It was well past midnight and I was still awake. How could anyone sleep after realizing that something horrific was going to happen? Somehow I had managed to continue with the day keeping Connie none the wiser, there was no sense in alarming her before I had any real idea of what was going on. There was always the chance that I was wrong and it had just been a hyper-realistic dream, though my gut told me that it was all too real.

Pacing the living room, I flipped through the various news channels looking for anything that might verify what I had seen. There was more war overseas, dangerous tornadoes in the south, and yet another social media serial killer was on the loose, but there was nothing that stood out as particular apocalyptic. There had to be some reason, either something everyone was missing or perhaps whatever was about to happen hadn’t actually started yet. Climate change flashed across my mind and I felt very uneasy for a moment. That could potentially cause the disastrous scenario I had felt, but it seemed too obvious, too predicted, no, it had to be something else.

Unable to find answers on the news, I returned to my box of equipment and rummaged through it. I was definitely not a clairvoyant like my mother had been, but I had paid enough attention to her methods to have picked up a few things. I doubted that I would get clear answers, but any answer, no matter how obscured, might set me in he right direction. I took out the small, cast iron cauldron I used to burn incense and other offerings in, wiped it clean, then took it to the kitchen sink to fill. It would work loads better with filtered or spring water, but it was a bit too late for me to be running around the city to buy a bottle of water. Next, I cleared off the dining room table and began to arrange the candles with each of them sitting at the cardinal points. Finally, I raided Connie’s kitchen cupboards to find a bag of tea that contained actual leaves, not just the sawdust many companies passed off for the real thing. I was in luck, finding a bag of ancient whole tea leaves in the back of the cupboard. I didn’t know if their being past the expiration date would have any effect on the outcome of the reading, but I wasn’t exactly in the position to be picky.

I scattered the leaves over the top of the water in the cauldron and dimmed the lights, just the drop in lights alone sent the thrill of completing magical work again up my spine. Lighter in hand, I sat down at the table in front of the cauldron and breathed in deeply, holding it until I could no longer, then let it out slowly, preparing my body and mind for the work to be done. I chanted softly “Watchtowers of the north, east, south, and west, I call to thee for your strength and guidance, show me the truth of the wicked work at hand” while lighting each candle in turn. The prickle of magical energy flowed up my arms, raising goosebumps and inspiring my heartbeat to quicken. Relieved that I hadn’t lost the magical flow, I set the lighter aside and peered into the cauldron. Blowing across the surface, the leaves swirled, rose and fell, agitating the water until it began to produce a very distorted image. Ceasing my breath, the image clarified just enough for me to make out a group of people, all dressed a like in some sort of gray outfit. Their faces were warped beyond my ability to recognize any of them and they seemed to be all chanting the same thing, holding hands and swaying. As I continued to watch, a sense of terror and dread rose from the pit of my stomach and the water rippled as an evil, burning fog engulfed the scene, obscuring everything until the image was nothing more than the shimmer of fire. As soon as it had began, the water showed no more, leaving me staring once again at a cauldron of water and leaves. My body shook as I snuffed the candles in reverse order, thanking the Watchtowers for their aid and feeling the magic recede back into the room around me.

It was not much to go on, but I at least knew that whatever was going to happen, it was intentional and it was a group of people behind it. I sorely wished that I had at least some part of my mother’s gift, she had been able to hear things while she scryed, but that had never been a skill I could quite master. A part of me was grateful that it has always alluded me as I was certain that had I been able to hear what they were chanting, I probably would have been scared out of my mind. Rarely any good came out of people banding together for a ritual, usually that meant people had ill intents. It wasn’t that you couldn’t do good while working with others, but it was often difficult to get everyone on the same page at the same time, but people devoted to a cult or a nefarious cause were often motivated to organize on their own. There seemed to be a direct correlation between the ease of organizing a ritual and the amount of damage the ritual would do. It was one of those dark facts that magical practitioners would rather not talk about because it shone a light on the large numbers of people who practiced witchcraft for all the wrong reasons.

If there was a group trying to orchestrate something awful on a scale big enough to cause prophetic dreams, then they were not only powerful, but well educated in how to manipulate magic for their own ends. Coming up with sacred words that everyone could understand and identify with was a feat in itself and there was likely some ancient and powerful relic at the center of the ritual. Something powerful enough to fill in the latent power gaps in the participants and raise the magic level higher enough to reach the threshold necessary to unleash magic on an apocalyptic scale. I couldn’t bring to mind any one item in particular that I knew about that was powerful enough for that, but my training hadn’t been to specialize in ritual objects, so I definitely didn’t know every item that existed. I did remember that there were rumors of rare, powerful objects being passed down in family lines that were kept secretive and hidden away. If one of the family members with access to the object got involved in the wrong group, such an object could be used for ill. Perhaps that what was happening right now and either I was being warned or was just lucky enough to be on the right wavelength to catch a glimpse of what was to transpire.

What could I do? The question sat at the front of my mind, taunting me with the fact that I didn’t know how to answer it. I had never been a very well-connected practitioner, opting for solo magic rather than group when given a choice. I didn’t think that I would be able to stop what was happening on my own, but the only other person with the capacity to understand what was going on was Terry. Two people weren’t much better, but there was also the chance that he had spent the past twenty years cultivating a magical network. Knowing him, I doubted it, but even if it was just the two of us, that still upped my chances of succeeding more than staying it alone.

I was still awake when Connie woke up for the day, luckily I had thought to put away all my ritual materials before she was. Now that I was certain that there was some nefarious plot in the works, I didn’t want to worry her when she didn’t currently have the skills necessary to be a help. She could help in other ways that would be much more efficiently done with her not panicked.

“You’re up early,” she stated with a wide yawn.

“Yeah, guess I slept enough when I was a cat,” I replied, trying to keep as neutral a face and tone as possible. “I also wanted to ask you something and I think the anxiety of it kept me up a bit.”

Her eyebrows raised and then furrowed. “Just ask, it’s not like I’m going to be upset or weird about anything. “

“Well, it still bothers me to have to ask, but I’d like a little bit of a loan…” I sighed at the idea. Even though I might be embarking on a world saving mission, I still hated the idea that I needed to borrow money to do it. It always seemed like borrowing money for a friend always ended up in unnecessary complication. “I just feel like I need some things like a cell phone to be a part of this decade. For instance if I want to talk to Terry I have to go through you and that’s just awkward sometimes.”

“Oh, of course!” Her eyes widened in recognition and she thumped the palm of her hand to her forehead. “I feel stupid for not realizing that there might be things you needed more urgently than when you can start work. I don’t mind giving you some starting cash at all.”

“Thanks,” I said, “I will pay you back as soon as I’m able.” I felt like it was more of a lie than I wanted it to be. The truth was, depending on how far down the plot went, it might be a long while before I could go back to a normal life that made cash.

“Don’t even worry about that. I’m more than happy to help you out, let me just go get one of my cards.”

I crumbled onto the couch and rubbed my tired eyes. Even though I wanted to just lay down and sleep, the dream kept replaying through my mind, the sorrow of the people was clearer than most memories I had of things I knew had happened. I could still feel the pity in my chest and the desire to help them in any way I could. Whatever was happening was bigger than me and definitely bigger than mundane needs like sleep. Today would be the first step to interpreting and translating the garbled message of doom and I knew I wasn’t ready for the task ahead.