Heart of the Hill (3 page)

“What will you do?” rumbled Myrddin. “Assemble
our defenses?” He swished his cloak and its hidden col
ors danced like flames.

Equus sighed. “You are right, Myrddin. Though war
is not our nature, the time has come for defense. Ava
and I will travel to the Place Beyond Morning and ready
it for the Lady's wakening and homecoming. We will
use my talisman and Ava's circlet to restore the Silver
Citadel and the great Gates of Sunrise so we can rebal
ance the approaching Dark with more Light.”

“Light and Dark, Dark and Light,” intoned Myrddin.
“The balance will not be kept until we are linked again
by the Lady's necklace.”

Ava sighed. “Ah…the Lady! It has been so long since
we felt her presence. Myrddin, take out the crystal. Let
us look upon her once more.”

Myrddin removed a small crystal ball from his pocket
and set it spinning in the air.

Ava stretched out her wings and she, Equus and
Myrddin formed a circle with the spinning crystal in
the center.

“A talisman to hone the mind,

A circlet old to hold and bind,

A staff to smite with hidden might,

Beads to link, and hold the light,” they chanted.

The flashes of light shimmered, formed and reformed
as images from the past appeared in the crystal.

Equus, Myrddin and Ava saw themselves, once
again, inside the Silver Citadel.

Tears brightened Ava's eyes. “I remember this
moment. Look at the Lady, so calm, so wise and so
beautiful. Myrddin, may we hear as well as see?”

Myrddin sprinkled stardust over the spinning globe.

Their ears rang with the sound of the Dark Being's
furious final onslaught on the Place Beyond Morning.

They stared as the tiny figures within the crystal
surrendered the tools of power.

“The Lady fingers her necklace,” murmured Ava.

“She felt our pain.”

They listened intently to the Lady's voice.

“Without these tools of power, the Dark Being will find victory brings nothing.”

“Destroy these, and we are nothing,”
replied the voice
of Equus.

“The Lady's smile is heartbreaking,” said Ava.

“Hush!” reproved Myrddin. The Wise Ones bent
their heads again toward the crystal to catch the reply.

“Conceal, not destroy!”
came the Lady's voice.
“In a galaxy known as the Milky Way spins an almost unnoticed misty blue planet. On it are many places of great beauty, among them an island known as Angel Land named after the fair-haired race that inhabits it. Those people will honor your tools and keep them safe. The talisman, staff and circlet will be hidden in the center of Angel Land.”

Myrddin shifted as he heard his own voice interrupt.

“And the necklace, Lady?”

“That I must guard. A smaller isle lies off the coast of Angel Land. It is home of a mage called Manannin, who keeps his isle hidden within a cloak of mist. I will hide there. Go swiftly and safely on the wings of dawn my friends. Conceal your magic tools in Angel Land, trust in the humans and leap for the stars to watch over them. The necklace and I must sleep behind Manannin's Cloak. As long as the beads and I stay linked, so shall the magic link us all.”

The scene faded.

Myrddin reached out a hand. One finger gently
stopped the spinning crystal. He replaced it in his
pocket.

Equus sighed. “Thank you, Myrddin. The Lady's
courage gives me hope and strength.”

Ava looked worried. “But what has happened to
her? The mist of Manannin must be thick and all
enclosing or she would be awake to guide us. Even
in sleep, the necklace should warn of the Dark Being's
approach.”

Equus stirred uneasily.

Myrddin's brows met. “The Lady answers to no one.
We must trust and believe. Traa dy liooar, remember?
Time enough…Traa dy liooar.”

“But IS there time enough?” Equus gave voice to the
fear deep in their hearts.

Ava pulled herself up and spread her wings. Her
light blazed. “NOW is the time. We will ready the Place
Beyond Morning and wake her.”

“Then farewell friends,” said Myrddin gruffly.
“Travel safely among sunbeams, for the Dark Being
abhors the light. I will work alone on Gaia with the
Magic Children.” He flung back his head and swung his
cloak. “Adam, are you ready? I come!” he roared. His
hair and beard blazed with inner fire.

“Wait” Ava laid a wing tip on his arm. “Equus and
I cannot leave Chantel and Owen without explana
tion.”
Equus agreed. “They too can help. They must per
suade other humans to keep the light.”

Myrddin snorted. “Not easy.”

“May light flicker always in human hearts.” The bless
ing voiced by Ava drifted through the heavens as the
three Wise Ones wove among sunbeams toward Gaia.

CHAPTER TWO
T
HE
C
ARES OF
T
OMORROW

The children's entire day was stormy.

The thunderstorm showed no sign of abating, and Owen sulked when his father prevented him from boating on the floodwaters.

