‘We won’t be long,’ Seth moaned, breaking into Amber’s thoughts. His voice was turning into a whine. Andrea didn’t want them to go, not yet.
‘But we won’t be long.’ He mumbled dragging the last word out.
‘Neither will we.’ Andrea said sternly, ignoring the way Seth dragged his feet dramatically.
‘Such a teenager,’ Andrea smiled tousling his Mohawk. Seth flinched.
‘Hey! Not the hair, never the hair.’ he grinned, making a show of sleeking it upwards. Nettles rolled her eyes at Amber and they all laughed. She was always in awe of Andrea’s leadership skills. No matter how upset everyone was, she calmed them down. She felt another trickle of guilt – maybe Andrea would understand if she told her about them. Maybe it wasn’t too late. She felt his fury as pain seared across her temples making her wince. This was another reminder that they were always watching her.
17
The Knots of Gaia
Andrea took a deep breath before holding out the knotted ropes in signal for Hebet en ba to invoke Gaia herself. Each knot signified an initiated member of the group. She called Amber over and placed her in the centre of the circle. Amber felt confused by this inclusion, from what she had read, the knots of Gaia were forbidden to the uninitiated.
She could feel the voices being locked out by the knots and wondered if Andrea knew about her secret. The circle of knots was filled with magic and protected everyone. Amber looked round warily, feeling more like a sacrifice. She felt beads of sweat form on her forehead. She’d heard that the knots revealed the truth and prayed that it was just a rumour.
Andrea raised her arms, cupping her hands to invoke the tree of life. She inhaled deeply and pulled on the rope. The others circled Amber smiling, and she blushed. Everyone else copied her except Claudine, who frowned at Amber’s muddy aura. As the Gaia dance continued, she noticed how it spread outwards like fingers and enclosed herself in a protective shield, sensing her sister to do the same. Andrea’s voice was getting louder and the energy of the ropes tingled up their arms into their bodies.
Sem- a em sentet en kshertu,
I have made my way to the tree of life.
Pa-na au –a temt-kua em bah-k
May I fly, May I gather myself together like a hawk.
Nepver en nub; an-na ab-a em tu
Beautiful land of gold; may it come to me in my heart.
Abtet; an-na-a er amitu neteru
Of beginnings; may it come to me among the gods!
Amber felt tears roll down her cheeks, the words repeated by the others sounded like music. At the mention of the Hawk, an overpowering sense of despair filled her, and she wished she could take the words back. Hawk really loved Nevaeh; it was obvious, even if she didn’t want to see it earlier.
Andrea held up a small totem stick in which pictorial symbols of the four elements, fire, water, air and earth, were carved. Down the sides were the names of all the totem leaders. It was a reminder of their heritage. Amber held her breath as Andrea pointed to the four compass corners. It was the indication to speak. The binding magic from the circle of knots drew them closer as it wove its way round them. Everyone including Amber felt the power surge through them. Andrea was the first to speak.
‘We’re still a totem family and the protection of Mother is our first covenant. We must be on guard, and look to Meshkenet, our midwife of souls, to protect, especially tonight.’ She took a deep breath.
’Be on the look out for others, recognise the darkness, the Kekui, their auras will be tainted. Anna and others like her will carry the Kekui with them. They’ve already swept through two totem groups recently, and taken control. They are using the energy lines of our mother against us; the sign is the blue mist. It is unnatural and created to confuse our senses. They won’t stop until we are all working for them.’ At the mention of Kekui, the ancient totem name for darkness, Claudine and Caro looked at Amber.
‘Children of Totem, we cannot stop; by controlling Gaia they will control the environment and everything that lives on it. Anna is no longer one of us, and you must not answer her call. I don't care how urgent it seems. Remember, we are instructed to keep to our totems and only signal each other, trust only each other. I’ve heard that they are using non-totem members to gain entry into other groups – be careful of your outsider friends. In Gaia we see, In Gaia we believe.’
‘Andrea, is it true that Anna is a council guardian and leader of Amset - the Cornwall group?’ Caro asked.
Andrea looked surprised; it wasn’t general knowledge. But the twins had ways of finding out things. She chose her words carefully.
‘It’s true, the wise one, Anna, has disappeared, and the Gaia council is looking into the matter. Word on the wind is that her research into Khaos infected her. She always had immense powers over the elements, but now…’ Andrea shrugged looking around. Her only memory of Anna was from the last council group meeting. There were whispers then about Anna’s fixation with Khaos theory.
‘I’ve heard that the flooding in a village nearby was by Anna. Harp bought cheap land from the farmers affected and created another site. My sources have told me that it’s heavily guarded like the others, and the antennae have already affected Gaia’s natural energy in the area.’ Andrea added.
‘Our mother’s family came from there, and they’re missing.’ Caro said looking at the other members furiously.
‘One of them is our cousin and she’s the same age as us.’ Claudine’s voice was raised and Andrea placed a calming hand on her shoulder.
‘We will not allow that to happen to us. All of us have been chosen.’ Andrea’s voice was low and she looked at Amber smiling. She was glad that she had included her. There were too many risks being taken lately and groups were being infiltrated. Amset, their southern group had been wiped out. That left only three remaining pillars of Gaia, East – Tuameutev, West – Qebsenuv and North – Hapi. With one of the groups missing it made them weak. She winced, wondering why Gaia allowed it to happen. If she asked any of the elders, the answer would always be the same - free will. They might never know how significant Nevaeh was and she can’t help but wonder at the coincidence. Nevaeh, according to Hawk, was an indigo and he was certain she was being called to ward off Khaos. So why were totems being taken? For their powers?
In the centre, Amber shivered in relief as the circle broke up. She knew she was already in too deep and that it was going to get worse.
18
Kekui
Amber was still flushed as she watched them move out into the night. All of their energies felt etched onto her skin, and she felt more united with them than normal. Deep down she wondered if Andrea had sensed something and done this on purpose.