Defiance (The Priestess Trilogy) Read Online Free Page A

manner . An older woman with glisten ing silver hair wearing deep purple sat upon a slab of rock, putting forth the rhythmic beat, while the circle of women would occasionally clap their hands together. She played the bodhrán with deft movement as she beat the double-headed tipper against the goat skin that had been stretched across the wooden drum frame .
    Standing at the edge of the woods, shrouded in the shadows of a deep green cloak, was a young woman looking into the clearing . She let the steady rhythmic beat fill her body, luring her away from the world surrounding her.
    Taking a deep breath, she began to walk towards the circle, her pace matching the steady beat. The circle parted and she stepped to the center. Pushing down the hood, she let the cloak fall to her feet. Her long, red-gold hair tumb led unbound in gentle waves to her waist. She stood with her eyes closed, her fair skin pale in comparison to her dark, sleeveless shift. A blue spiraling design curled by her right eye, marked on her skin with paste from the woad plant . Directly beneath the left side of the young woman’s collarbone were three interlocking arcs intertwined with a circle; a triquerta, the mark representing the threef old law .
    A woman stepped up and , with gentle and deft fingers, began to weave small white flowers into the younger woman’s long hair. Two othe r women took on the task of wafting the woman with smoking bunches of chamomile and meadowsweet.
    A thick, milky fog began to roll into the clearing , slowly creeping its way towards the circle of women. It swirled and glistened in the moonlight. Reaching up, the fog licked at the skin of the young woman, cold and tingling. She could feel power surrounding he r as she stood still , eyes c losed. Her face remained calm, the feel of power like a gentle wind, caressing her cheeks and hair.
    “This day has been long awaited.” A nother woman took a step forward, the moonlight making her mahogany hair glisten. A smile cros sed her lips as she looked the younger woman over. “You have done well,” she said. “You have trained hard with the utmost dedication and determination. You have prevailed over every trial set before you.” She gestured to a n old woman grinding a paste in an earthen bowl. “Come with open arms and be given the honor of a High Priestess.”
    The elderly woman stepped forward and began to trace designs with the paste on the skin of the young woman’s left arm , painting her.
    “As ye harm none, do as thou will,” the woman said, reciting a well-practiced rede. “Do nothing that would harm another, nor thyself, lest it come back to you threefold or cost you your own life. Do nothing to try and altar one’s own free will.”
    The young woman gave a slight nod, careful not to move too much while her arm was being painted. “Aye,” she replied.
    “No matter what, you shall be forever known for who you are.” The older woman smiled. She stepped up to the young woman and, taking her hands within her own, pulled her attention. “ D o you vow to obey Dana, our great mother? To uphold the threefold law and honor the rede?”
    The young woman with the red-gold hair opened pale, silver-blue eyes to look at the woman. A gentle smile touched her delicate lips. “Aye,” she replied. “With open arms and open heart.”
    The woman gave a small nod. “Then we welcome you into the service of the Great Mother, High Priestess to Tara, Shiovra daughter of Tríonna of the Túath.” She stepped back and rejoined the circle.
    Shiovra stood alone as the women tightened their circle and began to dance around her to the rapid beat of the bodhrán. She listened to their singsong chanting and the soft sound of their feet upon the ground. Looking up at the moon, Shiovra threw her hands into the air as the women gave one loud, resounding clap of their hands.
     
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    The sky became black with heavy clouds. The tranquil night fled swiftly, only to be