Anei has always been suspicious of the old woman, whose cloudy cataract eyes followed her eerily as she walked past her house every day after school. Normally, she would say a quick hello as she passed the house, but not today. There is far too much on her mind today.
That dream.
She kicked a rock with the toe of her boot.
That dream ruined her whole day. School was hard enough without the added stress of those crazy dreams she gets every so often. In this one, she’d stood on the side of the road and watched her mother’s beat-up old Buick ram into a pole and ejecting her through the windshield. It was a gory and gruesome nightmare, and Anei would’ve been quite happy to live the rest of her days without ever thinking about it again.
The dream would come true, though. There was the tell-tale sign of it feeling so real. Her mother looked right at her in the dream, surprised at her sudden appearance. Anei knew she would have to talk to her mother about this, and she was sure that would turn into a fight.
She moodily kicked another rock with her shoe.
Two years ago, Anei had her first dream. She was only 14, so young and ignorant of death. In that dream, she’d stood at the base of a tall building while her father threw himself off the roof. When she awoke, she chalked it up to just being a bad dream. Anei was horrified when the police came to tell them that her father pitched himself off that very same roof with the belief that he would fly through a vortex and meet with his ancestors for a sacred ceremonial council. The doctor had told them that he’d had a mental break from reality and suffered from schizophrenia.
Mom will have to listen to me now, though, Anei thought to herself as she made her way through the apartment complex. Her mother has always thought of these dreams as “adolescent hormonal imbalances,” so eventually, Anei stopped telling her each time she would have one.
Anei walked through the front door of her apartment and heard the normal clanking and banging of her mom rushing around getting ready for job number two. She threw her backpack on the dining room table and headed back to her mom’s room, prepared to physically stop her if she needed to.
“Anei, is that you?” came her mother’s sing-song voice from the bathroom.
“Yeah, mom, it’s me.” Anei stopped at the bathroom door and stared at her mom for a minute, a stark contrast to her own appearance and her exact opposite in almost every way. The only thing Anei got from her mom were her eyes, large and bright blue. Her mother is fair skinned and light-haired, beautifully plump. Anei is a spitting image of her dad – skinny and darker-skinned with black stringy hair,
“I need to tell you something mom, and you’re not gonna like it.”
Her mom stopped dead with the curling iron hovering over a strand of strawberry blonde hair. “You didn’t get into trouble at school again, did you? I told you if you dress like that, all black and gothic, teachers would see you as a trouble maker, no matter what you do.”
“No, mom, I’m not in trouble, but thanks for automatically assuming that,” Anei said sourly. After her father plunged to his own death, the kids at school became ruthless, and dressing this way, hiding behind blackness, was the only way Anei could escape the torment. The kids started to think she was as crazy as her dad, so they stopped bothering to her so much.
“I don’t want to fight, Anei.” Her mother said quickly. “What is it? I don’t have much time.”
“Yeah, I know,” she said moodily, staring down at her shoes. Anei’s mom had to get a second job after her dad died because the insurance company wouldn’t pay out his life insurance since he was a suicide.
Anei looked up to see her mom staring at her with sad eyes in the mirror.
“Sorry, mom. It’s just been a bad day.”
“I’m sorry, honey. What’s on your mind?” she asked.
Anei sighed. “Well, you won’t like this, but I had a dream, the kind you don’t believe in, and this time it was about you. I just need you to take a different route to work today, okay?”
Her mom silently continued curling her hair for a long time. Anei was just about to repeat herself when her mom sighed heavily, “the route I take is the quickest way to get to the diner, Anei. A detour would make me late.”
“So? I’d rather you be late than dead!” Anei screamed, taking both herself and her mother by surprise. The truth was, though, losing her mother scared her more than anything, and that, more than the dream, is what had her on edge all day. Her mom stared at her in the mirror, and then finally nodded just once.
“Okay, I’ll call the diner and tell them I’ll be a little late.”
To make sure she would do just that, Anei marched off to get the phone. She dialed the number to the diner as she headed back to the bathroom. Her mom was putting on the finishing touches of her lipstick when Anei handed her the phone. Her mom, looking extremely annoyed, snatched it out of her hand.
“Hi, Melanie. Listen, I’m gonna be about 15 minutes late. Something’s come up. Okay, thanks. Bye.” She banged the phone down on the counter and went back to getting ready. Anei grinned in triumph and marched off to her room. At least she won’t become a 16-year-old orphan.
Anei awoke in the middle of the night, sweating profusely.
It’s too hot in here, she thought through the grogginess of sleep.
She rolled to her side and leaned against the cold cement wall. She could almost hear her skin sizzle. Her body was slick with sweat.
A couple of minutes later, she rolled over to her other side, onto the colder part of her pillow, which was soaking wet. She felt something sharp on her skin, stabbing her on the right side of her neck.
What the hell is that?
She tried to move the pillow, but the pain increased.
Finally, she sat up, agitated, and moved the cloth of her night shirt away from her skin. The stabbing pain was still there and increasing.
It feels like something is being burned onto my skin!
Anei scrambled to the bathroom in the fogginess of sleep and flipped on the switch, squinting in the sudden brightness.
When her eyes adjusted, she found her reflection in the mirror and gasped. She bent closer to get a better look.
“What the hell?”
