Seeing Magic (The Queen of the Night Series Book 1) (17 page)

Chapter Eighteen

Nyad’s Song

They held the wedding at Holy Trinity Episcopal Church in the heart of Berkeley Springs. The church was modeled after a country church in England. Large odd-shaped rocks held together with mortar formed walls which met a timber-frame gabled roof with exposed beams and stucco. The windows had leaded glass and the huge arch window over the altar contained an exquisite stained glass rendering of Jesus on the cross.

The exterior of the church was more interesting to me than the inside, since it included a tiny courtyard filled with traditional English flowers like foxglove and Canterbury bells. While I waited in line to file into the small chapel, I looked over at a stand of hollyhocks and whispered, on a lark and because I felt a bit silly, “Which one of you is related to Mr. Husk?”

To my surprise, one of the tall stalks inclined slightly. For a second, I thought one of the buds transformed into a small eye and winked at me. Then the eye disappeared and I stared blankly at a bunch of flowers. Evan, having been in conversation with a neighbor, hadn’t seen this exchange, so he gave me a concerned look before taking my elbow to propel me into the nave and away from any more mischief. We sat in the back on the bride’s side of the chapel. Fiona sat with Duncan several rows ahead. They held hands.

“Evan, what’s the deal with Fiona and Duncan?”

“It’s kinda sad, actually.”

“How do you mean?”

“Well, I’ve only gathered hearsay and gossip. I wasn’t there myself, of course, but I’m told they were childhood sweethearts. They even went to the prom together and everything.”

“Fiona’s not married and Duncan has four boys, so he must have married someone else. I guess their relationship didn’t last. Why are they lovey-dovey now?”

“I doubt they ever stopped loving one another. Fiona understood from birth she would become the next Great Healer and she chose it over Duncan. When they graduated high school he asked her to marry and she refused. This happened back when JFK asked people what they could do for their country. Duncan was angry with Fiona so he joined the Peace Corps. He worked in the Philippines. Years later, when conflict started in Southeast Asia, he joined the Navy. Once discharged, he used his military benefit to go to WVU and study animal husbandry.

While Duncan traveled all over the world, his brother inherited the family farm and ran it into the ground. Duncan came back to Cacapon and found he had nothing of his own left here. He started working on the MacGregor farm. Old MacGregor had a recently widowed daughter (her husband was lost in Vietnam) and she and Duncan probably found comfort in each other. Since neither could have their first loves, they settled down together. As you said, Duncan and his wife had four children.

She died suddenly about ten years ago of a heart attack. In the meantime, Fiona had learned her craft, opened her store and become the Great Healer. The farm is always owned by the Great Healer, but she’d let her father manage it. When he passed away, she asked Duncan to help. About four years ago, Duncan and Fiona started spending a lot of time together. I’m sure they really care for one another. They couldn’t make a life together, but they’re spending what time they have left with each other.”

“You’re right. That’s really sad.”  I thought about what he’d said. It bothered me all throughout the service. I saw these two people getting married and thought why should anyone be denied so much happiness? 

When we’d gotten back in the car to head to the reception, I asked Evan, “Why is it forbidden for the Great Healer and Great Seer to marry?”

“It’s a complicated question.”

“Try me.”

“The Great Seer is most closely tied to the King of the Sun. If he is threatened, the Great Seer must be willing to sacrifice himself to protect Llew. If the King of the Sun ceased to exist, the atmosphere, allowing enough of the Sun’s energy but not too much, would not maintain its perfect balance. Days would not cycle through the seasons with the ever-changing amount of daylight.”

“Get out. You do not seriously believe that guano. Do you?”

“I believe it with all my heart.”

“Have you heard of a guy named Galileo?  He figured out that the Earth was round and travelled in an orbit around the Sun.”

“I know. The Moon travels in an orbit around the Earth.”

“Right,” I rested my case.

“Why?”

“Why what?”

“What holds the Moon in its orbit or the Earth in its orbit?”

“Gravity pulls the mass of the celestial objects together.”  I took Earth Science in eighth grade.

“And what is Gravity?”

“I don’t know.”

“Could you accept gravity is magic?  Could you believe the force of gravity is wielded, controlled and/or managed by magical beings?”

“Huh…” I thought about it.

“Do you realize that without the pull of the Moon around the Earth, life would not exist?  Without the Moon, the oceans would not have tides or waves. Without the constant movement of the water, life could not occur. The Queen of the Night wields and manages the magic of gravity. She creates the movement of the oceans. She holds the Moon in sway. Would you be willing to sacrifice your life to protect her, knowing that if she stopped showing us the phases of the Moon all life on the planet would cease?”

“I guess I would, if sacrificing my life would make a difference.”

“The Great Healer is imbued with the power to protect the Queen of the Night.”

“Okay…” I was getting confused.

“Now, if you knew you might be called at any time to make the ultimate sacrifice, would it be fair of you to settle down, to start a family, to fall in love?”

That question hit a little too close to home. “Policemen, soldiers and all kinds of people are in the same situation. They still have families, get married and fall in love.”  My father served his country knowing he might not come home to us. He still married my mother, created me and my brother, and loved us fiercely every day of his life. And after he made the ultimate sacrifice, we kept living.

“The Queen of the Night has decreed it’s not fair. She commands the Great Healer to be devoted only to the craft, the clan and the Moon. The Great Seer must be devoted to the Sight, the clan and the Sun. That’s the way it is.”

I knew he felt strongly about this, but I had to ask. “What if you disagree?  What if you fall in love and settle down anyway?”

“According to legend, the Destroyer will come and destroy Day and Night.”  He said that word again.

“Do you think I am the Destroyer?”

“No!  Of course I don’t!”

“Then why do you and Fiona keep talking about it behind my back?”

