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Authors: Amelia Bishop

Water Witch (6 page)

BOOK: Water Witch
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***

There is a giant tree I can’t possibly comprehend, and a tangle of roots around me. Some are small and twist in on themselves, others are thick and long, winding upward to sprout leaves or flowers or fruits. Some look sick and wasted, others swell with life energy.

If I touched them, I’d know what decisions or events they represented. But I couldn’t touch all of them. Some always slipped away from me, not allowing contact. For now, I just looked.

A large root, which had grown in a tight downward spiral, shriveled before my eyes. Another group of roots, with many tiny divisions and offshoots, seemed to grow stronger in direct proportion to the other’s demise. I moved back, trying to see a bigger picture, hoping to spot patterns.

A flash of movement caught my attention, and I expanded my awareness for a wider view of the root system. At first it was difficult to tell what had moved. Then I realized it was the soil itself, being pushed by water flooding it, trickling into tight spaces. As I watched, large tangles were swept away, washed out, or dissolved. Hundreds of pathways—just gone. Muddy water rushed in to the now empty areas, threatening even the leafiest stems. Part of the tree trunk buckled and re-formed into a thinner version of itself, one with much less vegetation around it.

I admit, I hadn’t practiced Journeying as much as I should, but I’d been there often enough. And I’d never seen anything like that before. My heart raced, almost pulling me back to my physical body. Frantically I reached out to touch a root, grasping the one that had grown stronger as I’d watched.
A strange combination of my mother and Salil.
I didn’t dwell on what that might be about, instead grasping the other, now withered, stem.
Scott, our house in the desert. Of course.
I tried to touch another root, one that had not fallen victim to the watery purge, but it recoiled from my probing fingers.

Structures I’d seen here my whole life were now gone, new soil filling the spots they’d occupied.
So much missing, what does this mean?
Panic crept up again, and the pull back to my body increased. This time I let myself go.

***

Working backwards, I repeated my meditation ritual. When I was fully present in my body and aware of my surroundings again, I slowly stood and left the protective outline I’d drawn in the sand. A flutter of green on the water, too bright to be natural, flickered in the periphery of my vision. But when I turned there was nothing but the sparkling bay, and my favorite boulder sat empty in the distance.

 

 

 

 

 

CHAPTER SIX

 

“Thank the goddess there’s a coven meeting tomorrow. I’ll call Liliana now and put this on the agenda.” My mother stalked to the telephone and dialed, eyes worried.

Noni pursed her lips. “What do you think it means, Vincenzo?”

“I don’t know.” When she tilted her head like she didn’t believe me, I lost my temper. “I don’t know!”
Fuck, I shouldn’t be yelling at her.

She was unfazed by my outburst. “But it frightens you.”

“Yes, it does. I’m sorry I snapped at you.” I sat beside her on the couch and she patted my thigh.

“It’s all right.” She took a deep breath, keeping her gnarled hand on my knee. “I know you think your interpretation skills need work. And they do. But remember—the answers are already inside of you. It is only a matter of finding them. Listen to the song of your blood, and trust your skill.” Using my knee as a brace, she stood.

“I don’t know how—”

“Stop these doubts. You knew how well enough when you were a boy. Remember.”

She scuffed away, and I scrunched my eyebrows together at her back. Had I ever known how to interpret properly? Was it a skill, or an innate ability?

My mother returned from her phone call, much more relaxed. “She’s clearing the whole meeting for us. After the Esbat ritual you can explain everything to the coven, and we’ll all discuss possibilities.”

“Great.” The first full moon of August usually consisted of a brief ritual followed by a rushed meeting, capped off with a long, booze-soaked party around the bonfire. And I was going to use it to explain my weird dream to the whole coven, which I hadn’t met with in two years. Fantastic.

“Don’t sound so excited.” She planted a fist on her hip, irritated at my sarcasm.

“Sorry. I just don’t feel comfortable sharing this. I don’t even know what it means.”

“That’s the point, Vinny. The coven is stronger together than we are alone. Let them hear, give their insight, and maybe we will have a better idea of where to go with this.”

“Okay. Yeah, that’s a good idea.” I tried to sound more sincere than I felt.

“Good. At least pretend. That’s good.” She patted my shoulder and left, shaking her head.

Noni’s words still rung in my head. Had I known when I was little how to interpret my visions? Had I simply forgot?

Maybe I could ask Salil.

That thought gave me more hope than anything I’d come up with yet. If the sneaky Fae was going to trespass, steal, and tease me with his sexy, half-naked body in my dreams, the least he could do was answer some questions and help me work through this shit. And who knew more about visions than the Fae? Maybe I was looking at this all backwards, thinking of him as a threat. Maybe he was an asset, after all.

