Thoroughly bedazzled, Morrigan left the emerald chamber and followed a tunnel that narrowed to her right. She was just thinking how lucky it was that she wasn’t the least bit claustrophobic when the crystal trail emptied into yet another side chamber. With Brina, Morrigan ducked into the room and instantly felt the difference in the walls around it. The enormous room had a listening quality. The walls weren’t encrusted with crystals or gems. Here the walls were a magnificent butter color with swirls of cream throughout. Peppering the floor of the chamber were huge lumps of the yellow stone, some taller than Morrigan and wider around than she could reach. She was just moving to put her hand against the smooth wall and ask the name of the marvelous stone when a sound drew her attention to the middle of the room.
There was a man on his knees in front of a large, shapeless column of stone. Both of his hands were pressed against the side of it, and his head was bowed as if he was in prayer. Not wanting to interrupt whatever the man was doing, Morrigan would have backed soundlessly from the room, but Brina, who had shown no interest in any of the other workmen they had encountered, trotted directly up to the man and began rubbing herself languorously against his back. Morrigan heard him make a strangled sound that was somewhere between a laugh and a sob.
“Brina, you beautiful girl, how did you know I needed company just now?”
Morrigan was suddenly riveted to the floor as, with a weary groan, Kai turned around so that he sat with his back pressed against the column. He reached out to fondle Brina’s ears the exact way Morrigan knew the cat liked, and only then caught sight of Morrigan.
CHAPTER 15
“Hi. I, uh, I didn’t mean to intrude,” Morrigan stuttered.
Kai smiled at her, as if being caught on his knees in front of a pillar of stone doing god (or goddess) only knows what didn’t embarrass him in the least.
“No, you don’t intrude. As I told Brina, I needed company.”
Curiosity and his obviously open attitude overcame Morrigan’s hesitation and she walked across the huge chamber to join him at the pillar of stone. “What is it?”
Kai reached up over his head to caress the stone in a gesture that seemed as intimate as it was automatic. “It is the finest marble in all of Partholon. And this—” he patted the stone gently “—is the piece that Kegan will carve into Myrna’s likeness for her monument.”
Morrigan studied the large lump of stone. “How do you know this is the exact right piece?”
“I can answer that most easily by asking you another question. How did you find this chamber?”
“The crystals led me here. Way up in the Usgaran I asked them to, well, basically show me around. And so here I am.”
Kai smiled. “And that is my answer to your question, too.”
“Meaning the marble led you to it?”
“Yes. Marble speaks to me like the spirits in the crystals speak to you. The difference is that instead of calling forth light from the marble, I know what is hidden within it—shapes that are innate to it or duties it wishes to perform.”
“Really? Tell me more about how it works for you.” Intrigued, Morrigan circled the pillar, staring up at it.
Still seated, Kai scratched Brina’s ears as he explained. “You already know the crystals are ensouled. Everything is—the earth is alive. And everything has a purpose. The spirit of a thing already knows its purpose.” He made an abstract gesture. “Unlike mankind who often flounders about searching and searching but never being still enough to listen within and know its purpose.”
Morrigan thought about the vast majority of her friends back in Oklahoma and decided that floundering was a good way to describe how they got through their days. “So the stones tell you their purpose.”
“Yes.”
“Can you hear the spirits in all stones?”
“I can connect to all stones, but the spirits in marble are most clear. How about you? Do you hear other spirits, or is it only the sacred crystal that speaks to you?”
Morrigan had come full circle around the marble pillar and was standing in front of where Kai sat again. “I don’t know. I’ve never really thought about it until now.” She smiled crookedly. “The voices of the crystals are so loud I don’t know if I could hear anything else over them.”
His smile mirrored hers in understanding. “The spirits of things that don’t move on their own, like rocks and trees and the earth itself, can often be surprisingly exuberant.”
“Yeah, that’s for sure. They’ve been so exuberant that I haven’t even thought of trying to hear any other spirits.”
