The Horse Goddess (Celtic World of Morgan Llywelyn) Read Free Page B

silently, stubbornly, inside herself. Not me. It will be different for me; I have my own plans.
    It WILL be different for me. I will make it so!
    Nematona brought her a thick fur robe and folded it around her body. Pale-haired Uiska, of the colorless eyes and snowy skin, pinned the robe closed with Rigantona’s brooch, a massive bronze circle incised with a curvilinear design that drew the eye along the endless turnings of existence. It was a favorite pattern of the people, the representation of life flowing into life.
    Redheaded Tena stroked the fur robe. “This was made from the hide of a pregnant she-bear,” she told Epona. “Very strong magic. It has been saved for a long time for the daughter of Rigantona.”
    The robe was heavy and had a rank smell. When Epona wrinkled her nose, Tena chuckled. “Awful, isn’t it? I suspect it needs airing, Epona. When the Hellene traders come after snowmelt, get some kinnamon from them and rub into the fur. Until then, you really don’t have to wear it; it’s just a symbol of your new status.”
    “By now everyone in the village knows my new status,” Epona replied. “But I will wear it, in spite of the smell. It isn’t as bad as the odor of the squatting pit or the dye cauldrons, and as you say, fresh air will help.” She could imagine the way her sisters’ eyes would shine when she came home wearing that splendid fur, and the fun they would have dressing up in it. Even Rigantona had nothing better.
    Nematona opened the door of the lodge and Epona was astonished to see pearlescent dawn above the mountains. Had the night passed so quickly?
    Of course—one must never forget the power of the spirits.
    Mindful of the responsibilities of her profession, one of the gutuiters took Epona by the shoulders and faced her toward the rising sun. It was time for the final phase of her initiation into womanhood.
    Uiska began it, in the solemn teaching voice all druii employed when giving instruction. “The sacrifice has been offered and accepted; the portents are good. You will be a fertile woman. The gateway of life has been opened within you, so you can enjoy bedsports and lifemaking with a man without fear of pain, and your children will begin with pleasure and enter thisworld smiling.
    “But another gateway has been opened as well. You are now an adult member of the people, which means the spirit within you has been awakened. From now on you must always have an ear turned inward to listen for its voice, the voice that speaks without words. When it commands, you must always obey. That is wisdom.
    “We do not encourage a child to listen to its spirit, because the spirit of a child, newly housed in flesh after living in the otherworlds, is playful and giddy, like one who drinks too much wine for the first time. It lacks good judgment. We do not call to awaken that spirit until both it and the body have had time to mature. For you that season is at hand, and now your spirit is fully awake. You have become a free woman of the Kelti, Epona, daughter of Rigantona. Never forget!” Her voice lashed the whip of command.
    She continued, “There are times when the spirit will warn you for no reason you can see, but always pay heed to such warnings. To be deaf to the voice of the spirit within is to be crippled, a burden to others for as long as you live. It is better to have been born with a physical deformity and been exposed on the mountainside so your spirit could seek better housing. But you are not crippled, Epona; you can hear the voice. Like sight and smell, touch and taste and hearing, it is a sense to guide you. Use it well.”
    Epona nodded. That was what had happened, then; in the moment when the shapechanger appeared to be a wolf and
she snarled back at him, the spirit within had spoken to her, telling her to show defiance.
    “But how does my spirit know these things?” she asked Nematona, who was standing to one side, watching her with a grave smile. “Where does its