Briannas Prophecy (7 page)

 
”With the great knowledge and power that Morwyyn possessed, he saw the death of
Terrna
, along with the means to save her, in his own far-removed great-granddaughter. He’d had to escape to this world to protect that which he possessed—his seed.” Niklas took a deep breath and reached over to pick up a map of the Americas. “It’s going to be difficult to find her, unless we get extremely lucky. Because either many people here contain his blood, or there are many descendants of the Fae here.”

He tossed the map aside, stood and began to pace across the big colorful rag rug they found in the attic. “You know the stories. He was the only human with golden hair and blue eyes on
Terrna
. Someone once said his coloring came from the fiery power within him. Others were sure it was because he was half-Fae.” He paused, turning to look back at Minra. “I don’t know which, but it doesn’t matter. The only thing that does matter is that she is here.”

Niklas noticed there were many blondes here, whether they were descendants of Morwyyn or of the Fae would remain to be seen. Still, only one of them held the power to save his world. If only he could find her.

Chapter Four

Brianna hopped up the three steps of Amber’s porch. She couldn’t wait to tell her about their new neighbor. “Whew! What a hottie!” She reached up to knock.

“Who’s a hottie?” her friend asked with a scowl as she pushed open the screen door. “And why do you always insist on knocking? If I’ve told you once, I’ve told you a million times. Just come on in. You don’t have to knock, hon. You’re family.”

“Sorry. I keep forgetting.” Brianna beamed at her. “I just met our new neighbor, and boy, is he something.” She emphasized her words by fanning her fingers in front of her face. “I thought I’d expire on the spot just looking at him.”

Amber smiled, crossed her arms over her chest and leaned lazily against the doorjamb. “He’s real eye candy huh? Please tell me you weren’t talking to him like you are right now.” She bit her lip, obviously trying not to laugh.

Brianna hesitated and wrinkled her brow in confusion. “Why, what’s wrong?” she asked, her head bowing as she surveyed the front of her cloak.

Amber reached over her shoulder. Her slender fingers brought a few stringy strands of black hair forward. “I can’t believe you didn’t remember you were wearing
that
.” She shook her head. “I swear, Bri, sometimes I think you’d forget your head if it wasn’t attached.”

Brianna’s cheeks flamed when she realized what Amber meant. She still wore the witch makeup. Namely, the hairy wart, stringy black wig and blackened teeth. “Great.” She slapped her forehead with the palm of her hand. “The first man I’ve met in ages that I’m even remotely attracted to, and I have to be in my Halloween get-up.” Scowling, she rushed past Amber and headed toward the bathroom, disgusted with herself. No wonder he’d looked at her the way he had. It hadn’t been admiration. It had most likely been horror. The wart she had looked real, very real.

Brianna swore under her breath, horrified that she’d been in such a hurry, she’d forgotten to remove the makeup she’d grown to dislike so much. It was a good thing she decided against the green face paint. Or maybe not, as at least with the face paint, he would have been able to tell she was in costume. “Geeze, wearing just the wart, I must have looked like some horror movie housekeeper or something.”

“Storybook hag,” Amber said, in a singsong voice from the other side of the door.

Making a face, she stared at herself in the mirror, totally horrified she’d made such a stupid mistake. Brianna shook her head. It was just like her though. Flighty, forgetful, just plain stupid! She heaved an exasperated sigh. “It’s Halloween, for goodness-sake. I am not going to worry about it,” she vowed, then snatched up the toothbrush she kept in Amber’s bathroom and scrubbed furiously at her teeth. She couldn’t be more irritated with herself. Usually, she was more diligent about her appearance, but she’d been in such a rush…

Placing the toothbrush back in the holder over the sink, Brianna inspected her teeth critically in the mirror. Much better! She smiled wide showing off her white teeth. With the wart tucked safely in her purse, and all of the black removed from her teeth, she looked more like herself again. She blushed, watching as her cheeks turned an unbecoming shade of pink and thought of her new neighbor. What in the world must he think of her? He had to know she’d been in costume. She shrugged. There was nothing that could be done about it now. Why agonize over it? And if she kept telling herself that, she just might start to believe it.

