Shadows at Stonewylde

11



Yul decided to make his announcement just before the Frost Moon, which fell in mid-December this year. He chose dinner time in the Dining Hall to do this; all the boarders would be there, including the college students.

‘If I can have your attention please!’ he called, standing at the head of the huge room. It was as noisy and crowded as ever, teeming with all the youngsters and many adults who lived at the Hall. Slowly the voices died down as people noticed Yul standing. It was unusual for him to be there at all – he generally ate privately with his family in the evenings.

‘Following a request from Kestrel,’ he began, scanning the eager faces before him, ‘I’ve decided that we’ll throw a special party just after Yule. It’ll be a Yule dance, different to anything that’s been done at Stonewylde before. The party is just for our young people – everyone who boards at the Hall – and we’ll also include the year group below who’ll be moving up next year.’

There was a huge swell of noise at this. Yul raised a hand for silence.

‘Anyone at college in the Outside World is welcome to invite their Outside friends to come along and if—’

The explosion of voices completely drowned him out. He waited, grinning at the group of teachers who nodded wisely, showing that they already knew all about it.

‘We’ll hire a coach for the evening to bring guests into Stonewylde and then return them afterwards,’ Yul continued. ‘The dance will be held in the Great Barn, and for the first time we’ll hire a sound system and lighting to make the evening special for you all. This is an experiment, so don’t mess it up. If you have any questions then ask Miranda or one of the Senior School teachers, and give them any names for the invitations. Let’s hope the dance goes really well!’

Yul sat down again and sipped his water, scanning the horde of excited faces before him. Martin approached and murmured discreetly in his ear. Yul frowned.

‘No, I didn’t put it before the Council of Elders first! You know Clip is handing Stonewylde over to me and this was my decision to make.’ He glared at the older man, who looked back stonily. ‘I’m sorry if it doesn’t meet with your approval, Martin, but times move on. Could you locate my youngest brothers please, Gefrin and Sweyn, and tell them to come and see me in my office when dinner’s over.’

‘Bloody hell – we’re really going to get it now!’ groaned Gefrin as they made their way slowly to the office.

‘Just don’t panic and blurt anything out,’ said Sweyn. ‘Remember what Swift said – they didn’t believe her. If we deny everything it’ll be alright.’

‘Yeah, but what—’

‘Let me do the talking,’ said Sweyn. ‘I ain’t scared of Yul.’

‘Yeah but—’

‘If he were that bothered he’d have said something ages ago when she had that fit in his office. Just agree with everything I say and don’t admit nothing.’

Yul was having a discussion with Harold when they knocked on the door.

‘Good, I need to talk to the two of you. Sit down and I’ll be with you in minute.’

They sat on a sofa, staring at their feet. Yul and Harold resumed their conversation at one of the desks, both looking at a screen.

‘So what exactly do you need?’

Harold tapped at the keyboard, his serious face intent. His fingers flew as he concentrated.

‘We need more labour every day this week up at the warehouse,’ he said after a minute. ‘See all these orders? We just can’t pack and despatch them in time with the people available. I’m trying to get these smaller orders out before next week and the Christmas post deadlines. The big ones’ll be couriered but even then there’s a cut-off date if they’re to be with our customers in time for Christmas.’

‘But why this sudden crisis? Surely you’ve been aware of the postal deadlines for some time.’

Harold looked across at Yul, his round glasses reflecting the columns of figures on the screen. He grimaced and looked embarrassed.

‘’Tis my fault. I decided to do a special promotion last week, after what you said at the last meeting about Stonewylde really needing more money. I sent out a marketing e-mail to all our previous customers just to see what’d happen. Some of ’em go way back to when we only sold honey and cider – they didn’t know we’d expanded our range. I didn’t realise the response I’d get. Honestly, Yul, it’s incredible! They can’t get enough of our Stonewylde stuff! The new felt hats especially! They’re unique and so colourful – we sold out o’ them within hours, and—’

‘Okay, Harold, put it in a report for me so I can see everything clearly. I need to speak to these two lads now. So bottom line – what do you need?’

‘Six extra people in the warehouse – quick, bright ones – for the whole o’ this week. That should do it. If they work hard, we’ll get all the orders picked and packed and out in time then. And if we could have any more of those hats made up quick …’

‘I’ll see what I can do and I’ll let you know what I’ve sorted out in the morning.’