What looked like the letter F, but slanted downward, was branded onto the base of her neck by her right shoulder. It was glaring red and inflamed, as if a hot poker had been placed there.
Anei stared at the mark for a long time. Surely, she must be having a nightmare. She closed her eyes to try to go back into a more dream-like state and wake up in her bed. She opened her eyes and stared back at her own reflection.
Not a dream.
Panic rose in her chest. The burning, stabbing pain was starting to go away, but she still had no idea what this was or how it got on her skin. She ran back to her bedroom and rummaged through her bed sheets to see if there was anything that could’ve done this.
Nothing. She sat down heavily on the edge of her bed and stared, not really seeing, at the white wall in front of her.
The longer she sat there, the more she realized she felt very different – older, and more patient. She felt like there was something she knew, but couldn’t quite grasp onto what it was.
Anei sat there the rest of the night, until morning came and her mother came shuffling out of her room into the hallway. Through her own sleepy haze, she looked into Anei’s room and found her sitting there, still staring at the wall.
“Anei? What’s the matter, honey?” she asked tentatively. Her daughter didn’t look well. Anei came out of her daze and gazed up at her mother, who looked completely different to her. She looked younger, more youthful than usual.
“Um, I’m not really feeling well, actually,” Anei said. Her mom came and sat next to her on the bed, doing the standard fever check with her hand.
Anei wondered why her mom didn’t say anything about the mark on her neck. She thought maybe it was gone. She put her hand up to the spot and felt the mark, plump and inflamed right where it was supposed to be.
“Mom, do you see anything on my neck?”
“No, sweety, why?” she asked, concerned.
“Um, nothing. I think I just slept on it wrong. Listen, mom, I can’t go to school today. I really don’t feel well.”
“Okay, honey. I’ll call the school and let them know.” She got up and went to the door, but before leaving, she turned around to face her daughter.
“By the way, Anei. There was an accident on the bridge last night. Right around the time I would’ve been crossing it.” Her mom stared at her with a look of fear and gratitude. “It seems the dream you had the other night was real.”
Anei, still in shock about the brand on her neck, just nodded.
“Okay, sweety. You lie down and get some rest. There’s soup in the cupboard if you want some.” And with that, her mom was whooshing through the house, getting ready for work. Anei slowly laid her head down on the pillow, wincing at the tenderness in her neck.
The next time Anei awoke, the alarm clock on the bedside table read 12:21 in the afternoon. She felt feverish again, her whole body sticky with sweat. Her bones felt heavy, like they’ve been filled with lead. Her throat was raw and her mouth felt like there were sores all over her tongue and the inside of her cheeks. She reached her hand up to her mouth and screamed out in pain.
Blisters covered the inside of her mouth. Hot, stinging, pus-filled blisters. They were making her tongue and throat swell up and her breathing was getting more and more difficult.
She tried to sit up, but the pain was excruciating. She screamed out and felt a blister in her mouth pop. She gagged on the liquid, causing a few more to pop and ooze to the back of her throat. Her vision started to go black at the edges. Her brain was foggy from the pain and confusion of what was happening. She felt like she was dying. Anei reached over for her cell phone, but it slipped from her sweaty hand and slid across the floor, out of reach. She tried to stand to go get it, but fell down immediately, too heavy in her 98-pound frame.
She spit out the saliva, pus, and blood and tried desperately to suck air into her lungs. She laid her head down on the carpet and suddenly felt a very odd sensation; a lightheaded feeling, but not like she was going to pass out. Her eyes focused on a dark spot on the carpet, and in a matter of moments her body went limp.
Anei could feel herself lifting off the ground and moving at an incredible speed through space. The world around her was blackened, but familiar. She could still smell the unique scents of the complex she lived in, the soil from the gardens around the buildings. Brief glimpses of houses and colors flashed before her eyes and she knew exactly where she was going.
The world around her came into focus and she was standing in the yard of the old woman with the cataract eyes, who was standing stalk still on her porch staring right at Anei wearing a look of excitement, wonder, and understanding. She nodded once and turned to go back into her house.
Anei felt herself smile and was pulled backwards through darkness by an unseen force. Several minutes later, she blinked and was back in her room on the floor. Someone was banging on the front door.
“Help, please!” but it only came out as a whispered mumble through the swelling and liquid. Just before the room disappeared around her, Anei heard the front door bang open and saw the old lady hurrying toward her.
Anei heard crunching and twisting coming from somewhere on her right. Her ears were ringing, and her head was pounding. She knew she was in her room by the familiar smell, something akin to old dirty clothes and pencil shavings, but there was someone not entirely familiar there with her. The noise became unbearable.
“Stop,” she croaked out of her raw throat and tried to move her head. The noise ceased and an unfamiliar raspy voice spoke just a few inches from her ear.
“Take it easy, child. You’ve been very ill, and the medicine I’ve given you will only work so fast.”
Anei took a tentative swallow and was grateful that her mouth and throat were no longer swollen, but there were little cuts all over the inside of her mouth and lips that were exceedingly uncomfortable. She opened her crusted eyes but regretted it immediately. The room was too bright, and there was far too much color. Anei tried to lift her hand to her eyes, but her arms still felt like they were filled with lead.
“Who… Who are you?” she rasped out.
“I go by many names, but you need not worry about that right now. For now, you need to drink the rest of this elixir. It will help you.” The old woman bent over and lifted a heavy metal chalice from the floor.