Brianna groaned and removed the knotted wig. Reaching over to her right, she hung it from the knob on the cabinet next to the sink and gave her head a good scratching. The cheap wig always made her head itch, like she had fleas or something. Returning her gaze to the mirror, she groaned. Her hair looked horrible after being confined beneath the wig for two hours. Borrowing Amber’s blow dryer, she brought her shining golden hair back under control. Wispy bangs fell in a perfect arch over her smooth forehead. A length of luminescent silk cascaded freely down her back, contrasting with the black dress. The golden waves glistened and reflected the light as she walked.

“Hey, I don’t look half bad like this,” she said to herself before joining her friend. Amber sat tapping her foot against the edge of her coffee table. It was the only outward sign of her discarded patience. She stood as Brianna entered the room and donned her own handmade cape.

“Are you
finally
ready to go?” Amber’s finely arched brows were raised in question.

Brianna bowed her head and nodded slowly. Boy, was she going to have a hard time living this down. She looked up from the floor, giving Amber her first look at the revised hair and makeup.

Amber whistled, “You’re going to knock them dead tonight, Bri. You look marvelous.”

Brianna beamed at her. “You look great, too, Cyndy.”

Amber scowled at her. “Don’t call me that anymore. It doesn’t do a thing for me. My new name has helped me develop more patience.” She glanced at her watch. “If we leave now, we’ll still be able to make it in time for the limbo contest.” She turned, picked up the two overnight bags sitting in the foyer and headed for the door.

Brianna climbed into the passenger seat of Amber’s fluorescent green Neon and fastened her seatbelt. It was one thing she
never
forgot to do, especially if her friend was driving. Amber had the fearless heart of a racecar driver.

Amber put the car in gear and mashed on the gas, leaving skid marks in her driveway on the way out.

Brianna gripped the armrest as her friend stomped on the gas pedal and they careened around a corner, just missing the curb. She honked at a young couple, holding hands as they ran across the street.

“Stay in the crosswalk, you boobs!” She made a face. “I swear, Bri, it’s getting to the point that the people around here cross the road anywhere they want with no thought for the traffic.”

Closing her eyes, Brianna took a deep breath, only relaxing her death grip on the armrest to adjust her seatbelt. “Well, if you weren’t speeding, maybe they would have seen us coming.”

“I wasn’t speeding.” Amber shot her a surprised look. “I always drive fifty through here.”

Brianna smiled wryly. “Maybe you do, sweetie, but that sign you nearly mowed down back there was a speed limit sign that said twenty-five. You have
seen
speed limit signs, haven’t you?”

Amber waved her hand. “Yeah, but that’s only for daytime, when the kids are out. I’d never drive that fast through here then. That’s why I take the expressway.” She honked at a slower moving vehicle, jerked her car to the left and shot through an intersection.

Brianna took a deep breath and counted to ten. You just had to love Amber. She loved life, excitement, and she loved to drive fast. Real fast.

Amber glanced her way. “What?”

“Oh nothing.” Brianna waved her hand toward the rear of the vehicle. “I just thought since you didn’t stop at the stop sign back there, you might want to stop for the flashing lights in your rearview mirror.” She was looking behind them through the passenger side door mirror.

Amber frowned. “What flashing li— Oh, God!” She glanced at Brianna, a panicked look in her eyes. “Did I really just run a stop sign?” She chewed on her lip nervously and her gaze darted from the road to the mirror and back. Slowing down, she turned on her blinker, steered into a parking lot and pulled into a space. The police car, with its flashing lights, sped past them with the siren blaring.

Brianna shook her head with disgust. “You’re so lucky, I swear. If
I
would have been driving, I’d be getting a big fat ticket right now.”

