Chapter 4

• “Most circles will call on this deity and that, making big speeches. This group is more of a do rather than say, kind. The women will dance shortly after everyone is centered. Then, we’ll go outside the circle and help bring in the pole.” He paused to listen to the drums a moment himself. “The pole represents the masculine, and the ribbons the women will put on represent the feminine.”
• He grinned up at Owen. “In years gone by, this night was a night for ‘a-maying’ and couples spent it alone in the woods. Married couples could even take off their rings for the night...” Steven noted that he had Owen’s full attention now. “But those were the days before AIDS and all that, we don’t practice that now. But if a woman places her wreath upon your head this night, then you’ll have a female to dance the pole with in the morning, at least.” He grinned at the disappointment on Owen’s face. “I always hope to be lucky enough for a few kisses. You never know.”
• Realizing that was all the insight Steven was sharing, Owen turned back to the circle. The drums were nearly frantic now, in speed and volume. He glanced at Dade and realized the drummers seemed to be in a trance.
• They stopped on the same beat, and the silence was suddenly deafening. Everyone in the circle stood motionless, breathing deeply. No one spoke. No one moved. Relaxing his shoulders, Owen took a deep breath and let it out slowly. He tried to feel as relaxed as everyone else appeared to be.
• A few moments later the drums started with a quiet, gentle rhythm. He watched the women walk slowly in the center of the circle. With slow, gentle movements they started to sway with the drumbeats as they walked around the circle, arms pulling up from the ground and pushing skyward. He’d never seen anything so graceful and lovely in his life.
• All of the women had wreaths of flowers on their heads. Owen noticed that none of them came close to the glowing beauty of Leena and her friends. Maybe he was biased, for he only knew those four out of the many. As the drums grew louder, the women changed their movement to match the volume, but their mist-like speed didn’t change at all.
• Steven tapped his arm, motioning him to follow away from the circle to a group of men a few yards away. He wanted to object, afraid to miss any of this mystical dance, but he followed, questions bubbling to the top.
• He heard Steven say something about a newbie. Owen found himself being placed at the front of a twenty-foot log. Steven stood opposite him, grinning. “Best seat in the house. Just walk beside me into the circle and help hold this up as the women put their ribbons on.” He winked and grinned before turning back toward the circle.
• The log wasn’t heavy, not with more than twenty men carrying it. He didn’t really have to lead, the men just pushed the leading males toward the goal.
• The drums were still playing. The women opened their dancing circle as the men carried the pole into the center. He realized each woman had a ball of ribbon in her hand as she danced past, and he just noticed the hole at the center of the circle.
• So caught up in the beat of the drums and the fluid movement of the women, when an older woman appeared in front of him and placed her ribbon over the end of the pole on a nail, he was shocked to find her there. After securing the ribbon, she began walking along the side Steven was on, running the ribbon from her hand down the pole. And in turn, each male was gently touched when her hand went past him.
• He would have turned his head to see what she did at the end, but another woman was standing in front of him and smiling. She secured her ribbon then gently touched his shoulder and walked past him to the man behind him.
• Owen chanced a glance at Dade, and found his friend drumming slowly and smiling at him. Dade winked and went back to watching the woman dance slowly around the pole.
• After the fifth or sixth woman had secured her ribbon and walked down his side, Owen wasn’t sure whether he should feel as excited as he did or not, but he certainly wasn’t going to fight it. Cora was next in line, and she gave him a look that set a buzz in his system, then attached her ribbon and went down Steven’s side. Steven flashed him a grin that said he wasn’t at all sorry she chose his side.
• Kasey was next, and he knew she would walk down his side. She ran a gentle hand up his arm and across his shoulder before moving past, and he was quite pleased with the buzzing feeling she left behind.
• He again watched Steven grin as Rachel was next and she ran her hand along Steven’s arm, similar to what Kasey had done to him. He did hope though he didn’t have the same dazed look on his face the Doc did.
• Turning back to face the next woman, he realized it was Leena. His heart picked up immediately. He smiled and was shocked at the one she gave him in return. He watched her secure the ribbon. As her hand traveled up the length of his arm with a whisper-light touch that burned a trail in its wake. When her hand caressed his cheek, as soft as a gentle breeze, his smile widened and he could honestly say if he dropped his hold on the log, no man there would blame him.
• He felt her pass behind him, her body brushing gently against his back as she continued moving along the pole with her ribbon. Catching Dade’s eye, he knew it was more than obvious how damn pleased he looked at this moment. His friend was grinning and shaking his head.
• Owen didn’t know all that much about rites and circles, or even Beltane, but he vowed he would volunteer to hold the log every year, single-handedly if need be, to see that this season was always celebrated. His whole body was buzzing. He couldn’t recall how many women went after Leena, but instinctively he knew how many would go past before she would dance by again.