“Really?” he asked softly. “But I still don’t know where to go or what I should do. How can I turn against him? How can I walk away from a vow of lifelong loyalty?”

“I cannot tell you that,” said Nessa. She was aware of the door opening behind her, and Rona coming in. No doubt the old woman was looking at her unbound hair, and her hands clasped around Eyvind’s; the two of them sat quite close. Nessa did not snatch her hands away. “But tonight I will seek answers,” she told him. “So much hangs in the balance here, it seems impossible that we may influence it, Eyvi. A terrible task, a task demanding so much courage, so much strength. I don’t rightly know how it can be done. But we must do it.”

“We?”

She looked into his eyes and nodded. Then she withdrew her hands and got up.

“Is everything ready?” she asked the old woman.

“You did the right thing,” commented Rona. “Gave him your forgiveness. You can move on now, and so can the big fellow. Yes, I’ve set it out. Pity I can’t do the whole of it for you, but the old bones are too stiff for a Calling now; it takes a lot out of you. Ready?”

“Yes,” said Nessa. “I’m ready.”

It was cold and dry. It was dark, a place enclosed in stillness. The lamps Rona had lit conjured looming shadows on the walls. By the steps leading up, the seven small skulls regarded Nessa unwinking from their stone shelf. By them was set a helm, a fine, glittering object with a spike on top, a curtain of delicate metal rings, and a masklike eyepiece. The Hidden Tribe have a fondness for shiny things. That made eight faces looking on as Nessa settled cross-legged on the earthen floor.

The nightlong vigil of a Calling was too much for an old woman, so Rona had stayed in relative comfort in the topmost chamber, with the dogs. She would remain awake; a watch was essential for the seer’s safety. Eyvind had been instructed to stay in the cottage, as far away as possible. Many rules had been broken by his presence in the women’s place. He must not come near this most secret of observances. Nessa had never done it before, not on her own, and it was vital that everything be right, or she might wait the whole night and still find no answers.