“Good thing it wasn’t you driving then, huh?” Amber waggled her eyebrows and grinned. She put the car in gear and stomped on the gas pedal.

“This is a welcome sight after that wild ride,” Brianna muttered when they pulled into the parking spot at the conference center and shut off the engine.

“Did you say something?” Amber looked at her curious.

“I said, what a wonderful night. Thanks for the ride,” Brianna said, thinking quickly. The last thing she wanted to do was hurt Amber’s feelings.

“Oh, well, you’re welcome,” Amber said with a smirk. “Now let’s go and have a great time. I hope I can find someone to dance with.”

“You probably won’t if you’re going to insist on doing the robot again. That dance is so old.” Brianna made a face. “You look ridiculous when you do it.”

“I like the robot,” she pouted. “And the moonwalk. I especially like the mashed potato.”

Brianna shook her head. “And as long as you insist on dancing like that you’re going to continue to have an awful time finding someone to hit the floor with you.”

They walked inside together as they laughed and talked. Brianna was still shaken from the wild ride. She’d been pleasantly surprised to find out she didn’t have to pry her fingers loose from the armrest and dashboard where she’d developed a white-knuckled death grip.

They walked through the hotel’s opulent lobby and across the ocher marble floor that gleamed in the light from the chandeliers overhead. The lush, potted palms were huge and healthy. Bellhops walked past, pushing their polished, brass carts. A red carpet ran up the center of the wide marble stairs, held in place by long brass rods, to the concierge on the next level.

Brianna pointed to a sign. “It’s this way, in the port and starboard ballrooms.” The girls followed the signs to the two huge rooms. They each pulled out their tickets and gave them to the doormen as they entered.

“You know,” Amber grabbed a hors d’oeuvre from a passing server and popped it into her mouth. “The Witches’ Ball is one of only a few Pagan social events of the year. It’s mainly for meeting others of similar beliefs.”

Brianna nodded. “I remember, you told me. It’s also a great place to network or to find other people who may have a particular skill, tool, or service.” She wrapped her arm around Amber’s shoulders. “Thanks so much for teaching me.”

Amber grinned. “I love it, and you know it.”

With the party already in full swing, costumed guests milled around everywhere. The rooms were thick with people of all sizes, shapes and magical persuasion.

“There must be at least five-hundred people here this year. What a great turnout,” Brianna said, completely awed. Glancing around the enormous hall, she took in the beauty of the large room. The black, red, and gold carpet beneath their feet was patterned like the carpet in a turn of the century hotel. The chandeliers overhead were immense. They contained a copious amount of crystals, causing the light to prism, sending colorful light patterns throughout the room. Everything looked as magical as she thought a Witches’ ball should look.

The costumes ranged from the common witch or court jester to outlandish vampires with blood red capes and filed or capped vicious-looking canines.

The ball committee, as usual, rented two conference rooms in a local hotel and conference center. One room held the vendors and food. The other was reserved strictly for the contests and dancing. Both rooms were decorated with a plethora of hanging plants and incense holders. The many witch-balls—silver painted glass globes filled with small pieces of string to trap negativity—were beautiful.

“Do you know what I like the most about the ball?” Brianna asked with a smile.

“What?” Amber turned, her brow raised in question.

“I like the fact that it’s air conditioned and it has toilets.” Brianna said tongue in cheek.

 
”Unlike the gathering of the tribes for the spring and fall where we all have to rough it for five long days?”

Brianna slipped a glass of Coke from a passing waiter. “I like the sleeping on the ground and cooking over an open fire part.” She took a sip of her drink. “I really don’t mind roughing it, but I would like to have showers and a toilet.”

“But that’s the best part!” Amber looked shocked that Brianna could say such a thing. “We all save water and electricity when we’re there!” She reached out and snagged another hors d’oeuvre from a tray and crammed it into her mouth.