Tomorrows Child (11 page)

“
The filter had
created an imperfect system, one that let in both the light and the
dark, but much less than had originally been available. Without
knowing it, the people were again able to embrace both kinds of
magick. Their choices led them one way or the other, but a balance
was eventually achieved, where light and dark coexisted equally. As
long as a balance remained, the veil remained strong and intact. If
the balance became unstable, the veil would begin to weaken and
flaws would appear.”

I turned a page
or two and found the final chapter.

“
A time is coming
when the veil will fail. It is unknown what the result will be but
one can expect…”

I looked up and
saw three pairs of eyes looking down at me. I didn’t know how long
they had been watching, nor did I care. If this were the truth, why
did they keep it a secret?

I questioned
the trio, “Is this true?”

Libby shrugged,
“It depends what you read, but most likely, yes, I would say it’s
true.” Libby took the book and scanned the page. Phoenix sat, and
Tahinah boiled the kettle.

Libby spoke
first, “We weren’t keeping secrets. Everything happened so fast;
there was no time to tell you.”

“And,” Phoenix
continued, “you didn’t even believe in magick a few days ago. What
would you have thought if we started telling you about the veil and
the possibility of monsters?” He actually made sense.

“That’s beside
the point,” I said. I wasn’t about to let them get away with this
so easily. “You should have told me something. If, for whatever
reason, I am the cause of this, then I should leave. I won’t put
everyone here in danger because of me.”

“Where would
you go, Psyche? There is nowhere to go.” Phoenix spoke softly as if
the truth of what I said was something he had already
considered.

“No, she’s not
going anywhere.” Libby was not about to be swayed.

“I agree,” said
Tahinah, “it wouldn’t solve anything. The veil would still be in
the same state and whoever is after you would assume you were still
here. We might very well be in more danger if you leave.”

“So what should
I do?” I waited for a reply, but none came, “And can anyone tell me
why someone is targeting me?”

Libby sat at
the table; Tahinah poured coffee for everyone before taking her
seat.

“There is so
much work to do. We should have started when you were twelve, then
none of this would be happening.” I thought she was laying the
blame on my mother, for the kidnapping and everything else that was
going on.

“It’s not her
fault, she did what she thought was right,” I said, defending
her.

“I know. The
secret we have been protecting for all these generations is what
puts you in danger. The prophecy gives us certain clues to follow,
but it is just a beginning. Each daughter has also received her own
role in the prophecy. The first prophecy was only an indication of
what was to follow and the tasks we had to perform. We all hoped
you would have received your part of the prophecy by now, and this
would be finished.” She was staring at me, looking into my eyes as
if I had a secret hidden inside. I knew there was none.

“My fear now is
that you still haven’t received your part of the prophecy, and
worse than that, you don’t seem to have any useful gifts that will
enable you to receive the prophecy it.”

“She has one
gift,” Phoenix said as he looked at me and bit his lip. I could see
he was hesitating, but I was interested to see where this was
going.

“Psyche dreams.
She already has the dream magick, she is the dreamer of dreams. She
hasn’t had the right dream yet, but she does have the right sort of
dreams.”

Everyone looked
at Phoenix. Obviously, Libby didn’t have the sole rights on secret
keeping. No, it appeared they were selling franchises.

“Phoenix, how
do you know this? Why have you not said anything?” Tahinah
inquired. I saw her acting like his mother for the first time.

Phoenix looked
at Libby, who was also waiting for an answer. He let out a deep
sigh and began to explain.

“I dream the
same dreams as Psyche. They’re not my dreams, she pulls me in and
makes me part of them. I know they’re Psyche’s dreams.”

“How can you
know this for sure?” Libby asked, trying to get the answers we all
sought.

“I didn’t know
until I met her and I wasn’t completely sure until recently. I have
always been drawn into Psyche’s dreams; she’s been doing this ever
since… well, for as long as I can remember, anyway.”

“But they could
be your dreams, Phoenix. Maybe you just imagine it’s Psyche. It’s
possible that you’ve placed her in your dreams, now that you’ve
met,” argued Libby.

