Page 41 of Monster's Past
I nod, though really, all I can think about is what later might bring.
CHAPTER17
Anja
I drink the potion,hating the smell and taste even more than before. It’s like someone heated up bathwater and decided to make me drink it.
Cethin takes the cup away from me and pulls me to him, letting me lay my head on his chest while he leans against the bench. The warmth of his arms makes it almost pleasant as I let the effects of the potion take hold and I find myself vanishing into sleep. It’s a shame that we haven’t been able to enjoy the aftereffects of sleeping together without the interruption, but I know this is good for me, and for him in the long run.
The mist comes immediately, but this time I’m ready for it. If I thought everything was sharper the last time I was here because of a potion, it’s even more intense this time around. Or maybe that’s just because I’m thinking more clearly about things and coming into this with the knowledge that I might be a banshee.
A coolness drifts through the air that I haven’t felt before, but I ignore it. For all I know, it’s just a breeze in the Charms and Potions classroom and not in the dream.
The mist clears and several of the figures who have been just out of sight before make their way towards me.
I turn in a circle, but not out of fear, I just want to see their faces and to know if what I’m thinking is correct. Everywhere I look, there’s someone who shares some of my features. I’m not being visited by one ancestor but by many of them.
“Hello, child.”
I whip around to find the woman from the book standing in front of me. Every other banshee from my past is part of the circle, but not her.
“My name is Anja,” I say.
“Anja.” The whisper rushes around the circle.
The woman smiles. “You are back sooner than I expected.”
“You told me that I needed to accept what I am. I’m here to do that. There is no one to teach me what to do or who I am. I don’t even know who my mother is.”
“Your mother does not matter,” she says. “You are one of us. We are all part of the chain of magic.”
I nod. “I understand that.” Mostly because I spent the rest of my classes after the library secretly reading the book on banshees that Cethin got for me. “I want to know how to accept my powers. How do I use them?”
“You simply have to trust,” the woman says. “You must heed what your magic tells you when it comes to death.”
“And foretelling it? Is that really something I have to do?”
“It is part of us.” There is a mournful note in her voice. “But it is not who you are.”
“My mate told me that,” I respond, the words feeling somewhat foreign on my tongue. Probably because I haven’t told anyone what Cethin is to me yet. “That I am more than just a banshee.”
To my surprise, the woman smiles. “You are more than just a banshee. That is your bloodline and your birthright but it is not you. Perhaps you are more ready for the knowledge we bear than I first thought.”
“What knowledge?” Should I be nervous about this?
“There are things that you may know that you are not aware you know. Have you not been able to tell when things are going to die?”
The hamster.
“Yes.”
“That is part of the ancient powers we have,” the woman responds. “Have you met your familiar?”
“Yes. Thistle, she’s a raven.”
She nods approvingly. “An excellent companion for a banshee. You must accept her and bond with her. Bring her into your life properly. Sometimes she will be able to help and guide you in ways that nothing else can.”
Like bringing Cethin to me when I was upset.