Solstice at Stonewylde (35 page)

‘Stop being silly, Yul. He does want me to go to Mooncliffe with him, but it’s not as dramatic as you make out. I thought perhaps if I went up with him this month to keep him happy, then maybe—’

‘Sacred Mother!’ he shouted, spinning around and stamping his boot into the ground. ‘What has he
done
to you? Have you forgotten already how it feels when you’re standing on that rock? Don’t you remember how much it hurts you? He’s tricked you, Sylvie, and you
mustn’t
go up there with him! If he gets your moon magic this month then I’m dead. He’ll be too powerful for me to fight and he’ll kill me. Please, Sylvie, stop being so stupid and listen to me!’

He grabbed her shoulders and shook her but she shrugged him off angrily.

‘Don’t call me stupid and don’t you
dare
touch me like that! I’m still recovering from the last time you had a go at me!’

He stepped back and stared at her, unable to read her expression in the darkness. All was silent save for his uneven breathing as he struggled to control himself.

‘I’m sorry I hurt you last month, Sylvie, but you know why it happened and you accepted the risk.’

‘I know you didn’t want Magus to take me to Mooncliffe but you didn’t have to be so brutal! You really hurt me and I was injured all over. I know what you’re like now, Yul – I’ve seen pictures of your attack on Buzz and they were absolutely horrific. You obviously have a violent streak and I think maybe you’re a greater danger to me than Magus is.’

Yul hung his head.

‘I never meant to hurt you but I had to get you into the cage or you’d have run off into the woods. I feel really bad about it, Sylvie, believe me. And as for Buzz – yes, I know I gave him a bad beating, but he’d have done the same to me if he’d got in first. He was much heavier than me, remember, so I had to go in hard and bring him down before he got the upper hand. And he had it coming. If you’d seen the way he’d beaten me over the years, when we were younger … He’s always been so much bigger than me and he used to bring his gang along to hold me while he hit me, knowing I was always battered and bruised anyway and nobody would notice a few more bruises. Buzz deserved every punch I threw that day, believe me.’

‘Maybe he did. But there’s a vicious side to you I didn’t know about and I won’t go along with your violence. I won’t be a part of this rising up against Magus. It’s archaic, all Mother Heggy’s talk of death and spells and people getting hurt. Magus is a civilised, educated man who knows how to run Stonewylde properly, and you’re not. He’s shown me a different world and I’m just not sure of anything any longer.’

Yul stood before her silently. He reached out to her but she brushed his hand away impatiently.

‘Don’t you love me any more, Sylvie?’ he asked, his voice strangled with pain. ‘What’s happened?’

‘I don’t know! I thought I did … I’m just not sure now. I’m sick of this conflict and being torn in half.’

‘But you said … I thought we loved each other? I thought we belonged together? Sylvie, please – without that there’s nothing. You’re the reason I must do this! You’re my reason to live, my reason to fight, and—’

‘
No I’m not
! I’m not a prize to be fought over! I’m not some silly, pathetic girl who has no say in anything. Don’t make
me
the excuse to justify your violence towards the man who’s your own father, your own flesh and blood! I won’t be dragged into it like this!’

‘But Sylvie, I never wanted to drag you into it! You’re the one who argued with me right here, under this very tree, about how it was your battle too! I—’

‘No! I don’t want to hear any more!’ she shouted. ‘I was going to finish with you tonight, Yul – I’m sorry but that’s the truth. Magus persuaded me that it was the right thing to do. Then when I saw you and we kissed … I realised I still love you. But that’s not a good enough reason for this stupid battle of yours with Magus. He’s not a bad man like we thought, not deep down inside. There’s another side to him I’ve got to know in the past week – he’s kind and he’s fun and I think he’s also rather lonely, despite being adored by everyone. You’re his son, Yul! Why can’t we sort this out? I’m sure we could …’

But he’d turned away, choking on his tears. He’d never expected this betrayal, despite Heggy’s warnings. He stumbled a few steps away from her and sank to his knees on the earth, hunched over and crying into his hands. Sylvie looked at him helplessly, trying to ignore the merciless throbbing in her head. She still felt sick and hollow as if she weren’t really here at all.

