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Speak for yourself.
“My supposition is that Kali is to blame for my lack of visions. I believe She is somehow blocking the mental pathway that exists between myself and Nemesis.”
Wynter bristled on behalf of Kali. The deity might be a pain in the ass with Her cryptic shit, but She’d given Wynter a second chance at life and had effectively been at her side for many years. “Why would She do that?”
“I relay my visions to Cain, if they are relevant, so my theory is that Kali does not wish for him—or perhaps for the Ancients as a whole—to be alerted to any future happenings. Though I do not know why that would be.”
“I really have no clue if Kali would do that, or even if She could. Nemesis is a deity, too. Surely She wouldn’t stand for anyone interfering like that, not even another deity.”
“I would have thought the same, but no messages are coming through.” Demetria sighed. “Perhaps you could reach out to Kali and request that She unblock the mental pathway.”
“I can try.” But Wynter wouldn’t actually make such an attempt. If Kali was doing as Demetria believed, She had a good reason for it.
“Thank you.” Demetria smiled again. “I really do hope that you and I can be friends, Wynter. Not many people understand the difficulties and pressures that come with being Favored. They can imagine how it must be, but they can’t know. I believe it would be nice for us both to have someone around who knows.”
Maybe so, Wynter pondered as the oracle left, but that was the thing—their circumstances were entirely different. They couldn’t truly “know” how the other felt in regards to being Favored. And since there was much that Wynter couldn’t share, there was no way she could even make Demetria understand.
Wynter quickly locked up the shed and then headed into the cottage via the back door. Hattie was chopping vegetables while Delilah and Xavier sat at the table sorting through the items they’d been given in trade—not everyone paid for their stuff with cash. Anabel was nowhere to be seen but, given her reluctance to venture outside, was probably somewhere in the cottage.
Wynter added her own wad of cash to the pile. “Looks like we had yet another profitable day.”
Xavier grinned. “We did indeed.”
She took a seat at the table and smoothed her hand over the surface of the barn wood. “I had myself a visit from a woman called Demetria.”
“The oracle?” asked Hattie. “I’ve seen her around.”
Xavier nodded. “She’s Favored by Nemesis, right?”
“Hm,” said Delilah, all attitude. “She also refused to employ me when I went looking for a job at her herbalist store when we first moved to Devil’s Cradle. Not that I wish she hadn’t refused. I much prefer being part of running our one-stop shop. But she and her coven are snotty little bitches.”
“What did Demetria want?” Xavier asked Wynter. “You said she visited you, which doesn’t sound like she was a customer.”
“She said she wanted us to be friends, but the overture didn’t feel all that sincere,” replied Wynter. “I think she was just hoping I’d help her if she was nice.”
Xavier’s brows lowered. “Help her with what?”
“Since I’ve been here, she’s had no visions of the future via Nemesis. She thinks Kali’s to blame.”
Hattie turned away from the counter, a chopping knife in hand. “Could Kali really stop someone from receiving visions from another deity?”
Wynter shrugged. “I haven’t a clue. But if She is doing it, She’s not doing it for shits and giggles. She has a reason. So I’m not gonna ask Her to stop. Deities do whatever the hell they want anyway.”
Footfalls came stomping down the stairs and then Anabel charged into the room.
Wynter recoiled at the sight of her red, blistered flesh. “What in the world happened to you?”
Anabel shifted from foot to foot. “Uh . . .”
“You were using yourself as a test subject while whipping up new potions again, weren’t you?” Wynter swore. “Jesus, woman, will you never learn?”
The blonde cringed. “Tell me we have a bottle of after-sun lotion somewhere. I am in so much pain right now.”
“There’s an aloe vera plant in the backyard,” Hattie told her. “The leaves on it will do the trick. Probably.”
“Why probably?” asked Anabel.
“That’s not natural sunburn, so it might not be soothed in a natural way,” the old woman explained.