“We’ve never seen gifts like yours. We don’t know what to expect from you. I’m sure it won’t be as bad as destroying the world, so don’t worry about it.” 

***

We’d arrived at the Country Inn, a massive four-star resort which belied its simple name. Evan led me to a huge Victorian conservatory where they held the reception. We mingled. We ate. I refused to dance because it was too confusing to be close to Evan and not want to kiss him.

At one point, I heard Steven McCoy talking to his buddy about how hot I looked, which made me feel better. At least someone thought I was hot. It’s too bad I didn’t feel the same way about him. Jenny and Evan’s dad came by and we chatted for a while. I watched Fiona and Duncan slow dancing and, having learned their story, I thought it was sweet.

Evan was right about Madison. It scared me how aggressive she was about getting his attention. When she literally dragged him out of his chair to the dance floor I headed toward a quiet corner.

I almost made it to one. Crossing the entrance from the restaurant to the gazebo I heard loud, angry voices. More accurately, one of the voices was angry and the other was placating, but insistent. The same jerk who’d run into my wheelchair in front of Fiona’s store was trying to crash the reception. A manager steered him back into the restaurant.

“Why shouldn’t I be allowed?  I’m rich now; I should be able to attend a nice shindig like this.”

“Mr. Rogers, you can’t go in there because you weren’t invited. Why don’t we give you a few drinks on the house?”

He doesn’t need any more to drink
. Luckily, the guy’s attention had been diverted away from the wedding.

“Why don’t I escort you back to the bar,” the manager said firmly. I scanned the drunk’s aura on a whim and was surprised to find two small brown-gray masses. One was in his lung and the other in his stomach.
He must live near the stream
. Evan said he wasn’t a clan member and he was obviously a jerk, so I decided to not tell him about his illness. If he was rich like he’d said, then he’d have good health care and his doctors would figure it out. He wouldn’t believe me anyway.

I returned to seeking out a quiet corner. A space on a white, wrought-iron garden bench sat open next to an old man in a tuxedo. He looked like he’d been crying, but at the moment he was grinning from ear to ear.

When a young couple passed by and called out, “Congratulations, Judge!” I realized he must be the father of the bride. Suddenly, it hit me. He’s the Great Poet of Cacapon. He knows all of the stories, legends and blog pages of the clan. Maybe if I coaxed him, he’d tell me about the Destroyer. He was more than a little tipsy. I decided to give it a shot, introduced myself and asked if he had time to tell me a story.

“What story, hon?  I got lots of stories.”  He slurred his words slightly.

“Well, I came across a term I don’t understand in one of my great-aunt’s old journals. This entry mentioned a warning about something called the Destroyer. Do you know what that is, sir?”

“Oh, it’s an old, old story.”  He wobbled a little on the bench. “But I remember it. It’s a good one for little kids who disobey their parents. Hmmm, how does it start again?” 

I waited patiently.

“Our people emigrated from Scotland in the 1700’s. We already understood the magic that exists all around us. We settled in the Appalachian mountains of Tennessee, Kentucky and North Carolina so we could practice our faith without persecution because very few settlers in America were hardy enough to survive the dangers there. The biggest threats came from the Cherokee people who already inhabited the land, but we had magic. When the Cherokee saw it they realized that our peoples were kindred spirits, so they let us live. We joined forces with them. We gave them our knowledge and they gave us theirs. Eventually our clans interbred and our people were stronger for it. We became known as the Coven of Appalachia.

We witnessed the Industrial Age sweep through the rest of the country. So did Mother Earth, Father Sky and all of the deities. When the big factories were built and started spewing toxic, black smoke into the sky the gods were not happy. They were worried about what would happen to both the balance of the seasons and to the balance between night and day. Llew and Arianrhod came to us and asked for our help to protect the natural order. Our clan leaders agreed.

They sent a group of us north in search of the Temple of the Crossed Rings. This group became the first settlers of the Cacapon clan. The King of the Sun chose one Seer to become the Great Seer. He took this person to the sacred meadow and taught him to sense the damage done to the Earth. The Queen of the Night chose one Healer out of all in the clan. She took this woman to the sacred meadow and gave her special powers to be used to heal the damage done to the Earth. This woman became the Great Healer. They gave us the rules of our clan. The Great Healer and Great Seer must dedicate their lives to protecting our world. They will not marry nor have children. Their siblings will give birth to the next generation of Healers and Seers. The Queen of the Night issued a grave warning. She told us that offspring of intertwined Healers and Seers would give birth to children devoid of the gifts, except for one. She warned that a male child born from a Healer and a Seer would become the Destroyer. The child would grow to have powers of both Healers and Seers. These gifts would be so strong they would drive the child insane. In his madness, the child would use his powers to destroy Arianrhod, the Queen of the Night. The oceans would stagnate. The cycle of Night and Day would end. Life on Earth would be destroyed. Pretty scary story, huh?” 

I swallowed past the lump that had grown in my throat and nodded without speaking.

“Oh, there you are, Paul. I thought I’d lost you.”  Mrs. Judge had arrived. She took his hand in her own. “Come along now, dear. The DJ has packed up all the Sinatra CD’s. Now it’s a party for young people.”  She acknowledged me with a nod. “Let’s go up to that nice hotel room and rest. Our job is done. We’ve earned a break.” 

I sat there, digesting the more disturbing parts of the legend. Arianrhod had warned that children born from a Healer and a Seer would have no magic, except for one boy, but I had magic and I was a girl.
Did Arianrhod lie about what would happen if Healers and Seers got together
?  If so, why did she do it?  As far as I knew, Corey had no magic, so the legend couldn’t apply to us. Relieved, I put the disturbing tale out of my mind.

Just then, Evan found me. “There you are! Thank Heaven you’re here. Let’s go for a walk before she finds me again.”