The Rings of Poseidon by Mike Crowson Page A

indeed. Perhaps better say that I meant him to go to
his sacrifice knowing the best a woman had to offer. It seems he
had similarly made up his mind that I should enjoy my time with
him. I undressed and stood before him. He parted my legs and
worshipped at the shrine of the Goddess. When he took me it was
such sweet pleasure that I almost forgot his enjoyment and delight,
but I put that right times over before he drank the sleeping
draught that night. I was sorry to see him sacrificed, a willing
victim for the people.
    Nerfin ruled that we would wait a week before
we undertook any further actions of any sort. In the event we did
not have to wait as long as that before the moon changed, the
weather broke and the wind dropped. Naturally she received (and
took) the credit and we set off back amidst rejoicing.
    I was older and wiser this time, and was the
first to realise that I was with child again. I had mixed feelings.
I had grown used to having lost Gaïn and living alone in the
temple. I rather regarded the new life within me as a distraction I
could do without. On the other hand I quite enjoyed being the
centre of attention again. Of course I would do as the Goddess
willed.
    I found that Gaïn's conception, birth, life
and death were regarded in some awe, consequently so was the new
life, especially as it too had been conceived in the direct service
of the Goddess. I too was looked on with some respect. Nerfin had
caught some kind of a fever as a result of her journey in adverse
weather and in spite of the better summer conditions, was still
unwell.
    Again my confinement was in the depths of
winter. As I knew what to expect I was more afraid of feeling pain
this time but again I had an easy time of bearing a small but
sturdy daughter. These rooms in the new temple were much less
draughty than the old ones and, with the fire banked up and plenty
of rushes to lie on, I made myself comfortable with my daughter. At
the same time Nerfin, who had not really recovered her old self,
was very ill.
    Spring came, the weather warmed, Beltane was
celebrated with enthusiasm, my daughter flourished and Nerfin
died.
    The priestesses assembled to elect a new high
priestess. There were just four older women left in the temple and
they counselled against choosing one of them on account of their
age, which made much sense. There was then something of a gap. Too
many had gone to villages and settled there while the remaining
women in the temple were about my age or a little older. I was only
in my seventeenth summer, though my word carried more weight than
most and I seemed older. At my suggestion the priestesses were
summoned from the villages and word was duly sent. We waited a full
month to give them time enough to come before we met to decide.
    Those who were trained in the way of the
Goddess gathered and we waited the promised month for the further
ones. When we finally met in council there were more than sixty of
us. I explained the dilemma that beset us. I'm not sure why I spoke
instead of one of the others. I was less awed than the others by
the size of the gathering, of course, but I don't see why that
should have been so. There were others my senior who did not wish
to speak to such a crowd. There was some talk but no decision. Many
of those from the villages had settled down and did not wish to
move now: some even had relationships they did not desire to break
up.
    Gradually it became clear that the gathering
as a whole looked to me for leadership. I was too young to be the
high priestess. That office demanded wisdom and intelligence, which
I was not sure I possessed in sufficient degree, a certain
eloquence which I had to admit I did possess and experience, which
I was certain I did not. It would seem the gathering thought
otherwise. The other women were impressed by the life and death of
my daughter Gaïn, the events at the coast, my second daughter, Faya
and my persuasive tongue.
    So it was that I came to be elected high
priestess