409- Various Types of Herbs
POV Viktor Averwyn:
Some Roma jumped back, others retreated into their houses again. One woman murmured that she was cursed as well.
"Let's leave here." I was tired of that shit.
Camélia held her hands and looked at me, then at her.
"I believe you, child. But it's still frightening. Our people have always been seen as witches, connected to the occult. And we have been here long enough to know everything that is different about the Tharnak."
"Thank you. That's why I came, to give news and to ask you to help me. I can't transform now; it would cause a miscarriage. I need to control it, delay it. Do you know how to do that?"
They looked at each other, silent. My hand gently squeezed her unmarked shoulder, for I knew they did not have that power. I was there only for Seraphine, because she wanted to try.
"We have never dealt with this." Vasile took the floor. "And we have no Shuvani in the clan since Zorvan passed away. What we can do is send for a vrăjitoare from the neighboring Romani village. She is a kind of sorceress, much sought after in these parts."
"Can you do that now?" I finally spoke up, and he nodded.
He named a young man and sent him to fetch the witch Roma. Camélia offered us water, and Seraphine accepted. Then they talked more about the rituals they performed after her father's burial, what they would do in a little over a month, the Pomana. A dinner in his honor.
She promised she would be there and looked at me, full of hope. How could I deny her anything? She wanted me with her, and I simply nodded, which brought a beautiful smile to her lips and stirred my heart.
Didn't I know I would do anything for her? Even be among those people who judged me a murderous beast and were dying of fear of me. It was part of her culture, her life. And that was enough for me.
The so-called sorceress arrived. I was expecting an old woman full of wrinkles, but she was a woman around forty years old, tall and robust, with straight black hair braided down to her waist. She wore a colorful skirt with gold fringes, a scarf of the same fabric on her head, and a striking blue blouse. Her skin was dark, almost like Rowena's.
She carried a large bag in her arms and approached, staring fixedly at me, serious, without the fear of the others.
"Vrăjitoare Alzira." Vasile and the others stood up, full of respect. "Thank you for coming so quickly. We know how busy you are."
"I always answer the call. I would never refuse this one for anything." She stopped on the porch, her gaze still on me. "This is the first time I have seen one so close. You are ancient. And powerful. Your mother was a bit like me."
That surprised me. Knowing that I was a werewolf was easy; the young man who fetched her certainly told her that. But speaking of my mother, who was full of occultism and premonitions, stirred something in me.
"She always protected you." She then pointed at Seraphine, still not taking her eyes off me. "And she will protect you both."
"Both? It's a girl?" Seraphine's green eyes filled with tears.
"He knew." She finally looked at her, speaking of me. "She is the first of many. A very large and happy family."
I had considered that possibility since I lost Adelina. That perhaps I might gain a daughter. I would never replace her, but it would ease my pain a little, the pain that kept tearing at my chest.
Somehow, I knew it had been a silent intuition, now discovered by the Roma woman with a strong voice and piercing gaze.
"Will she be all right?" Seraphine put her hand to her belly. "Can you help me?"
"We will help. Everything will be as it has already been written. There are those who try to cheat destiny, to take advantage of it, but eventually the reckoning comes. You are following yours. Bring me a table and a bottle of water."
Camélia and Vasile went inside to get them. Alzira looked at me again and smiled. Big teeth, the front one gold.
The tightness in my chest eased a little at the smile that seemed happy, full of good omens. The woman was no deceiver, no palm reader or tarot card player saying superficial things that applied to everyone. There was a vibrant energy in her.
She placed her bag on the table and began to take things out, arranging them on a white tray.
Seraphine looked at me, hopeful. The mere fact of being there, being cared for by her people, eased her agony. I smiled, caressing her soft hair. She smiled back, in love.
"We are all part of nature. We are born, live, perish. Each in their own time. The physical body is what we occupy; the spiritual is eternal. And there is the middle one, which connects the two. We are going to strengthen that one, to balance it. Do you know how we achieve this, beautiful Roma?" Alzira asked Seraphine, who shook her head.
"By deserving it. And by being aware that we have the four elements within us, which need to remain in balance." She poured the clear liquid into a goblet decorated with colored stones. "Water is the first of them. In it, we discover our existence, for it is in the maternal womb that we are conceived and protected, warm, comfortable, fed. Drink."
She obeyed, and the Roma woman left the goblet on the tray. She picked up an incense stick and lit it.
"The smoke rises and spreads through it. We cry at birth, and with that, we discover the second element, Air." I watched her scatter some coins. "And in the course of the beginning of our lives, we crawl on the third element: Earth. The last one, Fire, comes when we warm the bottle or prepare food, everything interconnected with nature."
She placed a candlestick beside everything, with a golden candle that she lit. Around it, colorful flowers and various types of herbs. Then she picked up a beautiful, large, white, transparent lace veil and turned to Seraphine.
"Close your eyes and connect with them. The four elements are the pillar of our energy, of our spiritual structure. Do you believe?"
"Yes."
Alzira covered her head with the veil, which fell to her shoulders.
I did not let go of her, nor did she ask me to. She just smiled again at me.
Everyone fell silent as she began to sing in the Romani language, which I knew a little. I understood words like faith, protection, cleansing, and strength.
She passed the incense around Seraphine's body, intoning the chant, concentrated. She did the same with the candle. Then she mixed herbs with petals and began to scatter them on her skin, letting them fall onto her lap, onto the ground.