Chapter 5
Freya had to bring herself back to reality after that kiss.
She felt transported to another plane. She didn't want to analyze it too much, just remembering the softness of his lips and the kindness in his eyes afterward, as if acknowledging her specialness without words. And strangely enough, she understood without words as well. She’d had to back out of the room, reluctant to break eye contact.
She floated to the kitchen to heat the teapot.
Maybe a cup of tea would help ground her again.
She really had to think about how to deal with finding her grandmother and sister.
She had no idea how to do that except to take an older map and her dowsing tool, or possibly do a full-blown ritual and see if she got better results this time.
Should she ask Devon to help her with it?
Maybe his energy and his presence would be helpful?
She had the historical map out in seconds and took her basket of ritual tools off the shelf in the living room.
She usually set up everything on the kitchen table.
She would do that either before or after Devon left, depending on how comfortable he was with the idea of sitting in on a little witchcraft.
He came out of the massage room with a smile on his face. She smiled back; she couldn't stop herself if she wanted to.
"I put the tea kettle on. Can you stay for a cup?"
"If you don't have to rush me off for another client, I'd love a cuppa. Or I can take you out to dinner and dancing."
“Seriously? You feel good enough to dance?”
“I do. I’m looking forward to that holiday dance at the Elks Club.”
“Do you feel up to walking there?”
“If I can dance, I can walk. You don’t mind the Christmas theme?”
“I don’t mind it at all. I like to see people celebrating happy occasions, no matter what they are.”
“Brilliant! Then let’s skip the tea and go straight to the celebration. It begins at five p.m. I’m sure they’ll have some beverages there. Possibly something seasonal like hot mulled cider or wine.”
“Sounds good.”
As they both shrugged into their coats, they stole glances at each other and smiled whenever their eyes met.
Walking to the Elks Club, hand in hand, an unexpected shyness stole over Freya. The quiet was actually welcome. It gave her time to appreciate the crisp winter air and notice a few slow-falling snowflakes.
Devon glanced up as they passed under a streetlamp. “It’s beginning to snow.”
“Yes. We’ll be there any minute, so don’t worry.”
“I wasn’t worried.” He pulled her into his arms and kissed her tenderly.
Mmm… I could get used to this.
When they ended the kiss, they grinned at each other, then rejoined their hands and continued to the club.
Devon insisted on paying the small entrance fee for both of them, and they were directed to the coat room.
When they joined the festivities, things were in full swing.
Twinkling lights lit the hall, a giant Christmas tree graced the center, and couples were dancing around it.
On one side of the hall, a buffet table held many offerings, some in covered hot trays.
“Are you hungry?” Devon asked.
“Thirstier, actually,” Freya said.
“I think I see the bar at the other end of the room.” He grasped her hand, and they wove their way through the revelers.
As predicted, seasonal beverages, as well as the usual bar drinks, were available. They both ordered the hot mulled wine and found a couple of open seats. The cinnamon, clove, and pine scents added to the atmosphere.
“It’s pretty in here. I love the decorations.”
“Even the Christmas tree?”
“Of course. Trees are some of our most precious gifts of nature. They have to be thinned to make way for smaller saplings to grow. I don’t have a problem with cutting down a tree as long as the person appreciates its contribution and doesn’t sacrifice a whole forest. Witches often speak to the elementals before cutting any part of nature, including flowers and herbs. ”
“What do you say to them?”
“Thank you for your sacrifice. All will be put to good use.”
Devon didn’t respond, except to hold out his hand. “Dance with me?”
Fortunately, it was a slow dance. He held her in his warm, confident grasp as he glided her across the dance floor.
Every dance resulted in a closer and closer embrace until she was lying her head against his shoulder, molding to him completely.
He held their clasped hands next to his beating heart.
After the dance, they both knew there was something special between them.
As they walked back home together in the dark, feeling energized by their newfound connection, they couldn’t help but smile and laugh together.
Freya looked forward to exploring this new relationship, but the long distance between their countries might be a big problem.
When they got back to her home, she asked, “Can you stay for a cup of tea?”
“I’d like that.”
She put the kettle on to heat and took down two mugs from the shelf. "I don't have any appointments tomorrow. I wonder if you would be interested in helping me as I cast the spell to find my family."
His eyes widened, but he was smiling. His expression didn’t denote shock or disapproval. "I'd love to."
"Have you ever witnessed a ritual spell before?"
"Yes, a few times. I've never participated, though. They have some very public celebrations in Glastonbury."
“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.