When Harold had left, Yul came to sit opposite his two youngest brothers. Gefrin fidgeted and wouldn’t meet his eye; Sweyn lifted his jaw and met Yul’s gaze squarely.

‘Thanks for coming to see me. You’re aware of the problems Mother’s been having recently with Leveret?’ Yul began.

‘Yeah, we’ve been helping out,’ said Sweyn. ‘Keeping an eye on Lev for her.’

‘She’s been really bad!’ said Gefrin. ‘She won’t even—’

‘We don’t like seeing Mother so upset,’ interrupted Sweyn. ‘We want to help any way we can.’

‘How admirable,’ said Yul drily.

‘Yeah, well, Rosie’s busy with her family, Geoffrey and Gregory have little ones on the way too, so it’s down to us. You can’t help out, can you?’

Yul tried to conceal his dislike as he regarded his youngest brother. It wasn’t Sweyn’s fault that he looked so like his father.

‘I do what I can but it’s not easy when I have so much else to deal with. Leveret’s going through a difficult stage at the moment and it’s important we all support Mother.’

‘Yeah, we know that. We—’

‘So what I wanted to talk about was something Leveret said the other day. She became very upset, really distressed, and she said that you two were to blame.’

‘She’s just—’

‘Hear me out, please, Gefrin. She said that you’d locked her in a cupboard.’

‘A cupboard?’

Sweyn’s pugnacious features were puzzlement itself.

‘The one up in my old bedroom – that little cupboard under the eaves.’

‘But nobody could fit in there!’ said Sweyn firmly, shaking his head. ‘Oh … hold on, I know what she’s on about! Yeah, we did try to put her in there once, but that were years and years ago. We were bad when we were little – you probably remember – and Mother left us on our own a lot, being so busy. And we’d just lost our father too. We were horrible to Leveret as little ones, weren’t we, Gef?’

‘Well, yes, a bit, I suppose.’

‘No, let’s be honest – we did tease her a lot. But ‘tis all in the past, and we’d never lock her in a cupboard now. That was just stupid kids’ stuff and anyway, she’d hardly fit in that little place, would she?’

Yul nodded slowly, watching them both carefully.

‘I thought so too. So when she said—’

‘It just ain’t true – honest, Yul. Why’d we do something daft like that? We only want to help Mother. Though if you want the whole story, we did have a go at Lev that night when we went round to keep an eye on her. We told her off for being so selfish and upsetting Mother and I shouted at her, but I were so angry! And she had that funny turn too – she’s always a bit weird afterwards.’

‘That’s the other thing I wanted to ask you both about. She had one of those turns in here, and she said some strange things when she came round.’

‘She’s always saying strange things – maybe that’s where she got the idea about the cupboard from? Maybe she dreamed about it when she passed out? Mother said Lev looked like she’d taken something she shouldn’t have at Samhain. Her eyes were really weird. But I don’t know …’

‘Okay, that’s sorted out then,’ said Yul briskly, relieved to have got to the bottom of it all. ‘I must say, I did wonder when she said about the cupboard. I remember it as being really small.’

‘Well, either she’s dreamed it or else she’s lying and trying to dump us in it,’ said Sweyn. ‘She does that, don’t she, Gef?’

‘Yeah, she’s always telling tales and making things up,’ he agreed. ‘Lucky for us Mother takes no notice o’ her.’

‘Okay, boys – I’m sorry to have got you in here like this but I had to be sure. I’ve kept Leveret at the Hall for a couple of weeks to give Mother a break but now she’s back home, maybe you can both help out if needed? I’m sure that we can sort Leveret out together, and now I know what she’s up to, I won’t take any notice of her lies in future.’

Yul was just thinking he may have a few minutes to himself when there was another knock on the door. His heart sank when Clip appeared in the doorway – just what he didn’t need tonight when he was so busy. Yul sighed wearily and gestured to the sofa.

‘It’s about this Yule dance for the youngsters,’ began Clip. ‘Martin came to see me and—’

‘Oh for goddess’ sake! Why all this damn fuss? It’s only a dance!’

Clip nodded and leaned forward slightly, his pale grey eyes strained. Yul thought he’d never seen Clip looking quite so old and worn.

‘Believe me, Yul, I don’t want to get involved. But Martin came to find me especially and he’s very upset. You know that he and I have never enjoyed a … close relationship, so that alone’s an indication of how strongly he felt.’

