Chapter 5 A New God on the Isle of the Moon

Cybele knew that it had been wrong to read Cabirius's private journal, but she had been intrigued by the tenderness it showed in him.

He had left her in anger, convinced that she had used her wiles purely to solicit information from him. While it was true her main intention had been to gather intelligence of the Priests' own secrets, this had not been the only motivation. Her hunger for him had been real enough. To touch her, though, had been forbidden, and he knew that he would have to suffer some terrible consequence.

He had stormed from the Temple with his passion still inflamed, and literally run into one other Novices, Kelle, knocking her slate and scribe to the stone path.

She had been on her way to her classes, and asked if he were to be her instructor that day. He said no, that as far as he knew it was to be Thomias. She had declared that that was a great pity, that she was hoping that it would be Cabirius himself. As they both bent to pick up her slate, they collided again, and she giggled lightly as she sat sprawled on the ground.

'It is broken, anyway..,' she said, holding up the two halves of the slate.

He shook his head and mumbled. 'I'm sorry, I'm really sorry. I don't know what's wrong with me this morning.' He was vague and distant, and Kelle wondered if he had perhaps eaten some mushroom the evening before, although there had been no rites of which she was aware.

'I cannot go to my class with this,' she said, climbing to her feet by herself after waiting unsuccessfully for him to assist her to her feet in the hope of a touch of his hand.

'Oh.,' he said distantly. 'I suppose I have a slate you can borrow until you have another cut.'

She eagerly leapt at the chance to follow Cabirius to his quarters, particularly at this time of day when they would be abandoned by the other Priests. How her classmates would be jealous, when they were stuck with lame old Thomias and she was getting a little private tuition from their most desirable teacher.

Cabirius seemed unaware that Kelle had walked beside him to the Hall of Priests, so she followed him all the way inside. She was thrilled to think that none of the other Novices had ever been inside the sleeping quarters of the men, and here she was with Cabirius himself.

He fumbled about in a pile of books on a heavy desk, mumbling something about a book being missing. Kelle thought nothing of the slate now, just the excitement of this opportunity.

Cabirius had been approached by Novices before. Once, Jai had even gone up to him and kissed him on a dare, in front of the whole tittering class. How he had blushed! But unlike the other Priests, he had always resisted such play, as though he were sworn to celibacy or sought only the touch of another Priest. Still, it was always worth another try, thought Kelle, and she approached him from behind and slipped her hands around his waist.

To Kelle's surprise, Cabirius had not pulled away, but spun to face her and reached up to squeeze her well-formed breasts.

'Um, Kelle, isn't it?' he asked. She nodded eagerly and pulled him closer, then thrilled to feel that his manhood was already eager for her touch. 'Are you a maiden, Kelle?' he asked bluntly.

'No, I'm fourteen. I may still be a Novice, but I'm a woman in all other ways and I know how to have my pleasure with a man. Oannes..'

'Oh, no, no. I don't want to know their names, child. Only that you are not promised for any sacred purpose that I would corrupt.'

'Whatever do you mean?' she giggled. 'I know of no such thing. A girl of any gown may take her pleasure when she will, surely?' He spoke no more, but kissed her mouth hungrily. She thought that she tasted seed on his breath - that inseparable young friend of his, perhaps? But it bothered her not, and she returned his kisses with fervour.

He pulled up her gown and his own, then entered her roughly without any preparation. The urgent force of it pleasured her all the more and she threw back her head as he thrust her against the table with each stroke. She sunk her fingernails into his buttocks to pull each thrust all the deeper.

Just as they reached the peak of their passion, a Priest had walked in the door. It was impossible at that moment to stop, so they both climaxed regardless. Attis had politely spun on his heels and left as quickly as he had entered, but in that few heartbeats, it would have been clear to him what he had seen. Kelle giggled, but Cabirius seemed horrified. With his phallus now softening within her, he put his hands to his face in deep distress.

'Was it that bad for you?' Kelle asked.

'No. Its not that. By the god Priapus, its not you. I just hadn't thought we would be disturbed, that's all,' he said, although it was clearly a lie.

'It is you who are bound to celibacy?' she asked gently.

