How Deep The Roots Go ( Book One)

Chapter 11

She dreamed... Deeper than she had in a very long time.

Before departing, the angel Augustus touched her temple, allowing a very powerful rest to take hold. Although he couldn't reveal her destined path, he would place a snippet of dream within.

Just a small glimpse.... Perhaps his touch would help her see, as she should.

And why shouldn't he, he asked himself. The demons were already wreaking havoc on this dimension. Surely, he wouldn't be reprimanded for a good deed when it was to benefit the cause. It wasn't necessarily breaking the laws of the Rulers by intervening with mortal dreams...

He hoped...

She breathed in slowly and then turned over, unaware of the eternal being at her bedside. Temperance's mind was rapid with dream, but her body was content on the comfort of her bed. She found herself in a place that was familiar, the bayou. A place she visited many times with her mother when she was young. She had relatives down on these parts. Ones she hadn't seen since she was a girl.

She could recall many picnics with family on the river banks, enjoying crawfish and fried chicken, and sweet southern tea at its finest. She hadn't been back in what seemed like forever. Her mother had made the choice to sever the ties for both of them, long ago.

The artery of water flowed calmly, a tranquil force of strength of its own. She could feel the hum of its power underneath the small pirogue she sat in. It carried her without request.

The night was pitch black, with only a small gleam of the moon to offer her light. The clouds were swallowing most of its beams, painting a picture of an unexplored darkness. She breathed in the air through her nose deeply, taking in the smell of the water and the swamp mud. This was home to her.

There was just something about the bayou that strummed at the center of one's soul. It beckoned you every now and again. She smiled, immersed in the dream, feeling home again. She looked up at the cypress trees and their heavy branches, dominating gracefully over the water; nearly touching it with their massive limbs. It was eerily beautiful.

The roots pulled deep at the earth here, and the sounds of anything natural and unnatural, resonated on the thick mist filled air. Mocking birds were nearby, all coming together in a song of unity. They were soothing, and allowed a feeling of peace to overtake her.

She leaned further back on her arms, almost lying in the pirogue then. Her head was tilted, and her eyes fluttered shut. She smiled to herself, thinking how lovely this was. This was an exquisite dream.

"Augustus, you fool! What have you done?" Harrison stood at the riverbank, Augustus standing at his right side. Neither could abandon the girl, especially since the young angel broke the law.

Augustus watched the pirogue continue to drift down the heart of the bayou, lonesome in its maiden voyage.

"I was only giving her a peek," Augustus replied meekly. He moved away from Harrison and closer to the water's edge, now wishing he hadn't delivered the touch.

"There has to be a balance, Harrison. It isn't fair that she has nothing to go on," Augustus declared.

Harrison arched his brow sharply. He walked away from Augustus, praying for patience with the young Power. He had a lot to learn. Sighing out, he brought his hand to his chin in thought. "Augustus, there was revelation today. Hazel had forewarned the mortal."

"Temperance," Augustus offered, wishing Harrison would use her given name.

Harrison nodded, watching the pirogue pass down the stream. "A human should not be touched by your hand, Augustus. You have sent her on a non-mortal dream. She will feel, just like she would if she were awake."