Page 196 of Circle of Days

“Weapons still in good condition?”

“The bows might need new strings, that’s all.”

Ani said: “I saw the farmers doing target practice. We should do the same.”

“I’ll gather together the fittest young men and women, as I did last time, and train them.”

Ani really did not want Scagga in charge. He would be impulsive and reckless. But she had taken discreet soundingsbefore the meeting and, of the few people who knew what was going on, most thought Scagga should lead. He had the right attitude. Ani would have to find ways to restrain him.

Ani said: “Pia has been shut away until Midsummer Day, which must mean the attack will come then. We will have crowds of visitors for the Rite that day. How shall we manage our defense?”

Scagga said: “I’d like to see our people striding around with their weapons, looking so fierce that no one would dare touch them.”

That was obviously a terrible idea, and Keff stamped on it right away. “That doesn’t give us what we need, Scagga. We don’t want to wait until they’ve reached us before we fight them. We’ll be able to see them from some distance away, across the plain, and we should meet them long before they get to the Monument.”

Jara agreed, surprising Ani by going against her brother. “We should have lookouts north, south, and west, and they should be briefed to light a big, smoky fire as soon as they see the enemy. Scagga, you should be watching for those fires and ready to lead our force into battle.”

Scagga liked that idea.

Ani said: “I think it’s important to keep our weapons out of sight of the visitors. They could be stashed in the priestesses’ dining hall. We can’t be sure the farmer army will come—something may go wrong, Troon could change his mind. And don’t forget that the Monument may not be the target. Pia seemed to think the farmers would attack the volunteers on the mission. Let’s not scare our visitors before it becomes absolutely necessary.”

Scagga disagreed, of course. “We should show people that we’restrong and ready to fight, and that anyone who attacks us is in for a beating.”

“I agree with Ani,” Keff said firmly. “We should be strong and ready to fight, but we shouldn’t boast about it, because that will frighten people away—as well as offending the gods, who feel that they alone have the right to decide who wins and who loses. Between now and midsummer, tell no one that we’re expecting an attack.”

Jara said: “People will see the archery practice. It’s too difficult to hide.”

Ani said: “We could say we’ve heard that farmers are planning to steal cattle in the far west of the plain, and just in case the rumors are true we’re preparing to go and get them back by force.”

“Good idea,” said Keff.

Jara said: “It’s not many days now until midsummer. I suggest that every day I report to Keff and Ani on how the preparations are progressing. That way, Scagga, you’ll be able to concentrate on what you’re doing without the distraction of a meeting.”

And the elders could monitor the preparations without having rancorous conversations with Scagga, Ani thought. Clever Jara.

“Very good idea,” Scagga said.

The day before midsummer, Seft and his team came back from Stony Valley. All preparations had been made. The sleds were finished, the ropes stacked, the track ready.

There was food at the stopping places, and people to cook and serve.

When he arrived, Joia told him about the threat from the farmers. He was shocked and alarmed. This changed everything. If war broke out on Midsummer Day, no one would be dragging stones from Stony Valley to the Monument. The whole project was in danger.

He reckoned the farmer community must amount to about four hundred people. Leaving out children and old people, they could probably muster an army of two hundred. That many could do a lot of damage.

The danger had been kept secret. Even Joia could not count the number of people who had arrived in the days leading up to midsummer. The visitors’ houses were crammed. Many slept in the open air as the weather was fine. There was a good chance Joia would have the volunteers she needed. But they would not volunteer for a war.

Seft went home and took a nap before supper, tired by the long walk and happy to be in his own home. He fell into a light doze and dreamed he was fighting Troon. He knocked Troon to the ground and was about to kill him when he noticed that Troon had the face of Seft’s father, Cog. Terrified, Seft hesitated.

Then he woke up.

Joia was hoping that Dee and her year-old sheep would arrive early. She had been missing Dee for a whole year, and now the time had arrived when they would be reunited. But by midday on the eve of the Rite she had not come.

Joia told herself this was not surprising. A separation of a yearcould be fatal to a romance. Dee might have met someone else. Or her memory of Joia might have faded.

Even if it was like that for Dee, it could never be that way for Joia. Dee might have other loves in her future; Joia never would. For her it was Dee or no one. Her feelings had not changed at all in the past year. She felt now the way she had when Dee had tenderly kissed her goodbye. She might spend her life remembering that kiss, and never kiss anyone else.

The sun set. Joia was due in the dining hall for supper. Tonight, on the eve of the most important day in the priestesses’ year, she could not possibly be absent. She made her way there in the gloom of twilight.