The Maypole dancers let out a whooping cheer, which was soon taken up by the other muses in the dance enclave. They all came out of their tents and joined the others. All of the muses formed a loose procession, Natalia and Ren at the beginning, the Maypole dancers behind them, and the rest of the dancers behind them.
Cheering and laughing, they headed for the music enclave.
Ren lit the fire basket there.
Natalia’s voice rang out. “The fire of spring is lit. Who joins our celebration?”
Immediately, there was an answering cheer from the music muses, who sprang out with their musical instruments, joining the back of the procession.
As they made their way to the next enclave, the drums sounded and the instruments played, and they all danced as they walked, joy in their springing steps. It was May Day, and Maddie felt herself caught up in the excitement.
She lent her voice to the singing. She wasn’t a singer, but she could carry a tune, and she was too happy to stop.
They went to each enclave, lighting the fire basket, calling out to the surrounding muses and adding to the procession.
When every enclave had been visited and every muse in Helicon was trailing in the procession, they wound their way to the center of Helicon, to the main fire pit. There, they formed several rings around the Maypole. The dancers formed a tight, close inner circle, and the other muses formed bigger circles around them, until they were all looking in at the Maypole.
The drums beat a frenetic joyous beat, and everyone cheered.
Phoebe stepped into the ring. She was wearing a flowered, flowing gown, and she looked utterly beautiful and regal. She threw up her hands, threw back her head, and bellowed, “Happy May Day!”
Deafening cheers. The drummers beat their drums, the horn blowers blew their horns. Maddie and the other dancers turned in a circle, their hands in the air, yelling and whooping.
“Let the dance begin,” Phoebe said.
And the dancers picked up their ribbons.
The music began. Every year, the tune was the same, but the instrumentation and arrangement varied a bit. This year, the instruments were all wooden flutes, giving the song an airy, unearthly quality.
Natalia and Ren danced outside of the dancers, giving an interpretation of the traditional dance of the May Queen and the Green Man. It was a dance of seduction and of chase.
The woman beckoned, the man followed, until eventually, the May Queen gave in and allowed the Green Man to catch her, and then they danced together.
Ren filled the role of the Green Man quite well. He was easily as talented as Himeros, and Maddie thought it was nice to see someone else take the role. Her whole life, Himeros had been the Green Man. This was a refreshing change.
Then the Maypole dancers began their movements, weaving their ribbons in opposing circles, over and under each other, so that they created a beautiful pattern of ribbons on the Maypole. Of course, this year, there were so few of them that Maddie had to admit it looked a little skimpy. Next year, they’d need more dancers.
The music finished with a flourish, and the surrounding muses stomped their feet, clapped their hands, and yelled.
Phoebe stepped out once again. She had ribbons draped over her arms and she called out for the couples who wished to be handfasted to come forward.
There were three couples. Phoebe wound the ribbons around their wrists and had them promise to be faithful to each other for a year and a day, when the couple could decide to handfast again or to make a more permanent arrangement.
“You cannot possess me, for I belong to myself,” went the vow, “but while we both wish it, I give you that which is mine to give.”
When Phoebe had finished, she presented the muses to the gathering and said, “May your unions bless you creatively and inspire you as we seek to inspire!”
Everyone cheered again, and there was more drum pounding.
Phoebe raised her hands again, waiting for everyone to quiet. When they did, she yelled, “We are blessed in Helicon, blessed as always. May this May Day be an inspiration to you all, just as we are an inspiration to the world.” She smiled. “And I think the food’s ready.”
More cheers.
The main business of May Day concluded, every one began breaking up and heading one way or the other. Some went to get drinks, others to the tables which were laden with food, others to dance, because the music had started yet again, and it wouldn’t stop until sometime near dawn the next day.
“Food?” Maddie asked Nora. Maddie herself wasn’t exactly excited at the idea of eating, especially not in her tight dress, but she liked to pretend as if she liked eating. It kept the others from suspecting that anything was still wrong with her.
Nora looked around. “You go ahead. I’ll catch up.”
“Why? Where are you going?”
“I’m just going to look around…”
But then Owen loped over to them. He was grinning, but there was something about the smile that Maddie didn’t like. He looked Nora over from head to toe.
She twirled. “Slutty enough for you?”
Why had she said that? Maddie was taken aback.
“Well, I don’t think it was the outfit, actually,” Owen said, smirking. “I think, that first year, it was the dance.”
Nora nodded. “Oh, that’s right. You said the dance was slutty, not my outfit.”
“Not that the outfit isn’t nice,” Owen said.
“Well, I think the dance was very seductive this year,” Nora said. “It always is, isn’t it? It’s a fertility celebration.”
Owen just laughed. He snaked a hand around Nora’s waist and pulled her body up against his. “You looked good up there.”
Maddie suddenly felt embarrassed. There was something about the change in pitch of Owen’s voice that made her feel as if she was intruding on a private moment.
Nora swallowed, looking terrified for a moment. Then she seemed to recover. She pushed out of Owen’s grasp. “Glad you approve.” She turned. “Do you want a drink? They have honeyed meade, or so I hear.”