The liquid inside smelled disgusting, like she grabbed every seasoning in a forgotten cupboard, along with the dried excretions of an animal, and mashed it all together. Anei, with no energy to fight, let the old woman lift her head with her bony fingers. The moment she put the chalice to Anei’s lips, however, she gagged forcibly.
“Good. This means your body is healing. I’ll plug your nose to make it easier to drink. When you finish, I’ll give you a spoonful of cinnamon honey, which will make the taste go away.”
Anei let the wrinkled bony fingers pinch her nostrils and tip the cup into her mouth.
She laid her head back down and immediately felt the warmth spread through her body. Some of her muscles started to loosen up a bit, and her bones felt like they were draining the lead that was weighing them down. The warmth traveled lazily up into her head and she felt the fog lift. When Anei braved opening her eyes, the light and color didn’t seem quite as insulting. She turned her head to look at the old woman beside her.
Anei stared in wonder. Something, a memory, was trying to break free of the illness in her mind and come to her attention. When the woman looked up from her mortar and pestle, Anei gasped. The woman’s eyes were no longer clouded and white as before, but they were a deep forest green that were full of archaic knowledge. The wrinkles of her years were etched around them, but they showed the beauty of her wisdom.
The woman laughed heartily at the confused gaping expression on Anei’s face.
“You’re wondering about my eyes,” she said, as if reading Anei’s thoughts.
“Well, yeah, actually,” Anei said more rudely than she intended.
“I was blind, child… was. ‘Tis the curse of my kind.”
“Your kind? Like, old people?”
The woman cackled loudly. Her teeth were jagged and she was missing quite a few.
“I’m much older than I look,” she said.
That surprised Anei, since the woman already looked about 104.
“How –“ Anei stopped suddenly. Her mother always told her never to ask a woman her age or weight.
“How old am I? You wouldn’t believe me if I told you,” the woman said, going back to her mixing. She kept randomly pulling leaves and powders from the large bag next to her chair and throwing them into her mortar.
“What are you doing here?” Anei finally asked, sounding braver than she felt. She wasn’t very bothered by the woman’s presence, though. It was as if she was supposed to be there.
Anei suddenly remembered the vision she’d had just before blacking out. She was at the woman’s house, and the old woman could see her there. It was like one of her dreams, but not really because she was actually awake.
“I am here because I received your message,” the old woman said simply.
Anei was astonished. Unconsciously, she lifted her hand to her neck and realized that the old woman’s presence, without a doubt, had something to do with the mysterious mark on her neck, the brand that looked like a downward slanted F.
“I’m afraid I don’t understand what’s happening, Ms. –“ Anei stopped, realizing she still didn’t know the woman’s name. “What is your name?”
“I told you. I go by many names. For now, though, you may call me Cali.” Anei nearly trembled with fear. The woman’s voice was strong and it resonated inside her, like it was an ancient voice, one that has experienced many days and historical events. In just the utterance of her name, there was power in the tone that Anei could not quite comprehend. She did know, however, that this woman, Cali, feels older than she looks.
The old woman sighed heavily and went back to crunching the ingredients, staring at them intently. “Well, I suppose I should tell you as much as I can. If you don’t hear and understand the meaning of your Rune, you’ll get sick again, even worse than before, and I won’t be able to cure you. You are the Foreseer, Anei, for the Um von der Odin, or the Order of Odin. You were chosen many, many years ago to help bring the message of the runes to the world when the time came.”
It sounded like English, most of it at least, but Anei had absolutely no idea what the old woman just said. She stared at her, willing her to continue. When it was obvious Cali wouldn’t go on, Anei cleared her throat and said, “um, I didn’t really understand any of that. What do you mean I was chosen many years ago? What is this Order of Odin? What message?” Cali put her hand up to stop Anei from continuing her tirade of questions.
“You must learn to control your questions, Anei, or you will not receive the answers you seek.” She let the reprimand sink in for a moment, and then continued.
“The Order was created over 2500 years ago, when the wisdom of the Ancients was nearly lost forever. A group of 24 devoted followers of the Norse Gods made a pact with the Völva, or spae-wives, of Frigg and Odin. The pact said that when the world was ready, the wisdom of the runes would be brought by the Ministers in order to bring peace and enlightenment to Earth. Only when all 24 of the original Ministers were reincarnated to Earth would the runes begin to appear. Apparently, the last of the 24 has been born recently.”
Deadpan. Anei stared at the old woman blankly, convinced one of them had lost their mind.
The information tried desperately to sink into Anei’s brain. Some of it made sense, but most of it sounded fantastical and surreal. She wasn’t exactly sure what it was she was trying to believe either. She hadn’t the faintest idea of who or what frig and oh din were, or a spay-wife, either, which Cali seemed to associate with a car. The only kind of spay Anei had ever heard of had to do with animals.
“What’s a spay-wife?” she asked, thinking that would be a good place to start and would be easiest to understand.
“A Witch or Sorcerer under the guidance of the Goddess Frigg.”
Or not.
“Um, okay. I still don’t understand. A group of Witches were asked to make a pact with a group of religious followers to bring a message to Earth at a later time? Why not then?”
