Illusions: Paranormal Shapeshifter Romance (The Seekers Book 1) by Carina Wilder
Authors: Carina Wilder
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that’s great. What’s the point in telling you anything at all, if you know it already?”
“I’m sorry,” laughed Hedy. “Force of habit. I should have the decency to pretend to know nothing at all. I was simply excited as my vision is clearer today than it has been of late.”
“Well, that’s good. But my point is that I’m coming into my powers, without bonding. Without any of it.”
“Let me ask you something, Sera: are you certain that it’s a mere coincidence that on the day when this man shows up on your doorstep, your powers seem to multiply?”
Sera hesitated before replying. “Yes. I am. It had nothing to do with him whatsoever. He’s just a man, after all.”
“Sera,” said Hedy, her tone serious. This was her mothering voice; the sound of a woman who may never have been a parent, yet had raised many a young girl over the decades. “You know that you must bond. If not for your good, then for us all. You cannot play around in this way.”
“I…” She thought of Circe, and of her weakness. If Sera went through with the ceremony, perhaps she would be pleasantly surprised at the results. And if Circe bonded when she came of age, she too would gain strength.
But Circe would never, could never, bond before her older sister. It was up to Sera to do it, and soon, to set the example and to encourage her sister to follow in her footsteps as soon as she was up for it. It might even save her from further illness if her partner were a particularly hardy man.
“Are you saying I should bond with the stranger, that man Rohan?” Sera asked, perhaps a little too hopefully.
Hedy sat back, sighing. “No,” she said. “I’m not saying that. As you said, he’s a stranger. I need to further discuss with the Crones who your partner will be. And as you know, you won’t see his face during the ceremony; he will be anonymous. I am simply telling you to open your mind—that not all men are useless or bad. Even if you only ever use one this one time, it will enhance your entire life. As it did mine, when I was your age.”
Hedy had spent her years alone but had always seemed content, if not entirely happy. She was one of the most respected of the Crones, considered wise and fair by everyone in the Sisterhood. If Sera’s life could be half as fulfilling as hers had been, it would be something.
“I will try,” she said. “For Circe, for you, for the Sisterhood. And for me as well.”
“Good. I’ll speak to the Crones tomorrow. Tell me: how is Circe doing? You said that your healing rune worked?”
“Yes, she seems much better, thanks. She was talking about redoing the house’s interior. Next she’ll be threatening to move out.”
“Well, if she recovers well, someday soon she’ll be ready for her own ceremony.”
“Yes,” said Sera. “But not too soon, I hope.”
Chapter 6
Men
T he next afternoon , having ensured that Circe was properly on the mend, Sera made her way into Salem for a community meeting. These were regular weekly events that no member of the Sisterhood particularly enjoyed, but to her they were especially worthy of dread. The town’s women, unwilling to accept that the Sisterhood wanted nothing more than to protect them, were beyond skeptical of the Aspirants.
As far as they were concerned, there was something terribly unnatural in women who would choose to live alone, to shun men and to concoct the sorts of brews that they did. Often the Aspirants were seen wandering nearby woods, collecting plants that no self-respecting woman would use in her cooking. It must be, they speculated, that the Sisterhood made potions for use in ceremonies to invoke the Devil, or worse.
And Serafina, considered a particular beauty by even the most grudging townspeople, only drove them to further distraction. What sort of woman looked like that, turning the heads of the local men as she did, and yet remained single in spite of it all? Most likely she intended to seduce their husbands,
“I’m sorry,” laughed Hedy. “Force of habit. I should have the decency to pretend to know nothing at all. I was simply excited as my vision is clearer today than it has been of late.”
“Well, that’s good. But my point is that I’m coming into my powers, without bonding. Without any of it.”
“Let me ask you something, Sera: are you certain that it’s a mere coincidence that on the day when this man shows up on your doorstep, your powers seem to multiply?”
Sera hesitated before replying. “Yes. I am. It had nothing to do with him whatsoever. He’s just a man, after all.”
“Sera,” said Hedy, her tone serious. This was her mothering voice; the sound of a woman who may never have been a parent, yet had raised many a young girl over the decades. “You know that you must bond. If not for your good, then for us all. You cannot play around in this way.”
“I…” She thought of Circe, and of her weakness. If Sera went through with the ceremony, perhaps she would be pleasantly surprised at the results. And if Circe bonded when she came of age, she too would gain strength.
But Circe would never, could never, bond before her older sister. It was up to Sera to do it, and soon, to set the example and to encourage her sister to follow in her footsteps as soon as she was up for it. It might even save her from further illness if her partner were a particularly hardy man.
“Are you saying I should bond with the stranger, that man Rohan?” Sera asked, perhaps a little too hopefully.
Hedy sat back, sighing. “No,” she said. “I’m not saying that. As you said, he’s a stranger. I need to further discuss with the Crones who your partner will be. And as you know, you won’t see his face during the ceremony; he will be anonymous. I am simply telling you to open your mind—that not all men are useless or bad. Even if you only ever use one this one time, it will enhance your entire life. As it did mine, when I was your age.”
Hedy had spent her years alone but had always seemed content, if not entirely happy. She was one of the most respected of the Crones, considered wise and fair by everyone in the Sisterhood. If Sera’s life could be half as fulfilling as hers had been, it would be something.
“I will try,” she said. “For Circe, for you, for the Sisterhood. And for me as well.”
“Good. I’ll speak to the Crones tomorrow. Tell me: how is Circe doing? You said that your healing rune worked?”
“Yes, she seems much better, thanks. She was talking about redoing the house’s interior. Next she’ll be threatening to move out.”
“Well, if she recovers well, someday soon she’ll be ready for her own ceremony.”
“Yes,” said Sera. “But not too soon, I hope.”
Chapter 6
Men
T he next afternoon , having ensured that Circe was properly on the mend, Sera made her way into Salem for a community meeting. These were regular weekly events that no member of the Sisterhood particularly enjoyed, but to her they were especially worthy of dread. The town’s women, unwilling to accept that the Sisterhood wanted nothing more than to protect them, were beyond skeptical of the Aspirants.
As far as they were concerned, there was something terribly unnatural in women who would choose to live alone, to shun men and to concoct the sorts of brews that they did. Often the Aspirants were seen wandering nearby woods, collecting plants that no self-respecting woman would use in her cooking. It must be, they speculated, that the Sisterhood made potions for use in ceremonies to invoke the Devil, or worse.
And Serafina, considered a particular beauty by even the most grudging townspeople, only drove them to further distraction. What sort of woman looked like that, turning the heads of the local men as she did, and yet remained single in spite of it all? Most likely she intended to seduce their husbands,
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