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weird. I m listening to the horse, Liz, and she was telling me her teeth
were hurting. Now I m listening and I think she s telling me to go to
San Francisco.
Liz stopped playing and turned toward me. Studying me for a
moment she said, Is she putting it on her charge card?
" 226 "
MISTRESS OF THE RUNES
Our plane flight to San Francisco had been uneventful, and we d
obtained a rental car without waiting. Auspicious, I thought. We drove
up and around the winding roads overlooking the brightly shining bay
and were glad we would be here in San Francisco for a day.
Liz checked the directions and told me to take a hard right, then
head straight up the hill, and the house we were looking for would be
on the right-hand side. She was right.
I parked on an uphill slope, cranked my steering wheel to the far
right, and set the parking brake. People live like mountain goats here,
I remarked.
Liz was staring up at the three-story rococo flat bearing the correct
address.
Brice, it s vacant.
What! I sagged back into the leather seats and peered across
her up into the tri-level flat. Maybe it just looks vacant, come on.
I refused to believe we d spent time and money to come to a vacant
house.
We clambered up the steep front steps and I rang the bell, but
already I could see through the giant bay front windows the house had
no furniture; it was vacant. I rang again and got no answer. We were
turning to leave as the door opened.
Come in. A tall woman smiled at us.
I was overjoyed someone was there, although she looked nothing
like I had envisioned the voice on the phone. In fact, she was rather
stunning with a long white fur coat and a white fur hood; the only sign
of color was the trim around the bottom of the coat, which looked like
sapphires.
Are you
No, she said. The older lady you re most likely seeking isn t
here any longer.
And I immediately knew that she d died.
I m here wrapping up the shipment of her belongings to her son,
who s going to auction them off, I think.
I can t believe it. I was distraught over not getting my questions
answered and also sad over the demise of the sweet woman I knew only
by her voice.
You must be a longtime friend.
No, I really didn t know her at all. I d spoken to her on the
" 227 "
ANDREWS & AUSTIN
phone. She sent me a gift on occasion and invited me to come and
visit. I wanted to talk to her about why we re& I struggled with the
words.
Here.
I thought she was completing my sentence, but realized she was
offering us a seat on the couch.
Well, not here here but in a more cosmic sense why we re
back. I m sure that sounds completely insane to you. I tried to laugh,
feeling self-conscious now.
She would have loved that conversation. She probably would
have said, Can you prove you ever left?
Where have I heard that? I thought. Who else played games with
me about leaving? It all sounded so familiar.
So no one s back, they ve never really left? I probed. They re
just sort of around?
Perfecting their archetype or transitioning to a new one, she
said. Warrior, queen, working on love and fear while wearing different
costumes.
When it comes to the warrior archetype, there wasn t much love,
as far as I can see.
Fear gets love out of balance, doesn t it? she said, checking
bookshelves and looking into cabinets. I was thinking about leasing
this place myself, what do you think?
It s a lovely place, Liz said, as I tried to sort out what was going
on.
So we re each just an archetype? I quizzed her.
And the perfection of your archetype perfects the whole.
One atom at a time until we all become what a happy drop of
rain? I asked sourly.
You know about the planets. The sun dwarfs them all all the
ones we talk about but the sun is dwarfed by Arcturus, and that star is
dwarfed by Betelgeuse. The earth is not even a pixel on your computer
next to the star Betelgeuse. So, you see, there are limitless experiences
and possibilities. Oh, she left something for you, the tall woman said
and handed me another small package, like the first two I d received
in the mail. She watched me unwrap it. Ahh, just as I suspected a
rune!
Did she send runes to a lot of people?
I don t think so. She seemed surprised by my question.
" 228 "
MISTRESS OF THE RUNES
It s blank.
Some people don t believe the blank rune exists, but there it is.
The unknowable, the beginning and the end. Karmic shifts. Karma
shifts, you know, as you continue to evolve. The rune is called Odin.
That was the name of my Viking hound, my Norwegian
elkhound& As the words came out of my mouth, an elkhound padded
into the room and stood beside her obediently. It was Odin. I m sure
it s Odin!
I gasped and knelt to the floor, tears in my eyes. Odin! I called
out. He walked over and licked my cheek, then quickly turned and
went back to her, standing at her side, leaning up against her, obviously
claiming her.
Is that my dog? My dog is dead.
Is he?
I watched him look adoringly at her. He looks just like Odin.
Then he is. She smiled. Energy is neither created nor destroyed,
only transformed. You know that old saw. Physics, actually.
Liz took my hand, squeezed it reassuringly, then asked, How did
the older lady find us?
The dog led us to you.
When, how? I whispered.
You both remember the restaurant, dear, in the storm?
I stared into her piercing blue eyes, astonished at what she was
saying. She was the waitress that night asking about my dog. You were
there as
I found you several times: the docent in the museum, the woman
who gave you the postcard by the river where you washed your feet, the
shopkeeper with the antique horse, remember?
And with each mention of a person her features shifted just
slightly, reminiscent of the form I had seen. Let your journey begin!
She snapped her fingers, mimicking the gesture the elderly shopkeeper
had executed. I must go. Oh, and don t forget, dear, to look for the
signs.
Who is the man on the horse with the queen? I blurted out.
She stopped abruptly and faced me, obviously shocked at my
impudence in bringing up the subject.
Why are you asking questions to which you already know the
answer, Brice? she said, and I recognized the voice I d heard over the
phone.
" 229 "
ANDREWS & AUSTIN
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