The Pillars Of The World

chalks into the woods and spent the day quietly making the swift drawings that would be transformed into the woven wall hangings that provided her with some income.
    But loneliness had slipped into her dreams last night, making her crave even the illusion of company. So she had rolled up the wall hanging Mistress Brigston had commissioned and the bottles of simples she had made to sell at Granny’s shop, packed her baskets into the small handcart, and made the three-mile walk to the village.
    Granny Gwynn reappeared, her hands full of small items wrapped in brown waxed paper.
    “Here you are, my pretty ladies. A little fancy for a little fun during the Summer Moon.”
    Odella and the other girls leaned over the counter while Granny Gwynn unwrapped one of the packages.
    A couple of the girls gasped, then giggled behind their hands.
    “Now tuck those safely away until they’re needed,” Granny Gwynn said after handing a package to each girl. She narrowed her eyes. “Where’s the last girl?”
    Odella waved an impatient hand. “It doesn’t matter. What do we do with the fancy? How does it work?”
    “It matters, Miss Odella,” Granny Gwynn said darkly. “Seven were asked for. Seven were made. Seven must be taken.”
    “Then I’ll take the other one, too.”
    Granny Gwynn shook her head. “There’s no way to tell what will happen if one is left or if two are taken by the same person.”
    Odella paled a little. She glanced around the shop. A predatory look came into her eyes. “Then give the last one to Ari.” She made a come-forward motion. “Come on, Ari. It’s just a bit of fun to celebrate the first moon of summer.”
    Ari studied the other girls, who were now watching her with avid interest. An inner voice whispered, Beware. Beware. They do not mean you well . The loneliness coiled around her heart, and whispered, It’s a chance to belong, even if only for a little while .
    She stepped up to the counter.
    “Hold out your left hand,” Granny Gwynn said.

    When Ari hesitated, Granny grabbed her hand and tipped the package’s contents into her palm.
    Ari hissed as a small jolt of magic shot up her left arm and stabbed her heart. A moment later, the feeling was gone. Then she looked at the fancy, and uneasiness washed through her.
    Two pieces of brown-sugar candy. One was shaped like a full-bodied woman. The other was shaped like a phallus.
    “Wrap them up now,” Granny Gwynn said, smiling slyly as she handed the brown waxed paper to Ari.
    Ari hurriedly wrapped the fancy and would have left it on the counter if Granny hadn’t watched her closely until she tucked it into her skirt pocket.
    “Now,” Granny Gwynn said, crossing her hands over her sagging belly. “The full moon rises in two days’
    time. You must go out walking that night. Choose your path well because you must offer the female half of the fancy to the first male you see that night who isn’t close kin, and say, ‘With this fancy, I offer the affection of my body from the full moon to the dark. This I swear by the Lord of the Sun and the Lady of the Moon. May they never again shine upon me if I do not fulfill this promise.’ ”
    Ari shivered. Not a bit of summer fun, then. Not if a promise had to be sworn in the name of those two.
    “If the male accepts his piece of the fancy,” Granny Gwynn continued, “then the choice has been made.
    You must eat the male half of the fancy in his presence to complete the magic, and you must give him as much affection as he wishes until the dark of the moon.” She smiled slyly again. “You’ll have no trouble doing that.”
    “What if we don’t want the first male we see?” Bonnie, a plump blonde, asked.
    Granny gave her a hard look. “The first . If he refuses, you’re free to seek another. If he accepts . . . the magic is binding, pretty miss. Defy it, deny it, refuse it at your peril. If you do not use that fancy to draw the brightness of affection, then you’ll draw the dark feelings to you.”
    The girls shuffled nervously. Even Odella looked worried.
    Ari felt sick.
    Granny patted Odella’s hand. “For the next two days, take a few quiet minutes for yourself before you retire and think of what you’d like in a lover. Don’t try to draw a specific man,” she warned, holding up a finger. “Just the qualities you want in the man who will be your lover from the full moon to the dark—
    and, perhaps, for much longer if you’re clever.”
    “But—” Odella began to