How Deep The Roots Go ( Book One)

Chapter 16

The angel smiled, her lips forming together beautifully. She stepped away from Temperance, moving on the edge of the clearing, allowing Temperance to see her profile. Her walk was steady and slow, as if deliberating something. Temperance's eyes veered away from her and to the vista in the woods.

There, not too far off, was a tree that was oddly placed for the bayou. Temperance squinted tightly, realizing it was an olive tree positioned behind the clearing, its branches healthy and untouched. There were daffodils scattered around the grass, circling the tree, creating a look of spring, their yellow petals dancing around handsomely.

But the tree is what held ruling in this dreamlike vision. Temperance was awed by its very beauty and how unusual of a tree it was in these surroundings.

The lady stopped before it, her short blonde hair seeming to glow around her. But that wasn't what really caught the attention of Temperance. In her hands, there were two chalices. They were gold in color, each identical. The lady smiled and began to empty water out of one into the other — back and forth ... Hypnotic and spellbinding.

"This represents life," she looked into the eyes of Temperance, her stare earnest. "A scale of good and evil."

Temperance glanced uneasily at her, unsure of where the conversation and the vision were headed.

"Are you an angel?" Temperance asked.

"Yes...of sorts," she answered softly.

Her eyes were sky blue, nearly blinding with their pale color.

"Why are you here?" Temperance asked her, desperate for an answer.

"I come as a warning for you," her hands methodically transferring the water still. "An invitation for you to see."

"An invitation?" Temperance repeated, looking down at the ground, her brows heavily creased in confusion.

"Yes," the angel said. "I summoned you Temperance. You need to see what you were destined for − what you were born to accomplish."

"I'm being summoned?" Temperance asked, her mind reeling. "Do I have a choice in the matter?"

The angel ceased pouring the water then, her hands still upon the chalice, notably gripping the stems tighter.

Her wings spread then, slowly ascending, revealing crimson blood red wings, instead of a traditional white as expected. Her eyes looked sorrowful, as if she were hurt by the question. The chalices began to fade within the hands of the angel then. Dematerializing instantly before Temperance's eyes.

"We all have free will Temperance."

Temperance removed her foot from the water and looked down at it, seeing the scrape had healed completely, the sign of the injury gone.

"Why am I seeing myself in this vision?" She stood then, attempting to straighten out the wet gown that was clinging to her skin.

"Because you have been chosen for a task. There is a coming conflict. I decided to bring you this vision to assist you. The angels of the holy world are limited," her chin lifted a degree, "but I am not."

"That explains the red wings," Temperance said nonchalantly. They reminded her of something... Something that she was choosing to disregard all together.

The angel walked toward Temperance, proudly and with a regal air about her.

The olive tree still flanked her and the spring between her and the angel.