“I think you should try.” He gave Brina one last scratch, and then stood. “The only sacred crystals in this chamber are those very near the entrance, so they shouldn’t be able to shout out the voice in the marble.”
“Oh, well, okay. I guess I could.” Morrigan started to raise her hand, as if she was going to place it against Kai’s pillar of stone, but the Stonemaster surprised her by moving quickly to block her way to the stone.
“Not this one.”
“Why not?” Morrigan said, more curious than annoyed.
“The spirits in this stone are lamenting. They know that it is their destiny to be carved into the likeness of the lost daughter of Epona’s Beloved.”
“So they’re sad about having to be a tomb for Myrna?”
“No, that’s not it at all. The marble is pleased about its destiny. Once it is carved in Myrna’s likeness it will comfort all who visit her monument. They mourn for the pain of Lady Rhiannon. She is not only Chosen of Epona. The lady was born under an earth sign, so she has a strong affinity to the earth, its trees and rocks. To some degree, all of Partholon feels her pain. Most especially the stone that was created to hold her daughter’s likeness.”
Morrigan’s mouth felt dry. “Is Rhiannon’s birthday April thirtieth?”
Kai didn’t appear to be surprised at her question. “Yes.”
“That’s my birthday, too.”
“It was also the day Myrna was born,” Kai said, then added in a voice filled with gentle compassion, “You know, don’t you?”
Morrigan couldn’t look away from his eyes. They were deeply brown—intelligent and understanding. He was so easy to talk to, this wise older man who heard the spirits in stones. It was as if he was the father she never knew.
“I know that I look just like her,” Morrigan whispered.
“Yes, that is true. Do you know how this happened?”
Morrigan shook her head and answered truthfully. “I don’t really know how any of this happened.” She hesitated. “Kegan told me you’re close to Rhiannon and her family.”
“I am.”
“Am I a lot like her?” she asked tremulously.
Kai waited several moments before he answered. “You look as Myrna would have looked had she been touched by a goddess.”
Morrigan couldn’t help but find satisfaction in Kai’s words. Myrna had looked like her, had her same birthday, and even had the mom Morrigan had thought was hers. But Myrna didn’t have her power—she’d never had her power.
And it is your power that makes you unique…
The words inside her head were oddly faint, but still they were able to rouse a sliver of the anger that had clung to her since the prayer ritual earlier that day.
“So Myrna didn’t have any goddess powers at all?”
“None that I knew of.”
Morrigan opened her mouth to make a snappy comment about being sure that was a disappointment to her mama, Ms. Epona’s Chosen, but the sadness in Kai’s eyes changed her words. Instead she said, “Did you love her?”
Kai looked surprised. “Myrna?”
“Yes, of course Myrna.”
“I watched her grow from a precocious child to an intelligent woman who knew her own mind well enough to stand up for her choice of man, and her choice of life paths, when her mother, the most powerful person in Partholon, would have chosen the direct opposite for her. I respected her and I liked h
er, and yes, I did love her. As a father loves a favorite daughter.”
“Does my resemblance to her make it hard for you to be around me?”
“Yes, it does. But,” he hurried on, “that doesn’t mean I don’t want to get to know you better.”
“Because of my similarities to Myrna.”
“No, because of your differences.”
Morrigan lifted a brow. “Really?”
“Really.” Kai pointed at a lump of butter-colored marble not far from where they stood. “For instance, let us see if you can hear the voices in the marble as well as the spirits of the sacred crystal.”
“Okay.” Morrigan walked with Kai over to the marble. It was a roughly rectangular-shaped blob about the height of her chest. If she and Kai had linked hands they could just barely circle it. “Now what?” she asked him.
“It’s the same with all spirits. Just touch and ask.”
Morrigan wiped her palms down her thighs and then placed them against the smooth side of the stone. Closing her eyes, she concentrated on sending her thoughts into the marble. “Hello?” she spoke hesitantly. “Are you there?”
