Page 108 of The Mirror of Beasts

“I’m going to take the wards down now,” I told her. “And you’re going to keep your vow moving forward, right?”

Caitriona took that as her cue to smother the fire, and Neve to gather our things. Rosydd held out her hand eagerly.

“I swear it,” the hag said.

At the vow, I unwound the garland of wards from around the camp. Then, with some effort, I managed to pluck three eyelashes from my right eye. “Don’t spend them all on one wish.”

Her hand was shockingly cold as I wiped the pale lashes into her palm. The hag closed her fist around them, bringing them close to her mouth to whisper her wishes.

“Now blow on them, or let the wind carry them away,” Neve said, handing me Dyrnwyn. I draped the strap of the hilt we’d made for it over one shoulder, and my loaded workbag over the other.

The hag did as she was told, releasing the lashes with childish pleasure. In that unguarded moment, her false face slipped, just for a second, revealing her true one. The blue-gray tint of her skin, the rugged planes of her face so like the nearby cliffs, the golden glow of her bulging eyes—and there was nothing frightening about her. Except, maybe, the razored teeth.

“The passage?” I reminded her.

Her mask slipped back into place as she turned to me. “Oh, all right, yes. You’ll bring me back something tasty, won’t you?”

“We’ll certainly try,” Neve said. “Do you have any preferences?”

I tried not to groan as the hag took her time deliberating.

“Something that isn’t too hairy, or dead longer than a day,” Rosydd said, finally. “Too much fur gets stuck in the teeth, and too-dead meat is tough to chew.”

“Well, that’s a mental image I’ll never get rid of,” Neve said.

“I can’t leave the portal open willy-nilly,” Rosydd said. “One of the big meanies might get out, and as much as it disappoints me, my jaws simply aren’t big enough for some of them.”

“Oh … dear,” Neve managed.

“When you’re ready for me, call out, Dark the night, dark the moor, part the mist, open the door,” Rosydd said, beginning to spin her hands in front of her, as if winding string.

“Why that?” I asked.

“Because it’s amusing,” the hag snapped.

I held up my hands. “Dark the night, got it. Can you really hear us across worlds?”

“I can if you say my name first,” Rosydd said. “Give it a nice big shout. Make it sound lovely and scrumptious, won’t you?”

The hag raised her hands, then lowered them again, then raised them once more—only to stop and stroke the point of her chin.

“Is there a problem?” Caitriona asked.

“Grant me a moment, will you?” Rosydd said, cracking her neck. “It’s been a while. I don’t want to send you to the wrong place—believe me, you wouldn’t like any of the forgotten worlds. Though I suppose you might like the one if you’ve ever wanted to bathe in the mouth of a god.”

“Lyonesse will be just fine,” I said quickly. “The castle, please.”

“Really, take your time,” Neve added.

Rosydd returned to her work with a satisfied snort. Closing her eyes, she inhaled deeply, and her body rose, hovering above the ground.

I hadn’t been able to bring myself to watch her sister, the Hag of the Mist, open the pathway to Avalon. Now, I couldn’t tear my eyes away.

Black threads appeared in the night air, braiding together, then slithering around and around like an ouroboros, the snake eating its own tail. Mist spiraled out of the darkness gathering at its center. As the portal opened, the smell of fir trees bled into the air like a promise.

“There,” Rosydd said, sounding satisfied with herself. “Off you go, then. And don’t forget—” She pointed at her mouth, chattering her teeth to mime eating.

“Believe me,” Neve said, “we couldn’t if we tried.”

---