*
Winged blade.
Everywhere. Nowhere.
Now here.
“Now slowly, gently, return to the Circle, carrying the vision of Light within. Return to your body… meld with it once more… Allow yourself to feel your chest, rising and falling as you breathe… your feet on the green earth.”
Warm, in Jaw-Dark’s hand, the crystal seed pulsed with life. “In the monstrous tyranny of process,” he said, “‘what is’ is next to ‘what was’, and ‘what is no longer’, while ‘what never was’ but ‘what could have been’ and, perhaps even, ‘what should have been’ is that much stronger…
“What seems complete,” said Kraas in the way of some sort of response, “may only be divisive, and ‘the half of it’ might in fact be whole.”
“Good,” said Weston. “Does anyone have anything else to add?”
“Ben’s out,” said Sams.
“Yes, I got that impression, too,” said Weston.
“I have one for Mark,” said Prufrock.
Jaw-Dark placed the crystal seed, still pulsing with life, flat to his heart centre.
“Long before the Pueblo Indians of Central Mexico learned to cultivate maize, they grew green kidney beans as a staple,” said Prufrock. ““Three beans magical,” said the witch doctor in the marketplace, circumspectly discarding those with a flawed casing. By sleight of hand he made many beans fall from those three.”
“It is going to rain heavily,” said Jaw-Dark, matter-of-factly.
“Looking at that black mass of cloud gathering over the horizon, I’d say you were right,” said Kraas.
“If it’s the storm from last night we wouldn’t want to be caught in an exposed location,” said Prufrock.
“There was a storm last night?” said Kraas.
“Not where we were,” said Prufrock.
“An exposed location just like the one we’re in you mean,” said Sams.
“Precisely,” said Prufrock.
“Won’t the circle protect us?” said Weston.
“Not necessarily,” said Prufrock.
“Do you have any suggestions?” said Sams
“There’s a circle of five stones lower down which may assist us,” said Prufrock. “We still have time, if you’d like to finish up here.”
“If we would all like to follow Mark’s example,” said Weston, “and hold our seed stones close to our heart centres… Now, close your eyes and place into the seed stones your loving intent for growth and completion and a link to attune with them at will. And then open your eyes, turn and plant the seed stone close to the standing stone with which you have been working… After you have done this, leave your blessing on the stones and walk to meet me in the centre of the circle.”
So, the circle of people met within the circle of stone, and in the double circle the ceremony was completed.
“It’s this way,” said Prufrock, his eyes turning skyward, before heading off out of the circle and down the hill…
*
Lands of Exile:
KITH ‘N’ KIN
Stuart France & Sue Vincent
The Beeley Stone, ‘liberated’ from the churchyard at Bakewell, stands proudly in the centre of its village green once more. While the locals enjoy the fruits of its restoration, Ben, who had led the daring raid against authority, still languishes in jail.
Don and Wen, arrested and released without explanation in Ireland, now plot an erratic course through the wild places of Wales, while Jaw-Dark and Kraas, seeking the legendary stone of Fergus Mac Roy, have been separated in the most uncanny of circumstances…
As the darkness closes around them, the Black Shade haunts the moors above Beeley and, in the shadowy rooms of the old tower, an ancient and even stranger story begins to unfold…
Other Books in this series by France & Vincent
Available via Amazon UK, Amazon.com and worldwide,
for Kindle and in full colour illustrated paperback
Triad of Albion
The Initiate ~ Heart of Albion ~ Giants Dance
Don and Wen thought it was just a day out in an ancient landscape wrought in earth and stone, walking the sacred ways of the Old Ones. They could not know what mysteries would unfold as the birds led them deep into the legendary history of Albion.
As the veils thin and waver, time shifts and the present is peopled with shadowy figures from the past, weaving their tales through a quest for understanding and opening wide the doors of perception for those who seek to see beyond the surface of reality…
Doomsday
The Ætheling Thing ~ Dark Sage ~ Scions of Albion
What exactly were the Norse gods doing on a supposedly Christian artefact that looked more like a standing stone than a cross?
Don is drawn to investigate, questioning the history of the Blessed Isles of Albion, while Wen determines to restore the position of one particular stone.
Which would have been alright if Ben hadn’t gone back for the gun…
Lands of Exile
But ‘n’ Ben ~ Beck ‘n’ Call ~ Kith ‘n’ Kin
While Ben, fast becoming a folk hero, languishes in Bakewell Gaol, Don and Wen are on holiday… or ‘on the run’ if Bark Jaw-Dark and PC 963 Kraas, hot in pursuit, are to be believed.
From England to Scotland and Ireland, the officers of the Law follow the trail of the erratic couple.
But who is the shadowy figure, hovering beyond sight?
What is his interest in a small standing stone and just how many high-level strings can he pull… and why?
France & Vincent 
well done
LikeLiked by 1 person
An interesting read.
LikeLiked by 1 person