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Delilah and Menolly glanced at each other Delilah started to blush They’d treated Trillian like dirt ere first together, and it had driven a wedge between the three of us for a while

"Well, now I feel like a crap bucket," Menolly said She set down the pies and walked over to Trillian, where she gave his ponytail a gentle yank "We gave you a lot of shit and we’re sorry But you have to admit, you can be an asshole sometimes"

Trillian leaned back and folded his arainst the counter "You and Delilah did give ant ass, but you have to adoods to back it up" He smiled, and then Menolly sain

Menolly flicked his nose "Sit down, eat"

"We were pretty bad" Delilah started filling her plate "But you knohat? Water under the bridge We’re all one big happy falanced around the roo passed around, Trillian went back to handing pitchers of leh the deht We were one big happy family

I slid the talisman back into the pouch "I’ll put this on toive myself a couple of hours to settle into my new looks What are the specs on it? No dwarves this time, I hope"

Trillian snorted and took a chair beside me Smoky was on the other side "No dwarves I proeous as always But you won’t look like you"

Wondering what the charh and then piled ravy on my plate Besides the coleslaw and biscuits, Iris had added a platter of carrot sticks, cucumber slices, and cherry to the proved to be just as cale of the downtime

Shortly before bed, I closedMirror was It had been a long ti foray into the Aleksais Psychic Network, I wanted to meditate

My study had evolved over the past couple of years When we first moved here, I’d furnished it with a desk, the table that held the Whispering Mirror, a couple of chairs, and a bunch of shelves and drawers to hold spell components I also had a small table where I could blend oils or brew potions

Now the desk had been replaced with a huge wonder in solid oak, thanks to Smoky, who had decided the roo bookshelves; a credenza in place of the particleboard dressers; an apothecary case with a hundred little drawers, perfect for holding bits of herbs and bones; and athe Whispering Mirror A polished wooden rocking chair, a burgundy velvet love seat, and a Tiffany-style lamp in either corner completed the look, and nowthe spines of the books on the shelf Soside them were a few from Otherworld, hand-bound volumes I’d studied from over the years when I was first accepted into the Coterie of the Moon Mother The books had been so big I could barely carry theonthem around

I pulled one off the shelf and settled into the rocking chair As I flipped through the pages, I came to one in particular that es--paper-thin now It had been forty ES years since I’d held the flower to my nose and breathed in the scent It had been back when I was just into woer, if I’d been full-blooded human I’d fallen in love for the first time Only it hadn’t been with a boy…no, it had been with the Moon Mother herself

Leaning ently lifted the rose out of the book, then closed ht when I knew--absolutely knew--that I was in love with a goddess

The night ar outside I’d climbed up a ladder to the roof, where I could see the sky and the stars Menolly and Delilah never understood the draw, and I was just as happy they decided to stay inside Between taking care of the house, studying with the Coterie of the Moon Mother, and ency, I never had any time to myself I leaned back on ht, and Menolly had promised to watch over Delilah, who had already turned into Tabby for the night A light breeze wafted by, playing withover the scents riding the wind

Thein the sky As I watched her, silent and in awe, a rush of love welled up in h Priestess, as she led the weekly rites, but tonight…tonight I knew she would be running with the Moon Mother as the Hunt raced through the sky And I wanted to be there, wanted to taste that freedom

I was due, in a couple of years, to face the test, to be either given full entrance into the Order or turned away forever I’d trained for so long, tried so hard, but the fear that I h my heart I’d tried to talk to Shah the fields, but he never wanted to hear about my studies with the Coterie I cared about his for my cousin and that they were reciprocated, so I let the discussion drop, since it so clearly made him uncomfortable

And I’d locked away the fear, deep inside But tonight, it rose thick inout em rise into the sky, I started to cry

"What are you afraid of?"

The wo around, but no one was there Not sure whether I’d ihts off the fear

"I repeat: What are you afraid of? What do you fear?"

Not sure where the voice was co compelled to answer, I wrapped my arms aroundgood enough"

"Is that all you fear?"

Biting led with the question Was it all I feared? And wasn’t it enough? But then I let out a long breath and loweredat the roof "No, it’s not I’ the chance to walk under the Moon Mother’s light"

"You can alalk under the moon"