Love Charms by Multiple Page A

gone.”
    Derek nodded. “Okay, let’s do it.”
    Raven headed to the pantry and pulled out
ingredients for the brew. Once they did this, there was no backing out. Her
belly fluttered with butterflies. Derek’s entire reality was about to change.
    She pulled out dandelion, honeysuckle,
jasmine, and a pinch of strawberry seeds. She added lemon rind and magic herbs.
The herbs were special brews that had been blessed, kissed with magic dustings,
and minced with golden web.
    It was an automatic process. Her mind
knew the path to follow, even though she’d never officially made it before.
She’d made previous brews, but knew she was being guided as she selected the
special ingredients.  Invoking help, her intuition led the rest of the way.
    Raven set the kettle on to boil. Her
cauldron was a decorative piece at this point, since she’d tried to hide it,
and a simple tea kettle would have to work. She hoped the right words came to
her as she asked for divination. Derek watched Raven as she worked. She crushed
the ingredients with a mortar and pestle, her attention tightly focused. A drop
of grape seed oil hastened it into a semi-liquid. Singing softly in tongue, she
asked for the vow of secrecy to be held fast and with integrity. The words came
from within her, guided by something she didn’t fully understand. She did
everything as her mind led her to as the brew cooked. Once it was ready, she
poured the efforts into a tea cup.
    Carefully, she set it before her future
husband. “Be certain,” she said, reaching out to touch his hand. “This is serious
stuff.”
    Derek looked at the cup before him,
curled wisps of steam rose. “The words…what were you singing?”
    “It’s in tongue. My mind and body took
over to guide me. I was just along for the ride. I did ask for integrity on my
own, though.”
    “That was fascinating. It was like you
were talking a different language.” He watched her with interest, looking at
her in a new way. There was so much more to know.
    “I was. Derek, you don’t have to do this.
I understand if it’s overwhelming. If you need to walk away…” She looked down,
hesitating. She wanted him to want her. She needed this, but only if he needed
it too.
    “I don’t want to walk away.” His eyes met
her gaze as she looked up at him. Lifting the cup to his lips, he drank.
    A few sips later the hallucination started
for him. Raven understood it was very real, but to him it was a transparent
type of vision. From the thin air a scroll and feather pen revealed itself.
Raven reached up and removed them, placing them on the table.
    “Once you sign this, the vow of secrecy
has been taken. There’s no going back.” She warned with caution.
    “Did you just take that out of the air?
Where did it come from?” Derek’s eyes grew large. It would take a while getting
used to this magic stuff. He’d never seen anything like it. Derek rubbed his
eyes. It was still real.
    “Sshhh, we’ll discuss it later. You need
to decide now, before it fades away.” She tried to keep him on track.
    “I’ll sign.” He took the feather, and
looked at the pointed bottom. There was no ink.
    “It will write,” she assured him.
    There was no lengthy contract, no legal
fine print, simply a phrase or two explaining that the vow would remain intact
until it was broken. At that time everything, all knowledge, would dissolve
from memory for everybody’s protection.
    Derek looked at Raven one last time
before signing. Taking a deep breath, he signed his name on the dotted line.
Handing her back the quill, he spoke. “Raven, will you be my wife?”
    Tears of joy streamed down her face.
“Yes!” They really did it. He signed. It meant the world to her. They’d be
husband and wife one day soon!
    Raven lowered her voice. “May it be done,
blessed be.” The paper and feather slowly vanished into the air before them.

 
    Chapter
10
    “So, this is Derek?” Raven’s father sized
up the man beside his