The Strength C1

Belladonna Hunter slouched in a metal chair under the awning of her favourite coffee shop, her legs crossed. An iced vanilla latte and her phone sat on the patio table in front of her. Her heart sank in disappointment with the realization that she'd been stood up again. J0eSm1th1983 was supposed to have met her half an hour ago. She was certain she'd spotted him from across the patio; he'd made eye contact with her and quickly kept walking. She'd even done her very best to look good that day, opting to put in her contact lenses instead of wearing her glasses since the purple colour didn't go with everything she wore. Her hair was brushed to a shine and was braided down her back.

Sighing, Belle picked up her drink and took a long sip. She stared at her phone, tempted to message the guy, but no—what was the point in doing that? Belle leaned forward and dug around her messenger bag, pulling out a fabric envelope. Inside was a deck of cards.

It wasn't often that she read tarot cards for herself; she always had trouble getting a proper reading. She could easily do readings for other people, thankfully. She made decent money from that talent.

As Belle shuffled the cards, she thought about what she wanted to know. “Let’s try if I'll find love or not,” she whispered to herself. She split the deck, twisted the first half, shuffled again, then flipped the top card and placed it on the table.

Strength.

The card depicted a beautiful woman sitting atop a large lion, her fingers tangled deep in the lion’s mane. It was upright. All Belle could think of were the keywords for the card: strength, courage, patience, control, compassion . . . so what was the card trying to tell her? This was why Belle always had trouble reading for herself. Was she supposed to be strong and patient and the right man would come along yet? The impression she mostly got was that she needed to push forward and keep her eyes open, and perseverance would get her through.

The heck was that supposed to mean?

A vision flashed through Belle’s mind, doubling her over. She curled into fetal position on the chair, her eyes squeezed shut. Images flashed through her mind so quickly that she was unable to keep up with them. She'd never been hit with a vision like this before. Her heart was pounding, she felt confused and dizzy, and she could feel a sweat breaking across her forehead.

When it was done, Belle's body was cramping, her muscles tight from being curled around herself so hard. She breathed in, looking around to make sure no one had seen that. As her body calmed down, she stared at the ground. Gold-coloured eyes stared back at her until the vision finally cleared and her eyes focused on the paving stones under her feet. She had to think—what had she seen other than those golden eyes? She couldn’t remember, but she had a feeling of urgency, that something wrong was coming. Something she had to stop?

Belle lowered her forehead to her knees and just breathed. Beside her, her cell phone went off. The vibration against the glass-topped table, harsh after such an intense vision, caused her to jump. A quick glance at the caller ID told her it was HQ. Belle plucked the small rectangle off the surface and slid her thumb across the screen to answer the call. “Hello?”

“Hello, Miss. Hunter?” The voice was feminine.

“Speaking,” Belle mumbled, running a hand through her hair and pulling the braid free from its pleats.

“Miss. Hunter, your presence is required at the Western Headquarters.”

“Why, may I ask?”

“I’m afraid I’m not privy to that information,” the woman replied, sounding rather tart. “If you wish to know the reason you’re being summoned, answer and find out.”

“Very well. I'll be on the first flight I can get.”

~ * ~

“Chasity, it’s not my fault!” Belle sighed into her cell phone. She was walking down a busy city street. People of all ethnicities pushed past her on the street, rushing towards their destinations. The tall buildings blocked the sun, keeping the street cool, and she shivered from the lower temperatures. The scent of something salty and spicy wafted into Belle’s face, making her mouth water.

Belle thought it was weird how Wiccan Headquarters were always in the business districts of cities. “High Priestesses Skye had me called to come into HQ.”

“She should have given you more notice.” Chasity huffed from the other end. “You have work to do; you can’t just pick up and leave. I’m supposed to be dealing with inventory, not calling your appointments today and cancelling.”

“I know, I know.” Belle sighed as she stopped in front of an office building. The stairs suddenly looked very large and imposing. It was just a trick of her mind, but she was still dreading going inside. “I’ve got to go. I’m in front of HQ. I’ll call you later, okay?”

Chasity sighed. “All right. I’ll talk to you later.”

With a quick bye, Belle put her phone into her pocket and headed up the stairs. She walked up to the reception desk and put on her most pleasant smile. “Hello. High Priestess Skye summoned me.”

“Name,” the woman replied, sounding somewhat nasal, not even looking up from the computer.

“Belladonna Hunter. I got a call this morning telling me to get here.”

“Just a moment.” Belle heard the click-clack of the keyboard. After a few moments of silence, the woman started to speak again, still not looking up. “Someone should be down to see you soon.”

“Thank you,” Belle mumbled as she stepped from the desk to find a place to sit.

The foyer was nondescript. Belle had seen this type of entryway so many times before. There was a large bowed front desk with fake wood paneling. A long black runner went from the roundabout doors to the counter. Everything was whitewashed, making it look sterile. The chairs were uncomfortable, but at least they were padded. The only thing that was missing was the logo and the name of the company behind the front desk.

Sometime later, a woman in a white lab coat walked into the foyer. Her black hair was pulled up into a tight bun. “Miss Hunter?”

Belle looked up from a gardening magazine. “Hello.” Belle smiled, stood, and extended her hand.

“Belle, it’s been a while.” The woman smiled.

Belle didn’t recognize her until she saw that smile. “Cailean. I didn’t realize you made it to Tier Four.”

“Yeah.” Cailean led Belle towards a set of elevators. “High Priestess Skye contacted me, saying she wanted me to be a part of HQ. That was almost a year ago.”

“Wow,” Belle replied. “But I didn’t think you wanted to be a priestess or even a high priestess.”

“I’m not, and I don’t. Tier fours and fives are all working within this building, doing work for the community, using our talents for research, and just trying to better things for our fellow witch and warlock. There aren’t a lot of priestesses within HQ. Not that there aren’t any, just not many.”

Belle couldn’t help but feel that most of what Cailean had just said had been recited from a script. “Okay,” Belle mumbled to herself as they stepped into the elevator. “So if there are Tier Four and Five coven members within the building, why was I summoned? I’m not very far into my Tier Three.”

“You don’t have control over your Spiritual Gift yet?”

Belle sighed, biting her lips together before answering. “I get visions of the future. Any High Priestess that had that gift said it’s the hardest to master.”

“I didn’t realize,” Cailean replied. “But the reason we need your help will become apparent soon enough.”

All this secrecy was confusing. Belle was getting more goosebumps the further up the elevator they went. Just what was going on? This wasn’t normal, was it? “Why did my name come up?”

“Excuse me?”

Belle looked up at Cailean, frowning. “There are many Tier Three witches in this city, I’m sure. Why did I get called across the country to help you?”

Cailean looked at the wall to her left, at the buttons ahead of her, at her feet—anywhere but directly at Belle. “It’s your charms and potions skills that are required.”

“Again,” Belle pushed. “Why me?”

“I’m not sure why,” Cailean finally admitted. “I know you’ve always been a strong witch, and not just with charms and potions. But we have a Tier Four witch here that’s good with the same stuff.” Cailean was silent a moment, rubbing the back of her neck and blushing. “It was the High Priestess’s call. She said to call you, get you in here, and get you to help.”

“What am I helping with?”

“Skye wants to tell you that herself.”