Shadows at Stonewylde (30 page)

They approached Quarrycleave slowly, both exhausted. The wintry sun was hazy behind thin cloud and the air was cool but mild for the time of year. A flock of rooks flew overhead noisily; Leveret saluted them and dragged Magpie on.

‘Come on Maggy, nearly there now. Look, there’s the quarry, the Place of Bones and Death they call it, and it’s where the old Magus died. It’s a very special place of death and I’ve been dreaming about it ever since I decided what we must do. Quarry-cleave has been calling to me and I know this is where we belong – at least we’re wanted here.’

They approached the shallow end of the sprawling quarry and as they got closer Leveret made the sign of the pentangle. She felt a trickle of fear in her throat; it truly was a place of death. She knew where they were heading – she’d heard all the talk and stories over the years, as had every other child at Stonewylde. Magus had died falling from Snake Stone, a huge pillar different to the Portland limestone in the quarry. Made of a sparkling rock, it was carved with writhing serpents and was the site of a battle between her eldest brother and his father on the eve of the Winter Solstice, thirteen years ago tonight.

Leveret had never visited Quarrycleave before – it wasn’t exactly forbidden, but very strongly discouraged as it was a dangerous place. She’d heard the place was haunted by evil spirits but she wasn’t sure whether that was just superstition. Nevertheless she felt an uneasiness here that surprised her, a constant feeling of being watched and even being followed by something. Several times as they struggled through the quarry, stumbling down the long corridors of rock and brushing past the sinuous ivy, she’d felt as if something were just around the corner behind them, stalking them. Once the feeling had taken hold it was difficult to ignore and she found her heart beating faster. Magpie was whimpering and struggling along but sending her no messages even though she was holding his hand. He seemed incapable of even the limited communication they usually managed.

‘It’s not far now, Maggy,’ she said encouragingly. ‘Can you see that great rock up there? We just have to get there and then we can rest.’

They came to the place where the labyrinth of stone ended, at the head of the quarry where the hill rose sharply above in a high cliff of stone. Now they must climb up the side of the quarry along the narrow path. It was their last ordeal and a difficult one, especially as Leveret couldn’t hold on to Magpie. By the time they reached the point where the stepping boulders led up to the top of the Snake Stone she was crying tears of frustration and exhaustion. Her chest was heaving and Magpie’s near continuous moans of pain and distress upset her terribly. They sat together on a boulder to catch their breath before attempting the final climb.

‘Is it really hurting? Poor Maggy – it’s your ribs. If things were different I’d have put on a poultice and bandaged you up. You should be lying in a warm, soft bed, looked after and cared for. But there’s no chance of that, not for either of us, is there?’

Magpie hunched next to her in his filthy old coat, his breathing still laboured. She took his dirty hand in hers and rubbed it against her cheek. He laid his head on her shoulder, almost knocking her over.

‘I tried to tell them you were hurt and in danger but nobody would listen to me,’ she continued sadly. ‘Nobody believes anything I say. So we’ll take our chances, you and me, Maggy. We’ll leave this place and move on to the Otherworld. Mother Heggy’ll look after us there, I know she will, and they say it’s a wonderful place with none of the horrible things here. I can feel Mother Heggy waiting for us just on the other side. Come on then – we’re almost there now.’

She pushed, dragged and cajoled Magpie up onto the great boulders that acted as steps to the Snake Stone. She was so small compared to him but also very determined, and eventually she heaved him onto the stone platform, the stage for Magus’ final moments of life. Leveret looked down over the quarry; the shadows were deepening on this very short day and she felt another jagged thrill of fear. She was sure there was something lurking down there. Maybe it was just a wild animal – a dog or fox, or even one of the big cats that were rumoured to inhabit the Wildwoods to the east. Whatever it was, she was very pleased to be out of the dark pit below.

She tried to dismiss her dread and gently helped Magpie to sit down, not wanting him to topple over the edge to a slow death of broken limbs. It was a truly gigantic pillar with a very steep drop, but there was room for both of them to stretch out on its top.

