Renewed Magic (The Ancient Magic Series Book 2)

by Stephany Wallace

  “A light surrounds her… wait! You can see Aura’s too?” She asked Seima, excitedly.

  Seima pulled back from the hug snickering. “No, I am not a Fiosaiche Fàil. I only wish my destiny was that important. I am a Warrior. I protect my people, that is my duty in this life."

  Lia and I exchanged a look. She moved closer. “A Fiosaiche Fàil? What does that mean?”

  Seima took a deep breath, becoming serious. “Seer of Destiny, or Soul Seer. It is an important gift in our Celtic culture. The essence that possesses this gift is very special because its spiritual eye it’s open to the essence of everyone else. It can see all. This person has a crucial role within the Order. The man or woman is appointed as Counselor of the High Priest for as long as they shall live. Their duty is to serve the Order, and it is an honor of the highest kind. That and Ovates are the most crucial beings the High Priest shall ever have by his side. Fiosaiche Fàil is a very rare ability, which deems it the more significant for us.”

  Oh, sweet mother of all things unexpected!

  I looked at Lia who was kind of in shock. "Lia…" I called tentatively, while she looked at Seima unblinking. The seconds passed, as she remained silent, probably processing what Seima had said.

  “What does the Seer of Destiny do, exactly?” She finally asked, a couple of minutes later.

  Seima looked at me confused by her reaction, and then her eyes settled on Lia. "She or he can see the essence of anyone that stands before them. She sees right through us to the colors that define us, and knows our destiny even before we discover it ourselves. She determines what we will become, as she reads the fate that is written in our souls, and advises the High Priest about whom our spirit animal shall be, to guide us in our journey. The High Priest creates the clan medallion that will represent our destiny, and gifts it to our parents who give the medallion to us. It is a symbolic blessing we receive as kids. Our parent's approval for our journey to begin."

  “How beautiful…” Lia whispered, still unblinking.

  “Do you want to sit down?” I asked, a little worried about her. She nodded.

  Seima pulled a chair as her confusion grew. I helped Lia sit and then used the chair next to her. Seima sat in front of us. "Can you please get her some ale?" Seima nodded and rushed to the kitchen.

  Lia sipped slowly then placed the glass on the table. “So, you are told what you will become? You have no choice in the matter?” She asked, frowning.

  Seima chuckled and shook her head. “No, we are not told. Our destiny is for us to discover. The journey is only ours to walk. The High Priest and the Seer of Destiny know what we shall become. On occasion, the High Priest helps guide us if we have strayed from our path, but it is still our path."

  Lia nodded and squeezed my hand. Her skin was pure ice. She looked at me then at Seima. "I can see them. I have been able to see Auras since I was a little girl. I was born with it. My grandmother had the gift too, but she died before she could teach me how to read them. I can see their colors, though. I know what they mean, but I can't tell anything else. Grandma used to say our Auras could tell our future. I guess that is what she meant. She was a Seer of Destiny and I guess so am I.” She looked at me with an emotion I couldn’t describe. I held her hand tightly in mine.

  "For the love of our Earth Mother!" Seima said half gasping and threw her arms around Lia, hugging her tightly. "Thank you, Mother Goddess, we are so grateful for this gift." The words left her lips while she looked towards the sky. Her eyes teared up, and she laughed. She was so happy. She pulled back from the hug, and a tear fell on her cheek. She laughed again and patted her face with the cloth napkin. "You have no concept of how important you are. How much we need you." She said, and kissed Lia's hand.

  “There isn’t a Seer of Destiny in the Village?” I asked, noticing how nervous Lia was getting. We had definitely not expected this freaking turn of events, but what did this mean for Lia?

  “No. Not for two thousand years. The last one, Elion. He perished during the Roman attack in Môn.” Her eyes watered again but this time sadness filled her eyes. “He was Cathair’s father.”

  My heart instantly hurt for Cathair. “No one else has been born with the gift since then?”

