities, especially Morrigu. But Cady knew Morrigu was very complex and different from many deities, having lived successfully alongside humans for decades.
The night e
nded with more questions than when it had begun.
And Cady had no answers.
7
Damon
Damon stood peering out at the pouring rain, every piece of his clothing damp and uncomfortable. He moved back inside the Cap towards the fire. Tossed another chunk of dry wood on it and listened to the satisfying pops and crackles as the flames worked their way over the wood’s surface.
Tonight. Tonight would be a good night for a raid. That damn village would be all tucked up nicely in their houses. And visibility would be poor, which would help the mission.
Luckily, one of their new recruits, an angry young man, happened to be from the village. He’d been able to give them plenty of information about the whereabouts of their weapons storage and how many people and who might be guarding it. As well as the other village habits.
Jax and his team had returned, also with the location of the village and some intel that confirmed what the new recruit had told Damon. Tonight, they were going to get weapons.
Damon heard Eamon and Gregor come in the open door, shaking off some of the rain. They came over to the fire to dry off.
“Everything set?” asked Damon.
“Yes,” said Gregor. “We’ve got thirty strong backs, good fighters, ready to steal and run. I’ve briefed them and they’re fed and sleeping till this evening.”
“I still want to go,” said Damon.
“Nope,” Gregor said. “I know I’m not in charge here, you are. And you need to stay here. If we fail, there will be hell to pay. We need our strongest person here, to prepare for an attack. We’ve got to be able to defend our home base or collecting weapons means nothing.”
“I know,” said Damon. They’d been over this yesterday. Damon saw the sense in it. He still wanted to fight. To go ferret out Jack and wring the damn man’s neck.