Page 31 of Circle of Days
Joia shrugged. She was not sure. “They’re just carrying on.”
Vee and Roni joined Joia and looked over the ridge. Then Han did the same. Joia said to him: “Go away!”
“I want to watch.”
“You can’t.”
“If you don’t let me, I’ll tell Mamma what you’re doing.”
“And then I’ll take you to the river and hold your head under the water for a long, long time.”
“You wouldn’t dare!” He looked as if he was going to cry.
Joia gave in. “Go and find a branch or something to put over your head. Otherwise the priestesses might see your yellow hair.”
Han rolled down the bank and uprooted a small leafy bush. He returned to Joia’s side holding it on his head.
In the east, the edge of the sun appeared over the horizon.
The priestesses, led by Soo, were performing a complicated dance around the posts. Some of them carried pottery discs, about the size of Joia’s hand, which they ritually laid down and picked up in front of the timber posts.
It was clear to Joia that their movements had meaning. She could make out some of the words of the song, which mentioned winter and summer, spring and autumn, and other seasonal events: the appearance of new grass, the migration of deer, the falling of leaves. Somehow, Joia guessed, this dance was the way they always knew which day of the year it was, and how many days were left before the next quarterly event.
The priestesses moved out of the timber circle and danced across the grass to the bluestone circle at the edge, fortunately at a spot distant from where the spies lay. They moved from one big standing stone to another purposefully, and once again they seemed to be counting. Joia’s curiosity intensified.
They returned to the timber circle and gathered in the inneroval. They all knelt down facing northeast, watching the sun rise. It was now more than three-quarters over the horizon. They began to hum softly, getting louder.
The Rite was coming to an end, Joia saw. She was half pleased, half frustrated. She had learned a lot, but much more remained mysterious.
The humming rose dramatically. As the disc of the rising sun detached itself from the edge of the world, the priestesses stopped humming and gave a climactic shout of triumph. After a short silence, they got to their feet and began to walk, slowly and without speaking, back to their houses. The ceremony was over.
The four onlookers pushed themselves down the slope, out of sight. Joia turned over to get up, and was shocked to see three priestesses, all dressed in their long tunics, standing in the way, looking cross. Her heart seemed to falter.
The spies had been caught.
They all stood up. Joia recognized Ello, the Second High Priestess, Soo’s deputy. She was said to have a mean streak, and she had the face to match, with a nose like a flint knife and a thin-lipped mouth.
Han darted away, trying to escape, but Ello was quicker, and she grabbed his arm and jerked him back, making him stand at her side.
“You’re hurting my arm!” he wailed, but she took no notice.
She glared at him and said: “I suppose you’re the one who yelled and gave the game away.”
Han burst into tears.
Joia said: “Leave my brother alone!”
Ello nodded to the other two priestesses. Moving quickly, they seized Joia, each holding an arm. She was a prisoner.
Ello looked at Vee and Roni and said: “You two had better come with us, or you’ll be in even worse trouble.”
Roni looked ready to run away, but Vee said to her: “Come on, we can’t desert Joia.”
The priestesses marched Joia and Han toward the village, and Vee and Roni followed. Joia felt helpless and fearful. No one knew where they were. Anything could happen and their families would never know.
They reached the village and were pushed into one of the small houses.
Inside, the High Priestess sat on a leather mat in the middle of the floor. Seeing her close up for the first time, Joia noticed her piercing blue eyes. Joia had never met a woman that old. She recalled her mother saying that priestesses lived longer than other women because they did not bear children.
