Divining Destiny

Chapter 11

Faye drove as fast as the speed limit allowed, praying hard the entire way. As an after-thought she pulled over at a service station and sent a brief text message of apology to Pernilla, saying a family member needed her and she couldn't attend Coven that night. Tossing the phone in her glove box she resumed her trip to Rossdale.
Faye finally arrived at a few minutes to one, locked her car and strode up the walkway to the front door. Pressing her finger to the doorbell she could feel the power of the rune on the other side, and smiled proudly. The sound of the doorbell echoed through the house, and Tia came to the door, looking fresh from the shower, a glass of water in her hand. When she saw it was Faye she nearly dropped the glass in her haste to put it down, then flung herself into the older woman's arms, tears streaming afresh down her cheeks. Faye held her close, gently guiding her into the house properly so she could close the front door, using a hand to lock the door as she continued to comfort Tia. The rune Algiz was untouched by either of them, so Faye continued to lead Tia into the lounge room, coaxing her to sit down on the sofa with her. Once they had sat down Faye held Tia close.
"There there, Tia. You did very well." Faye said gently, stroking the child's hair as she cried. Tia's sobs slowly subsided, and she took a deep, shuddering breath and wiped her face with the back of her sleeve.
"I was so, so scared." Tia whispered, hiccuping from the crying. Faye nodded.
"I understand. Do you want to freshen up and then tell me all about it?" Faye asked. Tia nodded and stood up slowly, leaving Faye on the sofa and heading into the bathroom, still slightly steamy from the shower, and washed her face with cool tap water, glancing at her reflection in the mirror. Her eyes were darkened by emotion, almost a dark, stormy grey, and her hair was scraggly and damp from the shower. She took a deep breath and straightened up, lifting her chin slightly, and headed back to the lounge, but it was empty. She found Faye in the kitchen, getting items ready for dinner. Faye didn't look at her as Tia entered, but spoke to her.
"Have you eaten anything?" Faye asked. Tia shook her head and sat down.
"No, Auntie. I felt very hungry after using the smudge stick and casting the runes, but I haven't felt that hungry since." Tia replied. Faye smiled and moved to the fridge.
"I am not surprised. Working magick makes many people hungry. I am yet to meet a witch that wasn't hungry afterwards." Faye said. Tia moved towards the fridge but Faye shooed her towards the table. "You sit and relax, you've earned it. I'll make us some lunch." Faye said gently, and Tia relaxed in her seat. Faye went over to her bag and pulled out what looked like a teabag, turned the kettle on, and started preparing sandwiches for lunch. Once the kettle had boiled Faye put the teabag into a mug and filled it with water, then took it over to Tia with a plate of sandwiches. Putting a mug of tea on the table in front of herself, Faye sat down and reached for a sandwich half. Tia picked up the mug in front of her, her hands warming from the heat of the cup.
"Eat up, but sip the tea slowly. If you drink it too fast it won't work as it needs to. It will help calm you, as well as replenish energy. They should put that in capsule form." Faye said, and laughed. Tia smiled and sipped the tea, inhaling and tasting the flavours. The steam curled upwards, the scents of rose, lavender, mint, chamomile and something Tia couldn't quite put her finger on. She sipped the water and sighed softly. It tasted delicious.
"The elusive flavour is butterscotch." Tia heard, and looked around to see Clara standing by the back door. Tia smiled to her, thanking her in her mind, then looked at Faye, who smiled back at her.
"Do you like the tea?" Faye asked. Tia nodded.
"Oh yes, it's lovely. May I ask, does it have butterscotch in it?" Tia asked. Faye blinked a moment, then smiled again.
"You could taste it?" Faye asked. Tia smiled sheepishly.
"I could, but I didn't know what it was. My friend Clara told me what it was. I could taste everything else." Tia replied. Faye laughed softly.
"Your friends have really helped you, haven't they? Protected you and all?" Faye asked. Tia ate some of her food.
"They say the Goddess asked them to." Tia replied, chewing her food. Faye nearly dropped her mug in surprise.
"Do they now? That's very interesting." Faye said. Tia nodded absently, the topic losing her interest. It was natural to her, having her friends around. Faye watched her as she ate, eating her own sandwich, then finishing the rest of her own tea. Tia sipped the last dregs of her drink, and stretched, feeling relaxed and at ease.  Faye started cleaning up and got food out for dinner, putting frozen chicken in the sink. Tia was supposed to have the pasta ready, but Faye put the meat back in the freezer for the next night. 
"Auntie Faye, what do we tell Mum? Of you being here, I mean. I cannot tell her that a witch cast a spell on me that had me sleepwalk halfway across town, can I?" Tia said. Faye turned from the sink to look at Tia, and sighed.
"No. She would be scared, maybe want to flee, to get away, and I feel this is where you need to be now. I'll tell her that I was out here on some errands and thought I would spring a surprise visit on you, not knowing she would be at work. We can say that you and I spent a peaceful evening together watching a movie." Faye said. Tia looked at her hands.
"Do you think Ngaire will try again?" Tia asked. Faye sighed and sat down.
"I honestly don't know, Tia. She may, she may not. The fact that you were strong enough to break her summon on you would show her that you are powerful, strong. She will try again, but maybe not for a long while. I wish I could train you, but enemies back in Elpherton would know, they would feel my power signature. I am sure the Goddess has the right person for you to be trained by, I just hope you find them soon." Faye said, touching Tia's hand. Tia felt a bubble of panic in her chest, but she swalled past it.
"I hope so. I don't like knowing that something is going to happen and I can't control it. I must have a way to protect myself from that woman in Elpherton, and from Ngaire. If it happens. I am very scared...but I'm ready." Tia said gently, putting her free hand on top of Faye's. Older eyes met younger ones.
"I know. And I am sorry. But right now I'm next to useless. I am not as young as I used to be, hence why I can't train you, that and my closeness to Pernilla. Her witch senses are very strong, though for now I think she's given up on you, and there are spells in place to protect us all." Faye said. Tia looked up at her.
"Okay. I understand. But you don't have to perform magick to show me stuff. Surely there are things that don't involve projections or incantations. Show me history, runes, herb lore, everything you know. I promise I won't cast any spells." Tia begged. Faye watched her, saw the eagerness in the girl's eyes, then nodded.
"All right." Faye said, and checked her watch. "It's nearly 4 now. How about you go rest, do some homework, whatever you need to do, and I'll get dinner started and think over what I can teach you. After dinner we'll clean up, then sit down and you can show me what you know, and we can have a few lessons. How does that sound?" Faye asked, and Tia beamed.
"Oh yes, yes please! Thank you Auntie, I promise I won't let you down." Tia said. She got to her feet and headed to her room, leaving Faye at the kitchen table. Faye laughed softly, then stood up and got her bag of things, settling down in the lounge room to ponder over what she was going to talk to the girl about.  There was a message on her phone from Pernilla, the usual response to her earlier message. Take care, hope all is well with your family. Faye felt a twinge at the near-normalcy of the message, but she switched the phone off and tossed it  back in her bag. Rolling up her sleeves Faye went into the kitchen to start cutting up the chicken.