'No, its not that simple,' he said as his manhood slipped from her in a shiver. He bent to kiss her on the forehead.

'If it would make you happy, I will speak of this to no-one,' she offered.

'It is too late for that, another knows already,' he said miserably.

'Ah, then your crime is not to the gods, but more earthly. Is he your lover?' She thought of the seed on his own lips when first she had kissed him.

'Attis? No, no, no. He would never do such a thing. He is a God, and I am unworthy even to be his friend.'

'Well, that is that then. I can see that you want to forget this ever happened, but if you will not tell me why, then I shall just leave now. Have you the slate for me?' she asked brisquely.

He searched for one on the desk. She picked up a cloth to wipe the seed from between her own legs, and noticed that there was little or none. 'You've had a busy morning, then, haven't you?' she asked cynically. He did not understand her meaning, and passed her a scratched and worn old slate.

'This should be good enough for today, but you will need to have new slate cut for tomorrow. We will be doing sums and you will need a good one.'

She saw that he winced at the thought of meeting her in the classroom, but she could see no reason to make it easier for him. He had shown little enough concern for her feelings.

'Well, I guess I'll see you tomorrow then, my teacher. And I hope Thomias does not ask me why I am late for class now, as I know it is wrong to lie to a Priest,' she said harshly.

'Its all I deserve, Kelle. I know I was not tender with you and I am truly sorry,' he said.

'Not tender? That was not what pained me. I enjoyed your rough touch. What hurt was that you coupled with me while you pretended I was another. Don't deny it. I may not excel as a Novice, but I have enough of the Goddess in me to see through male deceit. Anyway, I must go now or we will have others come looking.' She started for the door, but he grabbed her arm firmly.

'Not like this, Kelle. Let us not be enemies. Look at my face and tell me if you regret the coupling.' There was a sincerity in his voice that soothed her anger. She smiled at him.

'Cabirius, I have done what all my friends wished to and never shall. Your reluctance for the flesh of girls makes it all the more of an achievement for me. You were a prize indeed, and the coupling itself was no disappointment. How could I truly be angry with you?'

He kissed her on the cheek, and she embraced him. It had far more tender feeling than the violent coupling. Then she left, and he stood alone in the room. 'What have I done?' he murmured. 'What have I done?'. He went to find his friend Attis and mend what injury he may have caused.

After some time of searching, he found Attis sitting on the cold wet grass in the Grove. Cabirius thought that he saw tears on his friend's long brown eyelashes. Attis did not look up as Cabirius stood beside him. 'Greetings, my friend,' Cabirius said softly. Still, the younger Priest did not look up, but stared out to sea. Cabirius sat beside him.

'The ground is wet.' Again, no response. 'Are you angry with me?'

Attis shook his head and spoke in the faintest whisper. 'Of course not. Why would I be angry?'

'I do not know. I did a foolish thing, I am sorry. But I did not want to hurt you, of all people.'

'But you broke your oath. A sacred oath to the Goddess. I thought you believed in your oath, and now I know you cannot be trusted.' His voice was full of pain and broke a little into a childish soprano.

'Attis, the oath I took was to avoid casual and meaningless coupling out of respect for the Goddess, not to remain forever celibate.'

'But one of your pupils, Cabirius, and in the very Hall of the Priests. You could not have got more casual than that, unless is was with a farmer in her byre. Although that girl will no doubt end up as a farmer. She hardly looked to be a Priestess in the making. Even the Goddess would blush at such wild abandon.'

'Anyone would think you were jealous,' Cabirius said in the tone of jest, but immediately regretted it as being too close to the truth.

'Of whom? You or her?' Attis said bitterly, with no hint of humour. They sat together in silence for some time until finally Cabirius tried to break the tension by changing the topic. 'Did you take a book from the table?' he asked.

'From under her very bottom? That would have been difficult.'

'No, I meant earlier. I was writing in a small book this morning and now it is gone.'

'And you think I took it?'

'No, no ! I mean, I hope you took it to protect it from the eyes of others. Even if you do not trust me any longer, Attis, I trust you beyond everything. In fact, I meant to give it to you when I finished, as it contains your secrets as much as mine.'