There was a fleeting sense of movement under her hands, and Morrigan felt a little glow of warmth, like she was holding her hands up to catch the heat of a banked fire. Then she sucked in her breath as images flashed against her closed eyelids. She saw creamy buildings with beautiful domes. Incredibly attractive women were everywhere. They were engaged in a variety of tasks, everything from listening to lectures, to taking painting lessons, to studying an enormous, dark map that was covered with brilliant sparkly crystals Morrigan realized must represent stars and constellations. Finally, the images slowed to focus on one particularly lovely scene. It was a garden filled with roses in every shade of white and yellow Morrigan had ever imagined. Then, with a small pull, the heat left her hands and the images faded to the darkness of her closed eyes.
She opened her eyes to see Kai watching her. “Did the marble speak to you?”
Morrigan brushed her hair back from her face, surprised that her hand was shaking. “It didn’t really speak, but wow! It was incredible.”
“Did it send you feelings?”
“No, I saw things. Beautiful things.”
“Describe them, Morrigan.”
“I was looking at a place that was filled with amazing buildings, no, more like temples. They were a creamy white color and most of the roofs were domed. There were women everywhere—and they were all really pretty. It might have been some kind of school.”
“The Temple of the Muse,” Kai said, his voice edged with excitement. “Did the marble focus on any one scene in particular, or did it just give you a general vision?”
“At the end it focused on a rose garden.” Kai’s laugh caught her off guard. “What? Why is that funny?”
“Before Myrna died and I received this emergency commission to find the stone for her monument, I already had a journey to the Sidetha planned because Calliope’s Incarnate had commissioned me to carve a new bench for her rose garden.”
Morrigan didn’t have a clue who Calliope was, but she did understand the gist of what Kai had said. She smiled and pointed at the formless lump of marble. “That’s going to be a bench?”
“It is, indeed.”
“So I helped you to find the right piece of marble.”
“And I do thank you, my Lady.” Grinning, he took the hand she was pointing in his, formally bowed over it and lifted it to his lips in what he obviously meant as a sweet, kidding gesture.
But before his lips met her skin Morrigan felt a nasty jolt spark through her hand, like she’d just received the mother of all static-electric shocks. Quickly she pulled her hand from his and rubbed the spot. She looked apologetically at Kai, ready to make a comment about his shocking personality, when his expression registered on her. Clearly, Kai had felt something pass between them, too. His body was rigid and he was staring at her with a mixed expression of horror and disgust.
“Who are you?” Kai’s voice sounded so strained he was even short of breath.
She had the sudden urge to blurt out the truth to this man who she would have liked to have had as a friend or father and who, until that moment, had been so kind to her. Say nothing! The voice in her mind was still faint, but Morrigan could hear the urgency in it—and the command. Obviously, the Goddess didn’t want Kai to know the truth about her.
So instead Morrigan drew herself up and straightened her spine. She wasn’t just some powerless kid who could be intimated by a middle-aged man gone weird. “I thought you knew me. I’m the Light Bringer, High Priestess to Adsagsona. I just helped you find the right stone for Calliope’s bench. And I don’t have any idea what your problem is right now, so I’m going to leave you alone to work through your issues. Oh, and if it’s too hard for you to be around me because you think I look like Myrna, then feel free to avoid me. Whatever.” Morrigan stuck her chin in the air, turned and left the butter-colored room with Brina scrambling to follow her.
* * *
After Morrigan left, Kai found it difficult to concentrate. He should call the Sidetha workmen to him and have them transport the stone to Kegan’s chamber so that the centaur could begin carving Myrna’s image. He also had several other commissions he could work on: Woulff’s Chieftain wanted a piece of rare onyx from which a wolf would be carved as decoration for their Great Chamber…a centaur herd was looking for a piece of sandstone to be carved into a likeness of Epona…
But instead of his commissions, all Kai could think about was Morrigan and what he’d felt when he’d touched her hand.