‘I must get back, Yul – there’ll be trouble if I’m out any longer.
I’m so sorry to upset you but maybe we can talk again tomorrow if I can slip away.’

She went over to him and put her hand on his shoulder. He shook with huge, silent sobs as if his heart were breaking.

‘I never once doubted you!’ he choked. ‘I never thought you’d do this to me. You were the
one
person in my life I counted on—’

‘Please, Yul, stop! I love you. It’s just … I can’t agree with this awful conflict and the idea of getting rid of Magus. Get rid of him how? No thought’s gone into this other than Mother Heggy’s mad prophecy and I can’t bear the idea of people getting hurt. Magus has been good to me and he cares for me, and—’

He cried out at this and leapt to his feet, angrily wiping his face with the heels of both hands.

‘You’ve been deceived, Sylvie! He’s evil and he’ll make you suffer for trusting him. How can you be so
blind
? If you—’

‘I’ve got to go. He’ll be cross if I don’t get back soon.’

She started to walk away, her stomach aching and head pounding.

‘Sylvie! Come back tomorrow! We can’t leave it like this. Tomorrow at mid-day – I’ll be waiting. Promise me you’ll come.’

‘I’ll try,’ she said over her shoulder. ‘But I can’t promise.’

‘She’s turned against me!’ Yul cried, sinking onto the hard chair. ‘She doesn’t love me as she did. What can I do?’

He felt a wrenching pain in his chest that stifled his breath. Mother Heggy nodded in sympathy as she rocked in her chair, a thick hairy shawl clutched around her and the familiar shapeless hat pulled low on her head. She wore ancient hobnailed boots on her feet and her dress was little more than a thick grey sack reaching her ankles. Somebody kind had recently knitted her some fingerless mittens which covered her gnarled hands, leaving only the filthy nails poking out like horny talons. The skin on her face was furrowed like a field and just as dirty, and her features had fallen in on themselves so her nose curved into her puckered mouth and her whiskery chin rose up to meet it. She was very
old indeed. The crow perched precariously on the back of her chair, beady black eyes blinking rapidly and sharp beak nodding in time with her rocking.

‘She still loves you, my dark one,’ Mother Heggy wheezed. ‘She’s deceived, but not for ever. He cannot mask the evil for ever and she’ll shine clear in the end. Have faith in her, my boy.’

‘But she’s completely under his spell! I can’t stand it knowing she’s with him night and day. He’s so powerful and clever and she’s only a young girl. She’s too open and trusting and she really has no idea just how cruel he is. I can’t bear it!’

‘Two weeks, Yul, only two more weeks. She still has much to endure, the poor child, trapped in his golden cage, and ‘tis as well she’s strong and clever herself.’

‘But she brushed me off tonight, Mother Heggy. And she said she might go to Mooncliffe with Magus to keep him happy.’

‘NO!’ screeched Mother Heggy. ‘Oh no, she mustn’t do that! She’s in great danger! I see five, five – always five.’

‘Five what? What do you mean?’

‘In the leaves, in the bones, in the ashes and in the runes and cards. Everywhere I seek the truth, I see five. Five deaths at Stonewylde this Solstice – not one, but five!’

Yul stared at her in horror. Her face was creased into a mask of fear and bewilderment as she rocked frantically in her chair.

‘Five deaths? Are you sure, Mother Heggy? Do you know who?’

‘No I don’t, and maybe ‘tis not even decided yet. But Sylvie must not go to Mooncliffe! ‘Twould give him the power and strength to fight and maybe defeat you, and ‘twill be the Moon Fullness in the Winter Solstice. The brightness in the darkness and the most dangerous time for him to drink her magic. The moon magic will be more powerful than ever and strange too, as ‘tis during an eclipse. You know what happened to my poor Raven at the eclipse and the same may happen to Sylvie, if he gets her on that rock at the Solstice. Remember my words, Yul. Five deaths, and I know not whose!’

