Shadows at Stonewylde
Read Shadows at Stonewylde Online
Authors: Kit Berry
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STONEWYLDE
The Fourth Novel of Stonewylde
KIT BERRY
ContentsAlso by Kit Berry from Gollancz
S
lowly, silently, the moon rose over Stonewylde, flooding the land with ethereal light. Velvet shadows deepened as the hills and valleys welcomed the Bright Lady’s quicksilver kiss. Moonlight tiptoed down ancient paths, danced in fields and on hilltops, shimmered over rivers and pools. She was everywhere, bestowing her cold caress on the waiting landscape
.
She sent a path of rippling silver across the sea and onto the white disc of stone at Mooncliffe. The eerie cliff-top was deserted; no moongazy maiden stood on the circle feeding her magic to the hungry snakes. At Quarrycleave, the Lady glanced over the carved pillar and peered into the canyons of stone. Her beams rustled through the ivy but her magic failed to banish the greedy shadows that lay below
.
On silver feet she swept across the curves of the land and brushed the entrance to the Dolmen. The ancient gateway stood as it always had, a portal to the world of myths and dreams. A small fire smouldered at the entrance and a lone figure sat sentinel, entranced by the moon’s magic
.
The Stone Circle embraced her, gathering her into the arena where the great stones stood guard around the heart of Stonewylde. She pirouetted on the soft earth floor and stroked the Altar Stone with silver fingertips, tingling as she encountered the Green Magic that eddied here
.
The great megalith on top of the hill stood in lonely glory. Hares, their tawny coats bleached to dull pewter and their eyes gleaming in the moonlight, danced the sacred spirals around the single stone. Bats flickered against the starry skies and a silver-feathered barn owl glided from the woods to perch on the stone that marked the spiral’s vortex. These creatures knew the ancient power here; they instinctively understood the magical patterns of the land and this mysterious monthly alchemy. For millennia the moon-dance of Stonewylde had been honoured at this special place on the hill. Here the Bright Lady kissed her sister the Earth Goddess, enchanting her with quicksilver magic
.
T
he girl slipped down the path, her cloak flaring behind her as she hurried on light feet. She clutched the wicker basket containing the precious fruits she’d gathered. Her eyes still shone with the moonlight and she wished she’d had longer in the woods under the Hunter’s Moon. She loved the Moon Fullness, the magic that thrilled all around in the crisp October night. It was so bright that even in the depths of the woods she’d had no need of her lantern. Carefully she opened the cottage back door; it was late and she should’ve been home long ago. A faint light glowed through the curtains but hopefully her mother would be asleep by now.
Golden candlelight from the lamp on the dresser dazzled her as she tiptoed into the kitchen. In the sitting room, Maizie looked up from her papers and removed her reading glasses to glare through the kitchen doorway at her daughter, still oblivious of her presence. The girl blinked in the golden brightness and quietly shut the heavy wooden back door behind her. She placed her basket on the scrubbed kitchen dresser, and shrugged off her cloak, hanging it on the peg. So far, so good.
‘Leveret! Come in here this minute!’
The sharp voice made her jump and her heart sank.
‘Where have you been, my girl? ‘Tis almost midnight! What’ve you been doing?’
Maizie’s face was pinched with anger as she glared at her daughter. This girl, her seventh child, was more trouble than the other six put together. Even in his wildest days Yul had been more obedient than she was. Although, Maizie thought ruefully, Alwyn’s reign of terror had probably been responsible for that. This girl was different – unruly, wilful and a law unto herself, and she had no father to keep her in check.
Maizie took a deep breath and gathered the papers into a tidy pile, not wanting to think of the man she’d been forced to wed all those years ago. He’d ruled his family’s lives with brutality and she wouldn’t wish that on anyone, not even this wayward daughter of hers. Alwyn had collapsed in this very room, choking and spluttering on a piece of cake whilst the petrified children gaped at their father foaming at the mouth. She remembered the terrible silence so clearly and could still picture their shocked faces, eyes round with terror – Rosie, Geoffrey, Gregory, Gefrin, Sweyn, even Yul – all frozen at the awful spectacle. Only Leveret had watched without fear and then broken the spell with her gurgle of laughter. Little Leveret – Maizie’s lastborn, Maizie’s moment of madness. And now, at fourteen, she was a nightmare.
