Free Silver Silence by Joy Nash

your loved ones are alive, and well, as they will always be.”
    “But…will I ever return to them?”
    “Yes. You will. Once your task in this time is done. I promise you that, Breena, on my life.”
    She met his gaze. “You brought me here with deep magic.”
    “Yes.”
    “Then that is a promise you cannot truly offer.”
    The expression on his face told her she’d hit her mark. Myrddin might be the most powerful Druid Breen had ever encountered, but he was, after all, just a man. Not a god. And only a god could control deep magic.
    The line of Myrddin’s jaw firmed beneath his beard. “I will send you home, Breena. Do not doubt it.”
    She peered out over the swamps, drawn by the strange notion that the island rising above the water was a different Avalon than the one she knew.
    “Do Druids live openly on the sacred isle in this time? Is Druidry legal? Have they no need of the mists?”
    Myrddin’s brows rose. “Do you believe me, then?”
    “I’m not entirely sure what I believe,” Breena confessed. “But I’ve decided to trust you.”
    He smiled at that. “Ever practical. Thank you, my dear.” His gaze followed hers across the water, and he sighed. “I am sorry to tell you that there are no mists around Avalon because the Druids of Avalon are long gone.”
    “Gone! Where? And why?”
    “They were driven from Avalon centuries ago. A pair of men, priests of the Christos, pierced the mist and exposed Avalon to the outside world. The legions dispersed the illegal settlement. The Druids fled.”
    “But…did they never return?”
    “No. The priests, Faganus and Deruvianus, were wise enough to recognize the sacred power of the isle. They established their own settlement. The pair are long dead, but their brotherhood remains. More than fifty holy men of Christos live on Avalon.”
    Breena’s brow furrowed. “Who is Christos?”
    “A god,” Myrddin said. “You know him as the Carpenter Prophet.”
    “But…the Carpenter Prophet was a man! The Lady brought his Grail and his teachings to Avalon. The Druids of Avalon walk in his Light. His priests would not have had any reason to hate us.”
    “So one would think.” Myrddin’s voice had gone hard. “But the holy, it seems, are not always known for their tolerance. It mattered little to Faganus that the Druids honored the teachings of the Christos. Not when they also revered the Old Ways. The priests of the new religion believe the ancient gods and goddesses of the Celts are servants of the evil one they call Satan.”
    “But surely, the Druids would have gathered elsewhere.”
    “Some did, for a time. But as more people flocked to the new faith, they came to view Druid powers as evil. Many Druids were put to death because of their magic.Others, frightened, rejected their own power. And now Druidry is all but gone.” Myrddin’s lips pursed. “Precious few of us retain the heritage of our ancestors.”
    Her eyes widened. “Why…you are a descendant of Avalon! Are you not?”
    “I am. I follow the Old Ways.” He tilted his staff so she could more clearly make out the carving on the knob at the top: the triple spiral of the Great Mother merged with the cross of the Carpenter Prophet.
    “You carry the symbol of Avalon.” Breena drew her silver pendant from beneath her tunic. “It is the same as mine.”
    “Indeed.”
    “But your power is very great. Greater than any Druid in my time.”
    He inclined his head. “In this time, those with Druid power are far fewer. But those who do possess magic are very strong.”
    Something in his unwavering gaze made her shiver. “The gods do not grant great power without equal recompense. What have you paid, Myrddin, for your gifts?”
    A shadow passed through his eyes. “A price you cannot possibly imagine, child.”

Chapter Five
    D eath could not possibly feel worse.
    Rhys pressed his cheek against the dirt and willed his stomach to stop heaving. The ground was cold, very cold, but his body…that