And it is because of you, Eilan, she thought, sending her awareness winging towards the dark bulk of the Forest House beyond the trees. Can you hear how sweetly your daughters are singing now?
Unbidden, her own arms were opening; the girls that circled the altar seemed to move in a haze of light.
“Thou queen-maiden of guidance, , Thou queen-maiden of good fortune,
Thou queen-maiden, my beloved new moon of the seasons!”
Once more the bells shivered sweetly and the singing faded to silence; but it was a charged silence now, pregnant with power. Caillean reached out and felt the shock of completion as the other two grasped her hands; a second shift told her that the maidens had joined hands in a circle around them.
“Know, O my sisters, that the moon power is the Power of women, the light that shines in the darkness, the tides that rule the inner planes. The maiden moon governs all growth and all beginnings, and so it is that we draw on her power for those purposes for which our help has been requested. Sisters, are you willing to lend your energy to the work that we do now?”
There was a murmur of assent from the circle, and Caillean planted her feet more firmly in the cool grass.
“We call upon the Goddess, the Lady of Life, whose garment is the starry heavens; She is the virgin bride, the mother of all living, the wisdom beyond the circles of the world. She is all goddesses, and all the goddesses are one Goddess; in all Her phases, in all our faces, as She shines in the heavens, She shines within us all!” It was as if she sought to breathe against the wind. “Goddess, hear us -” she called.
“Goddess, be near us -” the others echoed her.
“Goddess hear us now!” The tension was almost unbearable; she could feel it thrilling through the hands braced against her own.
“For the healing of Bethoc, mother of Ambigatos, we raise this power!”
She heard Dieda intone the first note of the healing chord and a quarter of the circle joining her, the sound low and thrilling as a harp string, but deeper, sweeter, louder, continuing on and on. Then came the second note; now half the circle was singing; and the third, as the chord built and was completed on a high note above which Dieda’s voice rose in a clear descant like a lark winging into the sky. It was a principle used by the harpers of Eriu in their magic, but it had been Eilan’s idea to apply it to singing, and Dieda who worked out the technique of it and taught the girls. It was like being inside a harp to stand in the midst of that singing. And gradually, as their voices blended, Caillean began to touch the spirits of the others as well.
I am soaring with wings of light. Caillean could not tell whose thought that had been, nor did it matter, for at this moment when they were linked together she felt the same.
I see rainbows around the moon . . . in the sunlight . . .in the waterfall. . .all the world is shimmering . . .
Cool water . . .a fire’s warmth . . .softness of a duckling’s down . . .my mother’s arms . . .
In this melding of sound all the senses were confounded. Only Dieda’s mind remained distinct from the others – critical, and still unsatisfied.
Breathe now, and hold . . .Tanais is wavering. Wait, wait — Rhian should come in now with the fifth note – that’s better. Now let’s lift it, moving up the scale – stay with me, all of you — maintain the harmony!
The last irregularities disappeared. The women’s joined voices moved upward together to become the Voice of the Goddess. For a time even Dieda’s inner monologue ceased. Caillean felt some tension in the other woman relax as the chord vibrated with inhuman intensity. And though Caillean herself was self-taught, and had no words to describe the Tightness of what she heard she was singer enough to apprehend the ecstasy of a trained musician experiencing perfect harmony.