When the meeting of our eyes becomes obsession, emotion and longing start to play.
When getting what I want becomes, I love you, the attraction draws us closer every day.
Then bring me to your Venus violet lady, wrap me in your subtle strands of silk.
Touch me with your tender hands, have mercy, let me touch your skin as white as milk.
I hear your radiating laughter, like a holy mother goddess of the Earth.
Drive me to the center of your passion, show me the measure of your worth.
Then bring me to your Venus, Violet lady. Wrap me in your subtle strands of silk.
Touch me with your tender hands, have mercy. Let me touch your skin as white as milk.
Dream me in your nights. I’ll be your lover. Let me ride the cresting of your wave.
Thrill me with the pleasures of your body, roll me in the caverns of your cave.
Then bring me to your Venus, Violet lady. Wrap me in your subtle strands of silk.
Touch me with your tender hands, have mercy. Let me touch your skin as white as milk.
Lilly blushed to the roots of her hair, but quickly gained her composure. “Sounds like you were mighty horny. So...was it love or lust which lured you back?”
Roland’s eyebrows rose as he bit his lower lip. “Ah, I must confess it was both,” he said as he put his mandolin aside and took her in his arms.
Chapter 40
The Threat of the Raven’s Claw
Lilly resumed her classes with Jolene and Sabine, Roland spent time with James delving into Druidic teachings. He wanted to continue to study and unlock whatever powers he might have. After the attack on Lilly, he was determined to explore all possibilities in order to protect her.
On a sunny day, a week after the rescue, Roland took a walk to Frenchman Street to say hello to Jason. He sauntered down Decatur Street past Raven Moon. The energy was dense, dark and malevolent. The ‘Open’ sign was not on the door.
Feeling stronger, Lilly took her flute into the courtyard. Sitting on one of the wrought iron benches near the fountain, she closed her eyes and allowed the music to move through her.
Fields of swaying wild flowers filled her vision as she recovered her inner joy. The flute Roland had given her was not only an instrument of expression rather, as Lilly was discovering, it was also an instrument of invocation. With no warning, she felt a pressure in her head as her joyful vision began to twist and change. The sunny sky filled with ominous black clouds. The swaying field of flowers withered.
Taking the flute away from her mouth, she opened her eyes and screamed. A huge raven twice the size of the normal bird, sat on the edge of the nearby fountain staring at her. Its mouth opened and closed as it made a terrible screeching sound.
Grabbing her flute, Lilly ran towards Jolene’s kitchen door. The raven swooped after her, trying to entangle its claws in her hair. Bursting through the door, she slammed it closed turned and almost tripped over Topaz as she made her way into the shop.
Jolene and Sabine, sitting behind the counter chatting, saw the look of distress on Lilly’s face. They jumped up as she pointed to the courtyard gasping, “Raven.”
Jolene ran past her, grabbing a broom as she rushed through her kitchen. Sabine was on her heels with Lilly following cautiously behind them. The raven had returned to the rim of the fountain. Spying the witchy trio, it tilted its head and made its loud, unnatural screeching sound.
Jolene raised her broom and swung with all her strength at the evil creature. Screeching even louder, the raven flew up a few feet to avoid the broom. With glistening talons extended it attacked Jolene.
Lilly opened the palms of her tingling hands repelling the creature as Jolene brought the broom up again, swatting the creature on the side of its head. It plunged to the ground for a moment. Jolene quickly hit it again. Screeching wildly, the raven extended its wings and flew from the courtyard.
Landing on the edge of the rooftop, it stopped to give one last piercing screech as it tilted its head to stare at them with one eye. Lilly lifted her hands sending repellent energy as the avian creature swiftly flapped its huge wings and fled.
The three witches sat on the edge of the fountain. Jolene sat with broom in hand, ready to take another swipe at the hideous creature if it returned. “This won’t do,” Sabine said seriously.
Jolene nodded her head in agreement. “The question is, what are we going to do about it?