‘Answer me, Leveret! Where have you been?’
The girl sighed and shook her dark curls further over her eyes, frowning at her mother from beneath them. Should she tell the truth? Would her mother understand or would it be better to lie?
‘It’s the Moon Fullness tonight, Mother, the Hunter’s Moon.’
‘Yes I know, Leveret. That’s all the more reason for you to be safely indoors by the hearth and not out cavorting. I know exactly what goes on at Moon Fullness and a girl shouldn’t be out and about with all that moon lust flying around. You’re far too young for such things.’
Maizie of all people knew the trouble a girl could get into on the night of the full moon, when the body was ripe and aching with want, and the boys bursting with passion and energy. She understood only too well the forbidden joy of casting aside everything sensible and everyday for that brief crescendo of bliss. But that was not for Leveret to hear of, not yet.
‘Where have you been? You still haven’t answered me.’
Leveret scowled, knowing that whatever she said would be the wrong thing.
‘I was in the woods. I had to—’
‘
The woods?
’ screeched Maizie. ‘You stupid girl! That’s the worst place to be at the Moon Fullness, especially at the Hunter’s Moon. You should know that! Who were you with?’
‘Only Magpie.’
‘
Magpie?
Oh for goddess’ sake, Leveret, when will you learn? When will you start behaving responsibly? I’ve told you time and time again to stop spending time with Magpie, especially not at night, especially not in the woods, and
especially
not at the Moon Fullness. You’re in such trouble, my girl! And if I have the slightest reason to think you and Magpie have been up to no good …’
She stopped for breath, quivering with anger at her daughter’s foolishness. Sixteen-year-old Magpie was most definitely not an appropriate companion. Maizie had plans for her youngest child, important plans, and they didn’t include the mute, half-witted boy. Magpie was a constant irritant and, hard as she’d tried, Maizie couldn’t stop her daughter’s friendship with him. It had always been like this from their early childhood; in the Village Nursery the clumsy, strange boy with vacant eyes had latched onto tiny, quick-witted Leveret, and the pair had been inseparable ever since. Over the years in her role as Village Welfare Councillor Maizie had endured regular dealings with Magpie and his nasty mother. The little boy had been neglected and the unpleasant task of reminding his awful family of their duty had fallen to Maizie. She’d had little success and received much hostility and abuse from the lot of them, but luckily Magpie had survived his deprived upbringing and was now an adult. Although Maizie felt pity for the poor boy, she didn’t want her daughter anywhere near him. Yet, try as she might to keep the pair apart, they remained bound together with an inexplicable closeness.
‘Can I go to bed now?’ asked Leveret wearily, keeping her eyes down.
‘No you can
not
! I told you to stay in tonight and I trusted you to do as I said. That was a mistake, wasn’t it? You’re only fourteen, but the minute my back’s turned you’re out cavorting with boys, and—’
‘No Mother, I had to pick some special mushrooms tonight! It was important to pick them at the Moon Fullness, but that’s all I was doing, honest.’
‘Why? Why was it so important you had to disobey me? How do you know these things, Leveret? I know you’re not learning that at school, about mushrooms and when you should pick them, so who’s been teaching you? Where’s all this coming from?’
Leveret shrugged. It was her very special secret and she’d never divulge it to her mother. She’d face any punishment and let her mother imagine the very worst, which she was always so quick to do, rather than tell her of the secret. The only one who knew was Magpie and he wasn’t capable of speaking to anyone but her. So she merely glared at her mother from behind her curls and remained silent.
Maizie was at a loss as to how to punish her daughter; nothing seemed to make much difference to Leveret. It didn’t help that she was so busy herself with constant meetings to attend and work to do, with Leveret left to her own devices for long periods of time. That had been the problem all along. Since that fated Winter Solstice when the community had risen up to overthrow their magus, Maizie had played a leading role. She and Miranda had been the ones who guided their pair of star-blessed children through those difficult years, helping to run Stonewylde. Together with Clip, the two women had set up the Council of Elders; Maizie had worked incredibly hard ever since and her children had been forced to fend for themselves.