  She shook her head slowly. "We have not been blessed by our Earth Mother since Elion." She took a deep breath and when her gaze returned to Lia so did the joy. "Does Cynwrig know of this?" We shook our heads in unison. She stood excitedly. "Well, we must tell him at once!" She held Lia's hand pulling her up, but I stopped her.

  “I think Lia might need some time to process what she just learned. Until just now she had no clue what her gift meant, and she might need a few days to understand the responsibility this requires.” Seima nodded, and Lia breathed a sigh of relief. She looked at me grateful.

  Lia and I strolled around the edge of the Warrior training grounds. Our eyes followed the movements of the teenagers that were practicing with their weapons. Ronan, another one of the Warriors was leading the practice. I looked for Eisha just in case, but she wasn't here. My eyes returned to the path. Lia and I linked arms and continued in silence. We passed a bush near the back trees, and stopped to look at the gorgeous flowers. They were like nothing I had ever seen. They were round like poppies but had thin strands in them like the center of a lily, and wide-open petals at the base. It looked like three different flowers had come together to create it. It was beautiful. There were different groups of colors all over the bush. The ones I looked at were white. A lavender cluster was close.

  “They are called Passion Flowers,” Lia said, breaking the silence, and I turned to look at her.

  “Really?”

  “Yeah, Art showed them to me before. They are used for medicinal purposes here in the village. The white ones at least, their juice is used as a sedative, and the leaves help with headaches and insomnia.”

  “How do you know all that?”

  Her gaze shifted to the flowers. She was avoiding looking at me. “I might have needed them a few times. Art got them for me and made me tea with them. It’s nothing important. No need to worry about it.”

  I looked at her becoming even more worried. With everything that had happened, the pain I had been through, I had failed her as a friend. She had been through a lot too, and I hadn't been there for her. "I'm so sorry Lia. I've been a terrible friend. I'm sorry I haven't been there for you."

  Her eyes watered. "Stop. It's ok. You have been through a lot too. We all needed time to heal. To move on from what happened. I don't blame you for anything, Linda. I honestly don't. Art has been a good friend. Besides, I wasn't there for you either so we are even." She smiled, and we hugged. "Oh, look. One is dying."

  My gaze found the flower she had mentioned, and I moved closer. The lavender passion flower was halfway closed and hung low on the bush. Its petals were wrinkled, and it was beginning to dry. It reminded me of the small potted plants at the apartment.

  "You want to see something I learned from Cyn?" Lia nodded intrigued, and I smiled. My hand moved just above the flower, and I felt the magic rush through me.

  “Dh’ùraich beatha”— renew life.

  The flower shimmered as the light in my hand transferred to it. Its petals slowly smoothed and began to open as it straightened on the bush, and faced the sun.

  “Wow…”

  Lia whispered amazed, and I grinned. I was pretty impressed myself. It was mind-blowing to me that I could actually do these things. I had magic. Real magic. That was something I was sure I'd never get used to. I felt the magic receding in me, and I leaned close, smelling it. I placed my lips on it giving it a small kiss and chuckled when it shimmered. I leaned back feeling pretty badass.

  "You know, those flowers are pollinated by Bats," Lia added.

  "Oh sweet mother of …" my words became muffled as I desperately wiped my mouth. "I think I'm going to throw up," I said, taking a deep breath trying to calm down. My eyes had already watered, and my stomach was preparing for it. Lia was lau
ghing so hard I wanted to kick her.

  "I'm sorry, but that is hilarious." She said holding her stomach. “But seriously though. That was amazing, Linda.”

  She looked at me with that weird emotion again, while I cleaned my tongue with my dress. I stopped in my tracks. “What is it?” I asked concerned and saw her eyes tear up. “What’s wrong?”

