Shadows in the Stone by Diane Lynn McGyver

  Chapter 03

  Kissing the Air with Each Leap

  The night had almost passed before Alaura departed her teacher’s dwelling. Although she wanted to tell Catriona every detail of what had transpired during the night and about her vigil over Isla, her instincts warned her to be selective. Instead, she implied a guard had alerted her to a dramatic event at the castle. Together, they had sneaked into the alley near Keiron’s dwelling and watched the action from afar.

  Catriona had believed every word. Alaura had watched the fear wane and ebb in her teacher’s eyes as she spoke of the intruders, the dead ewe and Keiron. Over the years she had come to realise the older woman talked more than she acted. Catriona spoke of challenging deeds, creating magic to fight evil and defending the innocent, but in truth, she did little. She seldom left her dwelling.

  It was this realisation that had prompted Alaura to secretly further her studies with another magic-maiden. Twice a week for the past four years, she had left the protection of the town walls and travelled to a cottage at Moon Meadow where Beathas of Ailsa, a hauflin in her mid-90s, shared her wisdom. Beathas had many sources of magic, including stones. Catriona believed stones made great paper weights and decorations but nothing more. Alaura believed otherwise.

  Although far from completing her training, Alaura felt a sense of power—both driving and calming—she had never experienced with Catriona’s tutoring.

  These thoughts played in her mind as she crossed the deserted street and followed the lane to her home. She slipped inside the small living space, locked the door and tossed her hood on a chair. Her meagre possessions scarcely dented the space of the one-room dwelling. They were the basic items needed to survive: clothing, dishes, a bunk with bedding, a rucksack and a small number of supplies to work incantations and to fashion the clothing she sold at the market. Her philosophy remained simple: the less kept, the faster travelled. Belongings weighed down the body and mind.

  With sleep beckoning, she snuggled into her pillow and fell into a deep slumber.