I couldn’t stomach another vision then, not even to get answers or to see Salil, so I did some yard work with Noni. It felt great, actually, to be helpful. She sat in the shade of the wisteria and directed me with an old piece of driftwood she used as a cane, pointing at things and ordering me around.

When the afternoon grew too hot even for me, we went inside and drank iced herbal tea while she watched “her program,” which I was disgusted to learn was a horrible small claims court reality show. She shook her head at the obnoxious people battling it out in the faux courtroom, clucking her tongue at the error of their ways. I lasted about ten minutes.

The angry defendant on the television filled me with worry about my reception tomorrow, and I called a guy from the coven after all. Maxwell had been my closest friend growing up. Though we went to different schools and mostly saw each other only at coven events, he was always there when I needed someone. And his cheerful greeting when answering my call set my mind at ease.

“Vinny! What’s up, man? You in town?”

“Yeah. Got in yesterday.” Had it really just been yesterday?

“Cool. How long are you staying? You coming to circle tomorrow?”

“I’m back for good this time. And yes, I’ll be there tomorrow. But, uh, I was wondering if you wanted to hang out before that, you know, and catch up?”

He paused a few seconds, and I winced, readying for an excuse. It had been two years since we’d hung out, not counting the few times I’d been home visiting and run into him around town. “Yeah, that sounds good. I’m just in the middle of something…maybe more like dinnertime? Say seven at Mary’s?”

I smiled. “Perfect, looking forward to it.” Mary’s was the diner where we always met. It had changed names and ownership at least four times in the past fifteen years, but to us it was still Mary’s.

I had a few hours to kill, so I decided to be an adult and take care of some business related loose ends. I called all the salons and offices in Arizona where I’d had my massage business cards and told them all to throw my stuff out, that I was no longer in the area. Then I went online and ordered some new cards and holders to replace them. I could drive around for an hour or so before meeting Maxwell and find a place or two that would give me some counter space for the few cards I had with me, and when the new order came in I’d find some more businesses. Referrals from the coven would carry me for a while, until I got established here.

I showered and shaved and dressed carefully. The people I needed to solicit appreciated fashion. When I walked out to leave, Mom was placing fresh charms in all the corners and whispering a warding incantation.

“Mom. I know it freaks you out that he was able to walk in here but I really don’t think he’s a threat.”

“And I believe you. But the fact remains my charms failed. Any intruder should have been known to me—even a benevolent one.” She continued her spellwork and shooed me away with the back of her hand. Noni dozed on the couch, the remote control still in her lap. At least I knew she slept sometimes.

My efforts in town went well: three salons, a health club, and a funky little gift shop each gave me a few inches of counter space for my cards, and I was just in time to meet Maxwell at the diner. When he walked in and spotted me, a look of happiness on his face, I got up to hug him. He looked and dressed exactly as he had in college, which I guess made sense since that had only been a few years ago. I felt as if I’d done so much since then, and here I was, sitting at Mary’s with Maxwell, just like nothing had changed.

A perfectly even half inch afro graced his skull. The new look suited him, brought out the roundness of his features that I’d always secretly found adorable. “You look awesome, man. Love the hair.”

“Thanks. My mom’s happy, she’s jealous my hair grows faster than hers, thinks I should flaunt it.” He smiled, his warm brown eyes crinkling at the corners. “So why are you back for good, what happened?”

“Guess I wasn’t cut out for life in the desert.” I smiled back.

We ordered dinner and I told him the whole story about Scott, and even my weird interactions with Salil.

“So you’re thinking of asking for this Fae’s help with your skills, now? Do you trust him?”

I blew out a deep breath and leaned back in the booth. “I don’t know. I can’t stop thinking about him. And I know I should be afraid of him, or pissed, but I just… I don’t know. If I’m going to see him anyway, I might as well get some use out of him.”

“Man, listen to you, you’re not even making sense!” He raised his chin and squinted at me. “You like him.”

“Forget it. Let’s talk about you. How’s the construction business?”

He laughed and shook his head, but accepted the change in subject. I listened to how he was trying to get his father to hand over more of the management of their family business to him, and agreed he was totally ready to do more than just oversee work sites and order lumber.

When we’d overstayed our welcome at the diner, we split the bill. We took his car to the town beach and sat on a bench in the deserted pavilion to talk some more.

I watched a young couple walk along the edge of the water. “So, what else is going on, besides the work stuff? You seeing anyone?”