M
agus had everything ready when Sylvie returned to his chambers, weary and depressed. She was ushered straight into his black marble bathroom where the circular bath brimmed and bubbled with hot, fragrant foam. She slipped into the water with a groan of relief, and lay there sipping mead. All she wanted was to block the horrible events of the day from her mind and forget everything. She emerged much later, glowing and relaxed, wearing a pair of black silk pyjamas he’d laid out for her. They were newly arrived that day; a brief camisole top with shoe-string straps and wide, loose trouser bottoms. She wrapped her hair in a white towel and carried her comb and the empty glass back into the sitting room. Magus was on the sofa reading some papers but rose as she padded in on bare feet.

‘Sylvie, you are exquisitely beautiful,’ he murmured, pouring her another drink. He sat on the sofa and pulled her down onto a cushion at his feet. He unwrapped the turban, and taking the comb, started to detangle her hair as the warmth of the blazing log fire dried it to pure silver silk. Sylvie became drowsy from the heat, the hot bath and two glasses of mead on an empty stomach.

‘Are you hungry yet?’ he asked, still playing with her hair, teasing it out so the strands slipped around his fingers.

‘Not really,’ she mumbled, eyes closed. ‘Just sleepy.’

‘Lie down here while I eat then,’ he said. ‘I’m starving. Come and join me if you change your mind, and when I’ve finished I’ll give you that special present.’

She nodded and crawled onto the sofa, falling instantly asleep on the soft leather.

Later, when Magus had finished dinner, he took his glass over and looked down at her curled up fast asleep. The black camisole top showed off her pale arms and shoulders to perfection. Her hair tumbled around her delicate face, flushed slightly from the heat. He closed his eyes momentarily and took a deep breath. Then he sat beside her and smoothed the hair off her face, calling her name. Eventually she opened her eyes, drowsy and confused.

‘Wake up, my darling girl. Are you sure you don’t want to eat?’

She shook her head, still half asleep.

‘I’ve got you some more mead here.’

She was so sleepy that her numb fingers almost dropped the glass.

‘Steady,’ he said, holding the mead to her lips.

She could barely sit up and leant against his shoulder, her hair spilling over his chest and into his lap. Magus held her close, stroking her slim arm. Her skin was as silky as her hair and he felt a jolt of pleasure at the beautiful perfection of her; at the possession of such a prize.

‘Now tell me, Sylvie,’ he murmured, ‘everything that happened while you were away from me. I missed you today. I’ve grown used to keeping you by my side.’

He had to shake her to keep her awake and, in a muddle, she began to tell him about her day in the Barn.

‘So the girls were friendly, were they?’ he asked. ‘Did they treat you well?’

‘Yes,’ she mumbled. ‘They were nice to me.’

‘And Holly? Was she suitably contrite? She bloody well better’ve been.’

‘Yes, she was alright.’

‘Only alright? In that case, I’ll have another word with her in the morning.’

‘She tried to be friendly.’

‘And so she should.’

Then came the part she’d been dreading. Sylvie couldn’t think
straight but knew that she must. The room was spinning and she felt very confused, her mind a jumble of what had really happened and what she should say had happened. All she could remember clearly was Yul on his knees sobbing silently into his hands.

‘And Yul? You were back late, so you must’ve spoken with him. What happened?’

‘Nothing,’ she said quickly, too quickly. ‘Nothing at all. He just said he’d missed me.’

‘Missed you? Did you tell him it was over between the two of you?’

‘Yes, yes I did.’

‘And was he upset?’

‘He was very upset.’

‘Did he get close to you? Did he touch you?’

‘No,’ she whispered, keeping her head down. She sat very still, hardly daring to breath.

‘So he didn’t even try to get close? I can’t believe that. I don’t think you’re telling me the truth, Sylvie,’ said Magus softly. ‘Did he try to kiss you?’

Even in her confused state she sensed the edge to his voice and felt his body tense like a steel coil.

‘No.’

‘DON’T LIE TO ME!’ he shouted, turning on her and grabbing her arms hard. He shook her and she flopped like a rag doll, her hair flying out about her. He released her suddenly and she shrank back into the corner of the sofa, huddling as small as she could, her eyes now wide open. He leaned over her until his face was only centimetres away from hers. His black eyes glittered dangerously, boring into her terrified gaze and she bowed her head, trying to retreat from the thrust of his anger.