‘Why the hell didn’t he come to me himself?’ asked Yul angrily. ‘Why try to go over my head?’

‘He said he did try to speak to you but you wouldn’t listen.’

‘That’s ridiculous! He said something to me a few minutes after I made the announcement in the Dining Hall, in front of everyone. It was hardly the right time or place for a discussion!’

‘Of course not. He should’ve come to speak to you another time. But he thought you wouldn’t listen so—’

‘So he came running to tell tales to you instead! Well it won’t make any difference, I can assure you.’

‘Yul, I don’t want to take sides. I’m just warning you about how he feels, and according to him, many of the older ones too. Apparently since you announced the dance at dinner tonight, Martin’s been dashing around doing a straw poll amongst the older Stonewylders and they all agree with him. I thought you should be aware of it.’

‘Fine. Thank you – is that all?’

Clip sighed heavily and raked a hand through his wispy white hair.

‘Yul, don’t treat me like the enemy. I’m not against this dance.’

‘Well that’s good! Because the dance will go ahead regardless of Martin or anyone else whinging about it. I have to look ahead for our young people – our lifeblood. It’s all very well sticking to traditions and following the old ways, but our society at Stonewylde will implode if something drastic isn’t done soon.’

‘Yes, I realise—’

‘Our gene pool is tiny. We have to do something about this huge generation my father encouraged. Our youngsters can’t find partners within the community – we’re in danger of inbreeding already and it’s a constant worry to me. That’s one of the reasons I’ve really encouraged this age group to go on to college in the Outside World, even though some of them are clearly more suited to manual labour on the estate. I’ve pushed them into college just so they’ll meet partners who aren’t Stonewylders. And in that spirit, this Yule dance is an important step forward.’

‘I can appreciate that, Yul. As I said, I’m not against the dance. All I would say is firstly, expect some backlash from Martin and the older Stonewylders, the ones who grapple with any changes. All the members of the Council whom you didn’t consult when you made the decision to hold the dance. Think how you can make this easier for them to accept rather than just forcing them to do so.’

Yul bridled at this but Clip continued doggedly.

‘And secondly, think through how you intend to handle an influx of Outsiders to Stonewylde. I don’t mean now at the dance, but in the future if your plan is successful. Would they take part in our rituals? Would you allow them to bring Outside artefacts, clothes and gizmos into Stonewylde? You need to plan very carefully, to consider how it would work. Otherwise the whole thing could backfire and make a hell of a mess.’

Yul looked at his watch, eager to get on with his work. It was growing late and since Sylvie’s upset last month he was loath to sleep downstairs and leave her alone with the children all night.

‘Okay, Clip, I’ll bear it in mind. Now I’m sorry, but I really must—’

‘There was one more thing. How’s Sylvie?’

‘Sylvie? She’s fine.’

‘I’d heard some rumours … just gossip really, but I gather she had some kind of anxiety attack last month? And you may recall I was worried about her at Samhain, when I told you I’d step down this year?’

‘Just gossip, as you say. Nothing to worry about, but if you’re so concerned, why don’t you ask her yourself?’

After Clip had gone, Yul poured himself a drink and stood in the French window looking out at the garden beyond. The moon was almost full and the grass gleamed brightly, the crystals of dew on every blade reflecting the moonlight. Would Sylvie tell Clip what the problem was, he wondered? Because she certainly wasn’t telling him. She’d refused to discuss it, trying to gloss over both the incident at Hare Stone during the Owl Moon, and before that, the awful night at Samhain when she’d suddenly turned on him just as they were about to make love.

Memories of that night still haunted him. One minute she’d been eager and welcoming, kissing him and murmuring encouragement. And then suddenly, without any warning, she’d screamed and hit him in the face, rolling away and leaping out of bed. Apart from the horrible sense of rejection, she’d frightened him that night. Since then they’d managed to make love a few times but both knew it wasn’t right. Their beautiful love-making had turned into something mechanical and tense, and Yul longed for a return to their normal spontaneous and abandoned passion.

