Enchanted Moon (Moon Magick Book II) Read Online Free PDF Page A

back.
    Aye,
crossed she had.
    No
doubt could remain after seeing the ten—nay, more like
twenty—painted, bare-chested bodies dancing around the wide bonfire.
Broad shoulders, heavy bellies, swollen painted breasts. Stacked wood in the
shape of a man, branches for arms and antlers upon its head, stood in the
center. Flames climbed up its limbs. Light danced in its hollow mouth and eyes.
Shrill chanting rang in the air. Barbarians!
    Even
from half a furlong away, the heat of the bonfire tickled her face. Her body
cried out to be closer. Even her mind hatched hopes, conjuring reasonable ways
to get to the warmth. Perhaps this was a tribe, a moon rite. Perhaps she was
safe. Nay. She wasn’t. She couldn’t.
    She
had to go back. She must cross back somehow. Colm could not lose her. All they
had left was each other.
    The
bare chests and bellies writhed in beat with the music, and if not for the
warning in her gut, Ailyn might be seduced into dancing herself. The low beat
whispered into her body and her heart skipped to match it. What had she trod
onto?
    She
had to go back. Colm would know what to do. Mayhap she would find Maera at the
water’s edge, calling her name, frantic and eager to return, too.
    “Have
ye the sacrifice?” a deep bellow called out.
    The
gatherers hollered in answer. Ailyn retreated another step, yet her eyes
riveted to the scene. Two men carried over a trough laden with something dark
and lumpy, their masks ominous in the dancing shadows. One, broad-nosed, wide
horns on either side. The other, an oversized horse head. The light caught the
contents of the trough.
    Severed
animal parts. Blood.
    Ailyn
choked back a gag and clutched at her stomach. Run ! Every part of her cried for escape. Yet her legs fixed to the
ground as surely as if vines had reached up and tangled around her calves. Run . She couldn’t. Her gaze clung to the
silhouette upon the trough. The bumps and curves. So small, broken-looking. Every
whispered childhood tale came crashing forth. They will steal you just to boil your bones. They’ll feed on your flesh
and cackle with glee over having killed a faerie.
    They’ve no magick left.
They want ours.
    The
chanting rose.
    What
would Maera do, were she here after all? She would be soaked through, wearing
her layered gown, possibly hurt. She’d head straight to the fire. Maera would
seek help. Maera clearly could not assuage the danger that fire might
represent. If she could, she’d never have gambled with the veil. Ailyn had to
find her.
    Ailyn
scanned the gathering and the trees for signs of her princess. The men lifted
the trough high. The flames rose to the sky where the full moon hung low. Ailyn
stumbled backward, coming up against a tree. A gnarly branch snuck around her
waist. Another around her face, choking off her full-lung scream. The branch
squeezed, cutting off her air supply. The tree dragged her back.
    “Shh,”
a voice said against her neck. “They’ll hear you.”
    Nay!
Not a tree. Worse. A man.
    Her
scream died. Flashes of an all too similar scene sprang forth. The memory
receded. Here and now took hold instead. The man’s hand mashed her lips to her
teeth, blocked her nostrils. She fought to breathe, shaking her head. Her arms
were braced, too, immovable. She couldn’t even stab her dagger backwards enough
to damage him.
    “Sshhhh,”
he demanded again near her ear. “I’ll not hurt ye. Be still.”
    His
voice vibrated through her. Her chest quickly recalled the panic from the
water. She needed air. Ailyn shook her head, opened her mouth, and tried to
bite him. He loosened his grip. She inhaled deeply.
    “Better?”
    So
grateful for the air, she nodded, relaxing the tiniest bit. Enough to placate
him. He was holding her, but had not tried to kill her. Nor rape her. Yet.
    “I’ll
release you if you’ll promise to be silent.”
    Release
her? What was his game? I like it when
you resist . The memory snuck back through. Run, Ailyn! She shook off the echoing