chapter four

We descended from the final hill to see the streets of the small town alive with people and colors. Megan had us stick close together as we wormed our way toward the dancing section. "Okay everyone," she screamed over the music, "grab a buddy and stick with them! We'll meet up in three hours, at the same trail we came here on."

The other wards dispersed, leaving me with Megan and the gypsy-inspired music.

We danced our hearts out to the bewitching tunes, song after song.

Laughing, we eventually fled the crowd of pulsating bodies, and wandered around the stands, admiring the wares, until we came to Madame Nadinna's tent.

"Would you like to go first?" asked Megan, politely, but I jokingly told her I'd rather stand guard for her outside, so she slipped into the tent.

By the time she emerged, looking happy and excited, I had abandoned my post and was sprawled on the hard ground. Brushing off my jeans, I stood up, a bit chilled from resting on the nearly frozen soil while I waited.

"Go, go," encouraged Megan, "She's so good! Oh I hope everything she predicted comes true!"

I entered dark tent and was struck by how beautiful Madam Nadinna was. Seated on a satin cushion, she looked like some sort of delicate porcelain figurine. Her flowing, dark brown tresses and wide, dark blue eyes threw me. And I was not expecting the fortune-teller to have such great skin. She must have noticed my confusion, because she waved me in and motioned for me to sit on the cushion across from her. She smiled at me, straightened her back, and closed her eyes.

"I see loss in your past, and more loss in your future," she began in a clear, musical voice. "Change is coming, and perhaps not the kind you anticipated. You are in danger." Her eyes snapped open. "You are in danger," she repeated, "but it is not the kind you can run from."

Suddenly she reached over and grabbed my left hand to continue, almost in a trance, "There is a power in you, a latent power that calls them to you. It is woven into the fiber of your being, and they can sense it, even if they don't yet recognize it. They want you for it. They will try to take you for it. You must fight, even if it may seem futile. Do not go gently." She frowned and sighed. "When they come for you, reach into yourself to unleash your power, it is your greatest weap-" She paused, "your only chance." She released my hand, but I continued to stare at her, unnerved.

"You may ask one question." She peered at me, waiting, but I really had nothing to say.

She sighed again, not disappointed, but resigned. Then she leaned forward and kissed my forehead. "There," she said, looking satisfied, "that should buy you some time." But the satisfaction faded from her face as she regarded me, and she looked older and sadder than she had when I entered.

I left, feeling unsettled, my left hand tingling from her hold and my forehead tingling from her kiss.

That night was the first night since arriving in England that I slept without a nightmare.