Chapter Twenty-Two
At eleven p.m., Bruin rolled out of Russell's furry grasp and off the bed.As silently as he could, he gathered his things before heading down to his own room.
Once there, he did a triple cleanse in order to properly prepare for the upcoming Augury rituals.First, he stood in the middle of a quickly drawn chalk circle and let white light wash over him, an easy enough task even with his strained power since he just had to let it rain down and not actually channel it.Then a second cleanse in his shower, with water.Lastly, a cleanse of intent, involving a lit stick of incense and a prayer.He would enter the chamber with no preconceptions, no biases, nothing that would taint the Truths that they were trying to find.
After he blew out the incense stick, he went back to his shelf, studying what gems he had available.
The bowl of sand where he stored spent gems was nearly empty, so it looked like his light-addled self had managed to at least do a water purification of the used gems sometime during the last week.But had he recharged any?
A few, it looked like.Some with white light, others with sun, water, or earth energy.Many of his gems were missing, though, which probably meant that they were buried somewhere on the grounds to recharge.
He really hoped he could remember where he'd planted them when the time came to find them again.He was not looking forward to being known as the Squirrel Witch, who only remembered a fifth of what he buried.
Grabbing a basket rather than his witch's bag, he selected several gems that were good for grounding, like jet and smokey quartz.Lastly, he grabbed several sets of dried herbs from his shelf, most importantly rosemary and sage, for conducting smudges before and afterwards.
Before he headed upstairs, he went to his dresser and changed his shorts for a pair of sheer briefs, which didn't actually hide much of anything at all.A bit embarassing, maybe, but they were perfect for both conducting Augury during a crescent moon, and for hot first dates.
When he arrived upstairs at the large ritual chamber, he saw the rest of his coven, along with Roland who was helping Lux carry in a small table and a pair of cushioned chairs.
"Good timing," Lux said."I've got the diagrams drawn and artifacts set.If you're ready, go ahead and start cleansing the chamber.Which smudge are you using?"
"Rosemary."
"Yes?" the Hearth witch asked, looking over at him from where she was setting multiple items on the central table.
Bruin laughed, then held the bound herbs up at her."No, that's the smudge I'm using, a rosemary blend.It's good for clarity."
"My namesake.Yes, I wholeheartedly approve."
"And for after?" Lux asked.
"Sage, of course.But I also have some holly branches, if we need to dismiss any evil spirits."
Roland cleared his throat noisily."Lad, that had better be as a just in case, and not because any of you are planning on summoning spirits."
"We'll be careful," Lux assured their boss.
Bruin used one of Rosemary's candles to light his smudge stick, and then began waving the smoking herbs around as he circled the room.
"Clarity and insight," he chanted.He paid special attention to the room's windows, and to where Rosemary was set up in the center of the room."Clarity and insight."
Once he was done with his smudge, he set himself up at one end of the diagram.Made of fine lines and concentric rings, it was broken in half with Lux at one end, representing the heavens, and him at the other, representing the earth.Between them, bordered by sun and moon glyphs, was Rosemary and her table.
Bruin began laying out his crystals on his half, further establishing his role as the ritual's grounding element.
"Before we start, I need to mention," he said, making sure his gemstones were angled correctly."I've been channeling a lot of white light recently.Kind of too much?It's a strain to hold it."
"You're light-addled?" he heard Lux ask, his disappointment clear."Bruin, we've been planning tonight for over a week.How could you be so careless?"
"That was before the incursion, and people were hurting!Should I have not helped them?And then right after, I had dozens of gemstones that needed to be purified and recharged."
"I'm sure there was a compromise somewhere between doing nothing, and casting charms to the point where you injure yourself," Lux said."Helping the guardians heal a day or two faster is all well and good, but not as important as this."
"Listen—"
"But what you should actually have done," Lux said sternly, pointing a wand at him, "was simply asked Rosemary or myself for help.We could have helped channel the light for you for your healing, so you wouldn't be in this position.Or purified your gems for you."
Bruin paused, his indignation inverting into shame.Why hadn't he asked for help?
"I guess I just wanted to pull my own weight, with how much effort you both had put into defending the keep."
"Stubborn Queen of Pentacles," Rosemary said with a hint of exasperated fondness, like a mother walking into the kitchen to find that her eight-year-old had left a titanic mess after baking a batch of burnt Mother's Day cookies."You can rely on others too, you know.Now show us how bad it is."
Bruin nodded, standing up.He felt the floor beneath his feet, and cupped his hands in front of himself.He called forth white light, letting it fill him up, and then overflow to his hands.There was a rising tenseness in the back of his mind, but it was bearable.More importantly, while some of the gathered energy fell out between his fingers, most stayed in place.
"That's not actually that bad," Lux said, frowning."I thought it might be like when you spent two weeks straight trying to master Winter's Bloom right before a practical test.This is something we can adapt to.I suppose we shouldn't be casting too strong of a ritual anyways, with Roland's admonishments in mind."
"Glad to hear it," Roland said, moving towards the door.He took himself a seat in a cushioned chair, crossing his legs.
Lux, Rosemary, and Bruin made their final checks, then began.
Standing in the proper spot of the diagram like he were a sigil himself, Bruin called forth white light, then spread it to the diagram.Much like he had done two months ago, when he'd stabilized the Wayfarer's Charm that Lux and Rosemary had conducted at the conference, Bruin's job was simply to maintain the ritual's structure.Lux had the opposite task, to guide their ritual in 'reaching out' to the ephemeral, pulling in energies, visions, and spirits that would aid Rosemary in her Augury.
