Naamah's Blessing

moment, it seemed as though the entire world stood still. No breeze stirred the pine-needles. The surface of the lake went as smooth as a mirror. Even the stars overhead seemed to pause in their ordered dance.
    A low rumble shook the glade, making the ground tremble beneath us, a rumble rising to a growl, rising and rising to a deep, deafeningroar that rattled my teeth and bones within me, a roar that rattled the very heavens. I clapped my hands over my mouth as if to take back my words, then clapped them over my ears to block out the deafening sound.
    A massive shape rounded the lake and blotted out the stars, coming toward us, a mountain on the move. Beside me, Bao leapt to his feet, his staff in his hands. He shot me a single wild glance filled with rueful affection.
    She came.
    The Maghuin Dhonn Herself came, unhurried and roaring. More than a mortal bear, aye; but a bear, nonetheless. Her muzzle was parted, dagger-sharp white teeth glinting in the starlight.
    Helpless and awed, I lowered my hands.
    Bao lowered his staff.
    Pace by terrible pace, She came toward us, brown fur silvered by moonlight, dwindling from a scale that was unthinkable to one that was merely terrifying. And stone and sea, She was so beautiful, I knew I would gladly die at a single swipe of Her immense paw. Still roaring, the Maghuin Dhonn Herself loomed over us, rising up on Her hind legs, the bulk of Her filling the sky.
    “I’m so sorry,” I whispered. “Forgive me.”
    The roaring ceased.
    My ears rang in the silence that followed. The Maghuin Dhonn Herself dropped to all fours with a thud that shook the earth. With a barking huff that sounded for all the world like amusement, She lowered Her majestic head toward us.
    And I understood all at once that I was forgiven, that I had always been forgiven, that I was Her child, and loved.
    “Ohhh…!” Bao whispered.
    I felt Her breath warm on my face, saw Her dark, luminous eyes filled with wisdom and compassion, love and forgiveness, amusement and apology, and a thousand, thousand things. I saw in their depths Blessed Elua crowned with vines, and Blessed Elua with his hand extended, dripping blood onto the earth. I saw the bright lady Naamah lie down with kings and peasants alike, her face bright and holy. I saw the good steward Anael walking the fields, touching the crops and singing. One by one, I saw all of the Companions.
    I saw Yeshua ben Yosef stooping to write a word in the dust, and that word was
love
. I saw Yeshua suffering and dying on the cross, and his eyes were the eyes of the Maghuin Dhonn Herself.
    I saw Sakyamuni meditating beneath a tree, lifting his head, enlightenment illuminating his face.
    I saw the dragon rising from White Jade Mountain in all his glory and splendor, summoning the rain and lightning as he coiled through the sky.
    I saw the elephant-headed god Ganesha laughing, his trunk upraised in joy. I saw dark-skinned Kali dancing, terrible and beautiful, her tongue outthrust, a necklace of skulls adorning her neck.
    I saw Xochiquetzal trailing a cloud of birds and butterflies in her wake, and I saw the flower-garlanded ancestors of the Quechua rising with dignity.
    I saw a glimpse, a fleeting glimpse, of the beyond that lay
beyond
.
    All one.
    All part of a whole.
    And then I blinked, and it was gone. Here on the far side of the stone doorway, there was only the starlit glade, me, Bao, and the Great Bear Herself. She gave another soft, whuffling cough, Her breath stirring our hair. I laid my hands on Her coarse, wiry fur, running my fingers through it, feeling Her warm, living presence.
    I wanted to thank Her, but there were no words.
    She knew anyway.
    Turning away, She left us, Her slow tread shaking the earth as She dwindled into the distance and vanished.

EIGHTY-EIGHT

    D id you…?” I asked, unable to frame the question.
    Bao drew a long shuddering breath. “Aye,” he said simply. “I saw.”
    “Well,” I said in a display of profound inadequacy, still at a loss for words. “Well, then.”
    He glanced around, wonder and regret in his face. “We can’t stay here, can we, Moirin? Not yet anyway.”
    I shook my head. “No.”
    “It’s enough to know.” Bao squared his shoulders, his expression turning to one of resolve. “More than enough for anyone’s lifetime. Shall we go?”
    I nodded. “Aye.”
    We turned as one toward the stone doorway, both of us pausing in surprise at the sight of a figure standing silhouetted in it. It was a young