He’d tried to get Hazel involved, talking to her in detail of Sylvie’s irrational behaviour during both incidents. He was so worried that she was becoming psychotic again and had told the doctor that if this was the case, he thought they should act immediately this time and get help from the outset. Hazel, however, had remained non-committal and this had infuriated him. If she’d been more decisive last time, maybe they’d all have been spared the pain of seeing Sylvie falling apart before their eyes as the voices she claimed to hear became louder and more demanding, and her sense of reality dimmed. But here was Hazel once more advocating caution, once more telling him they must wait and see how it developed. Yul drained his glass and abandoned any further notions of work that night. He’d better take himself upstairs and make sure that Sylvie was alright. Harold and his warehouse packing issues would have to wait until morning, as would the shortage of felt hats.

‘I wish Auntie Leveret was still here,’ said Bluebell at breakfast. ‘I miss her now she’s gone back to the Village with Granny Maizie.’

‘So do I,’ said Celandine. ‘Auntie Leveret’s very magical.’

‘We can write some more of our story for her!’ said Bluebell. ‘She’d like that.’

Yul stared at his daughters in surprise.

‘I thought Leveret hardly spoke to you two!’ he said. ‘I never saw her being friendly in all the time she stayed here. Not that I saw much of her, I suppose.’

‘She wasn’t friendly at first,’ said Celandine. ‘She’s never really said much and we always thought she just didn’t like us. But this time … Auntie Leveret’s really nice and I think she was a bit shy.’

Sylvie smiled at her eldest daughter; Celandine could be very perceptive for a six year old.

‘I think you’re right – she was a bit shy and also quite unhappy,’ Sylvie agreed. ‘I’m so glad you girls were kind to her and made her feel welcome. You cheered her up, I think.’

‘Yes, we did, Mummy!’ cried Bluebell. ‘Once when you were in the Village and Auntie Leveret was looking after us and putting us to bed, we found her crying and—’

‘Blue!’ said Celandine warningly. ‘That was private!’

Yul frowned at them, helping himself to more scrambled egg.

‘Crying? I hope she didn’t upset you girls.’

‘No, Father,’ Celandine said patiently, ‘it was Auntie Leveret who was upset. We gave her a cuddle and read her our new story, the one about the hares, and she really liked it. It made her much happier and after that she wasn’t so shy anymore.’

‘No, she was smiling and I expect it’s ‘cos she loved our story! And her name means “Baby Hare” so we’re going to make a new hare in our story who’s actually our Auntie Leveret!’ giggled Bluebell.

‘I’m really pleased you cheered her up,’ said Sylvie. ‘I must get to know Leveret better myself. I always thought she didn’t like me much either, but maybe I was wrong too. From now on I’ll try to talk to her more even if she doesn’t seem very friendly.’

‘I wouldn’t waste your time,’ said Yul. ‘She can be very difficult and rude and she’ll probably just snub you.’

‘Well she wasn’t rude to us!’ said Celandine hotly. ‘She was very kind and we’d like her to come and stay again.’

‘Yes, again!’ said Bluebell. ‘Tonight! Can she come tonight? It’s the Frost Moon and we can make up another chapter in our book. “The Hares at Frost Moon”, we’ll call it, and Auntie Leveret can help us with all the spelling.’

‘Are you going moondancing again tonight, Mum?’ asked Celandine. She’d been practising a special dance all month, desperate to go up to Hare Stone next spring as promised. She was disappointed when her mother merely shook her head.

‘But why aren’t you going tonight?’

‘Your mother didn’t enjoy it last time and she won’t be doing it again,’ said Yul curtly.

‘Is that true, Mum?’

‘Of course it’s true!’ he snapped. ‘That’s enough, Celandine.’

The girl looked at her mother with puzzlement.

‘But it used to be the best thing ever, you said. And you told us it was magical at the Owl Moon last month.’

‘It wasn’t magical, it was terrible,’ said Yul, glowering at Sylvie and the girls. ‘And your mother was ill afterwards, remember? She couldn’t have breakfast with us because she was all sleepy in bed in the morning.’

‘I wasn’t ill,’ said Sylvie quietly, the issue still not resolved because they’d both been skirting around it. ‘You know full well why I was sleepy the next morning. The moon dancing was magical and I loved it. But I had a bit of a fright afterwards in the darkness and I panicked.’

‘You were totally hysterical.’

‘Only because I was frightened.’

‘What frightened you, Mummy?’ asked Bluebell through her toast. ‘Was it the barn owl?’

‘No, darling, not the barn owl. I thought I heard something.’

‘What?’

Sylvie’s eyes met Yul’s over the table and she knew he was waiting to hear her answer too.

‘What was frightening, Mummy?’ repeated Bluebell. ‘Not the hares?’