  She shook her head. “Nothing. It’s just… you’ve changed, you know. Since we’ve been here. You started learning all these things and practicing magic, and you are becoming this whole other woman right before my eyes. It's weird and surreal, and amazing all at the same time. I've been dreading the past few days because it's been three months since I've been here and my parents will begin to wonder what happened to me soon if I don't reach out to them. If I don’t go back. I've been scared that Cyn will tell me my time here is done, and I'm not welcome anymore. That I have to leave. Because as weird as it sounds, after everything that has happened I actually feel at home here. From the moment I arrived at this place, it was like something inside of me accepted it as my home, its people, you. I don't know why. I know it’s crazy because I'm basically Latina and I have absolutely nothing to do with your people or this culture, but I feel like I belong here. Like this is where I should be. I don't want to leave, Linda. I don't want to go back to the real world or whatever you want to call it, because that life doesn't seem real to me anymore. This one does. I mean, we still need real toilets and freaking wi-fi but it’s home." She chuckled wiping a tear that escaped her eye. "And now, Seima says that about the Seer of Destinies and everything changed because I can do that, Linda. I know I can. My Grandmother did that all her life. She read Auras and I can see them. I can see the colors, and I know that if someone taught me, I could read their destinies too." Her smile grew as another tear fell. "I know I'm not Irish or Celtic or Druid or whatever you people are, but if that's true, if I can do that then it means I can stay here. That even though I'm none of those things, there is still a place for me here, by your side. That everything I have felt since I arrived is true, and there was a reason for it. This can also be my home. I don't want to leave you, Bri. I'll do anything Cyn wants me to do, if I can just stay here with you."

  I hugged her as my tears fell too. The Goddess had blessed me. She had given me the most beautiful and genuine friend I could have ever asked for. “You don’t have to leave. I will not allow that, no matter who I have to take down in the process, you are not going anywhere. You are my sister now, and I'm not letting you go." She smiled, and nodded. We hugged again.

  "Please don't say anything to Cyn or anyone yet. I want to see what I can do first before I tell them about it. I want to talk to Cathair. He might be able to help me."

  I nodded then grinned. "Tell the truth. You just want to stay around, so you can continue to sexually harass Art."

  "Well, duh! It's a hard job, but someone has to do it."

  CHAPTER 5. UNWANTED

  ART

  * * *

  The warm air of the night swept over my skin while the drops of water slid swiftly down my body. The moonlight from the window behind me illuminated Lia’s face, allowing me to keep an eye on her. I took the iron bucket, closed my eyes, and lifted my head, pouring the water over me again. I wiped the excess from my eyes and looked at her once more. She was deep asleep thanks to the passion flower tea I had made her. It calmed her nerves and allowed her to sleep through the night. I was grateful for that. She stirred, and I froze. I had removed the partition that enclosed the tub so I could still make sure she was ok while I bathed. She adjusted her head on the pillow but didn't wake up. Confident that she was in fact asleep, I exhaled relieved, and poured another bucket with hot water on my head.

  The truth was, the past few months had been really hard on her. When she first arrived at the village and began staying with me, she woke up screaming and crying almost every night. It was the consequence of what they had done to her. What Felix had allowed them to do her. The Fucker.

  Cyn and I knew she would go through a difficult time and that the trauma would not be easily overcome. But we hadn’t expected this. She hadn’t wanted me to tell anyone, and I understood very well what her reasons for that were. Little Sis, was going through a trauma of her own. We all were in a way, battles always left its effect on us, but she had lost everything in a minute. In one single minute, her world had exploded into a million pieces that would never fit together again. We all took a hit that day. We found Nels, our long lost High Priest, only to lose him again. I took a deep breath, dumped more water on myself, and reached for the towel. My eyes never left her. She seemed so peaceful, but I knew it was only an illusion, the tea had mildly sedated her, allowing her to sleep. Only Cyn knew what she had gone through although, she wasn't aware. I'd had to get him a few times during the first week so that he could calm her with his touch. I didn't have the healing touch like my brother did because, well, I would need magic for that. Something I wasn't given by the Goddess. Not that kind of magic anyway. Still, I couldn't go to my brother every single time she had an episode, little Sis needed him, so I decided to use my knowledge of the herbs and plants around us to try and help her. In the beginning, I had slept on the sofa and given her the bed, but when she awoke screaming and crying during the night, imagining that bastard was still torturing her, only human contact would calm her down. I began sleeping by her side. No one knew of this, of course, they would think the wrong thing and make a big deal about it. We were old fashioned like that. I chuckled. We were the epitome of old fashion. I didn't want that. I just wanted to help her, so I held her at night to let her know that what she saw in her dreams wasn't real. She wasn't there anymore, but here with me. That she wasn't alone.

