The Witch: Book Two of The Sorceress Saga by Taliesin Govannon (top 10 novels of all time .txt) 📗

the length of the main road of the festival, seeing many campsites with extra lights, streamers, and sparkling decorations along the way. Soon we turned the corner and could see the woodpile in the distance. A ripple of excitement spread down the line as person after person caught sight of our destination.

                The energy! I marveled. I could see it pulsing, coming off of the line of revelers and washing like waves into the surrounding forest. While it had been a while since I had smoked, I still felt high. Only THIS is an energy high!

                We reached the edge of the circle around the bonfire and walked through an opening in the people. We walked through incense smoke and hand-sprinkled blessed water, to purify us for the event to come. We then proceeded clockwise around the circle until we found a place that felt right and stood back for the lighting.

                There was an electric sensation of excitement and anticipation running through the crowd. Flashes went off as some took pictures of the unlit woodpile. It was built of cut logs laid out in a square cabin-shape, rising like a step pyramid, to make sure that the logs fell inward as they burned.

                The eight torchbearers stood equidistant from each other, the flames they carried creating pools of light in the shadow of the unlit fire. We stood near one of the torches, held by an attractive blonde woman dressed in bright pink.

                Once everyone was gathered around the fire, the drummers stopped. Silence gripped the crowd, and soon the drummers started a basic rhythm. This was the cue for the people from the Oracle’s group to come out and do their thing, and soon the space in between the crowd and the woodpile… called ‘the o-zone’ in festival slang, for the ‘o’ shaped circles that people dancing around it would create... was filled with flaming batons, swinging fireballs on chains, and all manner of mini-torches. I saw Greta, the Oracle herself, with a long staff that was flaming on both ends. She tossed it high in the air, and the crowd “oohed” and “ah-ed” every time she caught it, The performance only amped up the excitement.

                The fire-spinning over, the drums stopped again, and there was a wave of excitement that spread quickly through the crowd. The drummers started a very slow beat, and the torchbearers started their part. They walked a few steps towards the woodpile, then turned and walked back to where they started. They did this, again and again, getting closer and closer each time. Finally, and with a cry to the heavens, they rushed the woodpile and thrust their torches in between the outer logs, catching the straw and lighter material inside. The drummers went wild, and as the massive construction caught fire, the people surrounding it started to run around it in an outpouring of pure joy.

                My friends and I didn’t wait, we took off and started to circle the fire with everyone else. As fireworks shot up from the fire into the sky, people stopped running and started dancing, and the biggest drum circle I had seen yet was underway.

                I danced around the fire, slowing down when I got to the biggest grouping of drummers. Some people had paused to dance in front of the drums, and I rubbed up against a few of them as I passed.

                I heard a cheer and saw the ring of onlookers part while eight women, dressed in white togas, carried a platform with a familiar blonde-haired Brit on it.

                Trevor! I thought, giggling. He was dressed in a tie-dye toga and looked like a Greek God at a Grateful Dead concert. I rushed to catch up with them and joined several other people who were dancing slowly around the platform as it circled the fire. Trevor had a gallon of red wine that he was drinking out of, and which he would raise as he passed people with a hearty cheer.

                I paused partway around and looked up at the towering fire. The woodpile itself was not only one and a half stories high, but now the flames leaped twice that into the summer sky. Waves of liquid-looking fire flowed around the structure, and the entire thing pulsed with a primal energy stronger than I had ever felt before.

                I can’t believe I’m here I marveled. I can’t believe that I’m seeing this right in front of me! It’s like something out of a movie.

                People danced at different speeds around the fire, and so I wound up seeing different people as I spent the next few hours surrendering to the beat. I danced sensually with Gaia for some time, and then was almost driven to distraction when the Fae sisters joined us. The four Fae surrounded me, touching me on all sides, as we slowly made our way.

                You know, as long as Gaia’s there, I could do this I thought, somewhat shocking myself.

                I danced with Vincent next. We must have been putting on quite a show, because I soon saw couples… and a few larger groups… go from watching us to heading out into the field or forest, lusty energy radiating in all directions.

                “I think we’ve started a trend.” I said to him, grinning.

                “Want to get a better look?” he asked, and I quickly said yes.

                He hoisted me up on his shoulders, my legs pressed against his torso as he held on tight. He started to walk around the fire as I danced from the waist up, scanning the crowd for unusual horniness. I saw a few, including Raina, her festival friend Raven, and Evelyn walking arm and arm towards more privacy.

                Good for them! I hope… I started to think, but then saw a sight that stopped me mid-thought. There, outside of the circle of people, standing mid-field near the woods.

                Angelique.

                I had to go to her. Vincent must have picked up on things because