“I don’t dream.
I don’t need to dream. It’s different for me.” Phoenix made the
statement as if it were an indisputable fact. Both women stopped
questioning him and looked at me. What he said had satisfied them,
but I wanted to hear more.

“I think he
might be right,” I said. So much for not keeping secrets. “But I
can’t be sure; how can I? Someone is always in my dreams; maybe
it’s Phoenix and maybe it’s no one important.”

“Phoenix, tell
us about Psyche’s dreams last night,” said Tahinah.

“Well, actually
Psyche didn’t dream last night,” I nodded, he was right. “But the
night before, she did.” Phoenix proceeded to describe my dream in
great detail.

Now I was
blushing. I shot him a look that I hoped was filled with malice or
daggers or something. I finally admitted, “He has shared my dreams.
No one could have guessed those details and he has no reason to lie
that I’m aware of.” I thought about my dreams, someone had always
been there. “I think he has always been there, but I don’t know for
sure. I thought maybe I just wanted a face for my rescuer.” Even as
I tried to convince myself otherwise, I knew I was wrong. “Phoenix
has always been in my dreams.”

“Psyche’s
dreams are like sitting in a theatre, they’re so vivid and real;
there is no way I’m wrong about this.” Phoenix said. He was
suddenly very certain about his presence in my dreams.

“This is an
interesting turn, I wasn’t expecting so much.” Libby said, not
really speaking to anyone at that particular moment.

Phoenix reached
across the table and took my hand. It was warmer than mine but my
entire body felt cold. “I’m sorry, Psyche; I didn’t want to tell
you like this. I didn’t really know how to tell you, but this is
the wrong way.”

A tear ran down
my cheek. As much as I liked Phoenix, I didn’t want him knowing all
my secrets. Dreams are sacred and private. My deepest desires and
my greatest fears lay raw and naked and Phoenix had seen all of
them. I couldn’t handle anymore confessions today. I wanted no more
truth. I stood up and ran to my room.

The tears
flowed freely. I didn’t sob; I wasn’t sad, but I felt betrayed and
the tears continued to flow. Phoenix came to my bedroom door. I
didn’t acknowledge him or ask him to come in, but he did anyway. He
sat on the side of the bed and put his hand on my waist.

“It’s not so
bad, is it? It’s kind of fun, really. I mean, where else am I going
to see a pink palace?”

“But you know
things you shouldn’t! You’ve seen things, private things. Things I
wouldn’t show you even if you begged!”

“I know, but
whenever you really don’t want me to see something, everything goes
dark and misty. I don’t see the things you really don’t want me to
see.”

“Does it go
misty often?”

“No. almost
never. It has a few times, but, Psyche, there are other things I
should tell you. Now is not the time. Just know that you can trust
me. Your secrets are my secrets, everything is safe with me.”

I sulked for
hours, alone in my room, well aware that it benefited no one,
especially me. I couldn’t shake the feeling that I had been
betrayed; nor could I get my mind around everything that had
happened in the past few days. I could hear the hum of voices as
the women prepared the charms. If I waited long enough, they might
leave and I would only have to face Libby.

While I wanted
to avoid them and save myself further humiliation, I decided to get
over it. Swallowing my pride, I left the relative safety of my room
and entered the kitchen. It was empty, but I was sure I’d heard
people talking. Perhaps the reality was that I was actually
teetering on the brink of insanity. It would explain so much.

Libby, Tahinah,
Ruben, Phoenix and Navarre walked in through the door to find me
poking and pinching my arm. If it were a dream, I wanted to wake
up; but if I were insane? Well, that was an entirely different
problem.

Ruben nodded
and Tahinah smiled, “Greetings, Psyche.” No one else spoke. Libby
ignored me and Phoenix lowered his head, avoiding eye contact.
Navarre, on the other hand, shrugged and sat beside me at the
table.

“They’ll get
over it,” he whispered. I realised then, that no one had really
done anything wrong. Phoenix hadn’t forced his way into my dreams,
Libby didn’t create the prophecy and Tahinah hadn’t sent the beast
after me. I actually had no reason to be angry, but they had every
right to be angry with me.

