Chapter 121

In her coven, she was the only person who was familiar with each and every one of the tales that were significant to each branch of the coven and to their community, and she felt compelled to serve as their keeper in order that they would never be forgotten. She imagined herself to be the conduit through which the old wisdom of her two communities was being transmitted. Criselda, on the other hand, felt torn much too often, as the conflicting and contradicting traditions and beliefs of the two sides tugged at her from one direction or the other.

And with all those stories passed to her, and even with all of her forefather's knowledge, Lucinda wondered this night if the fireball had been sent by her forefather's goddess or, more disturbingly, by a deity none of them had ever heard of before, or whether it was somehow tied in with the fated one. Only the fates know.

Presently, Lucinda had been staring at the column of smoke for hours, and she had been thinking to herself. When it