‘Look at these carvings, Maggy. Can you see the great snake here, coiled up? And here are the cups – I heard they used to hold moon eggs made of this special sparkling stone. It has magical properties, you know; it stores up moon energy channelled by a moongazy maiden. Mother told me all about this and what happened to the old Magus.’ She paused, the memories of her mother telling her stories as a child difficult to bear. ‘Let’s just rest now and get comfortable and then we can do it.’

Magpie lay down on the rock and curled into a foetal position, whimpering softly. Leveret sat next to him, cross-legged, stroking his face. He was filthy and his hair crawled with lice, but she was beyond caring about things like that. She loved him – she was the only person in the world who loved him – and if things had been different she’d have cared for him and made sure that he was happy, as much as he could be. But she had no power and she couldn’t stand by and watch him suffer any longer. If she did he would die, at the hands of either Jay or his mother, and it would be a slow and brutal death involving much suffering first. This was kinder. At least this way they could go together and it would be peaceful and relatively quick.

Leveret nodded, sure she’d made the right decision. What point was there in living? Her mother would never trust her again and couldn’t bear to be near her. Yul couldn’t stand the sight of her and Rosie wasn’t speaking to her. She had no friends at school, nobody liked her, and she was now in effect an exile in her own community. And as for Sweyn and Gefrin – she was truly terrified about their threats. They’d made it very clear that together with Jay, they had something really awful in store for both her and Magpie; after witnessing the rabbit incident Leveret knew this was no idle threat.

She knew her mother would be upset that she’d made the choice to pass on to the Otherworld, but in the long run it was for the best. She and her mother could never rebuild their relationship. The trust had died and couldn’t be revived and it was just too painful to carry on like this with her mother despising her. She thought of the other people who might be affected. Marigold in the kitchens was generally very kind to both her and Magpie, and she’d be sad. Clip, who was so wise and different from anybody else she knew – he’d be a little upset perhaps. Leveret thought briefly of her two nieces, Celandine and Bluebell.

Until she’d been banished to Yul’s apartments, she’d despised them as silly, spoilt little girls. But she’d started to get to know them recently and knew that if things had been different, she’d have maybe grown to love them. They certainly seemed to be very fond of her and she’d enjoyed their sweetness and affection. They’d been so distressed by her sadness and depression during this last week, since Maizie had dumped her at the Hall, that Yul had prevented her from seeing them. Leveret had been confined to her room at all times when she wasn’t actually in class or doing chores, and had been banned from any contact with them. Yul had shouted at her for upsetting his daughters but she hadn’t meant to at all. Not that he had believed anything she said.

Yul had been so angry with her, yet again, after Maizie had abandoned her, shouting at her, pushing his face into hers and really frightening her. He’d lectured her endlessly about how selfish and cruel she was and told her how Maizie’s life had been terrible for sixteen years until her father Alwyn had died. This now was their mother’s chance to be happy and content, not feel betrayed by someone she loved. On and on he’d ranted until she could take no more. Leveret didn’t need to be told what an awful person she was – she already knew. She hated herself and knew she was worthless; why else did nobody like her? She’d no friends and was the ugliest girl at Stonewylde, skinny and hideous. Nobody would ever want her. Nobody would even talk to her.

She cringed with embarrassment at the ridiculous hopes she’d nursed about the boy she’d liked. He was perfect – so handsome and popular, so clever and kind, with loads of girlfriends. She’d been stupid to dream that one day he might notice her and ask her to be his girlfriend. She hung her head in shame and self-loathing. Her life was a misery and there was no end in sight. She’d had enough and longed only to leave this place and enter the Otherworld. Once they were there, everything would be better and they could start again. Perhaps Magpie would even have the power of speech.

Leveret rested her hand gently on his bruised and swollen cheek and looked down at him just as he opened his lovely turquoise eyes to gaze deeply into hers. She could feel his thoughts again, thank goddess, for he’d even locked himself away from her. But now he was back and she smiled at him, returning his love.

‘You’re a beautiful boy, Magpie,’ she said softly. ‘Your life has been terrible and you don’t deserve it. You know Levvy loves you too. That’s why we’re going to the Otherworld together. Are you happy to go there with me?’

He nodded, his eyes blazing his need to always be with her.