'You know it is doubtful that I could read it anyway. I am a dunce, had you forgotten?'

'You are no dunce, my friend. Your parents neglected your training, but you are no fool and you are learning quickly.'

'There are children still in the Hall of Eire who can read better than I, and no doubt tiny babies at breast in the Hall of Kore who can write better.'

Cabirius laughed. 'Well, I would not go that far. If they are still at breast, they wouldn't have much time to master the pen!'

'Yes, well, you would know more of breasts than I,' Attis sulked.

'No, not back to that. It is finished. Agreed?'

'I agree to no such thing, Cabirius. Tell me why you did it, when it had been no hardship for you to resist before.' Now it was Cabirius's turn to sulk.

'I was frustrated, and she took me at my weakest moment.'

'What, no service to Priapus at dawn, so you just couldn't control yourself?' Attis smirked in spite of himself.

'Very funny. Yes, make jest of me. It was far more serious than that.'

'What do you mean, then?' Attis teased him. 'Let me guess...The Chosen One herself asked you to her bed, and you said no, then in torment you had to take the first compliant woman you found to spend your passion..'

Cabirius gaped at him incredulously, which Attis took as shock at his sacreligiouness.

'I'm only joking, Cabirius. Do not take offence.'

Cabirius still looked stunned. 'How did you know?' he whispered. 'Is it around the whole island? I did not think she would speak of it! How will I show my face in the Temple again?' It was now Attis's turn to look stunned.

'Are you jesting me? It is true? The Chosen One herself?' Attis's eyes were glowing like an owl's.

'How did you know, tell me!!' Cabirius demanded, grabbing his friend's sleeve.

'I only guessed. A wild guess, a jest. I have heard nothing. Honestly. And I know that you would not touch the Chosen One, that she is promised to Ioin when she consents to make the Great Marriage.'

Cabirius groaned. 'But I did touch her. Or more truly, she touched me. I could not help it. She is so beautiful, and I wanted her so much. She called me to her bed, and I was torn between her command and that of our own teachings.'

'So she will not be a maiden at the Great Marriage as was ordained. Perhaps Ioin will not notice.' Attis said helpfully.

'It is not that bad, she's still a maiden as far as I know. Unless she did as I, and went to find the first available substitute.'

'Well, that's something. For if she is not a virgin at her Great Marriage, it may bring doubts to the minds of some that all of the other signs were misread, and that could be a disaster. She could be removed from the seat of power, even banished.'

'That would suit some, both Priest and Priestess, that is for certain. But I believe that she is truly Ceres' Chosen One, and do not want her to fail. I wish that we could warn her that she is not yet secure in her position and needs to take care.'

'But there is no Priest that would break the command to protect her maidenhead, so surely she is safe.' Attis argued.

'Are you so sure?' Cabirius asked. 'There are many Priests who would gladly see her removed, and one of them may think it worth the sacrifice of being banished himself. They think she has no love of Priapus.'

'Well, does she?' Attis asked with an impish grin.

Cabirius laughed in spite of the seriousness of the issue. 'I would think she's quite keen on him.'

Attis laughed with him. 'And would he be proud of you, our god of the phallus?'

Cabirius shook his head merrily. 'No, I was terrible. I have little control at the best of times, but to have one's Goddess suckling you like a ferocious babe at breast..... I lasted about as long as this,' he snapped his fingers.

'Did she mind?' Attis keenly enquired.

'I think not, she was as eager as I, and I could have started over again straight away. In fact I did, as you saw, with a different girl who had no precious maidenhead to protect. But I think that Cybele was very angry that I would not couple with her.'

'Cybele, is it? Not, the Chosen One, or Goddess, or even Priestess?' Attis teased playfully. Cabirius was caught in recollection, and did not notice Attis's baiting. 'It is strange, the coupling with Kelle was nothing compared with those caresses by Cybele..'

'Well, she is the Goddess on earth. I would expect something a little out of the ordinary,' Attis suggested.

'Priapus calls just thinking of her..' Cabirius mused dreamily. His friend playfully lifted up Cabirius's gown to reveal his third huge erection for the day. Cabirius angrily pulled his cassock down.

