The Witch: Book Two of The Sorceress Saga Taliesin Govannon (best free ereader .txt) 📖

                “And that helps me how?”

                “Well, most of the ones you’ve remembered have been in Europe, right?”

                “Right.”

                “Maybe that’s just where Angelique has stayed. Japan is way far away from there… I mean, she can’t be in every country at once, can she?”

                “I’ll admit, your logic is sound.” I agreed. “Maybe you have something there.”

                “Aside from logic, want to see something else cool I’ve mastered?” she said.

                I chuckled.  “Sure, let’s see.”

                Raina raised her hand, the one with the Fae crystal embedded in it, and whispered a Fae word.

                Suddenly, the ceiling above disappeared only to be replaced with the night sky above. The half-moon hovered near the horizon as the stars twinkled against the velvety backdrop of night. I could see fat snowflakes floating down, disappearing what looked to be mere inches above our faces.

                This is so cool! I thought. However, a thought occurred to me that brought me up short.

                “You just made the night sky appear above us, right?” I asked.

                “Totally.” she said, smiling and closing her eyes.

                “Good.” I said. “I was worried that it was the weed.”

                                                                                                *                *                *

                Not five hours later I was laying in front of the fireplace in the study, stretched out on a daybed, odd-smelling herbs surrounding my body. Hatsu passed her hands over my body, sensing my energy.

                I had awoken after the weed had worn off, and my mind wouldn't let me go back to sleep, so I left Raina passed out on the meditation room carpet in search of the elder Botan Doro sister. I had found her in the study, the fire already roaring, her herb box at the ready.

                “How did you know?” I asked upon entering.

                “I knew.” she said enigmatically. “That’s enough.”

                Twenty minutes later, I could feel myself starting to slip into the kind of trance that made past life explorations easier, and I could hear Hatsu’s satisfied voice.

                “Ah, yes.” she said, “You are ready. Now breathe in the scent of the Angelica and Star Anise, and let it carry you to the place of visions… “

                I found myself in a hall with thousands of doors on the walls, stretching into infinity. Each door had a vase of flowers next to it, and I felt myself drawn to a group of large pink petaled flowers next to a nondescript door.

                “What flower do you see?” Hatsu’s voice asked me.

                I looked closer, and the word ‘Tsubaki’ floated over the flower. I passed the name on to Hatsu, who told me to open the door.

                I found myself in a Japanese house. At least, it looked like the old fashioned Japanese dwellings that I had seen in the better historical dramas. I looked down at myself and saw that I was a young woman dressed like the peasants dressed for hundreds of years in the old Empire.

                I didn’t know what year it was… young girls didn’t concern themselves with such things, at least my Grandmother said so. I did know that my name was Suki.

                At least, my grandmother used to tell me about my place in the world, but that was before the plague. Now my Grandmother, both Grandfathers, my Mother, Father, and six sisters and brothers were all dead.

                And I was all alone.

                I wandered through my family home, lost. I had been intended to marry the son of our neighbor, but now my fiance and future in-laws were all gone as well. I had a house, land to farm, and no idea what to do about it!

                I had thought about joining my family in death on more than one occasion, but could never bring myself to do the deed. I knew that soon my relatives, who I had never known, would be arriving to take possession of my Father’s home and farm. If I was lucky, I’d be passed off on some elderly, drunken cousin as a bride to ‘keep me from dishonor’.

                I looked at the knife nearby, it again beckoning me.

                It would be so easy I thought.  Just a couple of brief cuts to my wrists… my sprained ankle hurt more than THAT would… and I would fall asleep, only to awaken in my Mother’s arms once again.

                “Don’t go, Suki.” a voice behind me said. “I have just found you.”

                I jumped up and spun around to see my intruder standing there, making no attempt to hide. “Who are you?!?” I demanded to the shadow.

                It moved, and soon I saw a woman emerge from the shadows. She was small… just about my height, and I’m not tall… thin, with skin that almost seemed to shine with the moon’s radiance. Her face looked strange… I knew that she was not born in the Empire. Both her garments and hair were as black as a starless night, and her eyes seemed to peer into my soul.

                “Who are you?” I asked. “How do you know my name? What do you want?”

                The strange woman put her finger to my lips and stopped my babbling. “I am Angelique, and I know your name because your neighbor is entirely too careless with your private information.” she said.  She smiled. “Don’t worry, my love, I have taught him a lesson on this.”

                She lowered her hand and I found my voice again. “And why are you here?”

                “I am here to help you with your problem." She gestured to my chair and I sat back down. "I will pose as your Aunt Ahmya, here to take over my brother's home and duties. I will hire farmhands to work the land, and house staff to take care of the everyday domestic duties. Then I will give you the finest education in the southern end of the Empire, and transform your life from drudgery to joy."

                “But why would you do all this?” I asked, spellbound.

                “I do this because