Sabine shrugged and said, “Well, you are adept with the broom. Possibly you could train us in the use of your implement.”
Jolene looked at the broom in her hand and laughed. “I grabbed the closest thing at hand. It worked pretty well.”
She and Sabine sat on the edge of the fountain their momentary mirth overshadowed by the grim look on their young friends’ face. Lilly chewed her lower lip, took a deep breath, put her hand over her heart and tried not to cry. Her voice cracked as she shared her outrage, “Regina grows more brazen every day. She is sending her creature after me in my own territory, in broad daylight. She has the Jewel of Inanna! What more does she want?”
The two older witches looked at her, eyebrows raised, “Indeed, what does she want?”
“I know,” Lilly gasped, “She wants to draw magic from me. I remember her stating I had power over her in the past. In this lifetime she said she would take my power and destroy my life. How could she take my inner power? The idea seems ludicrous.”
Sabine said in a hard voice. “It is ludicrous and vicious. Do you know where Roland has disappeared to?”
“He went to talk to Jason about playing music at Valentines.”
Sabine pursed her lips, “Uh huh, and I bet he went down Decatur Street, right past Raven Moon. Possibly Regina saw him go by and decided to attack while he wasn’t here.”
Lilly shrugged her shoulders, “I don’t know, Sabine. I don’t think Regina has seen Roland. If he walked by there, he was betting on his belief she has never seen him.”
“You forget, Lilly, she could have seen his face when he was rescuing you, plus she obviously has psychic abilities.”
“I don’t doubt her psychic abilities,” Jolene injected, “but we know the crystal is dormant in her hands. It did not choose her. There has not been even a shadow of its energy in my awareness. I would recognize it. I think it has gone dormant. I could still feel the energy when Lilly was wearing it. The glowing violet stone, filled with potential, is nothing more than a dull rock in Regina’s hands.”
Lilly nodded in agreement. “I have felt nothing from the stone. As long as it remains in Regina’s hands, let’s hope it remains a dull rock.”
Jolene nodded at Lilly, “ma chere, you are right about her motives. She wants something more of you. She wants your magickal essence. The raven is her tool, but it will only comply with her wishes for a time. The raven spirit is strong, it does not bow to control easily or for long.
“She is getting desperate, stepping up her game. We don’t know how she plans to obtain your energy, however we are going to put a stop to this. We are going to free the Raven and get the Inanna’s sacred crystal out of her hands and back to you, my dear.”
Lilly nodded automatically, her mouth dry and her heart pounding. As Sabine and Jolene left to close the shop, Gemma and Forest came in the front gate and found Lilly standing in the courtyard scanning the roof. She filled them in on the incident. Gemma hugged her, “You’ve had enough. I am here to help in any way I can.”
Forest echoed, “Me too.” They hugged and Lilly knew a moment of peace, grateful she had friends who would protect and support her.
As the shadows lengthened, Lilly decided to take a walk through the Square. Reinforcing her mirrored-egg protection, she grabbed her hat and left. The crowd of people would be safe and she needed to focus on something else and let go of the knot in her stomach.
She walked around Jackson Square aimlessly for a while, stopping to listen to a tall black man
wail on his saxophone. The blues filled the square, purging sorrow from the soul, pouring healing balm over the pedestrians walking nearby. She felt Roland’s energy coming toward her.
Seconds later, Roland touched her arm as she swayed, eyes closed, absorbing the magick of the music. He smiled at the site of her, and pulled her gently into an embrace. “How is everything? I was feeling strange vibes and rushed back.”
Lilly took his hands and walked towards Panthea’s, filling him in on the raven attack and Jolene’s retaliation with her broom.
“Wait, Jolene attacked the huge raven with a broom?”
Lilly nodded smiling, “Yep, it was the closest thing at hand and she used it with great precision.”
~
Roland devoured one of Felix’s extra large oyster po-boys as Lilly sat picking the shrimp out of the french bread on her plate. “You need to eat, Lil, you have to build up your strength.”