‘Alright then – let’s do it now before it gets dark.’

She shifted slightly and fished in her cloak pocket for the small bag. Opening the draw-string Leveret pulled out the shrivelled mushrooms. There were four of the dull beige caps – two each. Death Caps – lethal and final.

T
he light was fading amongst the trees as the men and boys in the Wildwood cooked their feast on the fire, the meat on a spit and large potatoes wrapped and baking amongst the glowing charcoal. There were other treats spread out on rough trestle tables and a great barrel of cider too. Some of the men were drumming and everyone was laughing and enjoying themselves. Yul sat on a log slightly apart from everyone, his back against a tree trunk. It had been a very long day, as these days always were, joining in all the activities alongside the youngsters destined to become men in the morning.

All day Yul and some of the men had kept the boys in the Wildwood, away from the community, and engaged in physical endurance challenges. Yul was exhausted from the stealth games, tree climbing and archery, and he longed for a hot bath and bed. But there was the evening of feasting, singing and drinking to be got through first and more male bonding with the youngsters. They were all very excited about becoming men and receiving new ceremonial robes from their families and pewter pendants from their magus.

Yul fingered the pewter pendant on its leather thong around his own neck. He’d chosen the Green Man as his personal totem, and the other side was embossed with a sprig of mistletoe just as all these youngsters would have too. Tomorrow was his birthday – twenty-nine years old. Thirteen years since he’d become a man, although the occasion hadn’t been marked in this way. He hadn’t even taken part in the customary ritual up at the Stone Circle because he’d wanted to wait for Sylvie to reach her sixteenth birthday.

It had been a terrible day overall, though it had started well enough with the wonderful sunrise ceremony. The relief that his lifelong battle with Magus was finally over had been overwhelming, but all day he’d been haunted by the thought of that broken body lying at the foot of the Snake Stone amongst the boulders and stone rubble. Edward had dealt with that – and the other two bodies at Quarrycleave – and Clip and others had stepped in too, wanting to protect the boy from further distress. Yul distinctly remembered the strong sense of unreality that had clouded everything that Winter Solstice, and the feel of new beginnings for everyone at Stonewylde.

When the sun had risen over the Village Green and the community had arrived at the Great Barn for a Solstice breakfast, someone had discovered old Professor Siskin’s body curled up on the ground, all rimed with frost. Sylvie had been devastated; convinced his death was her fault. But worst of all, for Yul at least, had been the discovery of Mother Heggy’s death. He and Sylvie had walked to her tumble-down cottage later on that morning, still in their beautiful Winter Solstice robes, hoping to persuade her to come to the Barn for the festivities. Yul remembered noting the lack of smoke trickling from the crooked chimney, which was an ominous sign in mid-winter, and had pushed the door open with trepidation. He’d never forget the sight of the tiny crone still hunched up in the centre of her circle of salt, the five points of the pentangle marked with symbols of the elements, the little fire-cauldron cold and dead.

Mother Heggy had looked so small and helpless then, but she’d been so very strong for him. He’d cried on seeing her, great sobs of anguish and sorrow, and Sylvie had done her best to comfort him just as he’d comforted her a little earlier by Professor Siskin’s body. His sixteenth birthday had been a day like no other and he wouldn’t wish it on any of the boys here today. They seemed so young and carefree, yet they all knew so much more than he had at their age. He smiled wryly; if nothing else, he could feel a sense of achievement that the youngsters of Stonewylde were now educated properly and had many choices and opportunities open to them.

He sat there gazing at the revelry around him and wondered what Sylvie was doing now. She would have left the girls’ Rite of Adulthood events under the willows by the river and was probably back at the Hall putting their daughters to bed. Leveret could’ve been told to babysit of course, and Celandine and Bluebell would’ve loved that. Yul couldn’t understand why they’d formed such a strange attachment to their disgraced aunt and he was sure it wasn’t reciprocated in the least. Leveret had proved far too selfish to feel anything for them. He didn’t want her hurting their feelings and was determined to keep her away from them; she was hardly a good influence in any respect and seemed to constantly upset them with her ridiculous moods and dramatics.