'Don't worry, I've seen it before,' Attis skited, rolling over onto his back. 'Perhaps you are progressing in your lessons as well as I in mine. If I can write my own name by the Spring, then perchance you will be able to hold an erection for more than ten heartbeats.'

'Why don't you rub it in. Just because you have the undying phallus of a Herm. Perhaps some girls would tire of it and just wish that you would hurry to spill.'

Attis shook his head. 'If they wanted me to spill, I could. Its not just how long you last, Cabirius, its a matter of control.'

'If you could control the pen so well, you would have been writing long ago!' Cabirius roared with laughter.

'You may laugh. Now you are the one who is jealous. But don't worry, you can always use a ring of silver to hold your erection longer. I've heard that Ioin does so.'

'Ioin? The Consort? Now, you must be jesting. The Consort must be as strong as Priapus himself, and able to last as long as is needed for all a night's rituals.'

'Amazing what a silver ring can do, they say,' Attis nodded knowingly.

'What do you do with it?' Cabirius asked, intrigued.

'What do you think? I wonder about you sometimes, Cabirius. You are so innocent. I'm amazed you knew what to do with that she-cat in the Hall.'

'I didn't need to. She surely knew, and I just followed along'.

'You didn't look like a follower to me. You looked perfectly adept, in all honesty. I'd have to say I was surprised, but it looked pretty good,' Attis offered.

'Did you really think so? I thought she must have been thinking me a beast.'

'I hear some like it that way.'

'I think she did. But I was unforgivably cruel to her afterward, when I saw you. I have no doubt that it is all around the Hall of Novices by now, and I suppose I deserve it.'

'But it won't be the tale of which you are afraid. The girl made a conquest with her beautiful young teacher. She will brag, not complain,' Attis assured him.

'Would you believe she thought you were my lover?' Cabirius laughed.

Attis smiled evenly at him. 'Is that so far from the truth?'

Cabirius smiled back. 'You know I love you, Attis. But those who turn to other men for pleasure lose their taste for women, and that would be a tragedy.'

'Why such a tragedy, Cabirius? Would I not be enough for you? Neither of us will ever be the Consort, so what could it matter? You know that many of the other Priests prefer each other's company to that of women. There are even others who seek my favour, though I give it not. You are my only companion. We could be so happy together.' The younger Priest looked up at Cabirius with a pained longing.

'Attis, we are happy together. And much as your phallus is Priapus's own, I hunger after the soft flesh of the female. I was not sure until today, but now I am. Believe me, many nights I have ached to roll over and kiss you as you touched yourself. Why do you think I took the oath? But now, I know that my taste is for women. One woman in particular, but as she is out of my reach, then others will have to suffice.'

Suddenly, he remembered the need to warn Cybele of the feeling against her in the Temple of Priapus, and how easy it would be for her enemies to fall her from office.

'Cybele. We must warn her. Even if no priest couples with her, what if in her anger against me she seeks the comfort of another woman?' Cabirius fretted.

'I thought you said she worshipped Priapus?' Attis jokingly asked.

'Well, then there's Herms aplenty in the Temple...'

'That's true. Well, then, we shall go to her rescue. We shall break our Priest's vows and tell her of the dangers she would face should she lose her maidenhood.' Attis jumped to his feet and offered his hand to his friend and Cabirius took it warmly, then rushed past him and through the doorway.

Cabirius started to walk up the hill toward the settlement, but Attis called him back.

'This way. There's something I need to get first.' Cabirius followed him back down the hill to the small sand beach, and then watched Attis search among the rocks above the mark of high tide.

'What do you seek?' Cabirius asked his friend.

'I've finally realised why the Goddess bid me to hide it!' Attis explained excitedly, digging deep in the sand.

'What? You make no sense. Hide what? Your boat? You know that was burned long ago so that no other could leave the Isle as your grandmother did.'

'Help me, Cabirius. Dig! Here!' Attis begged, as the wet white sand flew from his hands in clumps. Cabirius shrugged, then fell to his knees beside him and started to dig. He soon felt his fingers scratch something hard, and they worked together to free it from the sand. It was a parcel of heavy oiled sea-cloth, and Attis beamed. 'I knew we'd find it !'

