Flower Readings

by Lilliana Rose

  The energy worked with Triena and she didn’t think as she tumbled out a different flower into each white cup. She paid no attention to the type of bud and its qualities.

  Set on a golden tray she carried the flower buds into the front room. The two men sat quietly, sipping tea and watching.

  Ritualistically, she set the cups on the table with the pot of hot water. “Each represents …”

  “Shut up. I know.” The Queen closed her eyes and placed a hand over each cup. “At least I know I’m safe during the reading. You never mastered the power of taking life energy.”

  Triena swallowed hard. Conflicting information stormed inside her mind. She might have just managed to master the life energy, now that Braklen lay dying in her bedroom. She had to be sure first. There was the small problem of the process with Braklen taking too long. Something was amiss. Plus, she needed to complete the flower reading to ensure Braklen didn’t die. She shivered at the ramifications of not completing a reading. It would be better if she killed him.

  Triena poured the hot water over the selected flower. She leaned forward and began watching, melding herself once more with the universal Energy Field. She knew this flower. Goat’s Eye. She shivered as she saw the black leaves unfold in a spiral. Ink-like swirls formed in the water and a sour smell wafted upwards. The image gutted her stomach, tore at her mind and sucked at the energy. She felt herself begin to tumble down into a black hole. This was the Queen’s past and there was no light.

  “Well?”

  Triena saw the pattern in the energy. Do not tell the truth, the code read. This message was for her. Confused by the anomaly, she struggled to find the words to say. She wasn’t even sure she should trust the energy, but that was what she had always done. She didn’t know what else to do. The energy never controlled things, but today it had occurred twice. Can I trust the energy?

  It tried to help her. Black clouds began to form flowers.

  “There are fields of flowers,” said Triena.

  “Of course there are, give me more,” said Pernally.

  “These flowers extend over many planets.”

  “Old or new?”

  “Both. There are new planets but that’s in the future. Now, we look only in the past.”

  “Go on.” The Queen leaned forward, curious to hear more.

  “You’re talented, powerful and your beauty will help your future. You will be the leader of The Twelve. A great leader. Drink and celebrate the past.”

  The Queen lifted the cup to her mouth and skulled the warm liquid. She didn’t care about the sour taste. She drank her past proudly.

  Triena watched trying not to panic. The readings today weren’t normal. She wondered if the planets were out of alignment, but then the energy would’ve told her. It’s more like the energy is out of alignment. But, that’s not possible.

  “Continue.”

  Triena removed the used cup and poured hot water into the second. Again, she peered into the cup. This time the flower was one she had used many times. Horn’s Breath. Usually used to prick people to get them to hurry up with their life because they were stagnant.

  But, the reading for Horn’s Breath was the same as before. The energy warned her not to tell the truth. Triena shifted uncomfortably on the chair. “You are on your path. You will be the leader soon.” She struggled to find something to tell the Queen that would please her, so Pernally would think she was getting a true reading.

  “I know.” The Queen didn’t let her finish and reached for the cup and drank. “The last one is going to be interesting, I hope. I’d been told you were brilliant, but so far you’ve shown you’re no better than a witch.”

  Triena felt trapped as she filled the last cup. King’s Gate. The spice of the flower filled the room and the bud unravelled easily. Her head felt heavy as she forced herself to look into the cup and read once more. The energy shifted her, she felt supported between the worlds as if lifted by strong hands. She couldn’t turn away she had to face the Queen’s future. Only darkness filled the horizon of the energy plane. Confused she searched the Energy Field and tried to go deeper, but the Energy stopped her and held her back.

  “There’s golden energy which blinds you. Your greatness is vast.” Triena began weaving the lies as she felt herself return to her physical body, cringing at the falsehood she created. Her belief in the Energy trembled with this anomaly. “Such richness makes me want to cry. This is beautiful.”

