myself the opportunity to escape, close enough to see some worry lines etched into her alabaster skin. “You don’t trust her?”
“No,” she snapped. “I don’t trust anyone.”
“Neither do I,” I lied. “But I’m willing to trust you.”
She narrowed her eyes. “What do you mean?”
“I’d like you to complete the reading you started in Sandy’s apartment.”
“You left quickly enough. Did I frighten you?” The corner of her mouth lifted as she fought a smile. She liked the idea of having such an effect.
“Yes,” I said. “That’s why I left. I’m sorry if I was disrespectful.”
“Well, I can’t simply pick up where I left off. I’m not an unfinished chess game one leaves on a dining-room table.” She reached into the pocket of her kimono and pulled out her ornate tarot cards. “I must say I am curious, but I’ll need to give you an entirely new reading. I only had time for the present, past, and future the other night. That is the heart of the story, but not the whole story.”
Seralina held the cards in her hand and looked at me expectantly.
“Could we get started?” I asked.
“Information is currency, young lady, so what am I going to learn about you that will make this worth my while?”
I racked my brain, trying to come up with something of interest to her. With only a second’s hesitation, I threw Evie under the bus. I figured she’d understand. “Since Evie is my aunt, my reading may reveal something about her.”
“Why would I care?”
“If she is going to be a member of your coven, shouldn’t you know everything about her?”
Seralina snorted—an indelicate sound coming from such a delicate person. “An alchemist and a Romany in the same coven? Are you insane?”
I frowned, miffed on Evie’s behalf.
“Ah,” she said, “you’ve been talking to Sandy. That daffy witch has cotton candy for brains.”
I still felt a surge of pity for Sandy and her attempt to create a true home. “Have you told her yet?” I asked, unable to wash the disapproval from my tone.
Seralina shrugged. “She knows I haven’t broken the oath with my coven, as much as I’d like to.”
I wondered what a Romany coven was like. I couldn’t visualize it, but I was pretty certain they didn’t practice witchcraft in Birkenstocks and hemp T-shirts like mine had. “So Sandy still assumes her dream coven is a possibility?”
“I suppose.” Seralina bent over the coffee table and slid open a hidden drawer. From it she pulled frankincense resin and a few pillar candles of the deepest indigo. She lit the candles and then the resin, filling the space with a pungent, heavy odor. “If we’re going to do this, let’s do it. We’ll just say you owe me one.”
Being in debt to Seralina was not exactly ideal, but it was a sacrifice I was willing to make. I closed my eyes for a moment, trying to use the smell as a steadying influence. Then I took a breath, knowing what was coming but not fearing it quite as much.
Seralina shuffled the cards and placed the deck in front of me. “Cut,” she said.
Simply placing my hands on the ancient cards sent a jolt up my arm as though I’d touched a live wire. I bit my tongue, waiting for it to pass. Seralina watched me carefully. “Ask your question. Concentrate on it. Let the words flow through your body.”
Where is Gavin?
She peeled off three cards and placed them in a line, facedown. One by one, she turned them over. Betrayal. Ignorance. Death.
My stomach flipped, but Seralina remained unruffled by the ominous message. “Same old, same old,” she said. “Someone really did a number on you. Who was it? Do you know yet?”
I shook my head, not trusting my voice. The magic pulsed within me. If felt different from before—stronger but more connected to my breath, my heartbeat, the blood coursing through my veins.
Seralina began to lay cards down around the three at the center, and then formed a staff beside the circle.
“A Celtic
“No,” she snapped. “I don’t trust anyone.”
“Neither do I,” I lied. “But I’m willing to trust you.”
She narrowed her eyes. “What do you mean?”
“I’d like you to complete the reading you started in Sandy’s apartment.”
“You left quickly enough. Did I frighten you?” The corner of her mouth lifted as she fought a smile. She liked the idea of having such an effect.
“Yes,” I said. “That’s why I left. I’m sorry if I was disrespectful.”
“Well, I can’t simply pick up where I left off. I’m not an unfinished chess game one leaves on a dining-room table.” She reached into the pocket of her kimono and pulled out her ornate tarot cards. “I must say I am curious, but I’ll need to give you an entirely new reading. I only had time for the present, past, and future the other night. That is the heart of the story, but not the whole story.”
Seralina held the cards in her hand and looked at me expectantly.
“Could we get started?” I asked.
“Information is currency, young lady, so what am I going to learn about you that will make this worth my while?”
I racked my brain, trying to come up with something of interest to her. With only a second’s hesitation, I threw Evie under the bus. I figured she’d understand. “Since Evie is my aunt, my reading may reveal something about her.”
“Why would I care?”
“If she is going to be a member of your coven, shouldn’t you know everything about her?”
Seralina snorted—an indelicate sound coming from such a delicate person. “An alchemist and a Romany in the same coven? Are you insane?”
I frowned, miffed on Evie’s behalf.
“Ah,” she said, “you’ve been talking to Sandy. That daffy witch has cotton candy for brains.”
I still felt a surge of pity for Sandy and her attempt to create a true home. “Have you told her yet?” I asked, unable to wash the disapproval from my tone.
Seralina shrugged. “She knows I haven’t broken the oath with my coven, as much as I’d like to.”
I wondered what a Romany coven was like. I couldn’t visualize it, but I was pretty certain they didn’t practice witchcraft in Birkenstocks and hemp T-shirts like mine had. “So Sandy still assumes her dream coven is a possibility?”
“I suppose.” Seralina bent over the coffee table and slid open a hidden drawer. From it she pulled frankincense resin and a few pillar candles of the deepest indigo. She lit the candles and then the resin, filling the space with a pungent, heavy odor. “If we’re going to do this, let’s do it. We’ll just say you owe me one.”
Being in debt to Seralina was not exactly ideal, but it was a sacrifice I was willing to make. I closed my eyes for a moment, trying to use the smell as a steadying influence. Then I took a breath, knowing what was coming but not fearing it quite as much.
Seralina shuffled the cards and placed the deck in front of me. “Cut,” she said.
Simply placing my hands on the ancient cards sent a jolt up my arm as though I’d touched a live wire. I bit my tongue, waiting for it to pass. Seralina watched me carefully. “Ask your question. Concentrate on it. Let the words flow through your body.”
Where is Gavin?
She peeled off three cards and placed them in a line, facedown. One by one, she turned them over. Betrayal. Ignorance. Death.
My stomach flipped, but Seralina remained unruffled by the ominous message. “Same old, same old,” she said. “Someone really did a number on you. Who was it? Do you know yet?”
I shook my head, not trusting my voice. The magic pulsed within me. If felt different from before—stronger but more connected to my breath, my heartbeat, the blood coursing through my veins.
Seralina began to lay cards down around the three at the center, and then formed a staff beside the circle.
“A Celtic
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