'Was it from your boat?' Cabirius asked, as this thick heavy cloth was surely not of the Isle, it was made for the sea.

'Yes, it was certainly from my father's boat, and it is more precious than the gold of the High Priestesses. That is why we must give it to her.'

'Who?'

'Why, to your precious Cybele, of course. She is still dressed as an Initiate, and none have moved their hand to find her something worthy.'

'This?! A heavy cloth of the Sea? You are mad,' Cabirius snorted.

'No, that was just to protect it. Look...' Attis stood and unrolled the parcel, and a splash of beautiful bright red cloth flowed out, almost liquid in the light sea breeze.

Cabirius gaped.'What is it?' he asked, touching it very gently.

'It will not tear. See?' he said, pulling the cloth. 'It is made from the web of a spider, or a moth, or somesuch. I am not too sure. My father was a Christian, and made a long journey to their holy land when my mother was dying.' Attis's tone dropped. 'He asked his God to cure her, and he brought back this cloth to make her the finest gown in all the land. But she refused, and told him she would not have it in her house, that his God meant nothing to her. So he used it for a sail on his boat, for it is the lightest and strongest cloth in the world and can catch a breeze that even the gulls cannot feel. And then when she gave me the brooch and told me of her misery trapped far from her beloved Isle of the Moon, I knew that the red sail would take me there. Red is the colour of the Goddess, not my father's stupid helpless God.'

'But why is it here?'

'When I landed on this beach, I was very tired and I could barely take breath, but the Goddess herself came to me and gave me the strength to pull the boat from the water. She told me to hide the sail as one day I would give it to my mother's mother.'

'Your mother's mother? Who is that? Not Cybele, she is no older than yourself. It makes no sense.'

'But it is Cybele, for she is the Chosen One as was my mother's mother.'

Cabirius looked at him cautiously. 'Your mother's mother was the Chosen One? How so?'

'I have heard the older Priests speak of it when they knew not I could hear. They said that my mother was born on the Isle to the Chosen One, and the Priestesses wanted to sacrifice her to the Goddess.'

Cabirius looked shocked. 'But real blood has not been spilt to the Goddess in a hundred Summers ! What need of such barbarism when we have wine and woad and mulberry? Even the blood of animals has not been splashed on the altar for ten generations.'

'But the Priestesses were fearful that the God of the Christians would come to wipe out the Goddess and her Consort on our Isle, as he has on the mainland. They wanted to return to the oldest customs of the Goddess to drive the new God from our shores.'

'So they tried to take the firstborn of the Chosen One to die on the altar?'

'Yes. but the Chosen One would have none of it, and stole away with the newborn babe. The Priestesses laid a curse on her, swearing that she would never set foot on the Goddess's soil and live. The rest you know, although all had long thought that both mother and babe had perished, and so were not expecting my arrival on this beach those four years ago.'

'So you are indeed descended from the Goddess.' Cabirius smiled. 'I knew it.'

Attis looked at him with his dark liquid eyes. 'I know that you will not have me, Cabirius, but would you give me just one small favour?'

Cabirius's heart ached in his chest as a single tear formed on the young Priest's long lashes. 'Anything, my god.'

'A kiss? Just once? I will never ask again.' Attis's voice was broken and pained. Cabirius came close to him and took the parcel from his hands, dropping it to the sand. 'Are you sure it will end there, my friend?' he asked quietly.

'I have the self-control of a god, don't I?' the boy smiled.

'But I do not.' He put his arm around the other's waist and pulled him close, then kissed him tenderly on the mouth. His soft skin was like that of a girl, and he had no need yet to shave. Cabirius's own stubble grazed the younger Priest's chin as Attis pulled away. 'Save it now for Cybele,' he told his friend with a hopeless smile.

'She could never be the friend to me that you are, Attis.'

'But friendship has its limits, does it not? I am alright with it, Cabirius. I only wanted to have kissed you once, and now I can give you to her.'

'She is not mine. You know that.'

'Not the first time, no, but beyond there would be no barrier.'

'Only her own status.'

'Is she to couple only with the Consort? The rest of us are equal under the eyes of Priapus.'

