The Cardinal Will Tell All. Carol Smith

      Chapter 1

      The Gift

      The gift of flight—it’s funny how that works. I never thought I would master flying on a broomstick. If someone had told me that I would be doing this, I would have said they were crazy! Plus someone who has always been afraid of high places wouldn’t even be flying high on a broomstick, but here I am, enjoying the night sky, feeling the power and the joy, and this is where I feel the most comfortable.

      A gift from Paralda, the ruler of the element of air, using long-ago winds known as Zephyr.

      Hi, my name is Kitten Lang. How shall I describe myself? I am a witch, and I am five foot five, about twenty six years old, I have long jet black hair and brown eyes with cinnamon brown skin. I am a bit quiet but, will speak up when I need too, and I love cats! I’m flying to my workplace known as Just A Cup. It is a meeting place with a library and coffee shop, as well as healthy meal varieties for all palates. It is where my small coven of four—well, eight, if you count our cats—is located.

      I am going there to make plans for the spiritual Sabbat of Mabon or fall or Autumn Equinox, which is fitting since my friends (Tom and his wife, Serena, and Cybelle, my friend and sister-in-law) all met each other around this time.

      This time has special meaning for us. Plus, we have lots of fun at that time. Fall is the time to enjoy the cooler days and longer dark nights. It gives me time to fly around before it gets too cold to be so high up in the air. Yes, I know flying about on a broom is so cliché, but that is half the fun, and no one knows that part of the fun too.

      It is just me and my two cats, Jade and Triton, who fly in their basket with me. And tonight, I have a lot on my mind that I want to talk with my friends about these dreams, dreams that I have been having for the past few nights. Feels like haunting and the places seem so familiar and so does the man in the dreams, but I only get to see the back of his head each time. But it is the other stuff in those dreams that…well, I must get it off my chest. And my friends can do that for me.

      I have known my friends for a long time. I have known Tom and Serena Bluing through Cybelle who is my best friend since grade school. She married to my brother, Keith.

      Serena is fifty-nine and has an olive skin with lovely long gray hair. When it is down, it is just above her ankles and quite thick. She brings excitement every time she walks into a room. She is an elegant old hipster who is quite a powerful fire witch, who works with that element. She is also superb when it comes teaching, and students love her classes. She is a clairvoyant and herbalist. She really knows her stuff. Tom, her husband, originally from New Orleans, is a tall and handsome African male with gray hair and a beard. He always smiles and has jokes, some very corny, and loveable, loyal, and fierce! He is also a witch and is good with fire magic, herbal magic, sigils, and other symbolism. He reads cowry shell and bones. They have one child.

      The two of them were married at a time when mixed marriages where frowned upon, as well as witchcraft, but they loved each other for over many years. The same for Cybelle and Keith. Cybelle’s parents were a bit uncomfortable at first. But the more they got to know Keith and when her parents saw how he spoils her, it was then they knew their daughter was in good hands, and that’s when they really began to like him. They have a house close to Brisbane shoreline.

      Cybelle, my friend, is originally from Texas and is a mixture of Spanish, European, and Mexican. She’s always in black, loves everything in black or yellow (her other favorite color) but mostly dark gothic dress. The inside of her home that she shares with Keith has black and yellow decor.

      Cybelle is a garden witch and herbalist. She works a lot with earth spirits.