Page 254 of Sigils & Spells

Making sure Maya's stall was latched, I turned to face him. “Nah. I think she is a little peeved at me. She wanted to go see the waterfall today and I wouldn't do it.” I reached through the stall door and stroked Maya's soft muzzle. “Maya didn't even want to set foot on that trail either.”

“Well, I can't say I blame her, or you. That wasn't a great day for either of you and in the grand scheme of things, it really wasn't that long ago. Don't rush yourself. You'll know when you're ready to go there again.” He gave my arm a gentle pat.

“Thanks, Toby. I appreciate you more than you'll ever know. Oh! And guess what? I graduated from working with Priestess Francesca today. Starting tomorrow, I'll be studying under the High Priestess herself.”

“Good for you. I know it's a lot of pressure for someone your age, but I have every faith in you.”

Toby didn't know exactly what I had on my proverbial plate, but he somehow knew it was big. Hell, I didn't even know exactly what I got myself into, but when the goddess herself tells you that you have a duty to her, you listen. I didn't even want to imagine what might happen if I refused to listen to her.

CHAPTER12

My dreamsthat night gave me a taste of what the future would hold, not just for me, but for everybody, if I chose not to assume the role set forth for me by the goddess. Dramatic fear and desolation, brought on by some sort of evil that went unrevealed during the course of the dream. While the goal of the enemy was to usurp the powers of the goddess of the moon, the effects would be widespread and devastating.

Goddess Selene didn't just rule over the moon, she personified it. Without her, the moon would cease to cross the sky at night, wiping out the tides and affecting all sea and shore life. Food chains would be disrupted, causing a domino effect.

Her powers encompassed far more than one would assume to associate with the goddess of the moon, and some of them would be frightening in the wrong hands.

Gasping, I bolted out of the dream and upright in bed. Sweat poured down my body and soaked my pajamas and the bed sheets. I wrestled with my breathing in an attempt to slow it down and give my lungs a reprieve. My hands knotted in the blanket as I hoped to still the shaking.

A quick look out the window indicated that dawn wasn't far off. Knowing I wouldn't go back to sleep, I hopped in the shower. Hopefully, I could wash away more than the sweat. I would love nothing more than to flush my fear down the drain as well.

Before I realized how long I'd been standing under the false rain of the shower head, the water ran cold and goosebumps erupted across my skin. The rough towel didn't do much to warm me up, even if it dried me off. Clothes on, I stripped the bed to take the linens to the wash house and hoped my mattress wouldn't smell like a week old cage match arena when I came back to put fresh sheets on.

By the time I'd been to the wash house to throw my sheets in the laundry basket, I deemed it not too early to knock on the High Priestess's door. Something in the dream told me that I needed to discuss it with her. She needed to know what I'd been shown.

The door opened before my knuckles had a chance to make contact. “Come in, child. I've been expecting you for most of the night. I'd believed you would be here far earlier than this.”

Surprised, I followed her in and closed the door behind me. “I was afraid to come too early and wake you.”

She laughed, a sound I didn't think I'd ever heard before and almost failed to identify. When she turned in my direction and handed me a cup of tea, her face indicated that the laugh had been one of irony and not humor.

“I've yet to sleep for most of this night. Rest will probably elude me for quite some time based on what has been brought to my attention recently.”

“If you didn't sleep, then you obviously didn't dream, so how do you know what it going on?”

Her smile quirked up on only one side. A clear indication that it served as an attempt to put me at ease and not show real joy. Matched with her furrowed brow and compressed lips, it created an expression that chilled me to the bone.

“I did fall asleep, so to speak. But, once pulled into the dream, I had no rest. It sapped more of my energy than a two-week trek across the desert.”

At her words, dread pooled in my stomach once more. If the High Priestess feared our future, I knew I had good reason to be scared as well.

“So you saw the dream as well?”

Her tea cup clacked against the saucer as she set it down, the sound seeming louder than normal in the quiet that stretched between us.

“I do not know if we saw the same dream. Perhaps if you told me about yours?”

Swallowing hard, I did my best to recall every detail, sure that nothing I'd been shown should be left out. “... And the shadows were so dark, but the figures rising from them were even darker. It looked like they just swallowed up the light and made it disappear. They were after something. I think it might have been a piece of jewelry, but I couldn't tell for sure.”

Occasionally she nodded as I spoke, once or twice closing her eyes as she listened, but never interrupted me.

“It is as I feared.”

Waiting, I bit my tongue to avoid blurting out all the questions that ran through my brain. A coppery tang exploded across my taste buds, reminding me not to drive my teeth straight through my own flesh. Part of me wanted to know what she feared and the other part wanted to run away and stick my head in the sand like an ostrich.

“We will go over this, piece by piece, as we prepare you for what lies ahead. I do not wish to overwhelm you by blurting everything out at once. However, I will give you an overview...”

She paused for a minute, and I could see her gathering her thoughts. Before she began to speak again, she refilled both our teacups, even though mine had barely been drank out of. Another trip to the kitchen and she brought our pastries and set them on the coffee table between us. My gaze followed her every move, unnerved by seeing her so rattled.

---