'Perhaps Ioin gets her all to himself then, for certainly I do not feel worthy.'

'I will have no more talk of your worthiness, Cabirius. You torture me with such words when I love you above all else.'

'Then you have no judgement at all, Attis. I am no more than any other Priest.'

Attis bent to pick up the swath of red cloth. 'Here. Take it to her as a gift. Tell her you wish to see her in a gown of it when she makes the Great Marriage and can no longer be denied as Chosen One by the jealous Priests. Tell her that you wish to suckle her breasts and enter her holy cave. Tell her you love her as a woman, not just a goddess. Tell her all the secrets of the Priests that she wishes to know, for we have served traitors and fools long enough. Be her counsel and her lover and her servant. But above all, Cabirius, be happy. That is what I wish.'

Cabirius took the cloth, and bent forward to give his friend a farewell kiss, but Attis pulled away. 'You have had your one kiss already. I could not bear another.'

As Cabirius walked up the hill, he turned back to see Attis staring out to sea. He wondered if Attis regretted coming to the Isle of the Moon, and now the sail that had carried him here was to be given as a love-token to another by his own love. As he approached the Temple, he was filled with fear that perhaps he was too late. He had abandoned Cybele when the frost of the night still lay on the flagstones. Now, the sun shone brightly and the village was filled with people busily going about their duties. He came to the heavy wooden door of the Temple of Ceres, and thought that it seemed ajar much as he had left it. Perhaps she was still inside.

He knocked on the door, but the sound was just absorbed into the heavy timber. He spoke through the gap, 'Priestess?' and heard his voice echo around the huge empty room. There was no answer, so he entered and pulled the door closed behind him. Without thinking, he dropped the peg into the iron clasp to lock it. There was no sound from within, and he suddenly had a flashing vision, a horrific image of Cybele lying on the floor in her nook behind the altar, with her wrists slashed and her small silver sickle lying beside her.

He rushed to the place and pulled back the curtain which covered the entrance to her room. Cybele sat at her small wooden table, most definitely alive. She looked at him impassively. He was flooded with a warm relief. He smiled broadly, then remembered who she was, and dropped to his knee.

'Chosen One,' he said respectfully.

'When we are here alone, you are to call me by my name, do you not remember?'

'Cybele..,' he said, with a confidence that surprised her.

'I thought you might return..' she started, but he cut her short.

'I have a gift for you.' He stood up and bounded across the small room in one leap, then flicked the red cloth into the air by a corner. It spread out and floated through the air as slowly as a feather, covering her table and stools and half the room beside.

'The sail..,' she whispered.

'How did you know?' he asked, confused.

'I thought you came back for this.' She offered him his diary sheepishly. 'I read it.'

He stood frozen in the middle of the room and the cloth slipped off the table to the floor as though it had a life of its own. 'Attis. You must tell no-one that he remembers the mainland, or they would again try to clear his mind, and may kill him in the process.'

'Who are they?' she asked with intense seriousness.

'Those who remember his mother's mother, and how she refused what they told her was the Goddess's command.'

'So the story in your book is true?'

'Every word.'

'And he is in danger, this boy Attis?' she urged.

'There are many of us in danger, but none more than you, my leader.'

'Me, in danger? How? From those same ones?'

'Yes. They wish no Chosen One.'

'Why do you tell me this now, Cabirius, when this morning you would tell me so little?'

'I have sought counsel myself. I believe that there are flaws in my teachings, and I have spoken to one who is more able to think for himself.'

'Your friend Attis? Who was mainland born, yet still a vessel for the Goddess?'

'Yes. He convinced me that it is the Goddess who has sent you to restore her order on the Island, and that the Priests who think they serve Priapus really serve another.'

'Who?'

'The nameless God of the mainland.'

'Truly?'

'Yes. Long ago, some tried to return the Isle to barbarous customs long since dead, such as the sacrifice of a newborn babe. They said it was to counter the influence of the strong new God, but it would have turned all of the people against the Goddess. Even now, see how their God changes. If he were truly Priapus, the Consort of Ceres, then the Priests would still be subservient to you. But they are not. With each season, they have drawn further and further away from the Temple of Ceres.'