If Owen was upset about his advance being rebuffed, he didn’t let it show. He simply smiled, calm. “Sure.”
Nora turned to Maddie. “You want to hang with us? Or would it be too much to be around Owen?”
Maddie wasn’t sure what to say. She looked around for Agler, but didn’t see him anywhere. Truth was, she wasn’t spending a lot of time with Agler these days anyway. Sawyer was just a few feet away, watching the exchange. He looked angry enough to wring Owen’s neck. Maddie was fairly sure she couldn’t count on Sawyer being around them. She drew herself up. “Okay, fine. Let’s go.”
They headed up to get a drink, and then Maddie spent the rest of the afternoon with Nora and Owen. They got drinks, they ate food, and they did the typical sort of May Day thing. Which was basically to relax and have fun.
Back when Nora and Owen had been together that first year, Maddie remembered that Nora had been frightened of Owen. She always been trying to stay on his good side. Owen had come across then as a controlling, demanding asshole. He never hung out with them, almost as if he’d felt he was too good for them. So Maddie had never really got a chance to know him. Most of her interactions with him had been unpleasant.
She couldn’t say that interacting with him that afternoon was any better, really.
At one point in the afternoon, when they were eating dessert, Owen pointed out a muse who was dancing with his shirt off. The muse was a little bit on the chubby side, and as he danced, his fat rolls were flopping around to the beat. “Looks like that guy’s really starving himself, huh?”
Maddie didn’t say anything.
But Nora laughed. “Oh, yeah, he’s really svelt.”
“You could give him lessons, Maddie.” Owen gave her a twisted smile. “You know how to stop eating so much.”
Maddie’s jaw dropped open. How dare he make a comment like that? She expected Nora to tell Owen off, to come to her rescue in s
ome way.
But Nora only smirked. “Well, he is dancing, though, isn’t he? I don’t see you on the dance floor, Owen. Afraid that the rest of us are so creative we’ll show you up?”
Owen’s jaw twitched. “Well, we can’t all be slutty dancers like you, my darling,” he said, his voice saccharine.
The two glared at each other.
It was like that all day.
Owen was sarcastic. He had a twisted sense of humor.
But Nora was different now. Nora wasn’t timid around Owen. She wasn’t trying to make him happy. Instead she seemed to goad him. She seemed to take every chance that she could to push his buttons, rile him up.
Maddie wasn’t sure what to think. Nora didn’t seem unhappy. Near as Maddie could tell, Nora seemed to be enjoying what Maddie could only term a sparring session with Owen. For that matter, Owen seem to be having fun as well. If she didn’t know any better, she might have said they were perfectly matched.
It just didn’t make sense, though. It was such an about-face. When Maddie, Nora, and Sawyer had left last November for the mundane world, Maddie had been certain that Nora had no interest in Owen whatsoever. And they had come back, and suddenly Nora was all about him? That didn’t make sense. Something was wrong.
But watching them together now, Maddie was hard pressed to figure out what exactly it was. She wondered if maybe Nora had just been embarrassed. Maybe Nora liked Owen, but thought they wouldn’t understand and just didn’t know how to let them know.
But even that didn’t seem quite right. Maddie was Nora’s best friend. Maddie knew all of Nora’s dark secrets, and Nora knew all of Maddie’s. It wasn’t like Nora to hide things.
Nora did seem different. What if Sawyer was right? What if someone or something was impersonating Nora? What if the person sitting in front of her wasn’t her best friend at all?
Maddie spoke up. “Nora, you remember the first day we met?”
Nora looked up from her dessert. “Wow, that was random.”
Maddie shrugged. “Just feeling nostalgic, that’s all. Do you?”
Nora nodded. “Of course.”
“So, what happened?”
Nora furrowed her brow. “Why are you asking me that?”
“Just wondering if you remember.”
“Why wouldn’t I remember?” Nora took a bite of pie. “You’re being really weird, Maddie.”
Maddie had to admit, the way she’d phrased that request was weird. But it didn’t help matters that Nora seemed to have effectively sidestepped the question.
“How much have you had to drink?” Nora asked.
Maddie sighed. “I’m going to go dance.”
Nora shrugged.
Maddie hurried down the hill, away from everyone else. On her way there, she ran into Agler.
“Hey,” he said.
She felt awkward. “Hey.”
“I’ve been looking for you all day.”
“I’ve been around. I was with Nora and Owen.”
“I thought it was Lute’s turn to watch them during May Day. He said he didn’t mind. He’s just gonna do the music later. Sawyer was going to take over for him then.”
“I wasn’t watching him watching him. I was just… hanging out.”
Agler raised his eyebrows. “Hanging out with Owen?”
“Hanging out with Nora.” Maddie inspected her fingernails. “I was going to dance.”
“Can I dance with you?” He smiled down at her.
Maddie looked up at him, into his handsome face. She was reminded of the fact that she loved this man. She was reminded of everything they’ve been through, of how explosive it was when they kissed. She melted. “That would be nice.”