“I’m not hungry right now.”
“Do you want to wrap it up and bring it with us?” Lilly nodded assent and had a sip of ice tea.
As the waxing moon rose they made their way through the streets of the French Quarter hand in hand. Entering the courtyard at Panthea’s, they saw Lucky sitting on the old iron bench with Topaz. They stopped to tell him of the day’s events.
“Something has to be done,” Lucky said looking worried. “I’m postponing my trip. I want to be here for you.”
Lilly thanked him, rubbed Topaz behind his ears for a moment, took Roland’s hand and led him up the winding stairs.
Curling up in bed together, they watched the starlight silvering the rooftops of the French Quarter. Soon they were asleep. In the darkest hour of the night, an insistent rapping woke the sleeping couple. Roland put on his pants and head for the door.
Lilly looked up and screamed, “No it’s not the door. Look!” Pointing to the window, they watched as the raven balanced on the narrow ledge beating his sharp beak against the window pane.
“Holy Hell,” Roland exclaimed, as he and Lilly ran from the bedroom. He slammed the door and traced a ward of protection across it. Lilly saw the ward’s blue glow and gave a sigh of relief. The tapping continued as they paced around the tiny living room.
“I’ll make some coffee,” Lilly said. “Maybe it will wake us from this nightmare.”
Roland touched her shoulder and said, “No, you stay here. I’ll make coffee.”
The insistent rapping continued. Lilly was about to burst. “What if he breaks the window? What if he gets into the bedroom?”
“He will have to get through the door and that is not going to happen,” Roland said grabbing the broom from its hook on the wall near the stove. He brandished it around and managed a smile from Lilly.
Feeling her hands tingle, Lilly gathered the surge of energy. She centered herself and called to Roland. “Come! Join your energy with mine.”
As they stood in the center of the living room, Lilly drew a large pentagram in the air before them. She could see it glowing with her second sight. As the star within spun clockwise, a portal was created. They drew a pentagram in violet light over one another’s third eye. Joining hands, they turned slowly clockwise, feeling for the direction from which the attack originated. No surprise, the attack had come from the West, the direction of the Raven Moon. Bringing their hands up in a triangle shape over their foreheads, they called in protection from all five points of the violet pentagram. Stepping forward together they projected their triangular hands forward, sending the pentagram’s violet fire through the portal, to the source of the attack. Feeling the link sever, they relaxed and embraced.
As suddenly as it had begun, the rapping stopped. They stood still. The only sound was coffee percolating on the stove. Roland put his ear to the bedroom door. Unable to stand the suspense, he cracked the door open, broom ready for an attack. He flipped on the overhead light, ran to the window and stepped back, “It’s gone.”
The coffee boiled over, and Lilly turned the stove off, taking two cups out of the cupboard, she poured the dark liquid. They sat on the sofa, silently sipping scalded coffee.
“Do you think it is gone? Maybe it is in the courtyard waiting for us to come out. What if it attacks another member of the coven?”
“I’ll go look around,” Roland said.
Lilly grabbed his arm, “Don’t go, I’ll call Lucky. He has a good view of the courtyard. I’ll ask him to see if it’s out there.”
Lucky was glad to help. He looked out of his window, but could see little in the dark courtyard. Grabbing a baseball bat, he walked out of his front door, through the courtyard and around the fountain. He examined dark shadows and peered through the darkness searching the roof top.
A few minutes later, he knocked on Lilly’s front door. It’s clear in the courtyard, he reported. Lilly took his hand and gently tugged him through the front door. She gave him a cup of coffee and the three of them went over the events of the latest intrusion. When a soft gray light filtered through the transom over the front door, Lilly called Jolene’s apartment. James answered groggily. She apologized for the early hour and told him briefly of the raven’s latest visit.
