Gun of Wrath

Chapter 13- The Blue Lotus

"Ughhh," I groan. "There's nothing here!"

Purson has been reading his book while I stare into a small crystal ball. "You're trying too hard," he says without looking up.

"What does that even mean?" I demand.

He closes his book and lays it on the coffee table before disentangling himself from the chair to sit up. Steepled fingers rest under his chin. "You can't force yourself to see something in there. You must relax and let the images come to you." Something in my mind flickers but it's too faint to catch before it's gone again. “At least it isn’t haruspicy." As he says this, I catch the mischief in his eyes. Morbid curiosity wages war with sensibility inside my head. Whatever haruspicy is, his face indicates it isn't anything I'd like to try my hand at.

“What's haruspicy?" I regret my decision as soon as the words leave my mouth.

“Haruspicy is an ancient Mesopotamian practice which uses the exta of unblemished sheep to tell the future."

My stomach roils. I've reached my limit. Primly, I grab the black cloth in my lap and cover the crystal ball. The first time Purson brought the crystal ball out, I got distracted and it set the coffee table on fire. Something tells me he let me do it on purpose, considering it was he who distracted me in the first place. I head into the kitchen and grab an apple before walking out to the balcony for some fresh air. Tiny people go about their lives below, oblivious to my existence above them.

Noise from inside the apartment draws my attention and I step through the glass door to see what's going on. Purson is in my room replacing the sheer gold curtain with a heavy black velvet panel. He unscrews the light bulb and replaces it with an odd-shaped orange bulb. One of the night stands is now sitting at the foot of the bed and there's a stool in front of it. He steps over the stool and tells me to sit down. I make a face at him, but do as he says.

He returns with the crystal ball and a metal bowl and shuts the door with his foot. My body tenses as darkness falls over us. Heat radiates down into my stomach, causing it to flop over, but I push it back, taking several deep breaths. The scent of Susinum fills my tiny room. Purson sits near the head of my bed and tells me to try again.

The artificial flame inside the orange bulb flickers in the clear orb. I gaze intently at it for several minutes to no avail. Purson pokes at whatever is in the bowl and the tangy scent of frankincense floats up from the bowl, battling against the scent of water lilies before overpowering it. The smoke gives my room an otherworldly vibe. I inhale and exhale, careful to count to ten with each breath, trying to relax. Trying. That's the problem. I roll my eyes and decide to stare at the stupid ball until I pass out from smoke inhalation.

Thirty minutes later, I've neither passed out nor seen anything in the crystal ball. The faint buzzing of the light bulb has been nothing more than an irritating distraction for me. On the plus side, my room now smells like frankincense. I stand up and open the door, turning the light off. Purson unscrews the hot bulb and I find myself watching him in amazement. It really shouldn't surprise me. He replaces it with the normal one while I open the curtain to let the natural light back in. I move the nightstand back beside my bed while he puts the stool up.

The living room gives me more room to pace. I try to slow my mind down. That only makes it swirl faster. Purson hasn't turned a page in ages. I'm a wild lion pacing in a cage. He snaps his book shut making me jump. I watch as he prowls off to his bedroom and comes back with the sitar. Handing it to me, he drapes himself over the chair and picks his book up again.

I try to tune the sitar, but everything sounds sharp. Giving up, I place my new mezrab on my finger and start with my exercises. DaRaDa, DaRaDa, DaRaDa. RaDaR- Sa snaps and I can feel Purson tense. Heat floods my body. I swallow and look up, watching him. He closes his book and looks at me, his face free of emotion.