“Because those were dangerous times and it would have been far too easy for the message to be lost or misinterpreted,” Cali said simply. “It was a time where the ancient knowledge of our homeland was becoming more and more misunderstood, and therefore forbidden. But we mustn’t carry on this way, Anei. I must tell you about the rune.
“The pact that was made cast a powerful spell that has hidden the souls of the 24 Ministers until the world was ready for the information. Every Minister will teach their rune through example. They will have a purpose, an influence in one way or another.
“The spell was cast so it would be impossible to ignore the message. The rune will appear on the Minister as a brand, and if ignored, will negatively affect the body, the mind, or the soul of the bearer in a way only that particular rune could. Where the Ministers are, a Völva is close by to assist; however, you, my dear, as the Foreseer and the original Minister, will be of paramount importance to the cause. The Völva will only need to assist if absolutely required.”
“I don’t understand. What is it that I’m supposed to do?” Anei asked, apprehensively.
“As the Foreseer, you have the powers of premonition and projection. You must use these powers to answer the call of the Order.”
“But I –“ Cali’s head jerked up and she glared at Anei, clearly annoyed by the interruption.
“Your particular rune is the Messenger, associated with Odin himself. Your mouth and mind are symbols of its meaning, which would explain your particular afflictions. You receive premonitions, and now that you have received your rune, if you ignore those messages, you will risk becoming ill again or going Reverse – that means your rune will flip itself over and your powers will become a force of negative energy and you will be destroyed, thereby taking the last of your particular message with you.
“Your power as the Foreseer will grow, as they already have, and it will be up to you to teach the others their runes. But you must keep your powers a secret, Anei, if only for your protection.”
“Protection from what?” Anei’s voice shook as she asked the question.
“From people, child. All of the Runic Ministers will need to lay low until the power of 24 is united as one. Otherwise, you risk… experimentation and aggression toward your kind, and if that should happen, the wisdom will be lost forever and the world will dip into a state of ignorant darkness it has never truly known.”
Anei let the words fall through the cracks of her mind. This would explain her prophetic dreams, but she had no idea what ‘projection’ was or what she would have to do in order to deliver the messages she receives. What if she gets a premonition for someone she doesn’t know or can’t find?
“How is any of this possible?” Anei asked, feeling overwhelmed and more than a little scared. “How did the brand actually get onto my neck? Why can’t my mom see it? How could it infect me like it did?”
The old woman grinned. “Magick, child, that’s how. As I said before, the pact you and your comrades made all those centuries ago cast a spell onto your souls so your message couldn’t be ignored. Only Runic Ministers and Völva can see the brand because it’s cloaked with the magick the Völva put on the symbols to hide them through time and space.
“It will take the rest of your life, Anei, to find the rest of the Ministers. You, with your powers of premonition and projection, as well as your intelligence and intuition, will be able to help the Ministers with their runes, and to find the most appropriate way for them to bring their message to the world.”
“What is projection,” Anei asked quickly.
“You did it earlier today. You left your body and astral projected to me to tell me you were ready.”
Anei stared at her in disbelief.
“That power will become easier with time, and more developed so you can manipulate time and space. You are the first Minister, so there is a leniency and learning curve in the spell, which means you will given some time before the next message.”
“How much of a learning curve?”
“Hard to say. When you’re ready, you will know,” Cali said matter-of-factly. “Now, I must explain to you the full meaning of your symbol before you become ill again. You’re already starting to break another sweat.
“You, Anei, have received the Rune of Ansuz. Your name itself, oddly enough, is a derivative of the name Ane, meaning ‘favor,’ or ‘grace.’ I’m betting your father named you?”
“Yes, but how –“
“He is your direct descendent and knows of the ancient Order,” Cali said with a gentle, knowing smile.
“Your rune, Anei, is said to be Odin’s Rune, but when reversed or shrouded with negative energy, it is Loki’s, the trickster Norse God. Ansuz is a rune of divine power, communication, prophecy and revelation. Its holder will be the bringer of compassion, sound advice and instruction; one who embodies wisdom and knowledge of the Universe. This is why your job will be to help the other Ministers. You are the teacher.
“Take heed, Anei, as I said before, should you fail at delivering the message by your own fault, you will become deathly ill or your rune will reverse, and you will be destroyed, taking the wisdom with you.
“One thing you must always keep in mind is that the message you bring may not always be wanted or appreciated, but you must always follow the guidance of your powers. Always,” she said so sternly Anei shivered.
“Now, your mother will be home soon, so I must be going. She cannot know I was here, nor what you are up to. Do you understand what I have told you about that symbol?”
Anei stared at her and nodded. “Yes, I think so. I’m a Runic Minister of an ancient order with powers to deliver messages by premonition and astral projection to help bring peace and knowledge to the world.” The words felt ridiculous tumbling out of Anei’s mouth. The old woman smiled and patted Anei gently on her cheek.
“You will know when the next message comes. Until then, study hard the Norse history of mythology and ancient runes, and come and find me if you have questions.” With that, the old woman dropped her things in her bag, got up and walked out of the apartment without a backward glance.
Anei plopped down and stared up at the ceiling. Suddenly, some things her father said to her made sense, like, “Anei, one day you will find that your life is meant for something far greater than my own.” She knew there was so much to learn about these runes, the Order, and the Gods the old woman spoke of, but she felt her father’s curious and scholarly spirit fill her with a great jolt of excitement in anticipation of the learning she was about to undertake, the destiny of a helpful life she was just handed, and the change she would help bring to the world.