Maxwell had never had a steady girlfriend, though he was pretty popular with all the girls in the coven. He said he’d never felt anything serious for anyone, and always joked that he didn’t want to break any hearts.

“Well…”

“Hmm, holding out on me, huh?”

“Naw, nothing serious. But my mother keeps trying to set me up on a date with someone, said she wanted me to keep this girl in mind, in case I never make a love match.”

“Anyone I know?”

“Yeah, that’s the weird part…it’s Myra.”

“Myra? And your mom wants this? Have you ever even talked to her?” Myra was a member of our coven. She seemed nice enough, but had always kept to herself, was almost painfully shy. Why Rachelle would suggest Myra as a match for her son was beyond me.

“Nope.” His gaze held mine and I heard the unspoken request. I held out my hand. He took a quick look up and down the beach before placing his palm into mine. I could direct my visions fairly well if I had something to focus on. I probably could have done a good vision for Maxwell even without holding his hand, I knew him so well, but this made it foolproof.

I closed my eyes and thought of Myra and Maxwell, and tried to get any glimpse into their future. The only picture that came to me was a couple, wrapped in each other’s arms, laughing. A feeling of happiness filled me, total joy and comfort. The man’s laugh was definitely Maxwell’s, the woman seemed like Myra, but I hadn’t ever heard her laugh that I remembered. I opened my eyes and released his work-callused hand. “I saw you happy with her. Really happy. I think you should give it a shot at least.”

He exhaled like a huge weight had been lifted off his shoulders. “Really? You’re sure?”

“As sure as I can be, you know how these things go. It looked like her, and I felt your love.”

He smiled and nodded, his expression still one of happy shock. “Cool.”

“What made your mom pick Myra, anyway?”

“I guess someone from Myra’s family suggested it, they’ve got a witch with the foresight in their line. And since I’ve never seriously dated anyone, my mom said I could at least go on a date with her and see if we hit it off, but I was stalling.”

I laughed at him and slapped his back. “Idiot. What were you afraid of?”

He just shook his head and laughed with me.

 

Back at my car, he clasped me in a loose hug again. “Thanks for the vision, man. You really set my mind at ease.”

“Anytime, you know that. You have to go?” He obviously did, but I didn’t really want the night to end. Going home meant a dream meeting with Salil, and my feelings about that were just too complicated.

“Yeah. Gotta work early, sorry. But I’ll see you at Circle tomorrow, right?”

I nodded. “I’m going to ask everyone for help with a vision. Should be entertaining.”

His eyes narrowed for a minute in concern. “About the Fae, or something else?”

“The Fae will no doubt come up, but something else. It might be nothing, but my mom was worried. I’ll tell you tomorrow.”

“Okay, man, see you then.”

 

At home, I set some mugwort, rose hip, and lemon balm to steep, and took a quick shower, washing with one of my mom’s homemade herbal soaps, cleansing off the outside world and readying for this vision. I dressed in the soft linen pants that I wore to coven meetings, but left off the shirt I usually paired with them, because it was hot and Salil had already seen me shirtless several times. The pants always made me feel more ready for ritual. Sitting on my bed, sipping my tea, I planned my conversation goals for tonight’s dream meeting.

“You smell delightful.”

The voice at my window scared the crap out of me, and I sloshed tea all over my pants. “Fuck!”

“Are you all right?” Salil’s light hair shone in the moonlight, though his face was more difficult to see through the screen.

“Shh!” I rushed to the window, scared, excited, and inner thighs slightly burned. “What are you doing here?”

“You were thinking of me quite strongly. I decided a visit might be in order.”

I scowled at his nerve but said nothing.

“May I come in? Or will you come out?”

Good question. My mother was probably in bed, reading, but Noni was certainly wandering around here somewhere. “I’ll come out.”

I slipped on the shirt after all, and found him by the back door, much too close for comfort. “Let’s walk down to the water.”

He tilted his head in acknowledgment and strode ahead, giving me a chance to study his clothes. A long tunic, either light blue or lavender, it was difficult to tell in the night, and loose pants very similar to mine. No shoes. His hair was down, and gorgeous. Damn. I tried to remember all the things I needed to ask him.

We sat on the sand, cross-legged. When I realized I was mimicking his pose I shifted, stretching my legs out straight, but he’d noticed too, and smiled his amusement up at the moon.

I pulled the moisture from my pants where my tea had spilled, flicking it onto the sand. He cocked his head, watching me with interest. “That is a convenient skill.”

BOOK: Water Witch
6.98Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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