It wasn’t a surprise that he had been curious about her. Even had she not looked remarkably like the dead Myrna, who he’d long thought of as the child he had never had, he would have been intrigued to meet a Light Bringer, especially after witnessing her demonstration of power earlier that day. As Kegan had explained, priestesses with that gift were rare—there probably wouldn’t be another one born in his lifetime. And obviously a Light Bringer’s affinity was close enough to his own that he would automatically find her fascinating.
They’d been having a lovely conversation. The child really was very much like Myrna—bright and intelligent and inquisitive. It had been a stroke of luck that she had identified the spirits in the bench meant for Calliope; she’d certainly saved him some time. Then he’d touched her and had a sudden, shocking glimpse into what was hidden within her soul.
Darkness. He’d been jolted by a seething darkness that hovered just under the child’s skin like an unseen fungus. She was riddled with it. He saw the light within her, too. But it was being consumed by the darkness.
How could that be? The child was a Light Bringer, Chosen of the Sidetha’s goddess. Kegan had said she had been gifted with great power by the Goddess and—
Kai’s thoughts jolted to a halt. What if her power wasn’t a gift from a goddess? Her remarkable similarity to Myrna couldn’t be an accident. What if dark powers had brought her here, with this form and these powers, at this exact moment when Rhiannon was grief stricken by the loss of Myrna? The Fomorian War had been over for almost twenty years, but it still lived in his memory all too well. The demon Fomorians had infiltrated Partholon because people—regular Partholonian people—had allowed Pryderi, the horrible three-faced god of darkness, to gain a whispering access to their spirits, and then their lives, and finally their world.
Kai shivered and felt physically ill. Could it be happening again? Could Pryderi be behind Morrigan’s amazing resemblance to Myrna, as well as her miraculous powers?
He had to speak with Kegan. The centaur was young, but he was a High Shaman and his powers in the spiritual realm were vast. He would know what they should do.
First Kai would instruct the workmen which pillar of marble he had chosen, and then he would take a quick turn through the sandstone and onyx rooms—working with the spirits in the stones would calm and center him. Tonight he would speak to the centaur. Kai left the ch
amber with determined steps, hating the odd feeling of watching eyes that crawled across his skin.
CHAPTER 16
Morrigan fled to familiarity—to where she’d been retreating to lick her wounds and regroup since she was a toddler. Or at least the closest thing to familiarity. Morrigan found Birkita.
“Oh, my Lady! You’ve been gone all day. I was beginning to worry.”
“I’m so sorry I’ve been such a bitch!” Morrigan told Birkita and then hugged her hard, not caring how it made the priestesses in the Usgaran stare and whisper. The older woman pulled back gently and looked into Morrigan’s face.
“Come, you look tired and dirty. A good soak is what you need.”
Morrigan wrapped her arm through Birkita’s as they walked the short way to her bathing chamber. “I knew you’d know exactly what I needed.”
They didn’t talk much as Birkita helped her out of her dress and filled the deep stone tub full of warm, soapy water. It was only when Morrigan was submerged up to her neck and Birkita was behind her, gently rubbing shampoo into her head that Morrigan finally started to open up to her.
“The crystals showed me some amazing things today. Rooms totally covered with amethyst, citrine, onyx, marble and even emeralds.”
“Adsagsona has gifted her people greatly. You saw only a portion of those gifts today.”
“No wonder Shayla has a thing for riches. She’s surrounded by them.”
“That is true,” Birkita said slowly, “but the Mistress should be remembering and acknowledging the source of our riches.”
“Oh, I agree with you. I’m just sayin’, what I saw today was pretty impressive.”
“But something else happened to you today, too. And I do not mean your interlude with Kegan.”
Morrigan scowled. Just like G-ma, Birkita knew everything. “So you heard about me kissing Kegan.”
“What I heard was that you were kissing one another.”