Free Blood Price (Noble of Blood Book 1) by A L Wright Page A

Victor’s hand as she approached the sheet dividing the rooms.  She felt another vibration in this doorway, but sensing nothing harmful about it she pushed the sheet aside and walked through.  There were close to a hundred candles lit around the room, of many different colors and sizes.  Josaleene watched as Mordred walked around the room extinguishing all but the white and black ones.
    Turning around from the last candle, she set the snuffer down and gestured to a large overstuffed chair.  "Please do sit down and get comfortable"
    Josaleene lowered herself into the fluffy seat with Victor looming behind her.  Mordred walked over to a small table where there were several items.  One was a small pouch with the drawstring pulled closed.  Another was a board, square with symbols placed in what she supposed was important patterns.  There was also a small bowl with ashes in it, and a very sharp looking ritual knife laying across the bowl.
    Picking up the knife and bowl she came back towards Josaleene.
    "Now as I said you are safe here, but the reading requires a few drops of your blood.  To be honest, the omens I have received about you have told me quite a bit about events surrounding you.  But they have told me nothing about you, or your child.  For that I will need the blood."  Mordred was eying Victor to make sure he wouldn't make any sudden moves on her. 
    Josaleene held out her hand to the aging woman.  Quick as a snake Mordred pierced one of her fingers and squeezed out a few drops of blood to catch in the bowl below it.  Returning to the table she sat herself down on a small cushioned stool.  Placing the bowl in the middle of the table, she took a match out of her robes and struck it.  She tossed the match into the bowl and POOF the blood went up in a small burst of flame.  It died out just as quick but continued to smoke for a few minutes.
    Wide eyed, Josaleene leaned forward to watch closer. Mordred opened the small pouch to pour out a dozen small crystals into her other hand.  She moved the hand with the crystals through the smoke a few time then tossed them down onto the square board.  Watching mesmerized as the crystals scattered across the board she was startled when one crystal came close to rolling off the board, then seemingly stopped itself and rolled back to stay on the board.
    "Did you see that Victor?"  Gasped Josaleene. 
    "It was a fancy trick is all, Princess."  He replied.
    "No tricks are played here.  The stones know where they want to land after they taste the blood in the smoke."  Mordred was staring intently at the board.  Sighing, she pointed to the top of the board, and the two crystals that landed there.  "Two will travel north to find answers to a question that should never have come to be.  Both will return with no answer but will bring with them a heavy burden of knowledge."
    Mordred then pointed at the left side of the board and the two crystals that landed there.  "These two mean you harm.  They are jealous of your position in the Court.  They do not think you deserve that position or the power of the child you carry.  They will seek to displace you."
    She then points to the right side of the board where six of the crystals had fallen.  "This is very ominous indeed.  This quarter represents large battles and with so many crystals falling there it only can mean that a war is coming."
    Fixing her sight on the last two crystals, one of them the crystal that almost fell off of the board but rolled back she sighed.  "These two represent powerful beings, separating themselves from others of their kind.  Self-imposed exile maybe?  This one in particular" she says while pointing at the crystal close to the edge "is self-destructive at the time, but with the right influence or catalyst he will right himself and survive the event that drove him to running away."
    "Where am I on this board?  Do you see what will happen to me?"  Josaleene asks nervously.
    "All of these