The Witches of Eileanan by Kate Forsyth Page B

it. Although that storm ye conjured up yesterday may well have saved all our lives, it was certainly luck rather than good management."
Isabeau gaped. Meghan smiled at her expression but nodded. "Aye, ye certainly brought that one up, lassie. Ye are the only one with enough power who'd be silly enough to do it." Isabeau still gaped. Meghan explained a little gruffly. "Yesterday was your sixteenth birthday. Ye ken what a key day that is for a witch, particularly ye who was born at the time o' the comet. Which is what I'm trying to explain to ye. The comet is brimful o' magic; to be born at the zenith o' its power is a very strong sign. That was why I ken ye could manage the Sorceress Test o' Fire, for I had always suspected fire would be your element. The thing is, your power is a sign I canna ignore. There is a battle going on here, Beau, and I suspect ye are going to be one o' our hidden weapons. Ye have to take on a charge for me." She paused and looked at her ward, but Isabeau was still gaping. "Listen, please. I want ye to take something to a friend o' mine. This is very important. Matters are coming to a head in Eileanan, and the whole future o' the country and the Coven may depend on ye seeing this charge safely through."
"A quest?" Isabeau breathed.
"Aye, a quest, if ye like. Listen to me carefully, we haven't much time and I have a lot to say. Ye must go to the Rìgh's palace—the new palace, by the sea. Ye must give this to my friend, Latifa. She will know what to do." Meghan pulled a soft black pouch out of her pocket and opened it slightly to show a magic talisman nestled inside. Fitting easily inside Isabeau's hand, it was shaped like a tilted triangle, each of the three sides about half an inch wide and inscribed with magical symbols.
"Where do I have to go? I do no' even ken where the palace is!"
"You'll find it. First ye must get out o' the highlands, and believe me that's enough to worry about at this stage," Meghan said. "The land is wild, Beau, and this time I will no' be there to watch over ye. Ye must be careful. Remember the news Seychella brought—some o' the magical creatures are growing restless and hatred o' humans runs high ever syne the Fairy Decree. Then the forests themselves can be dangerous; there are rivers and waterfalls and cliffs, wolves, snow lions and woolly bears too, Isabeau. Do no' rely on talking your way out o' problems either. Woolly bears are no' the brightest o' creatures and will no' wait for ye to say hello."
"I've lived in the forests all my life," Isabeau said indignantly. "I ken about wolves and woolly bears."
"Aye, but ye do no' understand. I've lived here for many years. The creatures o' these hills ken me, and ye are under my protection. When ye leave ye leave my protection."
Isabeau was a little sobered, both by the unknown before her and by the knowledge the valley was magically protected and she had never known. Those scary nights stumbling home after playing truant, imagining snow lions lurking behind bushes, saber-leopards behind rocks, the shadows of dragons passing over the moons! She need not have worried.
"More dangerous, though, are the people ye will meet," Meghan continued, leaning forward. Her eyes were black and piercing in her wrinkled face. "Isabeau, ye must learn to listen, no' speak; to watch, no' seek the center o' attention. Ye have received the moonstone and the dragoneye. Hide them with the talisman in this black pouch, do no' wear them. They will reveal ye as a witch to those who ken and, Isabeau, ye do no' want to be discovered. Maya's servants are strong, ye could no' fight them. Ye are only a fledgling witch, ye ken nothing! Do no' let your arrogant youth mislead ye. The ways o' the One Power are very strange and very difficult. Do no' force your learning and do no' overestimate it. Hide yourself in mediocrity."
"But—"
"Ye are no' close to being ready to wear your sorceress ring, Isabeau," Meghan said gently. "Ye understand the magic