Tia sat at her desk, working her way through her Maths homework, hearing Faye move about in the kitchen.
"Are you sure you want to learn? Once you star, it starts the ball rolling." Sierra said. Tia glanced up at her between Maths equations.
"I'm sure, Sierra. It's part of me. Even you all said that. I want to learn. I need to." Tia said, bending her dark head over her work.
"That's true, we did. But its too soon. You're too young." Sierra said. Tia looked at her again.
"Will you tell me who Amber is?" Tia asked. Sierra frowned, and it was obvious that they had all hoped Tia had forgotten that name.
"I can't. Not yet." Sierra said softly. Tia shrugged.
"Then I won't stop. I need to protect myself. Something is going to happen, and soon." Tia said. Sierra watched her, then sighed.
"Stubborn, aren't you?" Sierra said. Tia grinned.
"I take after my mother." Tia said. Sierra laughed.
"You have no idea." Sierra replied. When Tia looked up, the girl had vanished. Tia shrugged to herself and kept working on her homework, trying to put the day behind her.

Ngaire closed the shop just after 4, taking her things out to her car for her circle that night. She hadn't seen the fourth girl all day, and the suspense was eating away at her. Either 1 - the spell hadn't worked on her, 2 - it had but something or someone had intervened, another witch or another spell, or 3 - it had worked but the girl herself had fought the spell. Getting in her car, Ngaire kept thinking about it. She had felt power, but it hadn't been that strong, or had it? Putting the key in the ignition she started her car, letting the interior warm up slightly. Someone had helped the girl, of that she was certain. But whom? Ngaire put the car in gear and pulled out of her spot, trying to think of the circle that night. She could ask her circle to send her power, for a sick friend perhaps, and find the girl with the extra power, slightly wrong, she knew, but she also knew it would work. A locator spell, that was what she needed, and she knew how much power would be needed to activate the spell. The little girl wouldn't stay hidden for long.
Once Ngaire got home she meditated for a bit, promising she wouldn't harm the girl, but just wanted to mould the girl, to get on her side, harness the power for her coven, power that sie would make Qarinah unstoppable. People would flock to her coven, and she would be the powerful one. It was a heady thought. The day drew on, and the evening was upon her before she knew it, and people were starting to arrive, and she welcomed her coven members, greeting them and directing them to the ritual room. They had a basic circle, calling the corners, thinking of loved ones, feeling the Goddess and God in their circle. Once the ritual was over, the magick still flowing around them, Ngaire urged everyone to sit down in the circle.
"I know it isn't my place to ask, and you can all say no if it bothers you, but I was wondering you all could spare some energy for me to send some strong healing spells to my sister Mirenda.  She has been rather unwell the last week, and I feel we could help her." Ngaire said. The members of her coven reacted precisely the way she knew they would, nodding their heads and voicing their concerns and well-wishes, all except one. One of the members, a man in his mid-thirties named Josiah, was shaking his head. The mere idea of giving his energy to anyone terrified him, the last time he'd done that a family had died. Ngaire could feel the fear and despair flood from him.
"You don't have to, Josiah." Ngaire said. Josiah shook his head again.
"The last time a witch asked to use my power, an entire family was killed. I can't trust anyone with my energy again." Josiah said. A few people gasped.
"A witch killed a family? I certainly hope she got her come-uppence." One coven member said. Josiah shook his head.
"As far as I know she still runs the coven, and all the members are still there, except me." Josiah said. Ngaire watched, frowning, listening to them talk.
"I promise I won't use the energy for evil. But we don't have to move if you don't want to. I'll get the energy just through a focus exercise." Ngaire said, making a mental note to find out more about this witch. Josiah nodded and lowered his head as everyone else stood up.  Ngaire led them through a quick focusing exercise, having them focus their energy on a crystal, sending their spare energy into it, and then thanked them all for the energy, though there probably wasn't as much as if Josiah hadn't ruined it. He had been a part of her coven for a few years, and she trusted him, and didn't hold too much against him. She dismantled the circle and they all headed off to have food, but Ngaire noticed that Josiah left immediately. She wondered if she would see him again. She mentally shrugged as others were moving around her to talk, and she focused her attention on her other members, though tried to weasel Josiah's name into the topics, to see if they knew where he'd come from, the name of his other coven, anything she could get. The amount of information she was able to obtain was minimal, but she wouldn't give up. Not yet.