‘No, not the hares either. I just … I don’t know, I thought I heard a voice and it scared me. It sounds silly now. It was all a lot of fuss about nothing and I certainly wasn’t ill.’

She glared at Yul, still upset that he’d called for Hazel and forced the injection on her.

‘It wasn’t a lot of fuss about nothing,’ he said firmly. ‘It was very unwise of you to go up there alone in the darkness. Luckily you’d told the girls where you were going so I was able to come and find you. I dread to think what would’ve happened if I hadn’t been there.’

Sylvie remained silent at this, abandoning her toast. She knew exactly what he was thinking; hearing voices had been one of the symptoms of her illness. He should understand why she was so reluctant to talk about this business now.

‘I don’t think it was unwise of her to go up there,’ said Celandine bravely. ‘I think it’s just what Mum needs, some moon magic. I’ll come with you tonight, Mum, if you’re scared to go on your own.’

Yul slammed his cup down onto the saucer so the tea slopped onto the tablecloth.

‘Your mother is not going anywhere tonight!’ he said. ‘And neither are you, Celandine. No, nor you, Bluebell.’

Sylvie felt really annoyed now. She hadn’t intended to visit the stone that night, being far too frightened of the possibility of hearing Magus’ voice again. But that was her choice to make, not Yul’s.

‘Your father’s forgetting that I make my own decisions,’ she said coldly. ‘If I wish to go moondancing I will. I’ll decide later on. But it’ll be much too cold at the Frost Moon for you two. As I said last month, I’ll take you in the spring. You can watch the moon tonight from the sitting room window and you’ll be warm and cosy.’

She stood up abruptly and folded her napkin.

‘Hurry up now or you’ll be late for Nursery. Go and brush your teeth and then we can get going.’

She looked across at Yul who was frowning, keeping quiet in front of the children. Doubtless he’d bring it up again later on. She almost wanted to moondance just to spite him … but Sylvie was still terrified of who might be waiting up there for her.

Leveret sat at a large table in the Great Barn, letting the tittle-tattle wash over her. All the talk was about the dance to be held just after Yule, but Leveret had far more pressing things on her mind. Tonight she faced a serious dilemma. She desperately wanted to gather things for her spell at the Moon Fullness, things that must be harvested tonight when the magic was strong. But her two weeks spent at the Hall, working for hours on end after school and at the weekends, scouring enormous pots and pans, scrubbing floors, washing the banister spindles of obscure staircases, made her reluctant to risk more trouble. She’d hated staying in Yul’s wing, knowing he was constantly close by and watching her. The only highlight of the fortnight had been her little nieces; Leveret smiled to herself at the thought of them.

She was now back home and trying to behave herself. She looked forward to the celebrations at the Winter Solstice and Yule, and realised that if she toed the line, everyone would ease off her a bit. She avoided her brothers’ unwanted attention by coming along to help Maizie at the endless meetings. Leveret had never appreciated just how much preparation and hard work went into Yuletide. She was down in the Great Barn every night with her mother, who was making never-ending rotas of jobs and lists of food. Leveret found herself getting roped into the tasks and was enjoying being helpful and earning her mother’s praise.

Tonight she was involved with making decorations for the Great Barn. These were mostly different types of evergreen twisted into garlands and wreaths, and candles placed in tiny silver lanterns. But her problem remained: how to collect the holly twigs and mistletoe sprigs she needed, and how to do it tonight. The spell she’d found in the Book was special to the Winter Solstice and required items sacred to this time of year; as tonight was Frost Moon it was now or never.

Leveret sat with the large decorations group at trestle tables in the Barn. They were all using snips to cut out shapes from thin pieces of metal, which were twisted into little lanterns to be hung on wires around the Barn. There was already a good supply from previous years but there were never enough of the tiny lanterns. Families liked having them in their cottages too as the Solstice was a festival of light. Already the great Yule Log had been selected from the orchard and seasoned, and lay in the Barn waiting for its beautiful decorations. The children in the Village School made tiny fir-cone people and animals to adorn it, along with small star wreaths of holly, ivy and mistletoe. The Yule Log was lit after the ceremony in the Stone Circle, and smouldered in the hearth in the Barn for the whole twelve days and nights of Yule. On the thirteenth day, everyone took a little of the ashes and charcoal to bury in their gardens to ensure fertility for the coming year.