  Opening her eyes she looked at the Queen, who seemed like she had grown inches with expanded confidence. The Queen drank the tea gulping the last drop. Triena waited for the Queen to say more. Then she remembered. Goat’s Eye doesn’t mix with King’s Gate. These were the flowers the Energy selected, and she was confused that the Energy wanted Pernally dead.

  This didn’t make any sense to Triena. Then, she realised what the Energy predicted. She only saw blackness because the Queen had no future. Triena gripped her hands together under the table and tried not to panic. One thing was certain; she was about to be in a lot of trouble. A lot more trouble.

  Triena looked away from Pernally and noticed the two men. They had fallen asleep on the chairs; their bodies slumped on the table by the window. Fuck the Queens. The tea kept in the metal canister had been laced with a strong sleeping drug, for those rare times when customers were difficult and wanted more than a reading. Fuck. She remembered putting in at least double the dose, which was more than enough to put them to sleep, maybe kill them.

  Questions tumbled through her mind in confusion. She hadn’t known the energy could lie. She thought it was only a manifestation of living in the physical world and something those with the skill had to overcome. A new world of knowledge ripped open in her mind and new wisdom seeped out.

  Lost pieces found each other and Triena made the connection to why Pernally had come here. “You’re going to kill me.”

  “Yes.” The Queen smiled. “But not straight away. A few questions, but then maybe you won’t answer them truthfully. By cutting you to pieces and using your body to read the Energy we will be able to learn so much more about you and why you use flowers instead of animals.”

  “The work of the Queens is less loving than I remember,” said Triena.

  The Queen slapped her. “You’ve been living out here too long. You’ve forgotten who your superiors are.”

  “But, I’m an outcast to the Queens. No such rules bind me.” Her face stung and her vision blurred.

  “There’s no taming you now.”

  Triena felt Pernally’s energy build around her. “I’m thankful for that.”

  “You never had the strength to kill. That involved putting aside feelings of love if the Queens command it. You didn’t have the strength to take the real power of life from someone.”

  “You knew about Braklen?”

  “Everyone knew. Your love bled out and made us all sick. I always thought I’d be jealous, but no, I wasn’t. I was just repulsed.”

  “Tell me do you make a better Queen when you have no emotions to put aside. Sounds too easy.” Triena screamed as the Queen formed a rope made of energy and whipped it around her neck.

  Pernally pulled hard and lifted Triena off the chair. She tried to pull the energy cord from her neck, but the matrix was too strong, molecules had been woven together tight and deadly. “So kill me then.”

  “I plan to.” The Queen stood and tugged. Triena gasped sharply. “Slowly. Consider this a lesson on how to kill someone. This is how to use life energy.”

  The edges of her vision darkened. Her throat burned against the constriction and her lungs began to collapse. Then the Queen released the energy and held her stomach as Triena fell to the floor.

  “You bitch.” Pernally began to cry from the pain as the juices of the flowers joined forces, ripping away at the lining of her stomach and stabbing her deep within. She fell down to her knees, gasping as the toxins slowly squeezed the air from her lungs. “You’ll pay.”
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br />   Triena watched, her hand around her neck trying to rub away the remaining pain. Blood vomited out from Pernally’s mouth as she choked. Poisons formed between the two flowers wasted no time in taking over her body and sending her soul back to the energy plane.

  The Queen slumped on the floor as her body convulsed, knocking over the table. Cups crashed, breaking on the floor. Pernally’s eyes fluttered shut as her body completed the last convulsions.

  “I guess I passed this lesson better than you ever imagined.” Triena saw the other woman’s spirit leaving the body, a glitter of energy snaking outwards. The energy moved towards Triena who stepped back.

  Take what is yours, the Energy told her. She shivered as it entered her aura. Triena gasped from the coldness that seeped around her, but there was a pleasant tingle from the knowledge that she was about to gain information long denied to her. She looked at Pernally.

