The Pool of Two Moons (66 page)

Isabeau stared at the page, then said softly, "No, do ye no' see? Look at the drawing. It is a sketch o'

Martha MacCuinn's plan for the maze—see?"

Iseult looked carefully, but all she could see were circles, triangles and squares set in harmonious patterns on the page. Isabeau's finger traced out a square at one end. "See, this is the parterre garden. We are sitting on this bench, and that long oblong is the hedge. But look! From where we sit the hedge is solid, but in the drawing the path runs straight ahead, lined with hedges on either side. Come on!" She jumped to her feet, closing the book before Iseult could warn her not to, and walked down the flagstones. Her twin followed closely, her dagger drawn, with Lachlan by her side. Together they came to the hedge. Iseult and Lachlan stopped before their faces were scratched but Isabeau kept on walking and the hedge disappeared as if it had never been. Instead it formed into an arch over their heads. They were standing at one end of a long path, lined on either side with ancient cypress trees and enclosed with tall hedges. At the far end of the path was a tall, thin gate, made of wrought iron. Beyond the gate they could see more hedges, with the dome just visible above.

"Are we in the maze?" Iseult said. "That was easy."

"Too easy," Isabeau agreed. "But let us go on."

They walked down the path, cool in the shadows of the cypress trees, and came to the gate. It was locked with a chain. Isabeau carefully examined it and smiled. "Look, we need to fit the Key into the lock to open it." She showed Iseult the shape of the circle and hexagram set into a padlock about the size of their hand. The Key fitted easily into the depression, and the chain fell open at a single turn.

"That was easy too," Iseult said.

"At the risk o' repeating myself, I have to say too easy again," Isabeau replied, and let Iseult push ahead through the gate. They closed it behind them but could not lock it again. This troubled them all, with the maze now open to the garden and the Ensorcellor still at large.

Directly ahead was a hedge, with the path now running south to north so they had to choose between turning left and right. Isabeau recalled the shape of the maze and said, rather hesitantly, "Left."

"Ye should no' have closed the Book," Iseult said. "It had the design o' the maze in it and now we'll never find the page again."

"We had to close the Book," Isabeau said. "It will only ever give ye an answer once. I memorized the layout o' the maze from the tower, and then checked it against the design when I had the page open. They were the same."

Iseult looked at her in grudging admiration. "Ye can do that?"

"Did Meghan no' teach ye visualization and memory skills?"

Iseult laughed. "She tried to."

After wandering the maze for close on an hour, they were all tired, hot and bad-tempered. The dome mocked them, swinging so close they thought they were almost there, then swinging away again. By now it was just a black curve against the sunset sky, and it was dark between the hedges, so that Isabeau had to summon a light.

Lachlan would not believe that Isabeau knew the way, and he kept insisting on exploring different paths. They were all jumpy, and at last they sat in the shade of the hedge and Iseult made tea for them all, heating it with her finger. That made Isabeau give a weary smile, for that had always been her trick.

"I canna understand it," Isabeau said. "I swear I memorized the path. We should have been there by now."

"Ask
The Book of Shadows"
Iseult suggested.

Isabeau reluctantly agreed, and they got out the massive tome again. The wind rustled the hedge near them so they looked around warily, but they could sense nothing near them but mice and hedgehogs. Out in the night a hawk shrieked, and they heard the death squeal of a dormouse. Isabeau looked up, startled and worried, and waited long moments before turning back to the Book.

The clue to using
The Book of Shadows
was not to ask it or order it or even beg it for its secret knowledge. Instead, one just had to trust to its wisdom and open it, knowing the answer would be revealed. Isabeau had read through the pages of
The Book of Shadows
since she was a child, but still she had to focus her thoughts and let go of her doubts to make it work. She did so now, but when the pages fell open on the reverse spell— a page she had read a hundred times—she swore and slapped it with her hand and said, "I do no' understand what is wrong with it!" Iseult looked gratified, and Lachlan said impatiently, "By the Centaur, Isabeau, Meghan said ye knew how to use this thing."

