visions released her, and very, very tired. There had been many demons out there, but as always, her angels had protected her. Still, she was glad to be back. There had never been quite so many of the evil things there before, and they had frightened her.
She had to blink a few times, as she gathered her memories and tried to make sense of them. “A cup,” she said, hesitantly—then her eyes fell upon the Communion chalice on the altar, and they widened as she realized just what she truly had seen. “No—not a cup, the Cup! We’re to seek the Grail! That’s what They told me!”
“The Grail?” Mother Magdalene’s eyes widened a little herself, and she crossed herself hastily. “Just before you—you dropped over, you reached out. I thought I saw—I thought I saw something faint, like a ghost of a glowing cup in your hands—”
Leonie nodded, her cheek against the rough homespun of the habit bundled under her head. “They said that to save the kingdom, we have to seek the Grail.”
“We?” Mother Magdalene said, doubtfully. “Surely you don’t mean—”
“The High King’s knights and squires, some of the clergy—and—me—” Leonie’s voice trailed off, as she realized what she was saying. “They said the knights will know already and that when you hear about it from Camelot, you’ll know I was speaking the truth. But I don’t want to go!” she wailed. “I don’t! I—”
“I’m convinced of the truth now,” the nun said. “Just by the fact that you don’t want to go. If this had been a sham, to get attention, you’d have demanded special treatment, to be cosseted and made much of, not to be sent off on your own.”
“But—” Leonie protested frantically, trying to hold off unconsciousness long enough to save herself from this exile.
“Never mind,” the Mother Superior said firmly. “We’ll wait for word from Camelot. When we hear it, then you’ll go.”
Leonie would have protested further, but Mother Magdalene laid a cool hand across her hot eyes, and sleep came up and took her.
Elfrida had never been this far from her home village before. The great forest through which she had been walking for most of the day did not look in the least familiar. In fact, it did not look like anything anyone from the village had ever described.
And why hadn’t Mag brought her here to gather healing herbs and mushrooms?
The