  The sight of the blood made Triena dizzy, even though there wasn’t much. She held onto the bench and tried not to think about what had just happened or that she was now an enemy of the Queens – now more than ever. Could she ever trust the Energy again?

  The rabbit hopped into the room. She didn’t wait for him to send his thoughts. “Yeah I know, stupid thing to do to kill a Queen.”

  Hands trembling, she bent down to pick up the black rabbit. She cradled him close to her chest for comfort, something she’d never had to do before. The new energy buzzed, causing waves of queasiness within her. She sat on a nearby chair looking around her front room, trying not to cry. She didn’t think the energy would restore his memory if he would die. “Is he dead?”

  The rabbit clicked his ears. No.

  “Do I save him?” Triena rubbed her temple as she thought.

  The rabbit bit her finger.

  “Sure,” Triena murmured, “save him, kill her.”

  You two are meant to be together. Listen to the energy. It will guide you. You’re not meant to kill someone you love. You couldn’t even kill me, and while I’m eternally grateful, you should listen to me as a way of trying to make up your error.

  “Shhh. I’m concentrating.” Triena didn’t even know where to begin to try and save Braklen. Besides, he was the one purging his past. It was too late. “It’s in the hands of the Energy then.”

  She stroked the long body of the rabbit, her fingers shaking. The morning had been too eventful. “You can’t be glad I killed her. I thought we were trying not to kill out here.”

  The rabbit clicked his metal ears in surprise.

  “Not after I failed with your ears anyway.” It had taken all her self-control to chop them off, but because of the way the sight of blood nauseated her, she couldn’t use them to read the Energy.

  She needed to drink a soothing tea for her throat, and inhale the fumes of another to calm her lungs, take something for her headache, and then there were the bodies to remove. Plus she had no idea what Pernally’s energy would do to her. What if I become like her?

  You won’t. Her energy will fade. Take only her goodness and knowledge. She had some.

  Chapter 3

  “Fuck the Queens.” Triena rubbed her temples. Her dream of returning to the Queens shattered because of the flower reading. What’s wrong with the Energy? Am I missing something? I’ve read it wrong.

  Don’t be stupid.

  What else am I to think? Triena squirmed on the stool. She’d retreated to the kitchen, a temporary refuge while she tried to think.

  The rabbit sat cleaning his whiskers near her feet, as if this was just another typical day on Oberon. It annoyed Triena to think he was so calm when she felt like a storm disrupted everything.

  The Energy is guiding you. There’s the bigger picture here.

  “Of what?” She wrapped her hands around the mug of tea for comfort.

  You’ll find out …

  A loud bang from her bedroom made her jump. Reluctantly, she put down the mug. Has he finally died?

  Triena opened the door. Taking her time, she stepped inside. The room felt eerily peaceful. “Lights. Dim.” The electric light reflected the deep ruddy colors of the room. This side of the house never got direct sunlight.

  The room smelled of vomit. She held her breath as she went to open the small window. Stale air filtered in with a hint of burning fuel and chemicals used to extinguish the flames from the explosion. The noise from the commotion in the street brought her back to reality.

  Triena walked around her bed, the afternoon’s events making her hesitate. Is he dead? Is this what I really want? Her heartbeat increased and her body trembled as she forced herself to look.

  Braklen had thrown off the blanket. His black hair shone with sweat. She leaned in closer. His chest moved and she didn’t know whether to be relieved or not.

  “What am I going to do with you?” He groaned and tried to open his eyes. His lashes fluttered open and closed as if trying to work out what world to live in, the living or the dead. It seemed like the Energy didn’t want him to die.

  She stood stunned, amazed he survived the purge of his past. Not many people managed that. He looked like a corpse, no color in his skin, a green tinge around his face, his clothes reeked of excess sweat and vomit.

  I should finish this.

  Don’t kill him. Listen to your heart. You’ll regret it.