The world was transforming, and she would be a part of it.
That dream.
She kicked a rock with the toe of her boot.
That dream ruined her whole day. School was hard enough without the added stress of those crazy dreams she gets every so often. In this one, she’d stood on the side of the road and watched her mother’s beat-up old Buick ram into a pole and ejecting her through the windshield. It was a gory and gruesome nightmare, and Anei would’ve been quite happy to live the rest of her days without ever thinking about it again.
The dream would come true, though. There was the tell-tale sign of it feeling so real. Her mother looked right at her in the dream, surprised at her sudden appearance. Anei knew she would have to talk to her mother about this, and she was sure that would turn into a fight.
She moodily kicked another rock with her shoe.
Two years ago, Anei had her first dream. She was only 14, so young and ignorant of death. In that dream, she’d stood at the base of a tall building while her father threw himself off the roof. When she awoke, she chalked it up to just being a bad dream. Anei was horrified when the police came to tell them that her father pitched himself off that very same roof with the belief that he would fly through a vortex and meet with his ancestors for a sacred ceremonial council. The doctor had told them that he’d had a mental break from reality and suffered from schizophrenia.
Mom will have to listen to me now, though, Anei thought to herself as she made her way through the apartment complex. Her mother has always thought of these dreams as “adolescent hormonal imbalances,” so eventually, Anei stopped telling her each time she would have one.
Anei walked through the front door of her apartment and heard the normal clanking and banging of her mom rushing around getting ready for job number two. She threw her backpack on the dining room table and headed back to her mom’s room, prepared to physically stop her if she needed to.
“Anei, is that you?” came her mother’s sing-song voice from the bathroom.
“Yeah, mom, it’s me.” Anei stopped at the bathroom door and stared at her mom for a minute, a stark contrast to her own appearance and her exact opposite in almost every way. The only thing Anei got from her mom were her eyes, large and bright blue. Her mother is fair skinned and light-haired, beautifully plump. Anei is a spitting image of her dad – skinny and darker-skinned with black stringy hair,
“I need to tell you something mom, and you’re not gonna like it.”
Her mom stopped dead with the curling iron hovering over a strand of strawberry blonde hair. “You didn’t get into trouble at school again, did you? I told you if you dress like that, all black and gothic, teachers would see you as a trouble maker, no matter what you do.”
“No, mom, I’m not in trouble, but thanks for automatically assuming that,” Anei said sourly. After her father plunged to his own death, the kids at school became ruthless, and dressing this way, hiding behind blackness, was the only way Anei could escape the torment. The kids started to think she was as crazy as her dad, so they stopped bothering to her so much.
“I don’t want to fight, Anei.” Her mother said quickly. “What is it? I don’t have much time.”
“Yeah, I know,” she said moodily, staring down at her shoes. Anei’s mom had to get a second job after her dad died because the insurance company wouldn’t pay out his life insurance since he was a suicide.
Anei looked up to see her mom staring at her with sad eyes in the mirror.
“Sorry, mom. It’s just been a bad day.”
“I’m sorry, honey. What’s on your mind?” she asked.
Anei sighed. “Well, you won’t like this, but I had a dream, the kind you don’t believe in, and this time it was about you. I just need you to take a different route to work today, okay?”
Her mom silently continued curling her hair for a long time. Anei was just about to repeat herself when her mom sighed heavily, “the route I take is the quickest way to get to the diner, Anei. A detour would make me late.”
“So? I’d rather you be late than dead!” Anei screamed, taking both herself and her mother by surprise. The truth was, though, losing her mother scared her more than anything, and that, more than the dream, is what had her on edge all day. Her mom stared at her in the mirror, and then finally nodded just once.
“Okay, I’ll call the diner and tell them I’ll be a little late.”
To make sure she would do just that, Anei marched off to get the phone. She dialed the number to the diner as she headed back to the bathroom. Her mom was putting on the finishing touches of her lipstick when Anei handed her the phone. Her mom, looking extremely annoyed, snatched it out of her hand.
“Hi, Melanie. Listen, I’m gonna be about 15 minutes late. Something’s come up. Okay, thanks. Bye.” She banged the phone down on the counter and went back to getting ready. Anei grinned in triumph and marched off to her room. At least she won’t become a 16-year-old orphan.
Anei awoke in the middle of the night, sweating profusely.
It’s too hot in here, she thought through the grogginess of sleep.
She rolled to her side and leaned against the cold cement wall. She could almost hear her skin sizzle. Her body was slick with sweat.
A couple of minutes later, she rolled over to her other side, onto the colder part of her pillow, which was soaking wet. She felt something sharp on her skin, stabbing her on the right side of her neck.
What the hell is that?
She tried to move the pillow, but the pain increased.
Finally, she sat up, agitated, and moved the cloth of her night shirt away from her skin. The stabbing pain was still there and increasing.
It feels like something is being burned onto my skin!
Anei scrambled to the bathroom in the fogginess of sleep and flipped on the switch, squinting in the sudden brightness.
When her eyes adjusted, she found her reflection in the mirror and gasped. She bent closer to get a better look.
“What the hell?”
What looked like the letter F, but slanted downward, was branded onto the base of her neck by her right shoulder. It was glaring red and inflamed, as if a hot poker had been placed there.
