2024 G: Ghost

"G" was supposed to be for "Ghost. The Cambridge English Dictionary defines as ghost as "the spirit of a dead person." In Fire and Redemption, apparitions invaded Deneas' dreams and appeared within the flames of her campfires. A previous A-Z Challenge post also pertained to an apparition that came to Deneas, but that one was recorded in Fire and Amulet.

In her dream, the fingers of fire flowing down the mountainside merged into a circle. A column of mist rose and solidified. The specter of a woman dressed in a white robe of the Goddess appeared in the heart of the pyre. But the woman in the fire could not be the Goddess of legend. Could it be her mother who intruded upon her dreams?

A lace cowl covered the specter’s head, disguising her features. Sparks flickered in the intricate design, bringing it to life. Within the veil, Deneas saw the image of a woman bending over to kiss a sleeping child. Deneas raised her hand to her cheek as she felt the ethereal caress. The specter was her mother, Adais. The vision was real. She had to believe her eyes. Now the question became, why did her mother appear?

The teardrop in the necklace Trelleir had given her mother warmed against Deneas’ skin bringing with it a summons to wake. Deneas grabbed for the scabbard lying beside her and cast out her senses into the darkness beyond the wagons. The last time her mother appeared in a vision was to save me from the claws of a deadly mountain cat. However, no predator, no danger, triggered an alert and she released her breath.

The apparition held up a hand and the flames died down until they only lapped around her ankles. Her gesture commanded Deneas to pay attention. A diaphanous thread leaped from the woman’s finger to encompass Deneas in its glow. A flick and the ribbon spiraled skyward taking all the anger and sadness that had filled Deneas’ dreams with it. Before Deneas’ could assimilate the shock, an eerily familiar voice came into her mind. “Grieve no more for me. My death will be avenged.” Satisfaction radiated from the specter. “Trelleir has been released from his vow not to avenge my death.”

~till next time, Helen

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