Holly and Chantel organized a game of Scrabble, but the four cousins couldn't agree.

“That's not fair. Those dumb two-letter things aren't real words. We never use them in Canada,” protested Adam.

“If everything is so great in Canada, why don't you go back?” retorted Owen.

“I will as soon as my idiot parents stop arguing and send for us,” Adam shouted. He left the table, knocking the board. The game pieces scattered.

Everyone began yelling.

“Can we bake cookies?” Chantel asked a little later.

Even Adam brightened at that suggestion.

Aunt Lynne shooed them out of the kitchen.

“But, Mum… Chantel and Adam know how to make chocolate chip cookies,” said Owen.

“Not today,” said Lynne as she rolled out pastry. “I've promised gooseberry pies for the museum's fundraising dinner tonight. There's plenty of biscuits in the tin if you want a snack.”

“Not with chocolate,” muttered Owen.

His mother rolled her eyes.

The phone rang. Everyone jumped.

Lynne held up her floury hands. “Could one of you catch that? It's probably the hospital confirming Chantel's appointment.”

Owen and Adam dived for the phone. Their heads met with a clunk. They rubbed foreheads and glared at each other.

Holly giggled and picked up the receiver. “White Horse Farm, Holly speaking.” Her face grew wary. “Oh, hello.” She turned uneasily to her mother, her hand over the mouthpiece. “It's for Adam and Chantel,” she hissed. “It's Aunt Celia, but she's crying.”

Adam pushed past Owen.

Lynne swiftly wiped her hands on her apron and took the receiver. She motioned Adam and Chantel to wait.

“Goodness, Celia, what time is it in Canada? It's only mid-morning here …three AM! Why can't you sleep?”

She listened for a moment, a frown gathering between her eyes. “Yes, Chantel and Adam are here.”

Chantel and Adam stared at their aunt. There was an odd tone in her voice.

Lynne turned away from them and dropped her voice. “Do you think that's wise, Celia? Shouldn't you get some rest and speak to them later … No … Of course I'm not keeping your children from you…”

Chantel slipped her hand into Adam's. They both squeezed hard, their faces anxious as they listened to the tinny sound of their mother's voice leaking from the receiver. Was she upset, or angry, or both?

“If you hold the line, Celia, I'll let them take this in the office, so they can have some privacy.” Lynne handed the mobile phone to Adam and motioned them into the small farm office off the kitchen. She pulled out the desk chair for Chantel and passed her the office phone. “I'll be outside if you need me,” she whispered and closed the door.

Chantel picked up the receiver. “Hi, Mom.” Her voice trembled.

“At last. Is Adam there too?”

“I'm here.”

“Are you both okay?”

“We're fine, but you're not, are you?” Adam's voice was tight and hard. “You and Dad have been fighting again, haven't you?”

“Don't, Adam,” whispered Chantel. The knuckles of her hands were white as they clutched the receiver.

“How did you guess?” There was a muffled sound as though their mother was swallowing a sob. “Adam … Chantel … I'm sorry … there is no easy way about this, so I'm just going to say it. You're right … your father … he's left. That is …we both still love you, but we don't love each other anymore. We're getting a divorce.”

“Oh, nice,” said Adam. “Dad loves us so much he's taken off, and you're phoning to say you're getting a divorce. So, what about me and Chantel?”

“That's all you can say? You're only worried about you?” shrieked his mother.

“What do you want us to say— yip-dee-doo? You think we didn't guess about the divorce?” said Adam. “You think we don't know why you packed us off to England?”

“We wanted to make it easier for you,” said his mother. “We wanted to save you from the arguments.”

“Yeah, right,” said Adam. “You're thinking about us so much that not only are you splitting but —”

Chantel's soft voice interrupted them. “Where's Daddy gone?”

“He didn't say, honey. He just left.”

“Oh.” Tears spilled down Chantel's cheeks.

“I'm sorry, honey. I'm really sorry, but it doesn't mean that we don't love you.” There was a sob and her mother's voice choked up. “I … I know your father will call you.”

“Who cares?” stormed Adam. “We don't. You did nothing but yell at us when we were home, then you shipped us off to another country, so why should we care? Neither of you care about us, and we don't care about you.” He hurled the mobile phone across the room and stormed out of the office, slamming the door.

“Adam, Adam.”

“There's only me,” said Chantel. Her voice was almost a whisper.

“I'm so sorry, Chantel. I didn't mean to hurt you. I'll call again, honey.” The line hummed in Chantel's ear as her mother's voice broke and she rang off.

As emotional storms raged through the Maxwell house
hold, the Dark Being stormed across the Milky Way
and rent her fury on yet another small star. Nothing
was hidden there.