Gabe ran his hand through his hair. “It’s not enough.”
They were in the library at Ytene. Gabe, Isobel, Alexander, Geoffrey, all arrayed around the room. They had a meeting at the Council Keep that afternoon, and Gabe was still trying to figure out what he was going to say. What he could say, because he certainly didn’t want to give voice to his increasing certainty that some sacrifice was going to be asked of him. He couldn’t feel the shape of it, but he could feel the cool shadow reaching out towards him or flowing towards him, or something of the kind. The elderly man at the ritual he had been investigating, the one who had died of hypothermia, then Livia, and things came in threes or sevens, and the last one bit hardest.
“Lay it out one more time. Please.” Geoffrey leaned forward, casually snagging a stool with one properly shod toe, and pulled it closer.
Gabe shrugged and gestured at Isobel. “You start.”
She cleared her throat. “We’ve made overtures to all the Albion pieces of the puzzle, so far, and it has been, if not glowingly successful, certainly sufficient. There is, however, a general feeling that Lammastide is the proper time for a combined rite, to anchor into the land magics, rather than the full moon.”
Geoffrey, who was fully anchored in that particular cycle himself, nodded. “It’s easier. On two fronts. First, we’re used to doing a ritual then, most of Albion, of some kind. May Day, Summer Solstice, Lammastide, Winter Solstice. Sometimes other times, but it varies more. But we all agree on the need for a harvest.”
“That’s the problem, though. What exactly are we harvesting?” Gabe felt his shoulder twitch. The other men didn’t comment on it, but he knew they noticed. Of course they noticed. Gabe was not gifted with subtlety at the best of times, and he’d been struggling with it more and more in the last weeks. Even Rathna coming home hadn’t settled him. Oh, it was better, certainly, but better and settled were two entirely different things.
“So you have agreement from the Ministry, from the Lords and Ladies - that one, you sorted after Solstice, I know.” Alexander kept moving forward. They’d all had to come together for the Council rites, and Gabe had been able to be exhaustingly persuasive over and over again. He’d approached Lord Thanet privately, of course. No point in making more of an enemy by adding a bit of public shame to the mix. Papa and Uncle Magni had taught him better tactics than that by the time he was eight.
“Yes. And support from the Guilds, and of course the Penelopes agree, at this point, that what we propose is sensible.” That one got a grin from him. “Mind, it took three days of arguing about it, but that’s quite short for us, really. More about how than whether, in any case.”
“And where the Penelopes go - and your father and Kate - so too the Guard. The Courts?” Geoffrey asked, and Gabe realised Alexander must not have had a chance to fill him in in the last few days, or at least not about this.
“The Courts were easier to persuade than most anyone else, interestingly. Not that they explained why, though there is a reasonable amount of precedent to draw on. Both since the Pact and before, a few long sieges and such. And the goals are to preserve the oaths of justice in Albion, and in the lands of Britain, so.” Gabe had found that a surprisingly simple argument. They’d wanted to make sure he’d seen to all the details, or that someone had, which had been a mite tedious but entirely achievable. Witt had set up most of that, and she knew just what they’d need. Gabe sighed and reached for his coffee, nodding for Isobel to go on.
“And today is sorting out the practical details of the Council. Seeing as how this began as your project. Do you see any particular problems there, sir?” Isobel put it directly to Alexander. She hadn’t yet learned that he rarely answered questions like that.
Alexander shrugged, the sort of movement that made Gabe immediately take notice. It was just a titch too casual, like a cloak hiding the shape of the hands beneath it. “We’re making our way. Losing Livia left a hole in more ways than we’d realised, and Garin’s, well.” He paused, now visibly choosing his words carefully. “Not sure what to make of himself, and arguing out of habit.”
Gabe winced. “Will he be there today?”
“Not in the afternoon. There’s your incentive to be done and get out of the place before half-six and our usual meeting time.” Alexander lifted a hand. “His first meeting back, and there is some business we need to tend to that involves him. The Challenge for Livia’s seat.”
“When?” Gabe asked it idly, more than anything, though it would be good to know how much of their attention would be focused there and when.
“That’s part of the discussion, but likely October, maybe November. Some of it depends on what the timing looks like, some on particular candidates.” Alexander flicked his fingers. “Livia’s seat has often been held by a potent duellist, and I suspect we’ll have several want to make a go of it.”
Geoffrey snorted. “And it would be preferred if you were not the only one on the Council with that skill. I still wonder if that’s how the reputation developed, that you need at least one.”
Alexander snorted. “Not having that debate now, nekheny, we have other matters to tend to.” He went on without missing a beat. “There’s a fair number of theories around the timing, but the lunar cycles are good, the equinoxes, if we can.”
“And then too near Solstice, you all have other obligations than - whatever the results are.”
“Also, Cyrus would prefer to have someone seated before the Solstice rites. Not impossible, we’ve had gaps of, oh, I think the longest was six years, before? But not something we’d choose if we have an option.”
“Not before October, Alexander?” Geoffrey asked it almost idly, but Gabe was suddenly suspicious of the reason. Not that Alexander was giving any hint, just taking a sip from his own coffee.
“We want to put forward as compelling a selection as we can. For one thing, the chance we’ll need to fill another seat, sooner than later, that’s always a consideration. Especially if the air raids pick up and someone’s in the right place at the wrong time, lending a hand. And that means giving people time to make decisions and prepare. But with a hope some of them might again, next time we need to.”
