A Caress Of Twilight

Chapter 36

It was Conchenn in all her glory who waited in my bedroom for her magic kiss. Gordon Reed seemed even more like a grey skeleton beside her glowing presence. The pain in his face as he gazed upon her was horrible to see. Even through the pulsing glow of the magic we held inside us, Gordon's pain was visible. I could not heal his illness, but I hoped to ease his pain.

"You smell of wilderness," Conchenn said. "The heart of the earth beats through you, Meredith. I can see it like a green glow behind my eyelids." She began to cry crystal tears, as if her tears should have been able to be held and set in silver and gold. "Your green man smells of sky and wind and sunlight. He glows yellow inside my head." She sat on the edge of the bed as if her legs couldn't hold her anymore. "Earth and sky you bring us, mother and father you bring us, goddess and god you bring us."

I wanted to say, don't thank us yet; we haven't given you a child yet. But I didn't say it, because I could feel the magic inside my body, could feel it in Galen as he held my hand. It was the raw power of life itself, the age-old dance of earth planted with seed bringing forth fruit. It could not be truly stopped, this cycle, because if it stopped, life itself would stop.

Maeve moved to sit beside Gordon and held one of his thin hands in both her shining ones. Galen and I stood in front of them. I moved to kneel by Gordon, as Galen moved closer to Maeve. We kissed them at the same time, our lips touching theirs like the last movement to some perfect dance. The power jumped from us to them in a rush that raised the hairs on our bodies and filled the room with that close hush like a lightning bolt ready to strike. The room was suddenly so full of magic that it was hard to breathe.

Galen and I moved back, and now I could see behind my own eyes that they both glowed, filled with earth fire and the gold of the sun. Maeve was already moving to kiss her husband's thin lips when we left them to it, closing the door quietly behind us. We felt the moment of release like a wind that poured from under the door and touched us all.

Doyle spoke into the sudden silence of us all. "You have succeeded, Meredith."

"You don't know that for certain," I said.

He looked at me, just looked at me as if what I'd said had been ridiculous.

"Doyle is right," Frost said. "Such power will not fail."

"If I have such fertility power, then why aren't I pregnant yet?"

There was a second silence, not awestruck this time, but awkward. "I do not know," Doyle said at last.

"We have to try harder, that's all," Rhys said.

Galen nodded solemnly. "More sex, we must have more sex."

I frowned at both of them, but couldn't keep it up. Finally I laughed. "We have more sex and I won't be able to walk."

"We'll carry you everywhere," Rhys said.

"Yes," Frost said.

I looked at all of them slowly. I was pretty sure they were kidding, pretty sure.