  I rubbed my chest and abs with the towel, then over myself to dry me. I took a long look at her and wrapped it around my hips, secured it and walked towards the mirror. I combed the top of my hair back and secured it with a hair band, then laughed when I realized it was pink. Definitely not one of mine. Shaking my head, I pulled it off deciding to leave the top loose instead. I walked to the bed and placed the pink band in "her drawer" the one I had given her when she moved in. I sat on the bed facing her and removed a strand of hair that covered her face. She looked so vulnerable right now. You wouldn't know she was the same woman that spent all freaking day driving me crazy and testing every single ounce of patience I had. I chuckled. She was a funny one. A lot like my little Sis in a way. She was also incredibly strong and resilient. She faced the day as if there wasn't a monster trapped inside her mind, torturing her every time it got the chance. She joked and ate everything in sight. Damn, that woman could eat. It scared me a little. She also called me Chewie. She was lucky I liked movies and wasn't offended by the nickname. Although, I wasn't sure why she had given it to me, to begin with. The other half of the day she spent flirting with me, which I couldn’t really complain about.

  I leaned in, giving her a kiss on the forehead and stood, going towards to the mirror. The feeling of Eisha's lips on mine returned. It followed me every second of the day. I rested my fists on the dresser and closed my eyes remembering how it felt to finally kiss her. To hold her in my arms with her knowing exactly what I felt for her. To feel her kissing me with almost the same need I carried. Her hands in my hair and her soft lips moving against mine. I wanted her so badly. So desperately, I couldn't breathe. My body responded to the thought of her, and the need for her that fueled me rushed through my body. I hardened for her. Throwing the towel on the floor, I held myself tightly and took a deep breath. The need only increased as I stroked myself. Choking me. I looked at Lia through the mirror. Confirming she was still asleep, I took the portal stones from the dresser and whispered the spell. The map lit up on my arm. I threw the stones in the air and walked through the portal, without looking back.

  The image that greeted me left me speechless. She stood in front of the hearth, her bare skin illuminated by the soft fire. The flames danced on her body lighting it in a sens
ual way. It was completely hypnotizing. It made me even harder.

  “I knew you would come tonight.” Her erotic voice forced me to drag my gaze from her beautiful breasts and look into her eyes. She smiled. She had such a stunning smile.

  “Why?”

  “Because you cannot have her, but you can have me.” Seima's words cut through me, but I knew she hadn't meant them as a weapon. They were simply the truth.

  “I'm sorry,” I answered, feeling lost again.

  “Do not be. I missed you.”

  She extended her hand to me, and I nodded, accepting her invitation. I walked closer to her until I stood in front of her. She took one single step, and her body was against mine. Her hands slipped through my wet hair and my eyes closed of their own volition.

  "It is all right to desire me like this, Art. I enjoy every part of you that you offer me." The whisper reached my ear, and I held her waist pressing her to me. Her nipples grazed my chest, enticing me. I lowered my head, searching for her lips and felt her stand on her toes to meet me. Her lips brushed mine for a moment, and she pulled away. "I enjoy your friendship the same as your body. Do you enjoy mine?"

  “You know I do. Can’t you feel me against you? I’ve fully hardened for you.”

  She nodded with a sensual smile on her lips. “I can.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  She shook her head. “Why do you apologize to me?”

  "I don't know," I answered, resting my forehead on hers. Her hands caressed my neck slowly. "For being here, I guess. For needing you when I can't offer you my heart."

  "Do not apologize for being here. You are seeking the same thing I am, a manner with which to fill the hole inside you… look at me." I took a deep breath and complied with her request. Her eyes were soft with a hint of sadness in them and so much need. It matched the way I felt inside. "You know I cannot give you my heart because it is no longer mine to give. He took it from me a long time ago, and I do not think I shall ever get it back."