Kreshkali bent to kiss the other woman as she slid to the ground.
The mare’s nose fluttered over the blood before it seeped into the grass. The moon went behind a billow of clouds, sucking light from the meadow as Jaynan died.
Kreshkali closed her eyes, no longer able to hold back the tears.
She rode for five days, stopping only to feed and rest her horse. On the sixth night, she arrived at the slopes of the Jacor Mountains above the treeline of Espiro Dell Ray. The stars winked in and out of view as mist drifted across the night sky. The mare rubbed her face on Kreshkali’s shoulder, covering her cloak in horsehair.
‘You deserve a rest.’ She took off the saddle and bridle, giving the mare’s shoulder an affectionate slap, and turned her out to graze.
She slipped the keg from her back and dug a shallow grave with her hands. She knelt in the grass in front of it, tears blurring her vision. With her dagger she cracked open the keg, sloshing the contents onto the ground.
Unwittingly, Bethsay…I had a hand in this.
She covered the site with small rocks, making a stone idol at each of the four directions.
You, and your family, won’t be forgotten.
The veil of mist dropped as the three-quarter moon shone through, dimming the stars. It painted everything with an iridescent sheen, bathing her skin in milky-blue light.
Into the night,
Into the dark,
Travel the worlds
Unencumbered.
The greater mysteries await.
‘Forgive me, Bethsay, and know that you will be avenged.’
She sat by the gravesite for the rest of the night and wept.
C HAPTER 3
‘ S tars in the sky, look at you!’ ‘Nell!’ Rosette whooped with delight as she ran to the gate.
Nellion Paree stood in the garden, her long auburn hair playing in the spring breeze. She had the body of a dancer and a spirit like the sea—fathomless, unpredictable, life-giving, life-threatening. Her dark hazel eyes crinkled with her grin. However old she was—thirty, forty, fifty, older—Rosette didn’t know. Nell beamed with timeless exuberance and energy. Her ivory-coloured dress lifted above her bare feet as she opened her arms, its wide neckline slipping off one shoulder, revealing the tattoo of a black raven on her upper arm.
‘Come in, you gorgeous girl. I’ve been waiting for you!’
Rosette unlatched the wooden gate and entered the garden. It was like stepping into another realm where everything around her exploded with colour. Pink azaleas and sunny orange tiger lilies lined the path, and vivid unnamed blooms spilled out of the window boxes, setting off the cedarwood cottage with clusters of purple, red and lavender. Huge roses circled thechamomile lawn, their blossoms exquisite shades of pink, peach and tamarind, their fragrance intoxicating. She took a deep breath. The place seemed smaller than she remembered, though every bit as magical.
A creek gurgled in the background as it rushed towards the rugged coastline, a short hike to the west. At night the sound of the ocean crashing against the towering cliffs would fill her dreams. Once she had looked down from that vantage point. Her stomach had turned somersaults. Boulders larger than men were like tiny pebbles from where she stood. It took three hours to follow the winding track to the bottom, but she hadn’t been allowed to explore.
As Rosette raced up the path, ravens squawked and flapped and red-eyed figbirds and brightly coloured finches chattered in the shrubs. Several hummingbirds with ruby throats and chartreuse bodies hovered over the honeysuckle blossoms that draped the fence, their wings beating so fast they were invisible. What a wonder to be so close to the wild woods, far away from the noise and clatter of the city. Her father had said that Nell was a hermit, but Rosette saw a sanctuary teeming with spirit friends.
‘How’d you know I was coming?’ she asked in a rush, reaching for the woman and falling into her arms.
Nell nodded to the three ravens sitting in the lower
The mare’s nose fluttered over the blood before it seeped into the grass. The moon went behind a billow of clouds, sucking light from the meadow as Jaynan died.
Kreshkali closed her eyes, no longer able to hold back the tears.
She rode for five days, stopping only to feed and rest her horse. On the sixth night, she arrived at the slopes of the Jacor Mountains above the treeline of Espiro Dell Ray. The stars winked in and out of view as mist drifted across the night sky. The mare rubbed her face on Kreshkali’s shoulder, covering her cloak in horsehair.
‘You deserve a rest.’ She took off the saddle and bridle, giving the mare’s shoulder an affectionate slap, and turned her out to graze.
She slipped the keg from her back and dug a shallow grave with her hands. She knelt in the grass in front of it, tears blurring her vision. With her dagger she cracked open the keg, sloshing the contents onto the ground.
Unwittingly, Bethsay…I had a hand in this.
She covered the site with small rocks, making a stone idol at each of the four directions.
You, and your family, won’t be forgotten.
The veil of mist dropped as the three-quarter moon shone through, dimming the stars. It painted everything with an iridescent sheen, bathing her skin in milky-blue light.
Into the night,
Into the dark,
Travel the worlds
Unencumbered.
The greater mysteries await.
‘Forgive me, Bethsay, and know that you will be avenged.’
She sat by the gravesite for the rest of the night and wept.
C HAPTER 3
‘ S tars in the sky, look at you!’ ‘Nell!’ Rosette whooped with delight as she ran to the gate.
Nellion Paree stood in the garden, her long auburn hair playing in the spring breeze. She had the body of a dancer and a spirit like the sea—fathomless, unpredictable, life-giving, life-threatening. Her dark hazel eyes crinkled with her grin. However old she was—thirty, forty, fifty, older—Rosette didn’t know. Nell beamed with timeless exuberance and energy. Her ivory-coloured dress lifted above her bare feet as she opened her arms, its wide neckline slipping off one shoulder, revealing the tattoo of a black raven on her upper arm.
‘Come in, you gorgeous girl. I’ve been waiting for you!’
Rosette unlatched the wooden gate and entered the garden. It was like stepping into another realm where everything around her exploded with colour. Pink azaleas and sunny orange tiger lilies lined the path, and vivid unnamed blooms spilled out of the window boxes, setting off the cedarwood cottage with clusters of purple, red and lavender. Huge roses circled thechamomile lawn, their blossoms exquisite shades of pink, peach and tamarind, their fragrance intoxicating. She took a deep breath. The place seemed smaller than she remembered, though every bit as magical.
A creek gurgled in the background as it rushed towards the rugged coastline, a short hike to the west. At night the sound of the ocean crashing against the towering cliffs would fill her dreams. Once she had looked down from that vantage point. Her stomach had turned somersaults. Boulders larger than men were like tiny pebbles from where she stood. It took three hours to follow the winding track to the bottom, but she hadn’t been allowed to explore.
As Rosette raced up the path, ravens squawked and flapped and red-eyed figbirds and brightly coloured finches chattered in the shrubs. Several hummingbirds with ruby throats and chartreuse bodies hovered over the honeysuckle blossoms that draped the fence, their wings beating so fast they were invisible. What a wonder to be so close to the wild woods, far away from the noise and clatter of the city. Her father had said that Nell was a hermit, but Rosette saw a sanctuary teeming with spirit friends.
‘How’d you know I was coming?’ she asked in a rush, reaching for the woman and falling into her arms.
Nell nodded to the three ravens sitting in the lower
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