By 6AM, Lilly, Roland, Lucky, Sabine, James and Jolene sat around the oak table eating warm almond croissants and drinking hot coffee. “We have to have a plan to deal with this creature,” Jolene said. “Chasing it with a broom is not going to stop these attacks. I’m proud of you” she said nodding towards Lilly and Roland. “In the midst of an attack you were able to act like warrior priest and priestess and protect yourselves. I’m concerned next time you won’t be in the comfort and safety of your home.”
Roland licked his lips and looked around the table, “Regina has already sent the vile creature to invade Lilly’s dreams. Now, she is sending it to threaten her home. I’d say the attacks on both fronts are sure to escalate. We have to take action.”
Sabine suggested they call in other members of the coven, “Gemma and Forest know a bit about what is going on already.”
James, who had been silent, spoke up, “Let’s make sure all of our members are informed. I don’t think there is a need to get everyone involved at this time, however they need to be apprised of the situation. We may need some members of the group to watch the shop, or help out in other ways. Let’s work on a plan and call on the other members when we need their help.”
Jolene spoke with authority, “We’ll gather in our meditation temple tonight when the moon rises. Be prepared for invocation, deep meditation and multi-dimensional journeying. We’ll seek the council and protection of our ancestors, guides and guardians. Together, we will call on the wisdom of the goddess and the strength of Mother Gaia before deciding what course of action to take.” Everyone nodded in agreement.
When the meeting dispersed Roland and Lilly took a walk by the river bundled up against the chill morning air. “So, what did Jason say about the music?”
“Ah, good news! He wants us to play for happy hour on Friday night and on Saturday and Sunday for brunch. It’s not much money, but we can get used to playing together in public and refine our music.”
Lilly smiled, “It is nice to hear a bit of good news.” They walked in comfortable silence, arms around each other’s waists, as the morning sun turned the river to molten gold.
PART V
Supernatural Intervention
Chapter 41
The Forces Unite
Panthea’s apartments were quiet throughout the day. The members of the coven rested, preparing to offer support, magickal or mundane.
As the moon rose, those directly involved gathered in the meditation temple. Tall candelabras stood in the four corners, providing the only illumination. A small brass gong hung on a stand and a Tibetan singing bowl rested on a cushion next to the gong.
The group stood in the center of the temple holding hands. Sabine cast the circle, James called on the powerful protection of the four watchtowers. Jolene lit the candl
e on the low table in the center of the circle. Together the group called upon ancestors, guards and guides of all present asking for protection and assistance. The circle quickly filled with benevolent energy.
Sitting on cushions the small group formed a close circle filled with intention. Sabine tapped on the Tibetan bowl with the wooden mallet. She slowly rubbed the mallet around the edge of the bowl, the tone and vibration cleared their minds of all thought and distraction. As the clearing tone faded, the group’s attention focused on the inhale and exhale of breath. They breathed together, becoming empty vessels.
Lucky was the first to see the vision and the others quickly followed. As the higher dimensions opened, intricate designs filled the mind’s eye of each participant. The mandalas swirled and morphed into flames.
The flying serpent, Quetzquata,l appeared forming a circle of glowing green light. The ancient Atlantean priest from the Order of Interplanetary Adepts stood within the glowing circle.
The serpent faded as an expressive and beautiful face appeared in Jolene’s vision. It was her long time friend and Vodou mambo, Alustra. The mambo was dancing through a ritual veve invoking the Loa. Alustra’s consort, Shemo was dancing by her side. In a circle of fire, an unfamiliar energy emanated power. The spirit took form as a large man, brandishing a flaming sword.
James sat motionless in deep meditation. A swirling black hole filled his vision. The akashic egg formed before his inner eye, “Ah,” he voiced, “The zero point.” The group breathed together in the dark void.
The visions slowly faded and Sabine tapped the gong softly, calling everyone back to waking reality. It was clear, the three strongest magical powers in the French Quarter; The Mystical Witches of Panthea’s, the Atlantian Order of Interplanetary Adepts from the Ursuline Temple and the Vodouns lead by the Mambo Alustra and the Hougan Shemo, must work together.
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