Anei stared at the mark for a long time. Surely, she must be having a nightmare. She closed her eyes to try to go back into a more dream-like state and wake up in her bed. She opened her eyes and stared back at her own reflection.
Not a dream.
Panic rose in her chest. The burning, stabbing pain was starting to go away, but she still had no idea what this was or how it got on her skin. She ran back to her bedroom and rummaged through her bed sheets to see if there was anything that could’ve done this.
Nothing. She sat down heavily on the edge of her bed and stared, not really seeing, at the white wall in front of her.
The longer she sat there, the more she realized she felt very different – older, and more patient. She felt like there was something she knew, but couldn’t quite grasp onto what it was.
Anei sat there the rest of the night, until morning came and her mother came shuffling out of her room into the hallway. Through her own sleepy haze, she looked into Anei’s room and found her sitting there, still staring at the wall.
“Anei? What’s the matter, honey?” she asked tentatively. Her daughter didn’t look well. Anei came out of her daze and gazed up at her mother, who looked completely different to her. She looked younger, more youthful than usual.
“Um, I’m not really feeling well, actually,” Anei said. Her mom came and sat next to her on the bed, doing the standard fever check with her hand.
Anei wondered why her mom didn’t say anything about the mark on her neck. She thought maybe it was gone. She put her hand up to the spot and felt the mark, plump and inflamed right where it was supposed to be.
“Mom, do you see anything on my neck?”
“No, sweety, why?” she asked, concerned.
“Um, nothing. I think I just slept on it wrong. Listen, mom, I can’t go to school today. I really don’t feel well.”
“Okay, honey. I’ll call the school and let them know.” She got up and went to the door, but before leaving, she turned around to face her daughter.
“By the way, Anei. There was an accident on the bridge last night. Right around the time I would’ve been crossing it.” Her mom stared at her with a look of fear and gratitude. “It seems the dream you had the other night was real.”
Anei, still in shock about the brand on her neck, just nodded.
“Okay, sweety. You lie down and get some rest. There’s soup in the cupboard if you want some.” And with that, her mom was whooshing through the house, getting ready for work. Anei slowly laid her head down on the pillow, wincing at the tenderness in her neck.
The next time Anei awoke, the alarm clock on the bedside table read 12:21 in the afternoon. She felt feverish again, her whole body sticky with sweat. Her bones felt heavy, like they’ve been filled with lead. Her throat was raw and her mouth felt like there were sores all over her tongue and the inside of her cheeks. She reached her hand up to her mouth and screamed out in pain.
Blisters covered the inside of her mouth. Hot, stinging, pus-filled blisters. They were making her tongue and throat swell up and her breathing was getting more and more difficult.
She tried to sit up, but the pain was excruciating. She screamed out and felt a blister in her mouth pop. She gagged on the liquid, causing a few more to pop and ooze to the back of her throat. Her vision started to go black at the edges. Her brain was foggy from the pain and confusion of what was happening. She felt like she was dying. Anei reached over for her cell phone, but it slipped from her sweaty hand and slid across the floor, out of reach. She tried to stand to go get it, but fell down immediately, too heavy in her 98-pound frame.
She spit out the saliva, pus, and blood and tried desperately to suck air into her lungs. She laid her head down on the carpet and suddenly felt a very odd sensation; a lightheaded feeling, but not like she was going to pass out. Her eyes focused on a dark spot on the carpet, and in a matter of moments her body went limp.
Anei could feel herself lifting off the ground and moving at an incredible speed through space. The world around her was blackened, but familiar. She could still smell the unique scents of the complex she lived in, the soil from the gardens around the buildings. Brief glimpses of houses and colors flashed before her eyes and she knew exactly where she was going.
The world around her came into focus and she was standing in the yard of the old woman with the cataract eyes, who was standing stalk still on her porch staring right at Anei wearing a look of excitement, wonder, and understanding. She nodded once and turned to go back into her house.
Anei felt herself smile and was pulled backwards through darkness by an unseen force. Several minutes later, she blinked and was back in her room on the floor. Someone was banging on the front door.
“Help, please!” but it only came out as a whispered mumble through the swelling and liquid. Just before the room disappeared around her, Anei heard the front door bang open and saw the old lady hurrying toward her.
Anei heard crunching and twisting coming from somewhere on her right. Her ears were ringing, and her head was pounding. She knew she was in her room by the familiar smell, something akin to old dirty clothes and pencil shavings, but there was someone not entirely familiar there with her. The noise became unbearable.
“Stop,” she croaked out of her raw throat and tried to move her head. The noise ceased and an unfamiliar raspy voice spoke just a few inches from her ear.
“Take it easy, child. You’ve been very ill, and the medicine I’ve given you will only work so fast.”
Anei took a tentative swallow and was grateful that her mouth and throat were no longer swollen, but there were little cuts all over the inside of her mouth and lips that were exceedingly uncomfortable. She opened her crusted eyes but regretted it immediately. The room was too bright, and there was far too much color. Anei tried to lift her hand to her eyes, but her arms still felt like they were filled with lead.
“Who… Who are you?” she rasped out.
“I go by many names, but you need not worry about that right now. For now, you need to drink the rest of this elixir. It will help you.” The old woman bent over and lifted a heavy metal chalice from the floor.