  She hesitated. The Energy, the rabbit, all created too much doubt in her without even finishing the task. She always took advice from the Energy. But, it’s been different today. She exhaled heavily, trying to remove the doubt inside of her with a breath. It didn’t work.

  Her plan now sat uneasy within her. She couldn’t do it for certain. Time for a different plan? But, one thing was certain. His life would be disrupted, his psyche fragmented if she didn’t finished the flower reading. There were two more dried flowers that had the potential to kill him. His future looked rather short.

  Braklen tried to sit up but his muscles were too weak. He fell back down, hitting his head on the concrete floor covered with thin carpet. He groaned in pain.

  Triena felt guilty for not trying to make him comfortable. The least she could’ve done was to place a pillow under his head. “Here let me help you.”

  She knelt down next to him and guided him to a sitting position. His body swayed as he tried to find his balance. Triena kept her hands on his shoulders to prevent him from falling. Watching at Braklen’s feet, the rabbit constantly gave advice to Triena, which she ignored.

  “What happened?”

  “An explosion outside.” Triena decided against telling him the truth since there were two more teas she wanted him to drink. But, that would kill him. Either option was turning out to be unsatisfactory as an inner war kept playing in her mind. The Energy from Pernally hadn’t fully integrated and Triena’s head pounded, causing her to swing between each choice. I can’t.

  That’s right. You can’t. Don’t kill him. The rabbit bounced around her feet.

  “Let me get you some water.” She ran to the kitchen and poured out the filtered water from the cooler.

  He drank a sip of water and coughed, spitting out the liquid. He tried again and then threw up, but he persisted. He threw up two more times while Triena debated what to do. The smell nearly overpowered her and even the rabbit disappeared for a while.

  “The visions,” said Braklen when he finally managed to keep the water down. “They, they were so detailed, like I was there. I remembered so much I’d buried in my mind.”

  He turned to look at Triena who sat on the floor next to him. She felt the knots return to her stomach and began to sweat under his gaze.

  “You, there’s something about you.” He kept staring at her.

  She didn’t dare say anything, not wanting to trigger any memories of herself. They were memories she’d just helped surface.

  “Triena.” He said her name, sending shivers of fear all through her body.

  Frozen, she sat watching him. The memory deepened the color of his eye
s and she knew he remembered what she had done.

  “I knew that name sounded familiar.”

  Triena held her breath, as her life just took another step towards trouble.

  “I remember.” He brushed his hand over her cheek then abruptly pulled away. His eyes narrowed as he stared at her. “Were you trying to kill me again today?”

  “No.” Triena wasn’t about to admit the truth to him. She wasn’t going to kill him now and that was what mattered.

  “Why should I believe you? I’ve been unconscious for hours fighting for my life.”

  “Wing Leaf made you purge your past. That’s why you remember now.” No way was she going to try and explain how the Energy restored his memory. He wouldn’t believe her. Everyone knew that Energy could only be read, not manipulated. Plus only read by a Queen.

  “I’m going to take you in. You’ll rot in the prisons of Amertii, mining the black rock until you die for this.” He went to stand, swayed,

  Triena caught him. “That would be a waste of my skill locking me away.” The heat grew between them again and she stepped back.

  “I don’t care.” He grabbed her hand and tugged her to the door. He still had enough strength to dominate her. “I loved you back then.”

  “I loved you too.”

  “So you tried to kill me?”

  She swallowed hard, whispered. “Orders. The Queens’ orders.”

  “Yeah, well I have my orders now. People who read the Energy without proper training, the outcasts, are being rounded up.” He tugged her along the hallway to the front room. The rabbit bounded behind. His ears clicked in panic as he tried to send telepathic thoughts to Braklen.

  “What happened here?” Braklen stopped in the front room. The Queen still lay on the floor and the two Peacekeepers slumped in the chairs.

  “It’s not what it looks like.” Triena knew that she was trapped. No matter how good her skill was with the energy she was going to pay this time.