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and light, I sense.”
    Swallowing her tea, Mairi prayed the symbols she dreamed about were of the light variety.
    “The pentagram on her . . .”
    “Pubis,” Mairi supplied.
    “Well, the pentagram can be innocuous. It really just represents the five elements—water, air, fire, you know, that sort of thing. Sometimes the circle surrounding it can represent the sixth element, which pagans call the element of self.”
    “What about when it’s inverted, like it is on her?”
    “Hmm, that’s probably dark magick. It’s pointing to the Underworld. But you know, in the pagan religion there is no hell or devil. It’s just another world below ours.”
    “Uh-huh.” Mairi wasn’t buying it.
    “And the infinity knot—”
    “Which one is that?” Mairi asked, rubbing her inner wrist along her thigh. Thankfully Rowan was way too interested in deciphering symbols to notice she was scratching her scarred wrist.
    “The one that looks like the number eight turned on its side. It’s the most powerful Druid symbol. It represents the flow of all things—life, death, and rebirth.”
    That had been the symbol her wrist touched. Even as Rowan tapped the page with her fingertip, Mairi felt the coinciding thump against her skin. “Why is it between her breasts?” she asked, completely unnerved.
    “Hey, I never said I had the answers to everything. But I do know that the infinity knot is really powerful, and positive.”
    Mairi found herself swallowing hard and asking in a hoarse voice, “Could it be used for evil?”
    Rowan’s expression clouded. “I suppose so. Perhaps in necromancy. You know, death and sex magick.”
    Mairi shivered, pressing her wrist into her thigh to relieve the burn she felt. “And what does a snake swallowing its tail mean?”
    Rowan glanced at the paper, then back at Mairi, who looked away. That symbol had not been marked on Lauren’s body, but it continually showed up in Mairi’s dreams. It always preceded the image of the man. That, and the circle divided into three sections. Those were the hunk’s calling card.
    “The snake is called the Ouroboros. Like the infinity knot, it represents the circular nature of life, but it has more to do with the Underworld, the ancient knowledge and power to be found in darkness.”
    Tea sloshed out of her cup onto her jeans. Oh, goody, she was doing the devil in her dreams.
    Rowan steadied her and took the trembling teacup from her hand. “You dream of this symbol, don’t you?”
    “Let it go, Rowan.”
    “Dreams are powerful, Mairi. They can be an omen. A warning.”
    “They’re just stupid dreams. And I think I’ve had enough of this conversation,” she muttered. God, she had goose bumps. To think that anything she dreamed might have a connection to Lauren’s gruesome murder was just too much.
    “Mairi,” Rowan whispered, reaching for her hand. “I just want to help you better understand your dreams.”
    “It’s stress, that’s all. I’ve been working too much and I’m worried . . .” She glanced up at Rowan. “I’m afraid for you and what will happen after your surgery next week. It’s all just manifested into these crazy dreams.”
    Rowan backed off, but Mairi saw the doubt in her intuitive eyes. “If you dream of this guy again, or any of these symbols, you let me know, okay?”
    Mairi nodded. Even though she had started it, she wanted nothing more than to end this conversation.
    “I’ve got something that’ll put a smile on your face,” Rowan said as she pulled away from the big hug she was giving her. “You’re gonna love it.”
    “Yeah? What’s that?”
    “VIP tickets to the hottest club in town. Velvet Haven, baby!” she cried, waving the tickets before her. “And it’s tonight. So get your sexy clothes on; we’re going partying.”
    A shiver swept through Mairi’s entire body as a vision of a man shimmered before her. Tall. Heavily muscled. Oozing sex and stamina, calling to the primitive female need inside her.