I have lived too long, he thought numbly. Rian should have been the one to say the rites for me.
He heard Ganeda draw breath behind him. “Say then, Druid, what fate the stars foretell for the maid-child born in this hour?”
The old man turned. Ganeda faced him, her eyes bright with anger and unshed tears. She has the right to ask this, he thought grimly. Ganeda had been passed over in favour of her younger sister when the previous High Priestess died. He supposed the election would fall on her now.
Then the spirit within him rose in answer to her challenge. He cleared his throat.
“Thus speak the stars—” His voice trembled only a little. “The child that was born at the Turning of Autumn, just as the night gave way to dawn, shall stand at the Turning of the Age, the gateway between two worlds. The time of the Ram has passed, and now the Fish shall rule. The moon hides her face—this maid shall hide the moon she bears upon her brow, and only in old age will she come into her true power. Behind her lies the road that leads to the darkness and its mysteries, before her shines the harsh light of day.
“Mars is in the Sign of the Lion, but war shall not overcome her, for it is ruled by the star of kingship. For this child, love shall walk with sovereignty, for Jupiter yearns towards Venus. Together, their radiance shall light the world. On this night, all of them move towards the Virgin who shall be their true queen. Many will bow before her, but her true sovereignty will be hidden. All shall praise her, yet few will know her true name. Saturnus lies now in Libra —her hardest lessons will be in maintaining a balance between the old wisdom and the new. But Mercurius is hidden. For this child I foresee many wanderings, and many misunderstandings, and yet in the end all roads lead to joy and to her true home.”
All around him the priestesses were murmuring: “He prophesies greatness—she will be Lady of the Lake like her mother before her!”
The Merlin frowned. The stars had shown him a life of magic and power, but he had read the stars for priestesses many times before, and the patterns that foretold their lives were not those he saw now. It seemed to him that this child was destined to walk a road unlike that which had been trodden by any priestess of Avalon before.
“The babe is healthy and well-formed?”
“She is perfect, my lord.” Cigfolla rose, cradling the swaddled infant close to her breast.
“Where will you find a nurse for her?” He knew that none of the women of Avalon were currently feeding a child.
“She can go to the Lake-dwellers’ village,” answered Ganeda. “There is always some woman with a newborn there. But I will send her to her father once she is weaned.”
Cigfolla clutched at her burden protectively, but the aura of power that surrounded the High Priestess was already descending upon Ganeda, and if the younger woman had objections, she did not voice them aloud.
“Are you sure that is wise?” By virtue of his office, the Merlin could question her. “Will the child not need to be trained in Avalon to prepare for her destiny?”
“What the gods have ordained they will bring to pass, whatever we do,” answered Ganeda. “But it will be long before I can look upon her face and not see my sister lying dead before me.”
The Merlin frowned, for it had always seemed to him that there was little love lost between Ganeda and Rian. But perhaps it made sense — if Ganeda felt guilt for having envied her sister, the babe would be a painful reminder.
“If the girl shows talent, when she is older, perhaps she can return,” Ganeda continued.
If he had been a younger man, the Merlin might have sought to sway her, but he had seen the hour of his own death in the stars, and he knew that he would not be here to protect the little girl if Ganeda resented her. Perhaps it was better that she should live with her father while she was small.