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I told you before that you are not suffering from hallucinations or
delusions, Mikado. Nor are you mad, Hecate said firmly.
Can you read my mind?
I always know the deepest fears and the most passionate desires of my
Empousa. Now, Priestess, continue to explain this accident to your goddess.
Your goddess . . . an unimaginable thrill shocked through Mikki s body when
Hecate spoke those two simple words. It was as if a memory, long forgotten,
had begun to stir, restless with the possibility of new life.
Your heart remembers, Empousa, as does your blood. The goddess did not speak,
but the echo of Hecate s voice whispered through Mikki s mind.
A voice in her mind? Mikki shook her head, suddenly afraid again. She spoke
quickly, hoping the sound of her voice recounting events she knew had happened
in the real world would anchor her shifting sense of reality.
An old woman gave me the perfume. She and I hit it off because she had been
named after a rose, too.
And what was this crone s name?
Sevillana Kalyca, Mikki said, noting how Hecate s eyes immediately narrowed.
But the goddess didn t interrupt her again, and Mikki continued. I had a date
that night, so I thought I d wear the perfume, she grimaced, remembering the
arrogant Professor Asher. But the guy turned out to be awful. I left and
walked home.
Hecate nodded thoughtfully. Few men are worthy of an Empousa.
Mikki looked into the goddess s eyes and was surprised to see understanding
there. She smiled tentatively at Hecate. I ve definitely not been lucky in
love.
Hecate snorted. Men are inconsequential.
Mikki felt some of the tension in her shoulders relax. They had certainly been
inconsequential in her life. Well, I decided not to go straight home, so I
cut through the park because I wanted to walk in the rose gardens.
You live near rose gardens? the goddess asked.
Mikki nodded. Right across the street from the city s rose gardens. I
volunteer there year round.
Hecate looked pleased. It is proper. As Empousa, your most important duty,
after honoring me, is to care for your roses.
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I have always cared for roses. So did my mother and my grandmother
Hecate s impatient gesture cut off her words. The women of your family are
tied by blood to the roses. I know that. What I do not know is how you invoked
my name.
It really was an honest mistake. I was walking through the park to get to the
rose gardens, and they were rehearsing the play Medea. They needed someone to
step in for the actress who was supposed to play Medea at the same time I
happened by. The director asked if I would read a few lines, and I did . . .
Mikki s words trailed off as she remembered how the lines on the script had
blurred, glowed and then seemed to be spoken of their own accord. It was like
once I said the goddess s name, everything changed.
She hadn t realized she d spoken the thought aloud until Hecate s stern voice
answered her.
Your soul and the very blood that pounds through your heart know my name, and
they called for their goddess, even though your mind has forgotten me.
It seems so impossible . . . Mikki shook her head and wiped a shaky hand
over her face.
But there was no blood sacrifice made. The wind would have stirred at your
words, the earth would have trembled, and the waters wept as flame blazed, but
you could not have awakened the Guardian and been carried to my realm without
the letting of your blood.
I fed the roses, Mikki said faintly, remembering the cacophony of sound that
had swelled around her as she had read the goddess invocation. Wind . . .
earth . . . water . . . fire . . . had they really all responded to her? The
thought thrilled and overwhelmed her. Then the goddess s impatient frown
brought her quickly back on track. Some workers in the gardens had trampled
the roses. It was the night of the new moon, and I d already fed my roses the
ones on my balcony at home. It was a simple thing for me to reopen the cut in
my hand and help them, too. I guess I went a little overboard, because I was
sprinkling water everywhere. I even got some on the Guardian statue Mikki
sucked air and stared at Hecate. The statue. That creature. It . . . It . .
.
He, Hecate corrected her. The Guardian is male. And, yes, your call to
me coupled with the sacrifice of your blood awakened him. He brought you here.
It was his duty to return my priestess to her proper place.
Mikki s eyes darted from the goddess to the shadows that were lengthening with
the thickening of night.
He is not near. He has been absent from his charge for too long. There is
much that he must correct; many things are amiss to which he must attend. You
are not to concern yourself with him. And you have nothing to fear from him.
The Guardian s only purpose is to protect the Realm of the Rose, to make sure
the threads of reality are woven into dreams and magick.
Mikki shook her head. Threads of reality? How does he
The goddess cut her off. It is not important that you understand his purpose.
Just know that he is not a danger to you. He guards all who reside within my
realm.
If he s your Guardian, then what was he doing being a statue in the Tulsa
Rose Gardens? And, Mikki s mind shrieked, what was he doing seducing me in my
dreams?
Hecate s gaze shifted from Mikki, and the dark goddess stared out over the
flame-lit gardens that stretched in a seemingly limitless expanse of beauty
before them. When she spoke, it was more to the shadows than to the woman who
stood beside her.
I am a goddess, but I am also fallible. It was through an error of my own
judgment that my Guardian was banished. It is my desire to correct that
error.
Mikki didn t know what to say. If she had thought about the ancient gods and
goddesses before today, her basic assumption would have been that they were
powerful, omnipotent beings who were immune to simple mistakes in judgment.
And now she was standing before a being who proclaimed herself Hecate, who
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radiated power and authority, and this same goddess was admitting to having
made a mistake? It made no sense. But then, none of what was happening to her
made any sense.
Again Hecate spoke without looking at Mikki. Yes, a goddess can err. I have a
heart and a soul. I have passions and dreams. I love and I hate. How can I be
a wise goddess, worthy of worship, if I do not intimately understand the
mistakes of humanity? To understand those mistakes, I must experience some of
them, she concluded in a somber voice.
I m sorry, Mikki said softly.
Hecate s gray eyes returned to rest on her. I have missed the presence of my
Empousa in the Realm of the Rose. Even though your return appears accidental,
this time she added a touch of humor to her voice when she said the word, I
am pleased you are here. I have grown weary of waiting.
But I still don t know why I am here. Could she really be priestess to this
amazing goddess?
You are here for the roses! Hecate spread her arms in a magnanimous gesture
to include all the gardens before them. You will reinstate my rituals and
bring health and life renewed to my realm.
Hecate, I don t know how, Mikki said.
Of course you do! she said fiercely. The knowledge has been written in your
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