The Ciphers of Muirwood (Covenant of Muirwood #2)(59)

“I do love him . . . so much that it hurts. After tonight, everything will change. When you open the Apse Veil . . . oh, Maia, all will change! I think of the mastons waiting across the ocean. They have been waiting for so long. Will we speak the same language? Will they feel like . . . lost cousins?” She smiled broadly, head cocked.

Maia’s stomach twisted even more. “That is assuming that I can open it.”

“It begins with a thought,” Suzenne reminded her sternly. “This is no time for doubt. You must do it, Maia.” She squeezed her arm. “I believe you can. I believe the Medium prepared you for this moment.”

“Well, so long as I can lift such heavy expectations,” Maia said with a smirk. “I do feel . . . uneasy. I suppose that would be the case under normal circumstances, but tonight is oppressive with . . . I do not know the right word. Even the air feels different.”

“I do not feel it any differently,” Suzenne said. “Does it feel more solemn for you?”

Maia shook her head. “Brooding is the word I was thinking of. I have read in the tomes that the Medium gets like this at times. Especially before something significant happens. I can see my grandmother feels it as well. So does the Aldermaston.”

There was a tap on the door, and the Aldermaston’s steward, Tomas, entered. He wore long cream-colored robes and a matching cloak. He was so tall that they would have recognized him even with his gray hairs covered. He looked very much like an Aldermaston, except for the dimples in his cheeks, which lent him an altogether jolly air.

“Are you both ready?” he asked, flashing the dimples with a pleasant smile. Suzenne and Maia nodded and both rose from the bench.

“Cover your faces,” he instructed gently, gesturing toward the veils and hoods they had been given. They did so and followed him down the hall illuminated by a lantern he held in his strong hand. Because of the late hour, the corridors were abandoned. Their slippered feet padded softly to the doors.

The night sky glittered with stars, interrupted only by a fringe of clouds on the western horizon. The grass was soft and damp as they trod the short distance from the manor house to the abbey. As Maia gazed up at it, her stomach flipped as if she were staring off a cliff. The scaffolding had all been dismantled, and the polished stone seemed to glitter in the starlight. It was massive, impressive, and the sight of it filled Maia’s heart with deep reverence. She could sense the Medium rejoicing in its freedom from the timber cocoon. As they approached the huge pewter door inset into the side of the abbey, Maia saw another person, also veiled and waiting in the shadows. The figure detached from the darkness, and by the walk and grace, she recognized it as Sabine, who had also covered her hair and was wearing a veil.

The nervous feeling inside Maia only increased. The abbey rose like a mountain, giving her the same sense of wonder she had experienced looking at the various mountain ranges she had trekked through in Dahomey and Mon. Memories of Cruix Abbey, which she had unwittingly destroyed, flashed in her mind, making her cringe with anguish and regret. Taking a deep breath, she tried to master her feelings, though worry hung heavy in her stomach. She could not bear it if anything harmed Muirwood. She loved the abbey and the grounds, having found a peace in the few months she had lived here unlike any she had felt throughout her life.

Sabine approached her and took her hands, squeezing them. “Are you ready?” Maia could hear the emotion in her voice.

“I am,” Maia replied, desperately trying to feel it was true.

Sabine touched Suzenne’s arm, stroking it affectionately, and then turned toward the abbey. They all started to walk toward the pewter doors. All except Maia. Her feet were rooted in place, her legs seized with trepidation.

After several steps, the others noticed she had not followed.

“What is it?” Sabine asked, looking back at her.

Maia’s heart hammered in her chest. Sick fear had leeched into her blood. Her legs would not move. Her tongue felt swollen in her mouth. She willed herself to close the distance. Her body would not obey.

Sabine walked up to her and took her hand. “There are Leerings set into the doorway. You must silence them to pass,” she whispered.

Maia nodded, trying to wrestle her terrors into submission. The very air was suddenly oppressive. The abbey glowered down at her, and she felt so insignificant and small in comparison. She bowed her head and reached out to the Leerings in her mind. Let me pass, she pleaded.

There was a voice in her mind, a whisper that cut through stone and bone.

You are forbidden.

Trembling, Maia felt herself faltering, her vision blackening slightly. Dizziness washed over her. The feeling nearly drove her to her knees.

“Go on ahead,” Sabine told Tomas, motioning for him to take Suzenne. Her friend stared back at her in surprise and concern, her brow wrinkling, but the steward took her arm and they both walked effortlessly up to the pewter door and opened it. A shaft of light momentarily blinded Maia and then it was gone and they were inside.

Maia panted with panic, gazing up at the looming spire. Every crenellation, every slant had been meticulously carved. The stones thrummed with power. She could sense it, overpowering and awful in its majestic omniscience.

“I cannot enter,” Maia said huskily, clutching her grandmother’s arm.

“Was it the Leering?” Sabine said with concern in her voice.

“No, it is more than just a Leering,” Maia said bleakly. “I heard the Medium’s whisper forbidding me. I am not worthy yet.”