14. Jasmine

After the meal had wound down and the coffee table was cleared, Jasmine rose to her feet. "I"m going to head to our bedroom," she told Edgar as she gathered her supplies. "I want to get started on my scrying stick."

Margo looked up at her. "How long do you expect it will take you to make it?"

Jasmine shrugged. "I don"t know. Why?"

"Kian is dropping by this afternoon with William, and later, we plan to do some shopping for the trip. We need warm clothing and hiking boots. It"s going to be freezing at night where we"re headed."

Jasmine couldn"t suppress a grimace. Cold weather was not her friend. She was a creature of sunshine and heat, and the thought of trudging through snow and ice and huddling in sub-zero temperatures sent a shiver down her spine, but it wasn"t as if she had a choice.

She"d agreed to help look for the royal twins, knowing they were in Tibet. She just hadn"t known much about the place.

Oh well, a little discomfort was a small price to pay for the chance of a lifetime to do something extraordinary.

"If I"m not done by the time Kian gets here, just let me know he"s here, and I"ll drop what I"m doing."

"Really?" Margo looked doubtful. "Don"t you need to complete a ritual once you start it?"

"I do, but each step doesn"t take long. It will be fine."

Edgar rose to his feet. "I"ll come with you."

She put a hand on his chest. "I need to work alone, and you need to plan a trip. Stay."

He didn"t look happy, but he nodded, planted a chaste kiss on her forehead, and sat back on the floor.

The door to the other penthouse wasn"t locked, and as Jasmine entered, she took a moment to admire the view before heading to the bedroom with her supplies.

She covered the desk with a clean white towel, laid out her tools, and began stripping the bark from the willow branch.

The willow tree was known for its connection to deep waters and hidden things. It was supposed to be cut during the waning moon to enhance its receptive qualities, but she didn"t have time to wait for the moon to wane. Hopefully, it would work just as well without it.

After all, it was just a tool to focus on her inner ability, and it would do what she believed it could.

As Jasmine worked, a sense of calm settled over her, and soon the scrying stick started taking shape beneath her hands. Jasmine lost herself in the repetitive motions, her mind turning inward, seeking the place of stillness and clarity that would allow her inner energy to flow as the smooth wood emerged.

It didn"t take her more than an hour, and when it was done, she anointed the stick with sandalwood for protection and clarity and a drop of moonstone elixir to open her psychic pathways.

In a quiet corner of her room, she placed the candles in a large circle around the map of Tibet, closed the drapes, and lit the candles.

Sitting cross-legged inside the circle, her scrying stick laid beside her, Jasmine closed her eyes and took deep, measured breaths, each inhale deeper than the last, each exhale a release of worldly concerns.

As her body relaxed and her mind cleared, she imagined her thoughts drifting away like leaves on a stream. She visualized herself as a pool of still water, un-rippled and reflective.

Jasmine focused on sharpening her intuitive senses, and connecting her mind with the subtle energies of her scrying stick would help her amplify them. When she felt the energies swirling around her and recognized their nuances, she held the stick gently in her hands and felt the pulse of its energy. She focused her intent on locating the missing escape pod, tracing her fingers over the lines and contours of the map spread out before her.

As she passed the scrying stick over the map, her hand trembled slightly when it hovered over a particular region—Mount Kailash. Trusting her intuition, she marked the spot with a small stone.

Jasmine didn"t know much about it, but she felt it was a spiritual center of some sort. The escape pod must have been guided there to seek its resting place.

Her heart raced with excitement at the discovery and the hope that her scrying had been true, but she wouldn"t trust this one result. At least two more attempts were needed to confirm the location, and until she did that, she wouldn"t even mention Mount Kailash to the others.