over.
Her eyes met Nick’s.
“The Lovers,” he murmured.
“Sexual and spiritual love,” said Felix. “Someone important is entering your life, Diana.”
Chapter Four
THE MAGICIAN
Major Arcana
Meaning: Mastery of natural forces; eternity; opportunities and adventures unfolding.
Reversed: Destructive power; weakness of will.
Despite an inexplicable nervousness about the whole procedure, Nick listened attentively as Felix explained his birth chart to him the following evening.
“A very interesting chart,” Felix assured him as they sat at the kitchen table in Felix and Diana’s apartment.
“More chamomile tea, anyone?” Diana asked.
Nick made an involuntarily defensive gesture as she tried to pour some more of the stuff into his mug. “No, thanks.” Oh, for a cup of coffee, he thought. But no nasty stimulants like caffeine were allowed inside the House of Ishtar. Didn’t Felix and Diana realize that stimulants made the world go round?
“More tea? Yes, please,” Felix said.
Diana poured the tea, then sat down at the table with them. Felix spread out Nick’s birth chart before them, and Diana leaned forward to study it with interest.
“I thought these consultations were always private,” Nick said uneasily.
“Oh, but that’s for paying clients. Were all family here, aren’t we?” Diana said innocently. Then, with an evil look, she added, “Anyhow, you’ve got nothing to hide, have you, Nick?”
Felix was staring at the birth chart with fascinated absorption, and Nick could see he’d get no help from that quarter. He shrugged uneasily and asked Felix to explain the chart to him.
“This,” Felix said, indicating the round diagram, “is a depiction of the positions of the celestial bodies in the zodiac at the exact moment of your birth.”
Big deal , Nick thought. “Really? That must take a lot of work to track down and record, Felix.”
“Well, it takes an hour or two to do an accurate chart, and then more time to interpret the results, but I find it so fascinating that the time just flies by,” Felix told him.
Diana brushed a few long, shining strands of hair away from her face. Nick caught the movement out of the corner of his eye—the graceful flutter of her long fingers, the silken gleam of bright curls, and the way the movement exposed the creamy-white column of her smooth throat.
He found himself growing even more tense than he had been all day. A sleepless night, a subtly pulsing desire that filled his senses and clouded his mind, a sense of futility about this case as he puttered around the shop—it was all winding him up so tight, he could hardly breathe.
He tried to concentrate as Felix explained the concepts of sidereal time, the mid-heaven, the ascendant, and the mean position of the moon’s north node. Nick hoped there wouldn’t be a quiz later, because all he could think about was the full shape of Diana’s mouth, the intriguing flush of her cheeks when she caught his eye, and the jolt of electricity he felt when her foot accidentally brushed his under the table.
Felix was practically through explaining all of the exotic- looking symbols on the diagram when Diana hopped out of her chair, turned her back on Nick, and started emptying and washing the teapot as if it were the most important task in the world.
Through sheer strength of will, Nick managed not to stare at her straight, slim back or the beautifully shaped bottom defined by her faded blue jeans. But he sneaked a lot of peeks.
“Now, if you thought that was interesting,” Felix said enthusiastically, “wait till you hear this!”
“Uh-huh,” Nick grunted absently. He wondered if anyone else noticed how hot the room was getting.
“Now, of course, as a Scorpio, your sign is a fixed water sign.”
“Fixed water?” Nick repeated blankly.
“Yes. Fixed, as opposed to cardinal or mutable. Water, as opposed to earth, air, or fire. But I don’t want to repeat
Her eyes met Nick’s.
“The Lovers,” he murmured.
“Sexual and spiritual love,” said Felix. “Someone important is entering your life, Diana.”
Chapter Four
THE MAGICIAN
Major Arcana
Meaning: Mastery of natural forces; eternity; opportunities and adventures unfolding.
Reversed: Destructive power; weakness of will.
Despite an inexplicable nervousness about the whole procedure, Nick listened attentively as Felix explained his birth chart to him the following evening.
“A very interesting chart,” Felix assured him as they sat at the kitchen table in Felix and Diana’s apartment.
“More chamomile tea, anyone?” Diana asked.
Nick made an involuntarily defensive gesture as she tried to pour some more of the stuff into his mug. “No, thanks.” Oh, for a cup of coffee, he thought. But no nasty stimulants like caffeine were allowed inside the House of Ishtar. Didn’t Felix and Diana realize that stimulants made the world go round?
“More tea? Yes, please,” Felix said.
Diana poured the tea, then sat down at the table with them. Felix spread out Nick’s birth chart before them, and Diana leaned forward to study it with interest.
“I thought these consultations were always private,” Nick said uneasily.
“Oh, but that’s for paying clients. Were all family here, aren’t we?” Diana said innocently. Then, with an evil look, she added, “Anyhow, you’ve got nothing to hide, have you, Nick?”
Felix was staring at the birth chart with fascinated absorption, and Nick could see he’d get no help from that quarter. He shrugged uneasily and asked Felix to explain the chart to him.
“This,” Felix said, indicating the round diagram, “is a depiction of the positions of the celestial bodies in the zodiac at the exact moment of your birth.”
Big deal , Nick thought. “Really? That must take a lot of work to track down and record, Felix.”
“Well, it takes an hour or two to do an accurate chart, and then more time to interpret the results, but I find it so fascinating that the time just flies by,” Felix told him.
Diana brushed a few long, shining strands of hair away from her face. Nick caught the movement out of the corner of his eye—the graceful flutter of her long fingers, the silken gleam of bright curls, and the way the movement exposed the creamy-white column of her smooth throat.
He found himself growing even more tense than he had been all day. A sleepless night, a subtly pulsing desire that filled his senses and clouded his mind, a sense of futility about this case as he puttered around the shop—it was all winding him up so tight, he could hardly breathe.
He tried to concentrate as Felix explained the concepts of sidereal time, the mid-heaven, the ascendant, and the mean position of the moon’s north node. Nick hoped there wouldn’t be a quiz later, because all he could think about was the full shape of Diana’s mouth, the intriguing flush of her cheeks when she caught his eye, and the jolt of electricity he felt when her foot accidentally brushed his under the table.
Felix was practically through explaining all of the exotic- looking symbols on the diagram when Diana hopped out of her chair, turned her back on Nick, and started emptying and washing the teapot as if it were the most important task in the world.
Through sheer strength of will, Nick managed not to stare at her straight, slim back or the beautifully shaped bottom defined by her faded blue jeans. But he sneaked a lot of peeks.
“Now, if you thought that was interesting,” Felix said enthusiastically, “wait till you hear this!”
“Uh-huh,” Nick grunted absently. He wondered if anyone else noticed how hot the room was getting.
“Now, of course, as a Scorpio, your sign is a fixed water sign.”
“Fixed water?” Nick repeated blankly.
“Yes. Fixed, as opposed to cardinal or mutable. Water, as opposed to earth, air, or fire. But I don’t want to repeat
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