Gwilym left to supervise the men as they ramped the stone
into the cart, Gwilym saw that the design on this rune was of a stable. He kept
glancing at the pavilion but Grainne never appeared. Soon the crew was ready to
depart so he called his boys to him, said goodbye to Madoc and Brice and the
family followed the cart back to the job site.
It took the rest of that day to bring the capstone to the
site and hoist it into place. The natural placement was with the rune pointing
back towards Huish. While doing so, Gwilym thought about how all the other
runes pointed directly at the next tower he was to build. He constructed a map
in his head of Britain
and the towers he had built since the first one. Huish, then north by northeast
to Airmyn, south by southeast to Londinium, northwest to Caernarfon, east to
Salthouse and southwest to Huish. The lines between each tower created a star! Not
just any star but a pentagram. At least the star had a point facing north. That
supposedly represented a good spell, not an evil one.
How interesting! He hadn’t noticed it before. This was a
serious spell they were casting. He must talk more with Grainne to find out
what was happening. Grainne. Have I blown
it? He missed her even more now. The ache in his arms and chest spread to
his belly and his cheek. Why only my
right cheek? Because that was the cheek she had stroked yesterday after
they had made love.
Why was she so angry
with me? Because I presumed I had a right to share her bed? Probably. That was
obnoxious of me. She likes to call the shots during the love-making sessions.
And they weren’t love-making sessions, they were a ritual part of a spell. She
cared nothing for me. Even yesterday’s session, when she had moved so languidly
afterwards and had been in so much evident pleasure was just a casual fling for
her. Much the way I made love casually before I married. And those women had
loved me too. Had they felt like this?
One of the crew woke him out of his reverie. “Do you need us
any more, Gwilym?”
He shook his head and realized that they needed their final
payment. Gwilym walked around the job-site, happy with the way everything
looked. These Angles like to keep things
tidy. He lined them all up and gave out the last of their silver, thanking
each member of the crew for their time. He missed having Fred with him at this
ritual. In two days they would go back to Huish to see him. Or would they?
There was a price on his head and a lot of people looking for him now. Should
he risk his son’s lives for a glimpse of Fred’s child?
Tomorrow was Beltane. Merlin would appear and give him more
river jade. Grainne and he would make love on the capstone. And the next day
they would go…where? Wherever Sir Kay ordered them. Kay was involved in the
enchantment, deciding where the towers would go or being told by Merlin. And a
representative of the Druids checked to see if the rune was placed correctly.
That would be Mostyn with whom he’d chatted last year. What was Mostyn doing?
Tracing the drawing on the rune? That could have been done before it was
placed. Unless he hadn’t seen them before. Making sure they were ‘sanctified’?
What did that mean? Was he looking for remnants of his and Grainne’s lovemaking?
Disgusting! But stranger things had
happened. Gwilym determined to watch the enchantment closer this time. When did
the mists appear? They seemed to be growing stronger. He shook his head as he
neared the tavern and readied himself to face the scrutiny of his sons,
especially Bleddyn.
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