Blaize and the Maven: The Energetics Book 1 (9 page)

Now, on her way to her next Maven, she didn’t feel exactly enthusiastic, but she managed acceptance. Her journey gave her more time to centre herself, with several flights and a bus that took her from the hustle and bustle of Vancouver airport to a bus station at the edge of a small town.
 

She hadn’t spoken to Cuinn directly yet
—
they’d emailed a couple of times before Cuinn had directed her to Tierra, who’d helped Blaize with practicalities. Tierra had been friendly, and her emails managed a lively and welcoming tone.

Cuinn on the other hand … he was a bit of a mystery. His communication was terse, signed ‘C,’ with no niceties, and always focused on the factual information. There were no questions about herself, which Blaize didn’t mind. Well, OK, she did mind a bit, but then he hadn’t responded to her probes about him either.
 

Maybe it was a guy thing. She’d been used to working with her Aunt, a woman and a family member, on her dominant Chakra, and Blaize wasn’t sure if working with a male Maven would be different. Or whether she would like it.

She sighed as she got down off the bus and stretched out the kinks, trying to shake off a sense of apprehension. She reminded herself of her promise to be positive
—
after all, she could be here for years.

She looked around the deserted bus station. A lone woman stood waiting at the exit gate, reading from a tablet. Given that no one else was in sight, Blaize assumed she must be Tierra.
Cuinn’s delegated again
.
 

Cuinn certainly gave a good impression of someone disinterested in her. How would that work when he was her Maven? The bonding ritual would create a link between them that would be long-lasting. Perhaps he was giving her space until then, when there would be a lot less choice about the two of them interacting.
 

She walked to the petite, curvy woman, who looked up and smiled. She radiated an earthy femininity
—
warm and natural. Blaize faltered, intimidated by her despite the fact that she could probably take her out in seconds. Blaize was good with violence. She was less good with unconditional acceptance.
 

Tierra was quick to close the gap between them, and Blaize's hands were already half-raised in a defensive gesture before Tierra had thrown her arms around her. Tierra was a good few inches shorter than Blaize, with a soft, long skirt the colour of pine needles, and a fitted white sweater.

Tierra stepped back and met Blaize’s gaze with dark-chocolate coloured eyes.
 

“Pleased to meet you! I’m Tierra. Of course I am, who else would I be? It’s so exciting you’re here! Your boxes have already arrived; I’ve put them in your cottage. You’ll love it; it has privacy but is close enough to the main house that you can pop over whenever you need. And for meals! It will be great to have someone else to cook for. I just love cooking.”

Blaize let the words stream over her, and considered interrupting but decided there was no need. Tierra kept up her chatter all the way to the car, and for most of the half-hour journey back to the house. She peppered Blaize with questions, but rarely gave her the opportunity to answer them, which was fine with the weary Blaize. Despite that, Tierra was extremely likeable, a nurturing and agreeable presence.

Eventually Tierra said, “Almost there. It’s spring now
—
a few weeks ago we still had snow, but it’s starting to warm up. I guess still a lot colder than you’re used to.”

Blaize nodded. She was wrapped up warm
—
a lot more warmly than Tierra, who’d thrown her jacket and scarf into the back of the car once they got in. Blaize had taken her scarf off, and put it on her lap, tucking her hands snugly into it, but was still wearing her jacket, and even so was cold enough to consider using a little energy to warm herself up.

They pulled off the main street onto a route that was little more than a dirt track. Setting aside the vegetation and the weather, it was the kind of road Blaize was at home with, the kind she used to speed along on the island on her scooter.

The rough road continued for a couple of miles. They crested the gently rolling terrain, which revealed an elegant slate-and-stone house that fit into the green bowl of the landscape as if it had grown there.

Blaize stared. She’d never seen anything like it.

Tierra laughed. “Yeah, that view used to get me like that too. Still does sometimes, especially if I’ve been away. Welcome to Cathair Cuinn. Cuinn designed most of it himself, using Irish stone and working with the architect. And when Adam, that’s my brother, and I moved in later, Cuinn had additions built for us. Plus, of course, there’re a few cottages, bungalows, in the grounds for visitors. You'll have one of those for privacy.”