'What can I do, Cabirius?' she asked practically and without emotion.

'Do as you are. You are already showing to be a strong leader, and you have the soul of the true Goddess within you.'

'But who are these enemies? Do you know their names?'

'It is not one, but almost all. They do not realise it, most of them, but they are weak and easily lead. But I do not know which of them leads. The subterfuge is too subtle, and he works through others.'

'But it must be one of the very oldest of the Priests, surely, to remember the Priestess who ran from them so long ago.'

'She was the Chosen one, not just a Priestess,' he explained as Cybele gasped at the possible implications, 'and even the oldest Priest would have been little more than a boy then. No, it could be anyone. The poison can be passed on to others like a pox.'

'Could it be the Consort?' she asked.

'No, that would be too obvious. Ioin is strong of body, but weak of will. He is no more than a tool of another.'

'The Consort is Ioin, then..' she mused, caught it a more earthly consideration than that of the spiritual intrigue of their discussion.

Cabirius smiled at her tangent. 'I think not for much longer. He is not old, but his service to Priapus is failing and soon he will be replaced.'

'By whom?' she asked as innocently as possible.

'I have no idea. If there is no sign, then perhaps there will be a trial. I merely pray that it will not be another as weak of will as Ioin.'

'Would they accept my choice, do you think?'

'No. And I think that such a confrontation would be too much of a risk. Better to let the will of the Priests preside, then go to work on asserting the Goddess's true will on he who is chosen.'

'I would choose you,' she said simply, leaving him speechless. 'but if my choice means nothing for Consort, then I hope at least I can choose you for my own private company, if you are willing.'

Cabirius dropped to his knee again. 'I am more than willing, Chos..I mean, Cybele.'

She turned and faced him fully. 'Is it too late then to finish what we had started this morning?' she asked, blinking her straw-coloured eyelashes over her sea-grey eyes as she put both her hands on his shoulders.

'By the god Priapus, I want nothing more,' he said, breathing heavily. 'But we must not. You must be a virgin when you enter the Great Marriage.'

'But others are not,' she said sensibly.

'But others are not the Chosen One.'

'There has not been a Chosen One for so long, who would know what special rules should apply? The Priests have probably made up that rule in the hope that it shall be broken, and give them a reason to refuse me,' she said bitterly.

'No, I have read of it myself in a book more ancient than any person living.'

'There are books of such things?' she asked eagerly. 'Where?'

'I do not know. As a child of the Hall of Eire, when none thought I could read, I found one small book in the shell of the hut they are now restoring as your own. I had read it cover to cover when I was discovered by one of the Priests, old Kevan. He took it from me and said it was rubbish. I know not if he discarded it or it is now kept in some secret place by others.'

'Can you not ask this Kevan?'

'He was very old and died shortly after.'

'Oh.'

'Why can I not remember you from the Hall of Eire?' he asked. 'I am sure that I would not forget your name.'

She laughed. 'I was not thought special by any of the boys. I have no doubt you could easily have forgotten me. How old are you now?'

'Nineteen on the first of Spring.'

'Well, that is why. You would have long left for the Hall of Priests when I arrived on the Isle.'

'You are not Isle-born, then? I thought that to be chosen, you would have to be of Isle stock.'

'It seems not. But then look to your friend Attis. It is clear that the Goddess is at work on the mainland even though none there speak her name.'

'That is true enough. He has as much of the Goddess in him as any Priestess. Apart from yourself, of course.' He smiled at her and raised his hands to her breast, undoing the fine shell buttons which adorned the gown.

She smiled back at him. 'I thought you said you would not?' she asked lightly.

'I just want to see you in Attis's red,' he said, pulling the soft cloth toward them. 'Besides, I'm sure I can give you some pleasure and leave your Maidenhead intact.' He kissed her on the mouth, more tenderly than their hungry driven kisses of that dawn. Her unbuttoned gown slipped from her shoulders an he bent to kiss her eager nipples.

'The last word in that old book.,' he murmured between soft bites to her breasts. 'It was your name. Cybele....Cybele....Cybele...' As he buried his face in her soft pliant flesh, she could hear his words no longer as they melted into gentle moans.

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