“Be beautiful, blessed Lady, please be beautiful for us now!” There were tears in Gilla’s voice and in her eyes.
“Daughter, in this place I am only a reflection, as you are only a dream. Your words have no power over Me here! If I am to bless you I must be invoked in the world of men!”
The sky seemed to be darkening, and the only thing Lalo could see was the goddess, who glowed like a demon-lantem at the Feast of the Dead.
“We tried,” wailed Gilla, “but the cards had no power!”
“The cards never had power; they only focused yours. Make the Great Marriage in
Sanctuary as has been promised Me! Then I will show you my fair Face again!”
Wind and darkness howled around them. Flaming leaves whirled away and seeded the barren night with stars. Suddenly the goddess was gone, and the oak grove, and even the solid ground on which they had been standing. Buffeted and blown, Lalo lost all sense of who he was and whence he had come, and as awareness left him, the last thing he knew was the firm grip of Gilla’s hand
Gilla fell down a long tunnel of darkness into her body again. An eternity later, she tried to move. She was stiff, and so heavy, when she had been moving as lightly as… She groaned and opened her eyes.
“Thank the gods!” said Illyra. In the flickering light of the lamps she looked worn and hollow-eyed.
“I thought you didn’t believe in them,” muttered Gilla. She was still holding onto Lalo’s hand. Carefully she opened her fingers, and set it on his lap with the other. He was still unconscious, but his breathing had quickened. In a moment, she thought, he will waken, and what then? |