Page 66 of Devour
Lina
“Deidre?” a concerned voice echoes off the walls. Another seer arrives moments later, her feet pattering across the tile and silver skirt swishing.
She gasps as she follows Deidre’s stare to the ground. She glances to me, eyes wide.
I swallow, and tug at my hand a second time. Finally, the frozen still seer releases her grip, allowing me to escape.
“Deidre?” the seer asks again. “What is it, what did you see?” She lifts her chin, forcing her stare away from the blood.
When she doesn’t respond, the new seer abandons her and swings her arm over my shoulders. “It is getting rather late. We can finish your readings another time.” Her words are casual, but her voice trembles.
“Reconciliation. Destruction,” the frozen girl mutters, eyes still distant. If the new seer heard the words, she does not show it. Instead, she continues to guide me from the room, down a long corridor, and into a new room with a roaring fire in the corner.
“What was that?” My voice trembles as I ask. I don’t want her to leave before I get an answer. These people, in this place—theydon’t like to reveal answers. They want us all in the dark, and it is becoming more and more disconcerting. “She said something during the reading.”
“Oh?”
“She said ‘Chaos.’ Am I dooming everyone by being here?”
“No! Of course not,” the brunette priestess says. She moves forward to retrieve a pitcher of red liquid from a nearby table and pours a glass. “It is simply that the magic of these rituals can be overwhelming to us.”
She places the glass in front of me then sits beside me, taking one hand between hers.
“The seers,” she explains, “are simply conduits for the spirit of Nihil. We work hard to ensure we are open enough to accept his messages, but not so open that we succumb to the havoc within the dark spirits. The magic can cause turmoil in our minds if we are not careful. It is very much chaos. That does not have anything to do with you, dear. It is very rare for a priestess to succumb, and I am sorry that you had to witness it today. Deidre will need a few days to decompress in order to work through her lapse.”
“But what—what did my reading mean?”
“I was not open to the message, so I do not know. I only know that it was larger than the conduit could handle at the moment. Sometimes, this happens because the priestess did not properly prepare her mind and body. Deidre is usually exceptionally careful, so it is odd. It is very likely that your reading was very powerful. We’ve already come to expect something spectacular from your union here, given the circumstances of your selection. You are quite special.”
My shoulders slump, accepting the warmth of the fire as much needed comfort.
“Drink,” she says, placing the glass in my hand. “It will help calm the nerves. This transition is already difficult on young Drahkitas; we do not wish to cause additional harm.”
I bite the inside of my lip, but I carefully take a small sip. It is bitter and sweet, with a noticeable tang.
“It is wine. Have you had it before?” she asks casually.
I shake my head, though my mother used to drink it occasionally.
“It is a favorite among the ladies, but not all prefer the flavor. It is a drink to be consumed in moderation, as it can make you ill if you consume too much too quickly.”
I frown. Why would they have a drink that can make us ill?
“Can you tell me more about the reading?” I ask instead. “Why do you use blood? What is the meaning of the tile patterns?”
“Ahh, a curious one! I do love when we are able to gain an intelligent, curious lady to our community. Yes, I can certainly explain to you how the readings work, but of course, the key is the spiritual guide of the priestess. As you saw, it can be dangerous work to wade into the shadows where you have not been welcomed. So, please take this warning to heart. You cannot perform a reading on yourself or anyone else. Do you understand?”
I nod quickly and take a sip of the strange liquid.
The priestess kneels down on the cobblestone and pulls little beads out from a pocket in her silk gown. She places five beads down in a circle, then draws invisible lines with her fingers between the five—up, down, across—connecting the dots. I cannot follow her design well enough to understand what she’s doing.
“Five points, connecting in five lines,” she explains. “Each point has a meaning. Each section has a meaning. The center is the most important of all. The blood is your essence, and we areable to use it to convert the spiritual energy within. The spirit guides the blood into its place on the chart. Where the blood drops is significant for your present and your close future. If you are in a place of birth or separation, we can tell, but the only specifics of the message come in the form of a vision. Even those can be confusing and disjointed at times. Sometimes, we see a crying baby—a clear message of pregnancy. Sometimes, we see shattering glass—less clear. Our interpretation will be a connection between the placement of your blood and the vision.”
I don’t mention how my blood seemed to hang into the air. “So, if mine dropped here,” I point to a spot in her bead circle close to where my drop of blood landed. “What would that mean?”
“It is hard to say,” she says, concentrating on the map before her. “She did say a word before we left the room that may match your perceived placement. But with a corrupted reading it is hard to say. Her word was reconciliation. But that makes little sense for you, unless there is someone in the community you have known in the past. It is possible, though. Do you have missing family?”
I frown. “Nearly everyone I’ve ever known is dead. I saw them die.” I don’t dare tell her about Astella. I pray that the reconciliation does not mean she will end up here too. So far, my experience has not been as bad as I’d been bracing for, but I’ve seen enough to know I want her far, far from this place.