Tierra spoke so quickly it was hard for Blaize to keep up after what felt like weeks of travelling. She was jet-lagged and dropping with fatigue. She focused on one thing. "What does the name mean?"

Tierra laughed. "It's a joke. Cathair means castle in Gaelic. Fintan
—
he's a friend of ours, I think you know him
—
named it as a joke when Cuinn had it built, and it stuck."

They parked in a drive, and got out of the car, and Tierra helped Blaize bring her luggage in. Blaize thought Tierra might ring the bell to bring Blaize’s new Maven down, but Tierra unlocked the sturdy wooden door instead and pushed it open, gesturing with her head for Blaize to come on in, as her arms were full of Blaize’s things.

Blaize followed Tierra through the door into an imposing hallway. A large wooden staircase led up to the left, and she counted at least seven different doors off the hallway.
 

Tierra put Blaize’s belongings in the hall.
 

“You’ll be in Garden Cottage. Your boxes are already there, but let’s get you some food first, then you can settle in and sleep.” Tierra looked at her watch. “If you can give it another hour or so, then you should sleep through the night and reset your internal clock.”

Blaize nodded. She was almost too tired to sleep, and she wasn’t sure she wanted to eat anything. She followed Tierra through a corridor to a huge room split into a kitchen and an eating area. The latter had a big farmhouse-style table and chairs, and huge windows looking out onto the lawn.
 

“This is the kitchen. We eat most of our informal meals in here. We only eat in the dining room when we have guests.”

Tierra pulled out a chair and steered Blaize into it. Blaize’s head was fuzzy, and she heard Tierra’s words without really taking them in. Tierra talked as she poured Blaize water, and then brought over fresh bread, cheese, butter ,and some ripe tomatoes to put together a snack.
 

Blaize tried to nod and smile in the right places, but she knew she was being unresponsive. She drank the water, which helped wake her up a little, and then her stomach growled, telling her she was hungrier than she thought. She murmured a quiet “thank you” as Tierra pushed the food towards her, and ate.
 

It didn't take her long to demolish the sandwich. “That was amazing, thanks. I will have another glass of water, if that’s okay. I think I got a bit dehydrated on the plane.”

“Of course.” Tierra jumped up, took Blaize’s glass, and refilled it. “I’ll take you to the cottage now, and you can get some sleep.”

Blaize frowned. “What about Cuinn? Is he here? I’d like to meet him.”

Tierra looked away, her usually constant smile wavering for a second. “He had to go away for some Circle business. He’ll be back in the next couple of days. Sorry, I’m sure he wanted to see you. He gets called away sometimes. In the meantime you can hang out with me and get settled. Come on, let’s take you over.”

Blaize felt a stab of disappointment. She hadn’t even met the man yet, and he was annoying her.
 

Tierra cleared the table while Blaize fetched her luggage from the hall. Tierra led her to a back door, and they headed into the gardens.

The weather was sharp, cold and biting. Blaize was glad of the token warmth from the scarf she’d thrown back on. They walked a short way before a small cottage appeared out of the falling dusk. It was next to the woods, but the other three sides looked out onto the main house and the view respectively. Not that there was much of a view at this time of night, but she could see the lights of the big house from here, which was comforting in this foreign place.

Tierra pushed open the door and tugged in Blaize’s big suitcase. Blaize trailed in behind her, laden with everything else. The cottage had a small hallway, and Blaize was surprised to see that it was a proper self-contained house. It had one large room downstairs, with a toasty looking fire
—
lit and smouldering, the fire guard up
—
a comfy sofa, and a table with a couple of chairs. The front window even had a window seat, which Blaize immediately fell in love with.

At the back of the big room was a galley kitchen. A microwave, a small oven, a hob with two rings, and a tiny fridge.
 

Tierra went ahead of her up the steep stairs. The doors of the two rooms on the first floor were directly off the stairs, opposite each other with barely a square yard between them.
 

Tierra plumped up the cushions on the bed, brushing imaginary fluff off the duvet.
 

“It’s small but it’s cosy, and it means you can have privacy when you need it. But I hope you’ll join us for meals whenever you like
—
I’m so excited to have someone else here to chat to and spend time with.” Her tone was a little wistful.
 

