The knowledge seeped into her bones, settling there, letting her know that he would find her, or she would find him, when the time was right.
She tried to go deeper into her vision, but it changed suddenly to one of tragedy, of pain. There were cries and wails of agony as the green fields turned brown, the earth to hard cold stone, and the people lay down on that stone—and died.
What was she seeing? She didn’t know, but ignorance didn’t stop the tears from rolling down her cheeks as she watched the devastation. She felt herself retreating, withdrawing, and yet as she did so, the image expanded to reveal a countryside that had frozen, bodies scattered like leaves in November, covered with a dusting of snow. It was unreal, horrifying and it caught Hecate by the throat.
She cried out, grasping the door jamb for support as the vision faded.
“Miss Hecate…” Dal was there in an instant.
“Oh God.” She sagged as Dal caught her, picked her up and took her inside to one of the few chairs.
“Sit. I will fetch tea.”
She nodded, fighting to get her breath back, and to banish the worst of the images still searing her mind. Her eyes closed as she fought to push away the scenes, the horror of her visions.
“You saw, didn’t you?” Dal knelt next to her, a steaming cup in his hand. “Here, drink this. You know it helps.”
She took the cup gratefully and sipped the hot, strong brew. Her scattered thoughts reassembled themselves.
“Yes, I saw,” she whispered, after another sip. “I saw so many things. Ships, sailors, storms at sea…then…”
“Then what, Miss Hecate?” Dal touched her arm gently. “Tell me.”
Her hand shook a little, but she drank more tea, knowing the warmth helped. “I saw devastation, Dal. Terrible devastation. Disease, a land turned barren, starvation…” She took a sobbing breath. “This year will be a bad one.”
“What can we do?” Dal’s voice was soft, comforting.
“Prepare. We must prepare. We have to make this house safe, strong and warm. We need to lay in as much in the way of foodstuffs as we can, and see to storing more.” She shivered. “We have to be ready, Dal. And we must be ready forhimwhen he comes.”
“Who is coming, Miss Hecate?”
“The man who will change my life. Forever.”