Gabe flinched. “Rather.” They were all expecting more of the bombing, it was looming quite literally over them. The New Forest proper was sheltered by trees, the middle of Kent was likely safe from direct attack, at least an intentional one. But London and Dover - well. Any fool with a map could draw the correct and worrying conclusions.
“All right. What’s going on the other side of things?” Alexander waved them on. Gabe was sure it was to keep them from lingering on more delicate questions.
Isobel cleared her throat and picked up. “The most recent letter from the Society of Inner Light’s a reasonable example of the thing, sir. Let’s see.” She rummaged in her notes, and quoted, “If we as a nation make ourselves a channel of cosmic law through realisation of the spiritual nature of the struggle we are waging, we become the channel for the manifestation of the power of God, and the stars in their courses will literally fight for us, as they did in the weather conditions attending the evacuation of the B.E.F. from Dunkirk, when the storm and the calm fell exactly as needed and even the military authorities talked of a miracle.”
“Does the letter propose a means for creating miracles? Though, to be fair, it was.” Geoffrey’s voice had gone sharply dry, the kind of change in tone that made Gabe blink at him.
“She goes on to talk about ‘subversive telepathy’ being used to influence the souls of nations. And we’ve had some evidence of that.” Isobel peered at the paper. “She goes on to talk about the need for courage and loyalty. And for the sure protection being, let’s see, ‘spiritual principles, clearly realised ideals, and dedication to them, even unto death.’”
Gabe had expected to feel that shuddering ache, what children called someone walking over your grave, at that. He knew it was coming. He’d read through Isobel’s notes. And it wasn’t, even hearing her say it out loud. Curious. He’d have to prod at that more. Later. Now he steepled his fingers. “We need a connection to a group that might have some cohesion and ideally a bit of power behind them. Courage.”
“Rufus has a lead. Not just to the folk he’s been talking to, someone else. As I mentioned before, well, all of it.” Geoffrey uncrossed his legs and then crossed them the other way. “He thought he could set up a meeting this week, if you’re willing. How are things going with the people in Kent?”
“The half dozen groups we’ve met with have been willing enough. We’re not asking them to change their practices. It’s hard to tell, though, what effect the ring has. They’re willing to hear us out, is more or less my guess. I’ve not analysed it. I have more sense in this case.”
Alexander’s laugh came out as a bark. “Possibly the only time you haven’t broken something down to first principles, and it’s on your finger.”
“Don’t remind me.” Gabe let out a huff of a breath. “But no. Because I agreed to take it on. They’ll hear us out, they’ll maybe talk a little about what they have in mind. Lammas is as good as we’re going to get for a date, I think, though a couple of groups have been doing full moons.”
Isobel chimed in with a “My family’s been talking to people up in Yorkshire. They’ve put us on to a few people. And we think we can get a fair bit of a ‘Do an extra prayer, why not’ in a number of places.”
That had been her idea. She had a better feel for how things went in the non-magical villages, it turned out. A gentler touch with it. That was the way to put it. She could suggest something and ten minutes later they’d think it was entirely their idea, where Gabe had to be a lot more heavy-handed to get the same result.
“So what’s your goal here, then?” Alexander brought them back on topic.
Gabe shrugged one shoulder. “They seem a bit more effective about it than the others. Join in with them if we can, and use that to direct and anchor what we have. We’ve given people tokens to link the rituals, Mason ran up a whole set in the workshop. Paint on stones, using minerals for the pigments that will link, sealing the pigment properly. All designs with the symbols we need embedded. They came out rather well, really.”
“That’s something. So you can connect all of that.” Geoffrey considered. “Your ritual skills are up to it?”
“I’m not as good as either of you, but not that many are. I’ve more experience working collaboratively in that kind of thing, I suspect, I’ve done it for the Penelopes often enough when we need to. Renewals on our own warding, all that.” He waved a hand. “And I know that’s different, but it’s not as if you’ve got a better candidate.”
“You and Isobel, both?” Geoffrey leaned forward now.
“If we can. Me, if we can’t, but that may be the harder sell. Youth and beauty turn out to be motivating factors for invitations. I can’t pull out my more usual incentives of who I am and who I know.” Gabe gave up on sitting then, and rolled up onto his feet, to circle the library.
There was a silence while they contemplated. “Can you show us the ritual form? In the workroom here?” That was Alexander, though Gabe noticed he didn’t ask Geoffrey for permission or consent or whatever it was that might apply here. Just assumed or had already arranged the workroom would be available.
“With you both? I can work through the model. We have a couple of spare stones.”
“Let’s, then. I could use a nice bit of ritual theory to soothe me before we go up to the Keep. And I’d like to see your style.” Alexander’s voice had that too-casual note again. Gabe was getting better at hearing it. Or better at fancying he was hearing it. Quite possibly both.
“Sure.” He stretched, hearing several of his joints pop. “Probably do me some good. I have a couple of the stones with me, we’ll need some sort of flame, I need my potion set, Isobel, and, hmm. A bit of earth from outside, the usual small pot will do.”
“I’ll see to the earth, then. You go along and set up, Alexander.” Geoffrey stood, without looking back to see if Alexander agreed, as if they were entirely used to dividing this sort of task that way.
At least it would be a chance to spend a bit of time in Ytene’s workroom, not a place he usually saw on his visits. And the opportunity to talk through the ritual in detail with both of them wasn’t to be sneezed at. They really did know their work as well as Gabe knew his, and he would cheerfully acknowledge that truth as needed.