She cast him a seething look and bent her head over the page again, the light from her finger casting strange shadows over the words. Suddenly she smiled. "O' course!" She scrambled to her feet, slammed the book shut and set off back the way they had come.

"Where are ye going?" he demanded.

"I've been a fool!" she cried. "I should have worked it out the first time I realized we had something gone astray. The maze works backward. Instead of trying to reach the dome, we should be trying to go away from it!"

By the time they reached the end of the maze it was , dark. They stepped with relief from the claustrophobic closeness of the hedges and saw a great, stone temple, ringed by wide steps leading up to arched cloisters. They climbed the steps and found themselves by a wide pool, edged with stone and open to the sky. All round the pool were thick pillars made of a stone so ancient the many symbols carved all over them were worn almost to obscurity.

Both Iseult and Lachlan immediately saw the resemblance to the pool on Tulachna Celeste, except that the great menhirs were here topped with decorated arches, and at one end was a raised platform with great bronze doors into the domed observatory. All the stone was beautifully fretted and carved, and stone faces looked down at them from the curve of each arch.

The water was very low in the pool, and murky green-brown. At one end of the pool was a stone channel where water once ran. At the other end was carved the crest of the witches' tower—two crescent moons and a star.

They wandered around the pool, exclaiming over its beauty and wondering where Meghan would have hidden the Lodestar. She had given them no clue, but now they were sure the answer would be somewhere in
The Book of Shadows.
Then Isabeau gave a startled cry. She was staring up at one of the arches. Perched on its apex was a white bhanais bird with a magnificent white sparkling tail. It looked as if it was studded with diamonds, but as the bird spread his tail for their admiration they could see it was silver iridescent feathers that caused it to sparkle so.
Who is it that disturbs the rest of the Keeper?

They all jumped.
I
am Lachlan Owein MacCuinn,
Lachlan answered politely, bowing to the bird.
And these two, alike as if one is a reflection in the pool?

My wife, Iseult NicFaghan, and her sister, Isabeau NicFaghan.

It has been a long time since we have had a MacCuinn visit the stargazer. Indeed, it has been a
long time since anyone has visited.

The Pool o' Two Moons has been locked away and only now have we managed to unlock it again.
I am pleased. It has been lonely here for my wife and I. We have had nothing to eat except worms
and bugs since the last MacCuinn was here
—
gone are the days when we supped on cake and
wine.

He spread his wings and drifted down slowly, his magnificent tail shimmering.
Ye wish to see the
observatory, I suppose?

Lachlan looked at the other two and Isabeau shrugged and nodded. The Keeper promenaded before them, his tail spread so .they could admire its curled and plumed feathers. The doors opened as he approached them, and he led them into the interior of the observatory. They examined the instruments and charts with great interest, Lachlan becoming so absorbed Isabeau had to remind him why they were here. She could not help a certain tartness to her tone, for Lachlan had been consistently rude and quick-tempered with her since their meeting last night.

Reluctantly he put down the chart and followed them back outside. Gladrielle had risen, looking blue and delicate, and Magnysson was close behind her, swollen and red on the horizon.

"Ask
The Book of Shadows
where the Lodestar is hidden," he ordered. Isabeau bridled at his tone but nonetheless lay down on the ground, setting the ancient book before her. She gathered her will, emptied her mind and thought of what she needed to know. Then she opened the book.

Although it was windless in the shelter of the hedges, a breeze sprang up and riffled the pages of the book. Isabeau tried to save her place with her finger but the pages fluttered over and she could not see where the book had first opened.

"That's what always happened to me!" Iseult said with a certain satisfaction.

"That is what happens if ye go to the Book without a clear question, or if there are many pages in the book that the subject is mentioned," Isabeau said, despair on her face. "Ye must always make your question as defined as possible."

"So what did ye do wrong?" Lachlan's voice was angry.

"I did nothing wrong!" Isabeau glanced down at the book and saw it had at last settled on a page. She read what it said, and a little smile sprung up.