Tahinah moved
to light a few candles and a warm glow filled the room. Normally, I
had my own candle and carried it from place to place, although it
barely provided enough light. Shared candles merely created more
shadows, but candlelight soothes the soul like nothing else. As the
room filled with golden light and the smell of honeyed wax, I felt
the tension dissolve into a sugary sweetness. Ruben seemed a little
tense, but it was unrelated to anything I had done.

Libby beckoned
me to her side and handed me a small, empty bowl. “Everything on
the table is known to hold properties for protection. What you
choose to include in your charm is up to you.” I gazed at the
containers scattered across the table — little bowls and jars
filled with beads, gems and stones. Some bundles of herbs lay in
the centre of the table with small pieces of fabric, leather cord
and thread.

“There are
several ways to make a protection charm,” Libby continued. “You can
simply tie everything up in a bundle or create something wearable.
Some crystals will suit you better than others. Let them choose you
and we’ll work with those.”

“Let them
choose me?” I said. “How does that work?”

“You will feel
it in your hands or in your heart. You’ll know when you have found
the right one,” Libby replied.

“Embrace the
intention in your heart,” added Tahinah.

“Try holding
your hand over the jars. If you feel nothing, then move on. You
might feel heat or a slight tingle in your fingers, but you should
feel something. Herbs will call you if the scent is particularly
strong,” Libby instructed. Everyone offered more words of
advice.

Libby
demonstrated with the crystals. She held her hand over a bowl
filled with small, misshapen beads. She slowly picked one up,
dropped it back in the bowl, and selected another.

“Good, this one
is perfect, nice and warm in my hand. Now you try, Psyche.”

I waved my hand
over the assortment of jars and bowls. Each one held crystal beads
or stones of different colours, sizes and shapes. Nothing called
out to me. I knew they expected too much.

“Don’t worry,
Psyche, you can’t get it wrong,” Navarre offered.

“The intention,
Psyche. What do you want the crystals to do?” Libby asked.

“Protect me
from… something, everything?”

“Exactly,
protection. You should hold that as the intention, see it, feel it,
focus on it. Visualise the beast, understand that you need
protection from it. Now try again.” Libby realised what I was doing
wrong, I merely waved my hand over a few nameless objects and still
discovered nothing.

I didn’t want
to visualise the beast. But when I closed my eyes, its image
appeared as if it were burned into my soul. I held it longer than I
wanted. I focused on protection and destroying the beast. I felt a
shudder of fear rising from deep within me.

Slowly, I
passed my hand over the containers littered across the table. Tiny
pins and needles tingled in the tips of my fingers. I paused and
selected a small, round stone. It was warm and alive, almost
pulsating in my hand. With my eyes closed, I continued. Some of the
stones were warm, some vibrated a little and others made my fingers
tremble. I selected nine stones in all, tiny misshapen crystals and
round beads. I opened my eyes and held them in my hand; some were
clear and coloured, while others were opaque.

“Very good,
Psyche, you’ve chosen well,” Libby whispered.

“Psyche,”
Phoenix spoke to me for the first time, “I have something for you.”
Phoenix held a long leather cord with a smooth yellow stone
dangling from the end. “It’s amber.”

“Is this a
peace offering?” I glared at the object, though I knew I was being
unfair. I couldn’t help it.

“No. Amber is
good for protection.”

Phoenix was
calm, more so than usual and I felt guilty for giving him a hard
time. I reached out to accept the gift. The amber was entwined in
wisps of fine silver wire that looked more like spun thread. The
stone glowed in the candlelight and reminded me of the sun behind
filaments of morning mist.

“Phoenix, it’s
beautiful! Where did it come from?”

Phoenix
shrugged, “I was a silversmith in a past life,” he joked.

“What? You made
this yourself?” Phoenix shrugged again, a little embarrassed by my
gushy delight. “That’s amazing, it’s beautiful,” and then I
realised, “but I can’t really accept it; you should keep it and
give it to someone else, someone special.”

“I am giving it
to someone special. I’m giving it to you.”