Air: Merlin's Chalice (The Children of Avalon Book 1) Read Free Page A

sacred water of Avalon and willed for it to show her its third child. But this image was indistinct, the features hazy and indeterminate. Long, straight blond hair was all that she could make out, and even that was uncertain as it fluttered in a breeze against a brilliant blue sky.
    But why was this one so unclear? Did she not know who she was? Of what she was capable? Even at this age—for the girl, like the boy, must be in her early twenties. It must be that. There was no other explanation.
    With nothing else to see, Nimuë sat back and closed her eyes in exhaustion. It was not easy seeing into the waters of Avalon, and she was out of practice. One arm dropped uselessly to her side, the other resting on her rapidly rising and falling stomach.
    Could she be getting old? The thought made her chuckle. No, thank goodness, she was not old, and if she could help it, she never would be. Just as Merlin had been forever old, Nimuë was determined to stay forever young.
    But to do so, she would first have to rid the world of these three. That they had come to her individually was a good sign. That meant that they had not yet found each other. She still had time to kill them off before they discovered each other and their destiny. But she would have to act fast, of that she was certain. She was nearly too late.

Chapter Four
    I walked as fast as I could, keeping my eyes firmly on the ground in front of me. My feet kept time with the pounding of my heart. I watched my shoes appear and disappear out from under the hem of my dress as I strode up the hill toward Ellen’s house.
    The thin wooden door of the house appeared before me sooner than I anticipated and I almost walked straight into it.
    It swung open in front of me. “Oh! Scai, you scared me out of my wits.” Ellen took a step back into her house, but then stopped, clearly not moving to invite me in. There was a noticeable lack of cooking smells coming from the house. Ellen should have been well into preparing the evening’s meal by now, but the only smell was the stale air from the windows being closed for too long.
    I took a small step into the doorway but didn’t go any further as Ellen took another step backward as well. Surely Ellen didn’t think… no, I wouldn’t think about Margaret and Dafydd’s accusation. I was not a witch. I was a compassionate person, and I was here to offer my condolences.
    Holding out the basket, I said, “I’m sorry, Ellen. I was just about to knock. I brought you a basket of food. I am so sorry about Hugh. He was a good man.”
    Ellen brushed her hair, now liberally sprinkled with gray, out of her face. “Thank you so much. You are a good girl, Scai.” Her eyes swam with tears, but she blinked them away before any could fall into the deep pouches under her eyes.
    I handed her the basket with one hand and gave her arm a friendly squeeze. “I know that you’ll be all right. You’re such a strong woman, Ellen. I can’t tell you how much I admire your strength during such a difficult time.”
    Ellen now truly looked as if she was going to cry, but she held her lips firm.
    “And if you ever need any help looking after the little ones, I do hope you will call for me. You know I would be happy to help out in any way that I can,” I continued.
    “Thank you,” Ellen whispered. “Thank you, and God bless you.” The woman met my gaze for the briefest moment, before turning away to put the basket inside.
    Ellen, too, thought there was something odd about me.
    But there wasn’t! I wasn’t a witch.
    I clenched my fists and spun away from Ellen’s house. How could they think that of me? I loved helping people. I’d never hurt anyone. I’d only ever helped people. Why couldn’t they see that?
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    Without a conscious thought, my footsteps started in the direction I needed to go, but by the time I was halfway there my fear broke into tears. I lifted up my skirts and ran the rest of the way.
    Aron was hammering away at a horseshoe