I gawped at the blonde, blue-eyed cherub standing in the building entrance. Her hair was plaited into a messy braid, and she wore a plain blue tunic, and soft brown boots. She looked like an upper dwell. She grinned at me like we were the best of friends, and waved me forward.
Skipping ahead, she yapped over her shoulder. "I'm Ana or the white witch if you want to be formal about it." She shot a sour look at Conall.
I followed after her, totally bewildered by her and my surroundings. The building was solemn, and as I walked through the bold entrance pillars - fairy mouths open in silent scream - I wondered of its significance.
"What is this place?" I asked.
"A church. An old and secret place," Conall replied from behind me.
The plant life from outside spilled in through the windows, and ivy snaked its way up the walls, clinging to the grey stone in wild patches. Rows and rows of large stone steps circled the room. Seats? The building foundation was naturally steeped into the dirt, growing from the earth itself. My feet stepped springy, damp moss and crunchy thick grass mixed with flowered weeds.
"I like your eyes," she declared. "Your family always did have the most beautiful gold eyes." The witch-girl had an innocent, pixie like face and curly blonde hair. She waved her hands up and down my body critically. "You're meeting me in your true form. That is a good omen. Sometimes you come to me still disguised as human and what I have to say never goes down well."
"As long as you don't tell me what to do," I said and gazed at the buckled roof, "we'll get along just fine."
Ana smacked her forehead then clicked her fingers into points and nodded. "Sorry, I get confused somewhat when I meet new people. It takes a while to fit them into the bigger picture. The Sight gives me glimpses of possible futures, and you're radiating images like a beacon whacked up to max. It'll be easier for me once I've done a proper reading on you. The roads of your future will be clearer and we can-" She spaced out, her eyes flickered at something unseen. "Oooh, that is not good. Tell your blonde friend not to go outside on her own in the dark. In most futures it ends badly."
"Huh?" I croaked feeling a million miles behind.
"I'm trying to get a feel for where we are time wise," she enlightened. Her tiny palms flew up. "Wait. Has that vampire bitten you yet? You should have met him by now." She frowned and looked inward. "I'm missing something."
My heart thumped. She could only be talking about Tomas. I was hyper aware of Conall standing alert beside me at the mention of a vampire. I twisted my hands into my jumper pockets. "Uh, I don't know what you mean."
"Maybe if you never meet him you won't end up at Orchard. That's a relief. I did a reading on Breandan, and he ends up there in chains. He gets distracted because the vampire wants you." She frowned. "No wait, I think it's a humans fault. Damn, I can't see. Anyway, things get out of control. You know how vampires are once they've had your blood. Bottom line is in this future you all died. Sometimes you save him but not the vampire. Or you save the vampire and the human but not Breandan. I can't see what the difference is between one future and the other. My advice is to avoid Orchard if you can."
"Say-so," I said. Not that I'd ever had any plans to be in the company of Tomas for much longer or ever visit this Orchard place. "Y'know what, I'm going to be honest and say I have no idea what to do with anything you just said. I've seen and done unreal stuff today." Sensing its queue my tail whiplashed out behind me. "Nothing is simple anymore and everything frightens me. And you. Your supposed to be a witch and evil by default. You aren't what I expected."
"Old woman with a hunch back, raspy cackle and a pimple on her nose?" She asked in a bored voice. "Cauldron and a cave?" I nodded guiltily. "Damn. Stereotyping is a bitch. Yes, witches are bad, but I'm the exception to the rule." She stepped toward me and I stepped back, wary. She extended her hand and I eyed it warily. "Let's get this done. Sorry to disappoint, but I don't peer into your palm and trace lines. Hold my hand, I won't bite."
Taking a deep breath, I reached out and clasped the undersized hand in mine. Ana's pupils dilated into coin-sized black holes, swallowing the whites of her eyes. The skin on my fingers started to tingle.
"Incredible," she breathed.
