Divining Destiny

Chapter Twenty Six

The pain and fear engulfed her, and Ngaire screamed, struggling so hard that she tangled herself up in her blankets.
"Stop, stop, you'll hurt yourself." She heard, and obeyed instinctively, though the voice was unfamiliar. Ngaire opened her eyes to see Josiah standing over her.
"Josiah? What're you doing here? Wait...where am I?" Ngaire asked, looking around. The room was hers, but it seemed odd, like someone had rearranged something.
"You're home. I brought you home. What's the last thing you remember?" Josiah asked. Ngaire lifted a hand to her head, feeling the sweat beaded there.
"Pain...no, that was a dream. Ugh, I'm still sore from all that dancing last night." Ngaire said, rubbing her neck. She looked at the time, and did a double take. "Surely I didn't sleep for sixteen hours! How much did I drink?" Ngaire stood up, but her legs were too weak to hold her, and she fell back to the bed. Josiah helped her, trying to remember the last time they had danced at Circle.
"Was last night Litha?" He asked. Ngaire looked up at him in confusion for a moment, and then laughed.
"I haven't planned for Litha yet. You must have drunk more than me. It was Beltane last night." Ngaire said. Josiah stared at her in shock. Pernilla had erased five months of memories from Ngaire's brain? No wonder she was hurting and disoriented.
"Ngaire. I need you to focus. What's today's date?" Josiah asked. She pushed him away.
"Damned All-Saint's Day. November the 1st. Why?" Ngaire tried to get up, but still her body seemed like it was full of lead.
"Ngaire. It's the 23rd of March. Last night was Mabon, and you... well I don't know how much to tell you." Josiah said, emotion entering his voice. She looked up at him in shock, then made a sound of disbelief and grabbed her phone from her bag where it sat on her bedside table. Josiah reached out and put his hand on hers.
"Are you sure you want to see this? I can delete everything, a whole clean slate." Josiah said. She looked from the phone in her hand to him, her eyes now showing fear and pain.
"What...what happened to me?" She asked, suddenly sounding younger than thirty-two. Josiah gently pried the phone from her hand, then held it out to her.
"Unlock it. Just trust me." Josiah said. She unlocked the phone for him, and he went through the text messages and phone calls, deleting the irrelevant messages, as well as emails.
"Josiah! Tell me what happened!" She cried, instinctively calling to her power to give him a zap, but nothing happened. She let out a cry.
"My magick. What's happened to my magick? It's gone." She cried. He put the phone down and pulled her close.
"I don't want to tell you, but you have to know." He said, and told her a diluted version of the truth, omitting every trace of Tia, of Jaina, and just made it that Ngaire had found the idea of power too tempting and her power, and memories, had been taken as a result. Ngaire was crying in the end.
"She took my magick. How...how could she? I did nothing to her...or did I?" Ngaire said. Josiah shook his head.
"No. But she's evil. You'll never see her again." He said.
"What about...Apothika? I can't run it anymore, can I?" She asked in a dejected tone.
"Someday yes, but she took so much from you. I'll look after you, and I know someone who'd gladly run the shop for you." Josiah said. Ngaire leaned against him.
"I want to meet her. That shop is my life, or it was." Ngaire said.
"Of course. Are you hungry?" Josiah asked. Ngaire shook her head.
"I don't know. I feel so, so empty. What about Qarinah? I won't be able to lead them anymore. I'm a failure now, a nothing." Ngaire sobbed. Josiah shook his head vigorously.
"You will never be nothing. You will always be Ngaire Shannon, a wonderful, misguided woman. An amazing woman, an amazing witch." Josiah said.
"I'm not a witch anymore! I have nothing to offer the Goddess anymore. Her gift has been stripped from me, cut from me." Ngaire said, and Josiah frowned.
"You can still feel her, deep down. She's still a part of you. Once you calm and adjust, you will feel her flame deep down." Josiah said and took her hand, moving it over her heart. "As long as your heart still beats, she's with you. You still have magick, it is just smaller. Your brain still holds all the knowledge, you can still help others. Help others, Ngaire. You have a new life ahead of you, and friends to help you." Josiah soothed, his fingers entwined with hers. She looked up at him, so close, and felt her heart skip a beat.
"You love me? After all I must have done to deserve this?" Ngaire asked. Josiah sighed.
"I think so. I care deeply at least. And no one deserves what you went through. You were lucky. You survived." Josiah said.
"Thanks to you." Ngaire reminded him.
"I did what was needed. I couldn't leave you there." Josiah said. He stood up. "You stay in bed. I'll make food, and tomorrow we'll see how you're feeling. Catch up on today's news, but don't hurt yourself, or overdo it." Josiah said. Ngaire lay back, and he went into the kitchen. The shop could wait a few days.