"What does it say?" Lachlan said and snatched the book away so he could read. She let him, sitting up on her heels. She watched his expression fall, and he said, "Ea damn it, this is useless! It's just a faery story!"

"Eideann and the Nightingale," Isabeau said. "It was always one o' my favorites." He slammed the book shut and got to his claws in a rage. "This is useless! Why did Meghan no' just tell us where she hid it?"

"She did," Isabeau replied and clambered to her feet, the Book cradled in her arms. Refusing to say another word, she went back up the steps to where the white bhanais bird was perched.
Keeper, may I ask ye a question?
she asked.

He gave her a hoarse chortle.
Ye may ask three, my dear. Not counting that one.
Were ye here when the last MacCuinn came through the maze?

No, but my father's father was then Keeper of the Pool of Two Moons. I was told all I needed to
know before my father died.

Do ye know if the last MacCuinn was a little old woman with black eyes and a white streak
through her hair?

Indeed she was, my dear.

She carried something and hid it. Can ye tell us where it was hidden?

I may only tell the one that carries the MacCuinn crest.

Lachlan started and came forward to show the Keeper the brooch he wore to pin his plaid together.
The orb she carried was hidden at the pool,
the bird said promptly.
Behind the crest of two moons.
Almost before his harsh cries had died away, Isabeau, Iseult and Lachlan were running up the stairs. They hung over the pool, pushing and pounding the crest, trying to make it open. Then Isabeau's fingers pressed the star, and immediately the stone carving swung forward and they saw a dark space behind. With a cry, Lachlan reached in his hand and pulled out the Lodestar.

It was a dull white stone, about the size of an apple, only perfectly round. Mist drifted within its glass walls. Lachlan cupped it in his hands and a frail silvery light sprung up in its heart. For a moment they could hear a trace of music, like sleigh bells. Then the light flickered away.

"It is dead!" Lachlan cried in horror. "Look at it! We are too late, it is dead."

"We have to bathe it in the pool," Iseult reminded him. "Meghan said it would fade as its birthday approached. It should be washed in the pool at the time o' the two moons crossing. Then it will be renewed."

They all looked at the sky, where the two moons were so close. Gladrielle had a strange murky color. They all sat to wait, Lachlan cradling the Lodestar in his hands and crooning to it. The fragile wisp of light occasionally twisted within but otherwise there was no response.

Lachlan rose to get the far-seeing glass from the observatory, and they took turns to stare at the sky through it, amazed at what they could see. Planets with rings of fire, drifts of violet and green cloud, stars bright and dim, great stretches of impenetrable blackness. The moons grew closer and closer as they rose, Magnysson seeming to swell as Gladrielle grew frailer. Then he leant toward her, and they saw a crescent-shaped bite in her side.

"That is the shadow o' the larger moon," Lachlan said. "It looks as if they are merging, but in fact they are a long way away from each other, it is just the angle that we see it from."

"Two moons that reach out to each other, sometimes to kiss, sometimes to bite," Isabeau murmured. She felt tears prick her eyes, for the words reminded her poignantly of her first meeting with Jorge, when she had been an eager acolyte, dreaming of magic and adventure.

Slowly Magnysson ate into Gladrielle, and then they saw an even larger shadow move across his red-hued flank. "That is the shadow o' the earth," Lachlan said. "Soon the earth will be between the sun and the moons and we will have a total eclipse."

"How do ye know all this?" Iseult asked him in irritation. He smirked at her, and said, "Did ye read none o' the books Meghan gave us?"

Gladrielle was swallowed, and only a curve of Magnysson remained. A hush had fallen over the garden and all the yews rustled mysteriously. Then the last thin curve of red was blotted out and immediately all the stars sprang out, brilliant against the velvety blackness. Where the two moons had been was a round dark hole in the sky, a great whirlpool of darkness.

Gradually the larger of the moons moved aside, and light began to spill out from one side. The water in the pool began to slowly rise, bubbling up from the center. Lachlan stood and sang the winterbourne, and a sparkling fountain gushed into life. Silver light shone through the archways into the pool, and all the water was lit up mysteriously.