Read Online The Spell of Rosette by Kim Falconer - Free Book Online Page B

him though, it seems.’
    ‘I thought someone was after John’ra. He owed money, I think.’
    ‘Perhaps.’
    ‘Who would want to hurt mamá?’
    Nell shook her head. ‘We can’t know for sure. The temples are not all at peace.’
    ‘Did she have some magic they wanted?’
    Rosette thought she saw Nell stiffen, but when she looked again she was relaxed.
    ‘Anything’s possible. Meanwhile, you’re here and presumed dead. That’s as safe as it gets.’
    ‘Am I in danger, though?’ Rosette looked out the doorway as if at any moment someone would be coming up the path.
    ‘We’ll be vigilant. Besides, no-one gets to me without my knowing.’
    ‘That’s what Jarrod said.’
    ‘Did he?’
    Nell lifted up her mug again. ‘A toast to a new life—for both of us.’
    ‘To a new life.’ Rosette clanked her mug against Nell’s. ‘Can I ask you something?’ Rosette felt heat rise in her face.
    ‘Anything.’
    ‘Since I’m here, and ready for a new beginning…will you teach me the things mamá forbade?’
    ‘Forbade?’ Nell stopped. Her spoon, laden with food, hovered halfway to her mouth.
    ‘She said I wasn’t ready, but I am,’ Rosette went on. ‘And I want to learn so much! Star-craft, herbs, spells, the sword and the bow—and shape-shifting. Definitely shape-shifting. Please may I? You can teach me. I know you can.’
    ‘Full of enthusiasm, aren’t you?’
    ‘Yes.’
    ‘You fancy yourself a witch?’
    ‘Yes.’
    Nell closed her eyes. ‘Why?’ she asked, keeping them shut.
    Rosette put down her bread. ‘I just know it.’
    ‘You just know it,’ Nell repeated. ‘Good. Now tell me, how so?’
    ‘Because something…something is calling me, like the woods of Espiro Dell Ray, and the whispers ofstones and the wind in the arroyos, and lately, it’s been more than a call.’
    ‘More than a call?’
    ‘It’s been a holler.’
    Nell laughed, her eyes popping open. ‘And you want to answer the call?’
    ‘I do.’
    ‘Then you shall.’ She started eating again and nodded to Rosette to do the same.
    ‘Does that mean you’ll initiate me?’
    ‘It does.’
    Rosette beamed a smile. ‘When can I start?’
    ‘There’s no rush.’
    ‘Nell, please. Give me a hint!’
    ‘You’ll have an entire lunar cycle—from waning to new, new to full, and waning again in the sign of the Water-Bearer—to prepare.’
    ‘On my lunar return?’
    She nodded. ‘By the time the moon returns next month, you’ll have sought and acquired your initiation name.’
    ‘Rosette’s no good?’
    ‘Rosette’s fine. Very lovely. It’s perfect for all you meet and everything you do overtly. Your name as an initiate is different. It’s known to you alone, or shared only with another you fully trust.’
    ‘Okay.’
    ‘It’s sacred, Rosette. When you find it, keep it occult.’
    ‘I will.’
    ‘You must also choose the design of your initiation tattoo.’ She paused for a moment. ‘Though it’s more likely that it will choose you.’
    Rosette’s eyes went wide, looking closely at the symbols on Nell’s bare arms—the raven on the left and a stout tree with serpents entwining the trunk on the right.
    She sucked in her breath. ‘I’ve already done that.’
    ‘You have?’
    Rosette glanced over to the bookcase where an onyx statuette of a temple cat sat, slender, regal and fey. The animal had large, pointed ears, the left one pierced with a golden ring. Its face was chiselled, limbs refined, the tail wrapped around its front feet.
    Nell followed her line of sight and smiled.
    ‘Basta, mother of the ancient temple cats?’
    ‘I’ve always known it would be her.’
    ‘Wonderful choice.’
    Rosette smiled back. ‘I knew years ago, on my first visit. I held that statue in my hands and for a second, it came alive.’ She took another bite of bread, sucking drops of honey from her fingers. ‘After my tattoo, then what happens?’
    Nell patted her hand. ‘Under the eyes of great Ishtar…’
    Rosette held her