Free Air: Merlin's Chalice (The Children of Avalon Book 1) by Meredith Bond

until I have gained their powers.”
    “Capturing them will be much trickier than simply killing them,” Morgan pointed out.
    “I know. But while they are adults in this world, in ours they are little more than children, after all. It should not be a problem.”
    Morgan nodded. “Good luck with that.” She smiled. An unseen breeze blew across the water and her sister disappeared into the ripples.
    Nimuë stood staring into the silver bowl for another few minutes. The vision of the girl, the redhead, came to her mind and suddenly she knew exactly who it was the child had reminded her of. It was her sister! She had the same smile. The same mouth.
    Of course! The Lady’s line. The prophecy had said that two of the children would be of the Lady’s line. Naturally, Merlin was referring to Morgan. And of his own blood—that would be the boy with her face. Nimuë smiled. He may be of Merlin’s blood, but he had her own handsome visage.
    After two hundred years, her and Morgan’s own descendants were going to try to destroy her. How ironic! Merlin did always enjoy a good joke.
    Well, as Morgan had said, good luck with that. Nimuë laughed.

Chapter Eleven
    W ith effort, I pulled my attention away from Dylan, who had now mounted his horse. Sir Dagonet suggested that I ride sitting sideways to accommodate my skirts. I nodded, accepting his hand to help me onto his horse. I didn’t feel quite as secure as I had riding astride, but it was certainly more comfortable—and my legs weren’t showing indecently as they had been.
    As it neared nightfall, Sir Dagonet and Dylan began looking about for a likely place to stop for the night. A sound caught my attention. Dylan seemed to hear it, too, because he turned suddenly and looked at me.
    “What is it?” Sir Dagonet asked.
    “Someone’s in great distress. Can you feel it, Scai?” Dylan asked.
    “I can’t feel another’s emotions, but I hear it,” I said, as Dylan dismounted. He took a few hesitant steps toward the woods that clung to the road we were following. A trickle of a stream led from between the trees and emptied into the river to our right.
    Tying his horse to a tree, he disappeared into the woods.
    I dropped down off of Sir Dagonet’s horse and followed him.
    I found him squatting next to a woman who was huddled over the stream. The woman was on her knees, rocking back and forth, her face hidden in her hands.
    “It’s all right, now. It’s all right,” Dylan murmured.
    I noticed that the woman’s shoulders were shaking as if she were laughing—or crying. Squatting down on the ground on the other side of her, I gently placed my hand on her shoulder. “Please, let us help you.”
    The woman looked up at me. Her eyes were filled with tears and despair. She shook head. “You can’t. There is nothing that you can do.” She buried her face in her hands once again.
    “Her husband has left her,” I projected into Dylan’s mind, not wanting to say the harsh words out loud. “He’s gone to serve the local lord, to fight for him. She doesn’t know what she’s going to do without her husband. She loves him deeply and is afraid he’ll be killed.”
    Dylan caught my eyes. “Thanks, I’ll see what I can do now.”
    He turned back to the woman, clearly dismissing me. But I wasn’t ready to leave him alone with her. I wasn’t certain I trusted him enough, so I stood up and moved away, but stayed within sight.
    Dylan settled himself down onto the ground next to the woman, placed his hand gently on her shoulder and began speaking to her in a soothing voice. I couldn’t hear what he was saying, he was speaking too softly, but the woman stopped her rocking and turned her tear–stained face to Dylan’s, listening to his words.
    She then began to speak to him. She told him of her life and her family—four children and her husband’s parents. They all lived together in the village not too far from here. But the local lord had come looking for men. He’d