Cardona repeated Sylvia’s pronunciation of a term he never could have spelled.
“Canhywllah Cyrth,” said Joe. “What does it mean?”
“The English call it a corpse candle,” explained Sylvia. “Canhywllah Cyrth is the Welsh term. I am Welsh, you know. My family dates back to early Pennsylvania, shortly after its settlement. The Canhywllah Cyrth is a strange, tiny light that announces the arrival of the Gwrach y Rhibyn.”
Weston gave a despairing gesture at hearing this second name repeated, but Cardona was persistent.
“What is the Gwrach y Rhibyn?”
“A family spirit,” explained Sylvia. “Some call its appearance a bad omen, but not those who understand. More often than not, the Gwrach y Rhibyn brings a fair warning. I didn’t see the Gwrach y Rhibyn, but Madame Mathilda did, which proves she must have materialized somewhere.”
“Who materialized?” put in Weston, briskly. “Madame Mathilda?”
“No,” retorted Sylvia. “The Gwrach y Rhibyn. I have seen her myself, when death threatened the family. She appeared as a hideous old hag -”
“I get it,” interrupted Cardona. “A banshee.”
The comment stiffened Sylvia’s hauteur.