Faith nodded while my mother said, “Arwyn, no.Let me take care of this.”
“I can wait my turn,” I told her, which didn’t seem to be what she wanted to hear.
She gave me a look while she put her notebook on the table and stood.“We have someone to welcome into the Three.Let’s go outside so we can be closer to the Goddess.”
I gave Faith a look that said I wasn’t forgetting anything.That creep had a comeuppance headed his way.Her conspiratorial grin told me we were on the same page.
Following Mom, we went out the side door, crossed the slate patio, and situated ourselves in the middle of the lawn, halfway between the house and the cliff.The sound and scent of the nearby roaring ocean made me feel lighter and more content, blowing away my earlier annoyance.
“Faith and I went over the ceremony before you arrived,” Mom told me.She turned to Faith.“Are you ready, honey?”
Faith nodded, looking very nervous.
“Remember,” I told her.“You’re asking the Goddess for her blessing to join us as the Three.It’s what’s in your heart, in your mind, that matters.She won’t be upset if you get a few words mixed up.Clear away those worries and show the Goddess your heart.She’ll accept your gifts as you’ve accepted hers.”
I took off my gloves as Faith stepped between Mom and me, closed her eyes, tilted her head back, and raised her hands to the heavens, reciting the words she’d been taught.
“I, Faith Corey Bishop, accept my destiny, maiden to your mother and your crone.I will share the power and the responsibility.I will protect this family and rout out, by whatever means necessary, those who would endanger my people.I offer, without reservation, my power that it might be used for the safety and betterment of the Corey coven.”
I felt it the moment it happened.My blood sizzled as the connection changed.The Goddess had accepted Faith.I was now the Mother to her Maiden and Mom’s Crone.The Corey Council had reformed.The power was different this time.Faith was an elemental, so the connection felt almost electric, like lightning was running through my veins.
We stood in a triangle and held out our hands.When I gripped each of theirs in my ungloved hands, darkness descended, and the visions began.
FIVE
Visions
Acar is barreling down a familiar two-lane road.It’s twilight.It passes a slower-driving tourist, looking at the ocean, going around it on the right and kicking up dirt and rocks.A woman ahead is walking in the grass, along the side of the road.The engine roars as the driver floors it, aiming for her.At the horrible sound of bones breaking and blood spraying across the windshield, the vision goes dark and then…
Mist covers the ground, swirling around old, rotting cabins.The sun crests overgrown trees.A roar of large machinery breaks the silence.A man, wearing sunglasses and a helmet, drives a bulldozer toward the first cabin, knocking it down and shoving the collapsed roof and walls to the side.When he backs up, changing direction to hit the next, he stops, standing up from his seat.Hanging out the open door, he tries to make sense of what he’s seeing.His tanned face pales as he gets out his cell phone to make a call.
A man in a suit stands behind a podium, his hands gripping the edges.His eyebrows convey concern, but his eyes say anger.An older man in a uniform stands beside him.His expression is blank as he and a small group watch and listen.The vision goes dark and then…
Uncle John is sitting in a dim room, the curtains closed against sunlight.A cold cup of coffee sits forgotten at his elbow.His phone buzzes in his pocket, but he doesn’t seem to hear it.His focus is on the family portrait in his hands.Breath shallow, the image consumes him.The vision goes dark and then…
The moon is shining high above a patio bar.It’s a mild night and patrons have spilled out the back doors, sitting at picnic tables and around a firepit.People are talking and laughing.Music drifts out the doors and windows of the bar.Drink in hand, Colin moves through the crowd toward the beautiful young woman nursing her warm beer.Despite what her fake ID reads, she’s nineteen, home from her first year of college and visiting friends.
Colin lays it on heavy and the young woman laughs nervously, shaking her head no.Colin moves in, whispering in her ear, while his fingers move at his side.Smiling brightly, her eyes vacant, she follows him from the patio to his car.The vision goes dark and then…
Light flickers ominously from the fire shooting up sparks in a dank basement.Something bubbles in a pot—no, cauldron.It’s small and modern, but it’s a cauldron.Two sets of hands work together to add ingredients to the potion.Whimpering is heard in the corner.One set of hands tips a shallow bowl of what appears to be blood into the pot, causing the concoction to hiss and smoke.The vision goes dark and then…
Sybil and Faith walk into a room filled with hostile, suspicious people.Sybil’s head lifts slightly, the disapproval seeming to slide right off her.Faith is trying hard to look unfazed but is clearly uncomfortable.People move away from them, but the whispers feel like a roar.The vision goes dark and then…
My eyes fluttered open to a clear blue sky.No aches or pains.Doing this on the lawn was a far better idea than when I joined the Council and we ended up on the hard slate of Gran’s courtyard.Perhaps we should have started out sitting, so we didn’t have as far to fall.I’d suggest that next time.
“Was that a dream or a vision?”Faith asked.“Did you guys see what I did?”
I sat up, put my gloves back on, and found Faith helping Mom up, while Mom brushed stray blades of grass from her dress.
“It was a shared vision, but we need to discuss it,” I told her.“When Gran, Mom, and I did this, we saw the vision from different perspectives.The Goddess shows us different things we need to be aware of in the coming days, weeks, or months.”
“Thank you,” Mom said to Faith.“Do you need a hand, darling?”she asked me.
“I’m good.”I stood and experienced an immediate head rush.It felt like the ground was pulling me back down.Faith was there, grabbing my arm and holding me upright.I patted her hand once my head cleared.“Thank you.That was some kind of weird vertigo thing.I’m fine now.”
She smiled but stuck close to me as we walked back into Mom’s home.
“Have a seat, Arwyn,” Mom said.“I’ll pour us fresh cups of tea.Are you hungry?”
