Heaven's Children (Earth Totem)

rubbing at the tears on Amber’s cheeks.

‘Ages,’ Caro nodded Amber couldn’t control the small smile that crept its way onto her cheek, reddening when Andrea crouched down in front of her. Her face was different, she was serious.

‘Your time will come Amber, but for now we have to concentrate on protecting Nevaeh. She’s at risk in the hospital. She felt the voice from before listening, pushing a question into her head.

‘Isn’t Hawk putting himself and us more at risk by being seen? I mean, he was driving – is he going to the hospital? What was the name of the hospital again?’ She sat back stunned at what she had just asked. It was too obvious, and Andrea looked at her steadily.

‘I mean, in the book it says that trancing is Gaia’s gift to us – why not use that. Why even drive at all?’ She forced herself to laugh still reeling from the question and wished at this moment for a little privacy. They had told her it was for her protection, but now she realised it was to spy on the group. She felt like she was living two lives and the pounding in her head became more intense.

I can’t do this.

Keep calm Amber. She felt a soft touch to her temples and briefly closed her eyes in ecstasy. The pounding was gone, and she felt calmer than she had for days. She knew it was his magic touch and even now, he was looking out for her. It took her a while to notice that Andrea was still staring at her. For one moment, Amber thought she suspected but how could she? She almost laughed in relief when Andrea smiled at her.

‘That’s a good point Amber. I can see now that you’ve been studying hard. I’ll make sure that I put through an application for initiation this month – how’s that?’ Seth and Nettles called Andrea over before Amber had time to respond. Her mind was reeling: Now she offered it to her, why now, when it was too late? She felt miserable again. Andrea clapped her on the leg before standing up, misreading her face. ‘Don’t worry; I know you’ve been studying.’ She smiled before heading over to Seth and Nettles who were eager to join with their totems. She felt numb, realisation settling in. Andrea had really been listening all these months when she had told her about her studies. She wasn’t being ignored and for the first time, she started to feel guilt, real guilt.

‘We won’t be long,’ Seth moaned, breaking into Amber’s thoughts. His voice was turning into a whine. Andrea didn’t want them to go, not yet.

‘But we won’t be long.’ He mumbled dragging the last word out.

‘Neither will we.’ Andrea said sternly, ignoring the way Seth dragged his feet dramatically.

‘Such a teenager,’ Andrea smiled tousling his Mohawk. Seth flinched.

‘Hey! Not the hair, never the hair.’ he grinned, making a show of sleeking it upwards. Nettles rolled her eyes at Amber and they all laughed. She was always in awe of Andrea’s leadership skills. No matter how upset everyone was, she calmed them down. She felt another trickle of guilt – maybe Andrea would understand if she told her about them. Maybe it wasn’t too late. She felt his fury as pain seared across her temples making her wince. This was another reminder that they were always watching her.

17

The Knots of Gaia

Andrea took a deep breath before holding out the knotted ropes in signal for Hebet en ba to invoke Gaia herself. Each knot signified an initiated member of the group. She called Amber over and placed her in the centre of the circle. Amber felt confused by this inclusion, from what she had read, the knots of Gaia were forbidden to the uninitiated.

She could feel the voices being locked out by the knots and wondered if Andrea knew about her secret. The circle of knots was filled with magic and protected everyone. Amber looked round warily, feeling more like a sacrifice. She felt beads of sweat form on her forehead. She’d heard that the knots revealed the truth and prayed that it was just a rumour.

Andrea raised her arms, cupping her hands to invoke the tree of life. She inhaled deeply and pulled on the rope. The others circled Amber smiling, and she blushed. Everyone else copied her except Claudine, who frowned at Amber’s muddy aura. As the Gaia dance continued, she noticed how it spread outwards like fingers and enclosed herself in a protective shield, sensing her sister to do the same. Andrea’s voice was getting louder and the energy of the ropes tingled up their arms into their bodies.

Sem- a em sentet en kshertu,

I have made my way to the tree of life.

Pa-na au –a temt-kua em bah-k

May I fly, May I gather myself together like a hawk.

Nepver en nub; an-na ab-a em tu

Beautiful land of gold; may it come to me in my heart.

Abtet; an-na-a er amitu neteru

Of beginnings; may it come to me among the gods!

Amber felt tears roll down her cheeks, the words repeated by the others sounded like music. At the mention of the Hawk, an overpowering sense of despair filled her, and she wished she could take the words back. Hawk really loved Nevaeh; it was obvious, even if she didn’t want to see it earlier.

Andrea held up a small totem stick in which pictorial symbols of the four elements, fire, water, air and earth, were carved. Down the sides were the names of all the totem leaders. It was a reminder of their heritage. Amber held her breath as Andrea pointed to the four compass corners. It was the indication to speak. The binding magic from the circle of knots drew them closer as it wove its way round them. Everyone including Amber felt the power surge through them. Andrea was the first to speak.

‘We’re still a totem family and the protection of Mother is our first covenant. We must be on guard, and look to Meshkenet, our midwife of souls, to protect, especially tonight.’ She took a deep breath.

’Be on the look out for others, recognise the darkness, the Kekui, their auras will be tainted. Anna and others like her will carry the Kekui with them. They’ve already swept through two totem groups recently, and taken control. They are using the energy lines of our mother against us; the sign is the blue mist. It is unnatural and created to confuse our senses. They won’t stop until we are all working for them.’ At the mention of Kekui, the ancient totem name for darkness, Claudine and Caro looked at Amber.