Is she lonely?
Tierra was a gentle, warm person, with a curvy but strong body
—

she’d managed to lift Blaize’s suitcase after all. Earth energetics needed people around them to nurture and look after. “Does Cuinn often go away?”

“Sometimes. He’s been here a lot more recently. He’s a good man. But he gets rather caught up. And his work is important.”

Blaize nodded. She built a picture of Cuinn in her mind. Stern, cold and aloof, indifferent to his cousin’s problems. And most probably indifferent to Blaize as well. After all, he wasn’t here to meet her, so she couldn’t be that big a priority for him. Thank Source for Tierra.

***

Cuinn was in Athens, sitting in front of Minh, the head of Cuinn’s Minor Guild, Ajna-Muladhara Guild, and two of the other Ajna Minor Guild Leaders.

These energetics together were highly skilled in understanding and predicting prophecies, these were the farseers of Ajna: Past, Present and Future.
 

Three of the most powerful energetics alive.
 

“Minh, I’m concerned,” Cuinn said. “These prophecies feel unlike any I’ve come across before. They have a sick, twisted quality to them. There’s danger coming for all of us, and I can’t tell what it is.”

Minh’s dark eyes appraised him. “At the moment you are the only one receiving such prophecies, and you know we have our eyes open in many areas. We have spoken to all the strong Ajna dreamwalkers, and nothing has struck us as unusual. We three, also, have tried specific dreamwalks to see if we can pick up any of the strands of the prophecy you have made. We have found nothing that matches what you say you have seen.”

Cuinn was frustrated. He and Minh had a difficult relationship because Minh couldn’t understand why anyone with Cuinn’s power
—
which both of them suspected was stronger than Minh’s
—
wouldn’t want to be Guild Leader. Cuinn had the power, but no desire. It made for an uneasy tension between them, and Cuinn tended to avoid him if he could. But this prophecy was too important to involve personal issues. He needed to make Minh understand. Believe.

“It’s not a full prophecy at the moment, not while I can barely put words to half of it. But it is a warning of some kind.” Cuinn leaned forward in his chair.

“Continue your dreamwalks, your research into the area. See if you can link what you’ve seen to anything we know. Take more books from the library.” There was a hint of impatience in Minh’s tone. “When do you start working with Marius’s girl? I heard she did well in her Manipura trial.”
 

He leaned back in a wide, high-backed chair, and tapped his fingers on the formal wooden table they sat around.

“She’ll be there when I get back. Although I don’t really have time for it. I’ll start her on theory first, and reading, while I carry on with this task.” Cuinn shrugged.

Damanea, the Ajna leader representing the future, whose gaze had been turned inwards until this point, appeared to refocus on the others in the room, and shook her head. Her eyes met Cuinn’s with a surprising intensity. “Blaize Blackfire’s destiny is bound up with yours, Cuinn. This I have seen. You must train her quickly. Troubles come before we ask for them. Have you looked into her future?”

Cuinn shifted in his chair. “I tried, but it’s hazy, blurry. I thought that might be because she wouldn’t stay long with me …”
 

He felt a trickle of power in the room, like static along his arms, where it raised the hairs to attention.

“You’re too close to her to see,” Damanea continued, her voice low and forceful. “And there are many possibilities. But in all of those that turn out well, you need her. She is the female Warrior. You are the male Sage. You will also need the Protector, Creator, Healer, and Communicator. Male and Female elements. You have seen the troubles coming, and you are correct. They are not what they seem. Six smaller challenges will come, and be overcome, before the final battle is faced. The success of the small challenges will determine the last. Balance and harmony may depend on all.”
 

She closed her eyes and bowed her head for a moment, taking a breath. “Work wisely and well with Blaize, Cuinn. You must lead, connect, unite.”
 

Cuinn felt prickles of ice down his spine, and he shivered. He hadn’t been involved personally in many others’ prophecies. He’d made his own, which had had implications for others, and sometimes implications for himself. But for him to be mentioned in this way in a prophecy—for that’s clearly what this was—by Damanea, of all people, was disturbing.