CHAPTER TEN
As the sun set, Agler and Maddie danced further and further toward the periphery of the gathering. Agler was enjoying their closeness. Dancing was nice. They didn’t have to talk, and he felt connected to her again. He hadn’t felt this connected in months, and it was wonderful. He loved being able to touch her, being able to be close enough to hear her breathe. He was also a little bit drunk, which only made it all nicer. As they danced, he was sneaking kisses, and she was letting him.
Everything was going very well.
It was getting darker, and he was steering her further and further away from everyone else, out into the field.
He was reminded of the disaster of their first time, which had taken place right here during the May Day celebration. He’d been wasted drunk, and everything had gone badly. This was a chance to sort of redo that. To make love to her the way he should have made love to her that first time. To use the same setting for a different effect.
And it would be perfect. It would be a symbol of the two of them coming back together after a long break.
Once they were far enough away from the others that they were practically alone, he began to deepen his kisses. He held her small body tight against his he delved his tongue into her mouth. He wanted to dive into her, bury himself in her, get lost in her.
He ran his hands over her waist, over her hips. He crushed his pelvis against hers. He was excited.
She gasped. “Wait,” she breathed.
He was going to ignore her. He had to ignore her, because she couldn’t really be saying that. Things were going so well. She wasn’t going to ruin it. He kissed her again, fiercely, firmly. He traced the shell of her ear with one finger. She always loved that.
She shivered. She let out a soft moan. “Don’t.”
Don’t?
“Don’t” was a little bit too close to “no,” wasn’t it?
He sighed. He dropped his hands, stepped back from her. “Maddie, this is so nice…”
Her eyes were closed. “I know. I know. But…”
“But nothing. Let’s not talk. If we talk, we’ll ruin it. I want you.” He touched her again, running his knuckles over her cheek. “Do you want me?”
She hesitated.
That was not good.
Her eyes opened. “I’m not ready for this. I can’t get into it. You could start trying to do it, but I’d start worrying about whether or not I could get pregnant. It would just take me completely out of the mood.”
His shoulders sagged. “You don’t have to think about that. Put it out of your mind.”
“If I could put it out of my mind, I would.”
“I’ll distract you,” he said. “I’m very good at distracting you.”
She shook her head. “You don’t know how much it scares me.”
“It’s not going to happen,” he said. “We’re going to be okay.”
She was already backing away. “No, I don’t think so.”
He was angry, then. So angry. It was as if all of the energy that he had been funneling into the passion between the two of them was bubbling up and being forced into a negative emotion. He clenched his hands into fists and turned away from her.
She touched him on the shoulder. “I’m sorry.”
He whirled, and his tone was sharp. “You can’t hold out on me forever.”
“Agler, if you could try to be understanding—”
“And who’s going to be understanding to me?” he said.
She looked at her feet.
He shook his head. “I’m going to go get a drink. I’ll bring you back something if you want.”
“No,” she said. “You know, I think it would be better if you went away and stayed away.”
“Fine.” He stalked off.
He headed back into the celebration and went to find a drink. The wine and spirits enclave had made honeyed meade and some wheat beer and sweet white wine for the celebration. Agler wanted something a little stronger. So he left the main fire pit and went all the way up to the wine and spirits enclave proper, where he was able to find some whiskey. Taking an entire bottle, he headed back down to the fire pit.
As he was gulping down the fiery liquid, he was reminded again of that first year with Maddie. How drunk he’d been. He had been upset over Nor
a that year. He was always excited for May Day, he realized, but when he thought about it, it was almost never really a great holiday. Usually, it was just drama, drama, drama. He drank more whiskey. He plopped down in front of the fire at the main fire pit. Someone had left behind one of the drums. He picked it up and began banging on it. He wasn’t keeping the beat, but he didn’t care. Banging on something felt good.
“Agler?”
Agler turned around to see a small, slim man with pointed ears. His skin had a faint greenish tint. Agler recognized him immediately. He scrambled to his feet. “Ridian. Good to see you.”
Three years ago, Agler had gone off to the fairy world for several months and spent time with them. Ridian was one of the fairies from the fairy dimension. Every year at May Day, because it was a cross-quarter day, and the veil between realms was thin, the fairies generally came by to play music and celebrate with the muses. It was a chance for Agler to catch up with people he had met there.
He and Ridian hugged.
“It’s good to see you,” Ridian said.
“Definitely,” Agler said. “I didn’t see you last year.”
“No, I wasn’t able to make it last year. I haven’t actually seen any muses since we saw Phoebe Rain last fall.”
“You saw Phoebe?” Agler was confused.
“Yeah,” Ridian said. “She came to talk to our elders about Owen Asher.”
“What about Owen?” Agler asked.
Ridian shrugged. “Couldn’t tell you.” He pointed at the bottle of whiskey. “You mind sharing?”
Agler laughed. “Not at all.” Drunk fairies were funny, though. They had such pure blood that the alcohol tended to affect them really quickly. Still, he handed the whiskey over.
Ridian took a long drink. “That’s good stuff. It’s always worth a trip to Helicon, just for the booze.”
Agler grinned. “Yeah, we do that well.”
“You drumming?”
Agler nodded.
Ridian gestured to his own drum. “Well, I’ll join you.”
Agler wondered what the heck Phoebe needed to know about Owen, and why she was going to ask the fairies about it.
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