Naamah's Blessing

woman of the Maghuin Dhonn, a cloak of starlight seeming to cling to her. Even as I stared, she came toward us, her bare feet gliding over the silvered grass, her face unfamiliar and amused.
    “Do you not know me, daughter of Fainche?” she asked; and if her face was strange to me, there was somewhat in her voice I knew.
    “Lady Nemed,” Bao said in a low tone beside me.
    She laughed. “Death can’t fool this one, can it?” Her eyes shone in the starlight, dark and clear. “It’s good to get a look at you, lad.”
    I swallowed. “You’re…?”
    “I’m here, aren’t I?” The mirth left Nemed’s face, leaving it solemn. “The task falls to you now, Moirin mac Fainche. You’ve passed the final test. And now that I’ve passed through the stone doorway, you’ll be its keeper.”
    I gazed at her in disbelief. “Me? But my lady, I can’t! I don’t know… gods have mercy, anything!”
    “Hush.” Nemed laid a hand on my cheek, and her touch was as soothing as my mother’s. “You’ll have teachers a-plenty, child. I’ve seen to it. But it was to you that my gift passed, and it is to you that the role falls.”
    “I
can’t
,” I repeated, feeling foolish. “My lady, I’ve obligations in Terre d’Ange, and an oath to keep!”
    Nemed clicked her tongue. “Do you think the Great Bear Herself does not know this? She chose you.”
    “But…”
    Her gaze deepened. “You bridge two worlds, Moirin mac Fainche, even as your husband has bridged the worlds between life and death. It is not a bad thing at all to let the mortal world know that it has need of the Maghuin Dhonn, nor to remind the folk of the Maghuin Dhonn that our time has not yet passed. You will find a way to honor your oath while making the rite your own. It need not be held every season.” Nemed smiled a little. “A place in the hollow hills has been prepared for you, but you are not bound to it every waking moment, Fainche’s daughter.”
    There was a suspicious glint in Bao’s eyes. “A place?”
    Nemed laughed again. “It is more than a mere cave, Yingtai’s son. I do not think you will be displeased.”
    His eyes widened. “How do you know my mother’s name?”
    She patted his cheek without answering the question. “It is well that fate has appointed Moirin such a strong protector. But I fear you cannot linger here. A long life and joy to both of you.”
    “But—” I said again.
    Old Nemed, no longer old, but young and lovely, made a shooing gesture at us. “Go on with you! The world is waiting.”
    We went.
    We went with slow, uncertain steps. The stone doorway loomed above us, its shadow black on the starlit grass. I glanced back to see Nemed watching us, starlight sparkling all around her. With an expression of profound amusement and deep affection, she shook her head at me and pointed at the stone doorway.
    Without a word, Bao reached out his hand to me. I took it, and we passed through the stone doorway as we had entered it, hand in hand.
    In the space of a single heartbeat, starlight gave way to the bright, ordinary light of day. The sky was a bright, cheerful blue overhead, and the grass beneath our feet was green. There were birds singing and a faint scent of wood-smoke on the breeze.
    I let out a breath I hadn’t known I was holding.
    “It seems our long journey has come to an end, Moirin,” Bao murmured. “Truly and at last.”
    I squeezed his hand. “Aye.”
    When we reached the cavern, there was no need to explain. They knew. The mood was one of subdued sorrow and muted joy. Old Nemed’s body lay swaddled in blankets, a makeshift litter waiting to transport her.
    I stooped to touch it, then rose, tears in my eyes. “Mother…”
    My mother wrapped her arms around me and pressed her lips close to my ear, sighing with relief, her warm breath stirring my hair. “Moirin mine. Ah, child! Don’t grieve for her. She knew her time was nigh. This was the ending she hoped would come to pass.”
    “Did you?” I asked.
    She kissed my brow. “I dared hope only for your safe return.”
    “I’m scared,” I admitted. “And I don’t know what I’m meant to do.”
    She smiled. “I know.”
    “You will learn in time.” It was the young woman Camlan who spoke, clearing her throat in an apologetic manner. “It need not comeall at once. We are here to help, all of us. Nemed did her best to prepare us for this day, and we will do our best to teach you.” She paused. “The last thing she said before she