A generous portion of the Yule Log ash was always taken to the orchards for the Apple Wassail in early January. Everyone in the community gathered amongst the apple trees, hung with lanterns and small pieces of bread, and toasted the trees and their spirits with a specially brewed cider, again ensuring fertility. There were many such rituals at Yuletide and they were as much a part of the peoples’ lives as eating, drinking and making love.

But this year the time-honoured traditions would be changed to accommodate the Outsiders’ Dance, as it had come to be named. The dance itself wouldn’t affect any of the normal celebrations, falling between Yule and the Apple Wassail of Twelfth Night, but nevertheless, feelings were running high. Leveret had no intention of taking part in the dance herself but she knew that most of her contemporaries could think of nothing else.

‘So what’ll happen to all these here decorations and the like?’ asked one whiskery old woman busy cutting the metal. ‘Will they all have to come down for that night?’

‘’Twould be a complete waste o’ time, that,’ grumbled her daughter. ‘I don’t understand what this thing is they’re putting up. Sound system, I heard. What’s that then? Martin said ‘twould be a shocking mess and he reckons it will shake the old place in its roots!’

‘Aye, but the young ‘uns need something special, don’t they? Now they’re going to the Outside World and making new friends and such. We need to give it a chance.’

‘What do you think, young Leveret? I reckon you’re jumping in your boots for this dance, aren’t you?’

She smiled and shook her head.

‘Oh no, not me! I don’t like that sort of thing. I can’t bear the thought of Outsiders coming into our Village and—’

‘Well, there you have ‘un! See, not even all the youngsters want this thing! Oh, our Yul’s made a mistake here and Maizie should be doing something about it.’

Leveret glanced across at her mother, sitting with another group on the other side of the Great Barn making lists of who was going to bake what for the week-long celebrations. Maizie’s cheeks were flushed and she was totally immersed in her task. She was a natural organiser and loved this kind of challenge. Leveret smiled, feeling happier than she’d been for a long time. It was so good to be getting on with her mother at last, after Maizie had said they’d put the past incidents behind them and start afresh. Leveret was trying very hard to please her by offering to help and not waiting to be asked.

She was frightened of being left alone in the cottage with Sweyn and Gefrin, who’d cornered her in the Hall one day. They’d reminded her that as far as they were concerned she hadn’t got away with it and would take her punishment from them at the earliest opportunity. She shuddered at the thought of them. Yul hadn’t been as forgiving as Maizie either. His final words, as she’d left her bedroom in his wing, were that he’d be keeping a very close eye on her and the first sign of trouble would see her back again. She got the feeling that there were other things on his mind too, and that she was bearing the brunt of his dark mood.

Leveret judged it must be around eight o’clock or so. The groups generally disbanded by ten o’clock at the latest for people rose early at Stonewylde and needed their sleep. If she were going to slip out it was now or never. She considered asking her mother if she could go and collect the things she needed. She’d much rather tell the truth if she could, for Maizie was being so kind to her at the moment and Leveret felt guilty deceiving her. But would Maizie let her go out into the night – especially the moonlit night when the magic was strong?

Her mother had a wasp in her shawl about the Moon Fullness, always going on about girls getting into trouble and boys being wild. It was true, of course – the Moon Lust still coursed through everyone’s veins as strong as ever despite girls not falling pregnant under the full moon any more. There’d be couples out there tonight in every sheltered spot honouring the moon in traditional fashion, and Maizie would never agree to her wandering out into the bright darkness, however innocent her mission. Leveret would have to deceive her.

‘I’ve got my own pair of snips at home which are much better than these,’ she said to the people sitting nearest to her in the group. ‘I’m just going to nip back and fetch them.’

‘Aren’t those any good then?’ asked one of them. ‘You can swap with me if you like, Leveret.’

‘No, it’s alright thanks – I like using my own. They’re nice and small. I won’t be long.’

Feeling very guilty and with a final glance at Maizie sitting engrossed amongst her group, Leveret got up. Grabbing her cloak from the pegs by one of the back doors, she slipped out into the night. Her heart pounded at her treachery and she almost turned back to the Barn, prepared to abandon the idea of collecting the things for casting a spell at the Solstice. But she felt compelled to continue with her plan. She’d had the Book for almost two years now and was desperate to cast. She knew Mother Heggy was watching her, waiting for contact and she had to go through with this – she had no choice.