Foxmask: Children of the Light Isles, Book Two by Marillier Juliet

Author:Marillier, Juliet [Marillier, Juliet]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Tom Doherty Associates
Published: 2007-04-01T00:00:00+00:00

On a western shore in Hrossey, soon after sunset, three women stood quietly around a little fire. One was young, slender, pale. Her expression was remote and grave; her brown hair hung down her back in a severe plait. She wore a skirt and long tunic of plain gray, and a little leather bag around her neck. This was Eanna, priestess of the mysteries, sister of Creidhe. Her eyes were closed, her arms outstretched; the smoke arose before her, twisting in visions of past, present and possible future.

Margaret and Nessa stood together, waiting. They had sought answers; whether Eanna could give them remained to be seen. The wise woman did not usually come down to enact her rituals here; she dwelt alone in her sacred place, and if folk wanted truth, they came to find her. But Nessa, who was Eanna’s mother, was now well advanced in her pregnancy, and this child could not under any circumstances be put at risk. The piercing desire of Nessa and Eyvind for a son was well known, although it was not something they spoke of openly. And that was not all. Nessa was the last princess of the Folk, the ancient race of the Light Isles. Had the coming of the Norsemen not changed the islands forever, the son of such a princess would have been king here, for thus was the royal descent of the Folk determined, through its female line. There were no longer any kings in the Light Isles; nonetheless, this child would be a potent symbol of survival for the old race and the old faith. Nessa had given up riding; she would not travel in a cart, either, and it was too far for her to walk to Eanna’s sanctuary. So the wise woman had come down to the shore not far from the family’s dwelling, and had chanted her invocation as the sun set in the western sea. They had chosen this spot for a reason. Nessa believed the child would be at risk from the Seal Tribe, the ocean-dwelling race that had snatched small Kinart from her. She feared that above all as the infant grew apace within her and could be felt kicking vigorously against the confines of the womb. She was not sure the Seal Tribe had been adequately appeased by the taking of her only son, though when they had helped her, all those years ago, they had seemed to do so willingly, for love of the islands. She feared for the unborn babe, and she feared for Creidhe. On this occasion it had not seemed appropriate to seek out the ancestors herself; Nessa knew she lacked the detachment to see the vision and unravel its meaning calmly and coolly. Her daughter was the priestess now, and Eanna would bear this burden for her.

Margaret did not set much stock in gods, nor in ancestral spirits. On the rare occasions when she had requested their help, she had found the result less than useful.

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