Page 40 of Charmed

“How did you know?” It was almost a relief that Medea knew her secret. It made Persimmon not feel so alone anymore.

“I am not the only one who’s been suspicious. You keep ignoring my request to watch you scry and for you to teach me to do it. And you also ran away when we all needed your help just now, and didn’t answer your father’s question.”

“Oh, Medea, you are right. I sadly don’t have the ability to see the future like my mother did. I don’t know why, but I just cannot do it. I am a failure. I am powerless, and I hate it.”

“You are not a failure and far from powerless. You still have the ability to move things with your mind. We’ve already seen that.”

“I do, but that’s not enough. Now everyone will think I am a liar and a fraud. They will all hate me, just like my father does.”

Medea rolled her eyes. “I’m sorry, but getting Elric’s approval should not be a worry of yours at all. And don’t think that everyone will hate you, because they won’t. Especially not him.”

“Who?” Persimmon turned to find Stone running after her.

“I will leave you two to talk.”

“Nay, please stay with me, Medea.” Right now, Persimmon didn’t want to be alone with Stone.

“You need to tell him the truth, even if you don’t reveal your lack of scrying to the others.” Medea was gone in a flash, leaving Persimmon to face Stone on her own.

“Persimmon,” called out Stone, running up to her. “What’s wrong?” He stopped suddenly when he saw the big hole in the ground. “Don’t stand so close to the edge of the oubliette. You might fall in.” He put his arm around her waist and escorted her away from the pit. “What has you so upset? Was it something you saw in the gazing orb? Or was it your father?”

She paused for a moment before answering. Medea’s words rang in her ears and she knew the girl was right. She had to let Stone know the truth. “Nay. I saw nothing in the orb. Nothing at all. That is what upset me.” She took another deep breath and slowly released it, waiting for his response.

“Well, try it again. I’m sure it’ll work now,” he urged her. “It has to work. We need that information. Please, don’t abandon all of us in our time of great need. The kingdom of Taelgonoth is counting on me to bring back the jewels and catch the thieves. I am in a foreign land and everything seems to be working against me. I can’t complete my mission unless you help me, Persimmon.”

It was going to be even harder now to tell him the entire truth. The rejection she was sure to endure when everyone discovered she couldn’t scry to help them was going to be overwhelming. Persimmon had been through a lot lately and wasn’t sure she could handle this. Oh, she longed for her mother right now. Her mother was the only one who could help her find comfort and tell her what to do. Even if she grew up without her mother for the most part, the times they did visit, her mother was always able to calm her down and even give her good advice on occasion.

“Take out the orb, Persimmon. Please, try again. Do it for me.” Stone held on to her arm, looking into her eyes, believing in her even though he shouldn’t. Then, he quickly kissed her on the lips, sending a surge of energy bolting through her. It was a good feeling, but at the same time only made things worse. He cared for her. Stone was a good and kind man. He didn’t deserve someone like her.

She fumbled for the orb, doing as he asked, but her hands shook so hard that the gazing sphere slipped through her fingers. It hit the cobblestones at her feet. Instead of shattering, it began to roll.

“I’ll get it,” offered Stone, but she shook her head.

“Nay. Only I can touch it.” She didn’t know what real difference it made, but it was something that she’d heard her mother say through the years. It was the reason her mother never let her try to scry. Or so she thought. Right now, she wasn’t sure of anything. Persimmon hurried after the orb, bending down to scoop it up just as it stopped at the edge of the pit. When she hunkered down to get it, something caught her attention from the bottom of the oubliette. She slowly turned her head and looked down into the water that had settled at the bottom of the deep pit, probably from rain.

There, shimmering in all white was the ghost of her mother!

“Mother,” she whispered, feeling her heartbeat pick up. She’d purposely left her homeland of Lornoon because she wanted to stop seeing the ghost of her mother. It was something that started happening right after the woman’s death. It frightened Persimmon and also made her miss her mother deeply. To her surprise, it seemed that her mother’s ghost had followed her here to Mura.

“What did you say?” Stone stopped right next to her, staring down into the pit. “Did you see something down there?” His hand was immediately on the hilt of his sword. “Don’t worry, I’ll protect you.”

Even though Stone stared directly at the ghost of her mother, he couldn’t see her.

“Stone, look hard. Tell me the truth. Do you see anyone down there?” Part of her was hoping that he could see the ghost, too.

“What? You see a person down there?” He stretched his neck to look. “Mayhap King Rhys has imprisoned an enemy. No one could escape such a deep pit. And since there is water in there, they could drown.”

Persimmon, you are not alone. You have people who care about you, came her mother’s voice from the pit. This surprised Persimmon. The ghost of her mother had never spoken to her before now. But she’d also heard the voices in her head of the old Lithum couple, so mayhap this was some sort of power she had and it was growing.

“Can’t you hear her?” asked Persimmon, feeling anxious, frightened and worried.

“Her?” Stone made a face and continued to try to see the bottom of the pit. “I hope to hell Rhys didn’t imprison a girl. I’ll have to ask him about it.”

You have to unleash the crystal orb’s power in order to use it. Persimmon saw the ghost of her mother slowly disappearing. You must help the others get the gemstones back where they truly belong. Their magic is powerful and cannot fall into the wrong hands. The apparition disappeared and then the pit was dark again.

“Is something happening, Persimmon? Please, tell me what it is.” Stone placed his hand on hers and stared deeply into her eyes.

“I did see something. Someone, Stone. But I am not ready to speak about it yet.” She stood up with the orb in her hand. “Please, don’t say a thing about it to the others.” She needed to think about what her mother just said. She had no idea how to the power of the gazing crystal or what her mother meant by saying the king’s gemstones held magical powers.