"Irene Radford - Merlins Descendents 01 - Guardian Of The Balance" - читать интересную книгу автора (Radford Irene)

release. He closed his eyes, begging Lleu for control. Never in his thirty-two summers had the geas of celibacy pressed
so hard upon him. He couldnтАЩt see a pattern in the intensity of his temptation. Male, female, birth, death, infinity. With
the tip of his bronze athame, his ritual knife, he traced the lines of the sacred sigils. He concentrated on the
embellishments that tied them to Pridd, Awyr, Tanio, and Dwfr. After each straight line, loop, and spiral, he chanted a
prayer. The beaten earth surrounding the altar stone of the GiantтАЩs Dance became a living tattoo, writhing in the
flickering light of bonfires and torches. The living tissue of Dana, the Goddess, parted easily under his sharp blade. A
blast of horns announced the winner of the contest. The last young man to leap the bonfire had bested all other
competitors in a triumphant feat. The sleek muscles of his long thighs rippled with power. He raised his arms in victory.
His penis rose proudly to meet the challenge before him. He alone would accept the gift of virginity offered by the
Queen of the May. She stepped forward from the array of maiden attendants to meet her champion. Her firm, high
breasts brushed against his chest as she stood on tiptoe to kiss his cheek in acceptance of him as her consort tonight.
MyrddinтАЩs chest burned beneath his robe as if the virgin pressed her body against him and not the local champion.
The Queen of the May trembled in excitement. Moisture slicked her brow and the pale hair between her thighs. The
throb in MyrddinтАЩs groin intensified. The last rays of the setting sun gave the girlтАЩs smooth, dewy skin a lovely blush.
Myrddin held his breath lest he gasp aloud at her perfect, ripe beauty.
The fertility of the fields was too important to risk a less than perfect couple performing the symbolic joining of Pridd
and Sun, Dana and Belenos. The serpentine dance of naked couples wound past the bonfires toward the thirty
standing stones for the ritual offering. Myrddin completed the sigil for infinity and enclosed them all in three entwined
circles of sacrifice, blessing, and continuity.
Ka-Thump-thm-thump-thm. The drums preceded the naked celebrants into the sacred circle of standing stones just as
the sun touched the horizon. MyrddinтАЩs erection pounded in tempo with the drums. Heat built within him. He couldnтАЩt
watch. He had to watch. тАШTwas his duty to preside over the ceremony. The processional dance led by Deirdre, lovely
Deirdre, entered the circle of standing stones. Myrddin stood beside the altar stone, waiting. He smelled the musk of
anticipation on each of the celebrants. Honeysuckle and wild rose perfume drifted around the Queen of the May from
her crown of fresh flowers, now slightly askew from her first enthusiastic embrace of her lover. She scooted onto the
altar stone with little assistance from her attendants. Eagerly she spread her legs, Pridd ready for the first plowing. Her
mate, now wearing the sun-face mask of Belenos, joined her. Cheers and encouragement from the eager audience
drowned out the driving rhythm of the drums.
Deirdre stood beside Myrddin now, living embodiment of the Goddess, blessing this union.
Myrddin closed his eyes in a desperate attempt to keep from pushing the priestess onto the altar stone and driving
into her as the drums set the rhythm. Ka-Thump-thump-thump-thmmmmmmm.
тАЬLleu give me strength and understanding,тАЭ he prayed. He couldnтАЩt leave until the couple finished. A bath in the cold
waters of the River Avon might help him enforce self-control. But he couldnтАЩt leave yet, when he most needed to
leave. The chief Druid had to preside and bless the ritual, lest he break the pattern. Ka-thump-thump-thump. Drums
beat. For near an eternity. Horns blared in strident completion.
Myrddin opened his eyes and blinked hard. Sun collapsed upon Pridd, man upon woman, spent and replete. The scent
of sex permeated the ever-present smell of woodsmoke and mead. The remaining worshipers of Belenos and Dana
paired off into couples ready to complete their own ceremonies of fertility. One solitary woman remained within the
circle of standing stones. Deirdre. The very image of Dana. Lush breasts bursting with life. The dusky nipples
tightened from emotions Myrddin didnтАЩt need to interpret. She opened her arms in invitation. Her full rounded hips
strained forward, eager for his thrust. A dark cloud of hair haloed the delicate features of her face. Another thatch
shadowed the secrets between her thighs. A hint of her unique musky scent mingled with the flowers, the smoke, and
the heat, whispering to him of joy. Myrddin gulped and stared at the forbidden treasures that teased his senses. His
blood boiled, demanding an escape from too small vessels. тАЬI canтАЩt,тАЭ he said through dry lips.
тАЬOn Beltane, the Goddess presides. The Goddess must be obeyed,тАЭ she said huskily. A slightly drunken giggle
followed her pronouncement. She danced a serpentine pattern around him, winding ever closer. Her hand brushed
against his sleeve, exposing the twisting tattoos on his arms. Another circle, closer yet. The tips of her ripe breasts
rippled against his back. And then she was in front of him, hips thrust forward, almost touching the proud bulge of his
penis, separated by only his thin robe. The scent of spring flowers and freshly plowed Pridd followed her seductive
spiral dance. He reached to grab her, pull her closer yet. She danced away, elusive, demanding, mysterious, exotic.