Fire Within - By Ally Shields Page 0,25
Anything to stop the pictures. At least it passed the time.
Ari had purchased the green Mini Cooper for a song almost five years ago. The former owner was a drug dealer, killed in a shootout while driving the little coupe. Ari had worked hard to repair the damage; the shattered windows and bloodstains. During the restoration, the two had bonded. Mini had become a sounding board and her best listener. Today was no exception. Best of all, Mini had no backtalk to Ari’s nervous rants.
She arrived in town before dinnertime. Too early. Ari drove to the park, sank onto a bench and stared across the lake, watching the occasional duck until dusk fell.
* * *
Depending on the choice of fantasy, the word seer usually conjured the image of a dark-haired, gypsy-like woman with a crystal ball, or maybe a mysterious figure in a long robe holding a staff and living in a cave. By that criteria, Rosalina didn’t look much like a diviner. She had short red curls, bright blue eyes and lived in a modern walk-out ranch with her husband and three children. To the best of Ari’s knowledge, she had no crystal ball, walking staff, or cave. She did, however, do her best work under the light of the full moon and in an isolated clearing in the woods. From prior visits with her relatives, Ari knew the way.
Dressed in jeans and a t-shirt, Rosalina sat cross-legged, Indian-style in the middle of a ring of flickering candles. A white lace shawl lay draped across her shoulders and arms. “Welcome, Arianna Talaitha Calin. Please join me in the circle,” she invited.
Ari paused long enough to sprinkle herself with cleansing water from a large white bowl, then entered the circle. She knelt across from Rosalina as the candlelight shimmered over the seer’s composed features. Ari gave the other woman a weak smile and recited the traditional words of the ceremony. “I have come to seek your wise counsel.”
“Yes, spirit daughter,” was the response. “I will hear your petition. What knowledge do you seek?”
“An interpretation of the legend of Ramora.”
“Have you had the dreams?”
Ari hesitated. “I’ve had dreams, but I don’t know if they’re tied to the legend.” She was reluctant to discuss this with anyone. It made it seem more real. Yet this was why she had come. She swallowed hard and went on. “Five times the same man has appeared in my dreams. In the last, he called my name.”
Rosalina smiled. “You wish to know if this is the soul mate prophesied by the legend?”
“Yes. I mean, I’m hoping he isn’t.”
The seer’s face registered surprise. “Yours is not the usual request. Most women of your family come to me hoping for confirmation.” When Ari didn’t respond, Rosalina set a large candle between them and handed Ari a ten-inch silver lighter. “Light the sacred flame, Arianna, and we shall ask the Goddess for guidance.”
As Ari obeyed the instructions, Rosalina spread a small blue scarf on the ground and took a bag of similar cloth in her hands. She began a soft chant in an ancient witch tongue. Ari recognized the words she’d been taught by her mother and Great-Gran. An appeal to the Goddess to show them the truth, whatever that truth might be.
The chant ended, and they sat in silence, focusing on the candlelight. The flames provided the sole flickering movement, and the only sounds were those of a forest at night. Leaves stirred; an owl hooted. The air smelled of incense and melting wax.
Rosalina untied the string on the bag and held it out to Ari. “We will cast three.”
Ari reached in and, without looking, selected three rune stones, one at a time, and placed them on the scarf in the order drawn. Rosalina studied them to divine their meaning. Ari recognized the three stones: Ansuz, Ehwaz, and Wunjo. She had not been gifted with the skill to divine their combined meaning. She waited for Rosalina to tell her.
When the seer raised her head, her gaze was far away. “With Ansuz the Goddess has acknowledged your interest in exploring your family heritage and found it to be a worthy quest. Ehwaz sets forth the alternatives in your question, the possibility of creating greater links between two people or parting them forever. And Wunjo, the ultimate outcome rune in this casting, means your heart will know the way.”
Rosalina stopped, and Ari waited for her to continue. She didn’t.
“Is that it? Nothing else? Surely there’s more you can tell me.”
“I