The liquid inside smelled disgusting, like she grabbed every seasoning in a forgotten cupboard, along with the dried excretions of an animal, and mashed it all together. Anei, with no energy to fight, let the old woman lift her head with her bony fingers. The moment she put the chalice to Anei’s lips, however, she gagged forcibly.
“Good. This means your body is healing. I’ll plug your nose to make it easier to drink. When you finish, I’ll give you a spoonful of cinnamon honey, which will make the taste go away.”
Anei let the wrinkled bony fingers pinch her nostrils and tip the cup into her mouth.
She laid her head back down and immediately felt the warmth spread through her body. Some of her muscles started to loosen up a bit, and her bones felt like they were draining the lead that was weighing them down. The warmth traveled lazily up into her head and she felt the fog lift. When Anei braved opening her eyes, the light and color didn’t seem quite as insulting. She turned her head to look at the old woman beside her.
Anei stared in wonder. Something, a memory, was trying to break free of the illness in her mind and come to her attention. When the woman looked up from her mortar and pestle, Anei gasped. The woman’s eyes were no longer clouded and white as before, but they were a deep forest green that were full of archaic knowledge. The wrinkles of her years were etched around them, but they showed the beauty of her wisdom.
The woman laughed heartily at the confused gaping expression on Anei’s face.
“You’re wondering about my eyes,” she said, as if reading Anei’s thoughts.
“Well, yeah, actually,” Anei said more rudely than she intended.
“I was blind, child… was. ‘Tis the curse of my kind.”
“Your kind? Like, old people?”
The woman cackled loudly. Her teeth were jagged and she was missing quite a few.
“I’m much older than I look,” she said.
That surprised Anei, since the woman already looked about 104.
“How –“ Anei stopped suddenly. Her mother always told her never to ask a woman her age or weight.
“How old am I? You wouldn’t believe me if I told you,” the woman said, going back to her mixing. She kept randomly pulling leaves and powders from the large bag next to her chair and throwing them into her mortar.
“What are you doing here?” Anei finally asked, sounding braver than she felt. She wasn’t very bothered by the woman’s presence, though. It was as if she was supposed to be there.
Anei suddenly remembered the vision she’d had just before blacking out. She was at the woman’s house, and the old woman could see her there. It was like one of her dreams, but not really because she was actually awake.
“I am here because I received your message,” the old woman said simply.
Anei was astonished. Unconsciously, she lifted her hand to her neck and realized that the old woman’s presence, without a doubt, had something to do with the mysterious mark on her neck, the brand that looked like a downward slanted F.
“I’m afraid I don’t understand what’s happening, Ms. –“ Anei stopped, realizing she still didn’t know the woman’s name. “What is your name?”
“I told you. I go by many names. For now, though, you may call me Cali.” Anei nearly trembled with fear. The woman’s voice was strong and it resonated inside her, like it was an ancient voice, one that has experienced many days and historical events. In just the utterance of her name, there was power in the tone that Anei could not quite comprehend. She did know, however, that this woman, Cali, feels older than she looks.
The old woman sighed heavily and went back to crunching the ingredients, staring at them intently. “Well, I suppose I should tell you as much as I can. If you don’t hear and understand the meaning of your Rune, you’ll get sick again, even worse than before, and I won’t be able to cure you. You are the Foreseer, Anei, for the Um von der Odin, or the Order of Odin. You were chosen many, many years ago to help bring the message of the runes to the world when the time came.”
It sounded like English, most of it at least, but Anei had absolutely no idea what the old woman just said. She stared at her, willing her to continue. When it was obvious Cali wouldn’t go on, Anei cleared her throat and said, “um, I didn’t really understand any of that. What do you mean I was chosen many years ago? What is this Order of Odin? What message?” Cali put her hand up to stop Anei from continuing her tirade of questions.
“You must learn to control your questions, Anei, or you will not receive the answers you seek.” She let the reprimand sink in for a moment, and then continued.
“The Order was created over 2500 years ago, when the wisdom of the Ancients was nearly lost forever. A group of 24 devoted followers of the Norse Gods made a pact with the Völva, or spae-wives, of Frigg and Odin. The pact said that when the world was ready, the wisdom of the runes would be brought by the Ministers in order to bring peace and enlightenment to Earth. Only when all 24 of the original Ministers were reincarnated to Earth would the runes begin to appear. Apparently, the last of the 24 has been born recently.”
Deadpan. Anei stared at the old woman blankly, convinced one of them had lost their mind.
The information tried desperately to sink into Anei’s brain. Some of it made sense, but most of it sounded fantastical and surreal. She wasn’t exactly sure what it was she was trying to believe either. She hadn’t the faintest idea of who or what frig and oh din were, or a spay-wife, either, which Cali seemed to associate with a car. The only kind of spay Anei had ever heard of had to do with animals.
“What’s a spay-wife?” she asked, thinking that would be a good place to start and would be easiest to understand.
“A Witch or Sorcerer under the guidance of the Goddess Frigg.”
Or not.
“Um, okay. I still don’t understand. A group of Witches were asked to make a pact with a group of religious followers to bring a message to Earth at a later time? Why not then?”
“Because those were dangerous times and it would have been far too easy for the message to be lost or misinterpreted,” Cali said simply. “It was a time where the ancient knowledge of our homeland was becoming more and more misunderstood, and therefore forbidden. But we mustn’t carry on this way, Anei. I must tell you about the rune.
