“This should be a little different. I'll have to concentrate, state my intention, and focus on just one thing—a positive outcome. Usually, public rituals are an honoring or a celebration of a pagan holiday."
"Will I have to do anything?"
"Not unless you want to." At that moment, the tea kettle began to whistle. “I'll be right back; you can think about your answer. Tonight is just for preparation. It's fine if you want to participate tomorrow or not. I’ll do it either way," Freya said.
Devon smoothed out the map and studied it for a moment, then he said, “This is only a map of the United States. I suppose you didn't think they would be anywhere else... "
She set down the teapot after pouring two cups. It hadn't occurred to her that she should expand the research to the whole world. But that was not a bad idea, considering the England connection.
"Let me get another map." Freya rushed off to the living room, where she took an atlas off the shelves, found a center page with the entire world mapped out, and brought it back to the kitchen. She laid it over the map of the United States. "I'll need to change the wording of my spell, so let's let our tea steep a little bit while I think about how to word this to include all places and all times."Whew, this is going to be one heck of a spell.
Freya hurried to bring his tea over, along with a packet of sugar and a pitcher of cream. She left her own tea on the counter and grabbed her parchment paper out of a drawer along with a quill and an ink pot. Then she poured a small amount of red ink into it.
“You write in red ink?”
“The red ink is dragon's blood—the plant, not blood from a dragon.”
He chuckled. “Wait. Are dragons real?”
“Depends on who you ask.”
She didn't want to talk to Devon and get sidetracked, so she just went ahead and wrote out her spell. As she let it dry, she took a little longer to think about it.
It only took a couple of minutes to put together what she wanted to say and make sure the Goddess couldn't misinterpret her intentions. Every witch has made a mistake or two just from poor wording. She learned, like all good witches, to be very careful with words that have multiple definitions. She'd learned the hard way. Like the time she used the slang word 'screwed.'She'd heard a 'ping' sound. Under her table, a screw rolled on the floor. She'd had to stop the spell, laugh at herself, and then fix the table leg—and her wording! Hey, it could have been worse.
As soon as she had the spell double-checked, she washed the quill tip, closed the ink bottle, and put them away in the drawer again. Devon was sitting at the table and studying her as if she fascinated him.
"What?" Freya asked.
"Nothing. Just watching you work. You seemed to use ritual tools from the past. Like old writing implements."
"Yes, I come from a long line of spell-casting witches. Many of our tools have been passed down, and according to my grandmother, they have accumulated the energy of all of those who've gone before, so they’re extra helpful.”
Devon nodded and took a sip of his tea, as if her explanation made perfect sense. She was happy he seemed to accept her beliefs. Hopefully, that was true.
6
Freya checked the parchment, making sure it was completely dry, then took the spell to the table. She opened the basket with more ritual tools, pulled out what she needed, and set everything else to the side. They could enjoy their tea first, and then she could set up the altar after that.
He probably had more questions for her, and she'd be happy to answer them before tomorrow. Goddess forbid he ask her something in the middle of her incantation.
“What do you have there?” He nodded at the parchment.
“These are the words I will use for my spell tomorrow.” She handed the parchment to him.
After a quick glance, he asked, “How can I assist?”
Freya missed having her grandmother and sister’s help, but they knew what they were doing. Maybe there was something he could do that didn’t require much background knowledge.
“I would like your help with one part if you think you can do it.”
“Anything …”
“If you can hold the pendulum over the map without purposely moving it, I can astral project along the path it shows us.”
“Ah! So, if you’re pointed in the right direction, you can close your eyes and let your consciousness travel to the right place?”
“Yes, not only the right place, but also the right time. I’ve worded the spell to include both. You must stay completely silent, so I can travel in a trance. If you have any questions, ask them now.”
