Beauty in the Bones: Season 1

Episode 29: Weaving the Fall

So much homework to do. I laid my head on the desk with a heavy sigh. An algebra exam loomed in the morning, and I'd made no progress. Such trifles shouldn't upset me, but it had been over a week since I'd met Tamsin. I tapped my stylus in pensive rhythm against the tablet screen.

Gerald preened before the wardrobe mirror, straightening his collar. "How do I look?"

I glanced at him briefly. "Splendid. I hope you have a marvelous time."

"I shall, thank you."

He'd finished studying early, and was off to see Marie.

I seethed. How nice it would be to enjoy Tamsin's company whenever I wished. I was grateful when he departed, and I could wallow in my sorrow alone.

My attention wandered to a cobweb nearby, in a spot the cleaning robots had missed. An enterprising spider dove and scurried along fragile threads, spinning a trap. A hunter, like myself.

Restless thoughts tortured my mind. This wouldn't do. Perhaps some meditation would help.

Though Gerald knew of my occult practices, I always performed my rituals in solitude. I kept a few items on my nightstand for convenience--various candles, an effigy of Fenvolvna, meaningful crystals and stones, and a silver skull brazier Mother had given me. I lit the wicks, and set an incense cone into the jaws of the brazier. Duke's skull and the bag containing my Runknostar completed the array. I'd left my mantle and ancestral mask at Silvring Hall, as I wouldn't be attending the gatherings until interim.

Since I was a full-fledged seer, the Inner Quorum now allotted me vials of Asulma for personal use. However, I didn't need any tonight. My Sight excelled without it, due to Mother's teachings. I knelt before my makeshift altar, and closed my eyes.

"Eldnya Fenvolvna, ordt av mig. Sjungt il mig, mein knost ar diyen." I chanted in steady Pruessian. Usually it instilled peaceful reflection, but I remained anxious.

After several minutes, unseen forces rippled through the emptiness around me. A dream resembling the dorm room coalesced. The walls and altar shimmered, radiating beams more brilliant than the candlelight. I raised my athame, willing my power to encircle and protect. The Runknostar spoke, many hushed voices slithering in invitation.

I spilled the oracle bones onto the altar. They sighed, landing in peculiar formations. Some of the engraved runes faced upright, others away. Each symbol revealed was a sign from the Guardians and ancestors. Once the Runknostar were tossed, it was forbidden to disturb them, until the message was interpreted. The Order had instructed me thus, as had Mother.

Words haunted the edge of my mind. "Take...listen."

Against all reason, the bones wished me to rearrange them. Images danced, urging me to capture them in reality. I moved the Runknostar about, not caring if it was wrong. A pattern emerged, resembling gnarled branches, or a web. As I worked, power streamed through my fingers.

The runes hummed. One came into piercing focus--'selvu'. I remembered it as the rune for 'self', and placed it in the center. As I did so, a vision overwhelmed me. I ran across a brittle landscape. My hands and feet were paws, my nose to the wind. Duke panted beside me, matching my tireless lope. We veered along a dry ravine, the scent of fresh water leading us.

Preternatural miles were meaningless to a seer and his guide. We soon reached a familiar clearing. Soil became soft and damp at the edge of a muddy river. Then I smelled an intruder.

Duke answered my warning growl with a single thought. "Mother."

A silhouette stole through the trees, scattering leaves and twigs. Stealthy as the dawn, the largest wolf I'd ever beheld emerged from the brush. A female, her fur was as black as the empty space between stars. She carried something in her jaws. Her eyes appeared human, vivid gold-green, watching me with regal ferocity.