Leo pours a small amount of oil into his palm and coats his hands. Interesting. I thought hetalkedto plants to heal them. Does he use touch, too?
Fortunately, we all know how to ground and center, so Avery doesn’t have to guide us through the process. Once we’re ready, she starts the invocation, calling on our ancestors and asking them to visit with us. I open my heart and my mind as far as I safely can and try to hold back questions and images, anything that could interfere with transmission. There’s one relative I’d like to visit with, but I don’t plan to block anyone else who wants to contact me.
I’m sinking into darkness, my limbs warm and heavy. It’s my skin that tingles first, responding to some sort of energy outside of me. I concentrate on drawing it in, feeling it seep into my pores, bleeding into my muscles, and finally, coursing through my veins. When it gets to my heart, I feel it, like a jolt. My chest seems to swell until it bursts painlessly in a pulse of heat and light.
I’m nowhere and everywhere, searching as I float in a pool of warmth. I’m open and receptive, waiting to see, hear, or sense someone reaching for me. One after another, I feel a brush of fingers, a whisper against my ear, then a tight embrace. A hand strokes my hair. There’s nothing but darkness, nothing but silence, as I move through this assembly line of sensations. Of human-to-human contact. Emotions tear through me as I sink deeper into the blackness: fear, delight, pity, longing. But they fade as quickly as they come.
Strangely, the heat enveloping me refreshes me like iced tea on a hot summer day. Bubbles and ripples caress my skin when I move my limbs. I’m swimming and I’m not afraid. I push through the water, diving to the bottom, where it’s silent and tranquil. Mud squishes between my toes and feathery fins tickle my shins. Sunlight warms me from above.
Other swimmers join me. I can’t see them, but I can feel them, feel how the water moves as they push through it. Joy blooms in my chest.
“Betts—”
I push off the silty bottom and break the surface, water sluicing down my face.
“Betts—”
The voice is familiar. A friend. No, a lover. I want to call back, but I don’t remember his name. I reach for him. For the hand that’s holding my face.
The water grows colder and heavier. I shiver as slimy creatures slither past. The powerful current tugs on my legs, threatening to upend me and carry me away.
I don’t want to swim anymore.
Get me out. Somebody get me out!
“Betts!” It’s a hiss.
I cling to him, nails digging into his arms. Pull me out! He grabs me by the shoulders and gives me a good shake. My eyes snap open and…
It’s him, I know it is. But he looks and feels different. So real, so tangible. Wait— “Leo?”
He exhales and relief erases the deep lines between his brows. “Hey.”
“Hey,” I breathe back.
“You okay?”
I nod, relaxing my hands and clinging to his beautiful eyes instead. They’re brighter than usual. Stunning. And glittering with flecks of gold.
“Look around,” orders a female voice. “Get oriented.”
Reluctantly, I obey. A quick scan of my surroundings reminds me where I am and who I’m with: Aaron, Leo, Avery. We’re in her living room, doing a ritual, an ancestor ritual.
“Where’d you go?” asks Aaron.
I shake my head as I murmur, “I don’t know.”
“Grounding first.” Avery opens the circle she cast with her wand. “Questions later.”
I lean back against the couch alongside Leo and nervously close my eyes again. I’m reluctant to go back into a meditative state, but if I don’t ground, the excess energy is going to burst my veins. I shootas much of it as I can into the earth, but after several minutes, I’m still vibrating like a tuning fork.
Leo smiles at me and stretches an arm across my shoulders, inviting me to rest against him, calming me with his closeness. “You sure you’re alright?”
“Yeah. I’m fine.”
“You were down in there deep,” Avery tells me. “We were having a hard time pulling you out. My recommendation? No hedge riding or astral travel unless somebody’s with you.”
She’s talking gibberish again. “What?”