“The pact that was made cast a powerful spell that has hidden the souls of the 24 Ministers until the world was ready for the information. Every Minister will teach their rune through example. They will have a purpose, an influence in one way or another.
“The spell was cast so it would be impossible to ignore the message. The rune will appear on the Minister as a brand, and if ignored, will negatively affect the body, the mind, or the soul of the bearer in a way only that particular rune could. Where the Ministers are, a Völva is close by to assist; however, you, my dear, as the Foreseer and the original Minister, will be of paramount importance to the cause. The Völva will only need to assist if absolutely required.”
“I don’t understand. What is it that I’m supposed to do?” Anei asked, apprehensively.
“As the Foreseer, you have the powers of premonition and projection. You must use these powers to answer the call of the Order.”
“But I –“ Cali’s head jerked up and she glared at Anei, clearly annoyed by the interruption.
“Your particular rune is the Messenger, associated with Odin himself. Your mouth and mind are symbols of its meaning, which would explain your particular afflictions. You receive premonitions, and now that you have received your rune, if you ignore those messages, you will risk becoming ill again or going Reverse – that means your rune will flip itself over and your powers will become a force of negative energy and you will be destroyed, thereby taking the last of your particular message with you.
“Your power as the Foreseer will grow, as they already have, and it will be up to you to teach the others their runes. But you must keep your powers a secret, Anei, if only for your protection.”
“Protection from what?” Anei’s voice shook as she asked the question.
“From people, child. All of the Runic Ministers will need to lay low until the power of 24 is united as one. Otherwise, you risk… experimentation and aggression toward your kind, and if that should happen, the wisdom will be lost forever and the world will dip into a state of ignorant darkness it has never truly known.”
Anei let the words fall through the cracks of her mind. This would explain her prophetic dreams, but she had no idea what ‘projection’ was or what she would have to do in order to deliver the messages she receives. What if she gets a premonition for someone she doesn’t know or can’t find?
“How is any of this possible?” Anei asked, feeling overwhelmed and more than a little scared. “How did the brand actually get onto my neck? Why can’t my mom see it? How could it infect me like it did?”
The old woman grinned. “Magick, child, that’s how. As I said before, the pact you and your comrades made all those centuries ago cast a spell onto your souls so your message couldn’t be ignored. Only Runic Ministers and Völva can see the brand because it’s cloaked with the magick the Völva put on the symbols to hide them through time and space.
“It will take the rest of your life, Anei, to find the rest of the Ministers. You, with your powers of premonition and projection, as well as your intelligence and intuition, will be able to help the Ministers with their runes, and to find the most appropriate way for them to bring their message to the world.”
“What is projection,” Anei asked quickly.
“You did it earlier today. You left your body and astral projected to me to tell me you were ready.”
Anei stared at her in disbelief.
“That power will become easier with time, and more developed so you can manipulate time and space. You are the first Minister, so there is a leniency and learning curve in the spell, which means you will given some time before the next message.”
“How much of a learning curve?”
“Hard to say. When you’re ready, you will know,” Cali said matter-of-factly. “Now, I must explain to you the full meaning of your symbol before you become ill again. You’re already starting to break another sweat.
“You, Anei, have received the Rune of Ansuz. Your name itself, oddly enough, is a derivative of the name Ane, meaning ‘favor,’ or ‘grace.’ I’m betting your father named you?”
“Yes, but how –“
“He is your direct descendent and knows of the ancient Order,” Cali said with a gentle, knowing smile.
“Your rune, Anei, is said to be Odin’s Rune, but when reversed or shrouded with negative energy, it is Loki’s, the trickster Norse God. Ansuz is a rune of divine power, communication, prophecy and revelation. Its holder will be the bringer of compassion, sound advice and instruction; one who embodies wisdom and knowledge of the Universe. This is why your job will be to help the other Ministers. You are the teacher.
“Take heed, Anei, as I said before, should you fail at delivering the message by your own fault, you will become deathly ill or your rune will reverse, and you will be destroyed, taking the wisdom with you.
“One thing you must always keep in mind is that the message you bring may not always be wanted or appreciated, but you must always follow the guidance of your powers. Always,” she said so sternly Anei shivered.
“Now, your mother will be home soon, so I must be going. She cannot know I was here, nor what you are up to. Do you understand what I have told you about that symbol?”
Anei stared at her and nodded. “Yes, I think so. I’m a Runic Minister of an ancient order with powers to deliver messages by premonition and astral projection to help bring peace and knowledge to the world.” The words felt ridiculous tumbling out of Anei’s mouth. The old woman smiled and patted Anei gently on her cheek.
“You will know when the next message comes. Until then, study hard the Norse history of mythology and ancient runes, and come and find me if you have questions.” With that, the old woman dropped her things in her bag, got up and walked out of the apartment without a backward glance.
Anei plopped down and stared up at the ceiling. Suddenly, some things her father said to her made sense, like, “Anei, one day you will find that your life is meant for something far greater than my own.” She knew there was so much to learn about these runes, the Order, and the Gods the old woman spoke of, but she felt her father’s curious and scholarly spirit fill her with a great jolt of excitement in anticipation of the learning she was about to undertake, the destiny of a helpful life she was just handed, and the change she would help bring to the world.
The world was transforming, and she would be a part of it.