Goddess of the Rose (Goddess Summoning #4)(32)

Mikki's feet felt incredibly light as she hurried to where Gii waited. And this time she clearly saw the sparkling silver ribbon that connected Aeras to Floga and now also Nera.

"Hello, Gii."

"Empousa." She curtseyed as had the other handmaidens.

"I call to the circle the element Earth." Mikki smiled fondly at Gii as the handmaiden stood, lifting her arms and awaiting the approach of the spirit of her element. "Earth is really our mother. It's as fertile and nurturing as farmland, as moist as soil and as dry as sand. It's home for all the other elements." Gii's mossy robes shifted and changed until they were more ivy than silk. Her dark hair seemed to lengthen, blanketing her shoulders and falling down her back with the richness of a newly ploughed field. Mikki's senses were filled with images of Earth. She smelled the sweetness of cut hay. She tasted ripe fruit and berries. She felt cradled in warmth and security, as if her mother's arms were once again around her. With a catch in her voice, Mikki said, "Welcome, Earth!"

"And now, Empousa, you must greet your own element," Gii said, pointing to the place at the center of the circle beside the sacred flame.

Mikki moved to the center of the circle. She closed her eyes and raised her arms, mimicking the other women.

"I call to the circle the element Spirit."

Then the handmaidens' voices flooded her thoughts and senses until Mikki couldn't tell if they were actually speaking or if they were only voices within her soul.

"Spirit is present everywhere," Aeras said in her sweet, clear voice.

"It is the great alchemist." Floga's voice was filled with passion.

"Spirit is the element that unites all others." Nera spoke with the sound of a cascading stream.

"It has the power to shape the very nature of all things," said Gii, in a loving mother's voice.

"Welcome, Spirit!" Mikki cried. There was a crackling snap, and the air within the temple sizzled with energy. Mikki opened her eyes to see that she stood in the middle of a circle ringed by four women who were bound together by dazzling gossamer threads of silver woven to create a boundary that pulsed with light and power. The flame burning beside her had taken on a lovely violet tint.

"Wow! It worked!"

The handmaidens laughed, filling the temple with sounds of feminine happiness. Their laughter was like music, and Mikki wanted to twirl and dance.

Dance, Empousa . . .

The silent words settled into Mikki's mind like a remembered dream. She didn't stop to question her next impulse or hesitate until she could second guess herself. Mikki danced. Within the circle she twirled and swayed. The handmaidens took up the tempo of her movements and began humming a seductive melody. She felt beautiful and powerful and utterly joyous. And she knew what her decision for the rest of her life would be. She would choose this world - this magickal life - and not because she was afraid of snapping out of it and finding out she was crazy. She chose this life because it had awakened a joy deep within her that she had never before experienced. Reality be damned! This was real enough for her.

Speak the words that will bind you to me, Empousa, commanded the voice within her head.

Automatically, Mikki answered the goddess. As she spoke, her own voice grew stronger and more confident.

"Hecate, Goddess of Crossroads, Beasts, and the Ebony Moon, I have cast your sacred circle and been given a chance at a new life - a new destiny. I stand on the threshold between my old life and my new . . ." Mikki hesitated, but only long enough for her to turn to face the violet-tinged flame. "My decision is that I am willing to become your Empousa."

"What two perfect words do you offer your goddess to bind you to me?" Hecate's somber voice hung heavy in the midst of the sacred circle.

Mikki stared into the spirit flame. She had no idea what words to speak. What could bind her to Hecate? What did her instincts tell her? She wasn't sure, but she knew what her heart was telling her. There were only two words that should ever bind one person to another . . .

"Love and trust," Mikki said.

"Then it shall be, Empousa. You are bound to me through blood and by love and trust!"

The violet flame leaped, shooting almost to the ceiling of the temple's dome.

"Blessed be your feet that have brought you on this path," Aeras said.

The Wind spirit held her hands out to her Empousa. Mikki grasped them, feeling a surge of energy swirl into her.

"Blessed be your sex, source of love and power," Floga cried.

Mikki retraced her path inside the circle to the spirit of Flame. When she took Floga's hands, power filled her with a rush of heat.

Nera's voice called her farther around the circle. "Blessed be your br**sts, and the heart that beats within." The Water spirit's hands were a wash of cool energy that reminded Mikki of a deep, clear well.

Gii's blessing had her moving to the head of the circle. "Blessed be your lips that will speak the rituals of the goddess." Mikki clasped hands with the Earth spirit and felt the strength of ancient trees and ripe meadows enter her body.

Then, without needing to be prompted by anything except an innate feeling of rightness, Mikki returned to her place beside the spirit flame and whispered, "Blessed be my eyes that will see clearly the new path before me."

"The Empousa is mine, and I am hers - body, mind and spirit." Hecate's powerful voice filled the temple. "The ritual is complete; so mote it be!"