"Spirits of wisdom, guide me," Rosemary said, touching each of her witch's tools in turn."Spirits of earth, sustain me.Spirits of light, protect me.Tonight, we four in this room seek answers.What is occurring within the Wiyaya Valley and the halls of Bastion Keep?Why do shadows lengthen, when they should be fading in this, the season of summer?I bid all spirits answer, but not to intrude.Your invitation stops at the door."
Runestones would be first, Bruin knew.He listened as best as he could, but he had to focus in order to keep the ritual ongoing.
He heard a clatter of rolling stones.
"Darkness within darkness," Rosemary said after a moment.
"Vague," Lux pointed out."Poetic, but vague."
"Actually, I think the runestones mean it literally.Like a dark painting within a safe, or a black pearl within an oyster."
More questions and answers, and then Rosemary moved on.Bruin started to feel the pressure again in the back of his head, like a bad hangover, but it didn't seem to be worsening beyond that.
"I see one of the anchors," Rosemary said, peering into a scrying bowl."No, Roland, stay back out of the circle!"
"Ach, fine.Can you describe it, lass?Do you know which one?"
"The image is indistinct, only the anchor itself is visible.Lux, do you know which sigils these are?"
"Let me see… yes, but unfortunately the ones I can make out are the ones that all of the anchors have in common."
"Rubbish, then."
"No, this is good," Rosemary said."This implies that your troubles are related to all of the anchors, rather than a specific one, or a specific part of the valley."
Bruin knelt on the ground, putting his hands out.He felt the white light want to slip out of his grasp, but having more of himself in contact with the stone floor helped.Lux gave him a look, then did something with his wands that helped Bruin maintain stability.
"I'll keep looking, but I might need to move on to smoke, next."
Another half-hour passed.Or maybe an hour?Bruin's estimations had been wrong, though, the headache was absolutely getting worse.When he adjusted his position on the ground, he felt some of the white light flicker through his hands.His mental bowl of light was looking more like a mental sieve.
"Lux," he said, reaching out to the gemstones he'd set out.Tapping their energies, he was able to shore the barrier back up.
"You're slipping, yes, I see.Rosemary, only time for one last charm or ritual.Tarot?"
"Bruin, if you can hold out for a couple more minutes, I think we almost have what we need.I'll do a Horseshoe spread."
Bruin nodded as he stood up, his knees buckling.Seven cards, he could hold out.
Rosemary lit seven candles in quick succession, and Bruin heard the whisk whisk of cards being shuffled.
"I seek the cause of strife," Rosemary declared."First card, the past.The Three of Swords, upright.A person was betrayed, bone deep, unable to move past."
One of the candles snuffed out.
"The present.Two of Swords, upright.A heart closed off.Our instigator is refusing to feel, refusing to heal, refusing to hear.And lashing out as a result."
More candles.More cards.As she flipped the third card over, Bruin nearly fell over.It felt like someone had knocked against the diagram with a sledgehammer, and he missed what was said.
"Fourth card, advice.King of Swords, upright.With this many swords, we can expect imminent violence.The immediate answer is to behave kingly.We must be ethical, insightful, and boldly communicative.
"Fifth card, support from those closest to me.The Magician."
"Rosemary," he tried to whisper.He couldn't sustain the diagram.The outer circles were failing, and he wasn't sure it was just due to him being tired.
"Sixth card, the true adversary.The Emperor reversed.I see a dragon with a bowed head.A lord failing in his duties."
Lux was too busy watching her spread to notice.Bruin felt a bit like the stone floor himself, unable to move.
"Seventh card, resolution, the expected outcome…"
"Rose!" he said.
She looked at him, seventh card drawn, eyes wide.The last candle went out, and as it did, Bruin heard bells tolling, once every second, nonstop.
An incursion.
"Can't be," Roland said hoarsely.With a snap of his fingers, torches around the room flared."It's only been one week."
"High Priest?" Lux said.
"Move, witches!Grab whatever you need and meet in the mustering yard, quick as you can.The bells at this speed means there's already a rift open somewhere, and the guardians will be leaving in minutes."
As Roland charged out of the room, Bruin staggered over to where he had his basket, purposefully scuffing parts of the diagram in order to end its active effects.
"The Tower, reversed?" Lux said, and Bruin lifted his head up, alarmed.Changing direction, he went to see the spread for himself."Which meaning?"
"Upheaval is predominant," Rosemary said, setting the card down with a shaking hand."Maybe disaster.But the worst part, Lux?I don't know whether that's the result of the Lord succeeding, or failing."
"Alright.Something to think about soon.Bruin!"
"Yes?"
"Keep the full spread to yourself, until we know more."
He shook his head roughly, then winced."A dragon lord?If it has something to do with Sergiy—"
"Don't be blinded by your feelings!" Lux said curtly."We don't know enough to run off half-cocked.For all we know, just telling Lord Usenko about his failing might be enough to bring about disaster.For now, remain silent.In the meantime, Rosemary and I will head down and do our blessings.You're too light-addled to help, so clean up in here, instead.Don't forget to do the sage smudge."
"Patience, Bruin," Rosemary said over her shoulder, hurrying after Lux as he left the room."We'll look into it just as soon as this crisis is over."
With his vision nearly doubled from his headache, he watched them depart, then turned to look at the spread.
He didn't know half as much about Augury as either of his two fellow witches, but as he ran a finger across the final card, he felt sure that disaster strikes especially severe against those who are forewarned but dismiss the signs.
And as far as not telling Sergiy?
Bruin put the Tarot cards back into their bag, then began clearing away the other Augury tools.
No.Little good came from secrets.Maybe he'd have to keep it to generalized terms, but as soon as his mate returned from this incursion, he'd tell him everything.