by Liz Schulte
Frost picked up the cards and lightly shuffled the deck. “I’ve given myself a few. I really don’t see how it’s useful. It can’t tell me what I want to know, it doesn’t help me find anything, and it certainly doesn’t predict what’s coming. Why’d we waste our time learning it?”
Selene glanced at me and I made a face back. You couldn’t force people to see the benefit. The cards were a guide. They could help offer clarity about things that were happening beneath the surface that you might not even recognize. They didn’t predict the future, so much as offer one of many possible futures if you continued on as you were. They were a warning or a pat on the back, depending on how things were going.
Leslie held her hand out to Frost, palm up. “You have to open your mind. Here, let me show you.”
I stifled a laugh as Selene came to stand next to me. “You think she’ll have any better luck?” she said under her breath.
“Doubt it, but let’s watch.”
Frost begrudgingly handed Leslie the deck.
“Think of your question,” Leslie said softly, then sat at the table and shuffled the deck three times. Frost nodded and sat across from her, and Selene and I joined them too. Leslie layout six cards. “Okay, what was your question?” Leslie asked.
“Why do you need to know that?”
“It helps me find the answer, but you don’t have to share it if you don’t want to.”
Frost pursed her black lips. “I asked how to undo my curse.”
“It’s a gift,” Selene said gently. “I know it doesn’t feel like it, but magic is always a gift. Look at all you can do. Look at what you have already done. Your power is incredible.”
Frost moved her frigid eyes to Selene’s warm ones. “When people touch me, they die. Dark magic runs through my veins and tries to weave its way into every spell I cast. Every day I wake up knowing I have to spend the rest of my life alone. And you call that a gift? I’m one stumble away from being a monster.”
“But you’re not alone right now,” I told her. “You’re with us. You might choose to sit by yourself and not participate, but that’s your choice. Your circumstances, while hard, aren’t insurmountable. Sure you can’t date Steve from the laundromat without him kicking the proverbial bucket. But who cares? Steve’s a loser. He plays video games, never opens a book, watches sports two hundred hours a week, never takes out the trash, farts in bed—then pulls the cover over your head. And to top it all off? Well, frankly, he stinks because he only does his laundry once a month and doesn’t have enough clothes to cover the spread.”
“Who’s Steve?” Leslie whispered.
“But you see, you don’t have to deal with Steve. You have a whole world of people open to you, people who are so old and smooth that they have very few of these problems. Your dating pool is awesome. You get to choose from vampires, jinn, guardians and anything undead… . You only want Steve because you can’t have him.”
Frost stared down at the table, tapping her fingers. The corner of her mouth twitched.
Selene cleared her throat. “Steve sounds like dick.”
“Who is Steve?!?” Leslie said louder.
Laughter barked out of Frost. Success! “Okay, okay, I get it. It doesn’t really change anything, but I get what you’re saying. Now, what do the cards say?”
Leslie shook her head, deeply focused, staring down at the cards. “Whoa.” She looked up from the table. “Have you ever seen anything like this?” she asked Selene.
Selene shook her head with wide eyes. “Never. Is that my deck?”
“What? What’s wrong?” Frost asked.
“Nothing. Absolutely nothing,” Leslie said still frowning. “It’s just weird, but nothing is wrong per se. You just got all major arcana cards. It’s like totally weird.”
“Just do the reading,” Selene said thoughtfully.
Leslie cleared her throat. “Okay, well you got Moon card which means you are confused—but the card itself is a good omen. Try to clear your mind of doubts and find clarity in thought. There will be unexpected twists but things will work out. Then you have the Tower card and that tells me you’re looking for an easy solution. The change you encounter won’t necessarily be the one you’re seeking, but seize the opportunity as it presents itself to you. The third card is the Star. This tells me that what you fear above all else is failing, but again this is a good card—a sign of new purpose and possibly a new love in your future. The fourth card is the Magician. A new relationship or alliance will help you find the answers you’re looking for. The fifth card is The Wheel of Fortune. You have had to make a lot of painful decisions to get here, and while the wheel will not always land in your favor, it will always keep turning so the obstacles you face now will not always be before you. The final card is the Sun. It’s saying that this is your time to succeed and to find happiness.”
A mask fell over Frost’s face. She leaned back in her chair. “Hmph,” was her only comment.
“Me next, me next,” I said, raising my hand. Leslie laughed and handed me the cards to shuffle three times.
She dealt my six cards in front of me.
“My question is, will I find love? Not a word.” I wagged a finger in Frost’s general direction, not taking my eyes off of the cards.
Leslie rolled her shoulders and looked down at the table. “You are lonely and looking for answers, but right now patience is your best friend. You want a successful conclusion more than anything else, but you are afraid to let go even though that might be the best way to get what you want. Your life is going through a transformation that might hurt and be difficult, but on the other side of that is a new beginning.” She frowned at the next card.
“What?” I asked.
“There’s a man in your life—or one you’re about to meet—who isn’t what he seems. I think you should be cautious. He will be charming and friendly, but…”—she shook her head—“he may not have your best interests at heart. It’s hard to tell. The outcome, well, it’s unclear right now.” She shook her head and scooped in the cards. “Can we carve pumpkins now?”
The fireplace mantle was covered in uncarved pumpkins and corn and bunches of sage and wheat. Candles were lit and placed outside on the porch with a bowl of candy on a plant stand in the center. Below each window on the porch was a plate of food, an offering to any ghosts who might come by this evening.
The sky was dark as we loaded into Leslie’s car and headed into town for the party. The small downtown was blocked off and hundreds of people, young and old, big and small, costumed and not, were wandering around the streets. The lampposts were decorated with scarecrows and hay. Pumpkin-shaped lights were strung from post to post creating fairy lighting for the event. Laughter and screams and general rowdiness filled the cool night air. I grinned back at the girls as we got out of the car.
“Where do we meet if we get separated?” Leslie asked, eyeing the crowd.
“Let’s meet back here,” Selene suggested. “At the car.”
We all agreed then started forward, Frost lagging behind a little.
“You okay?” I asked her.
She looked at the four thin strips of exposed skin on her arms and thighs and nervously licked her lips. She tugged up her tights and gloves, making the strips even smaller. “I don’t like crowds,” she said.
“Let’s stay to the right. It’s less crowded and we can get our bearings.”
So we made a sharp turn and headed away from the center of the action. We, aka Frost, certainly didn’t want any accidental deaths tonight.
The smell of caramel apples and popcorn wafted past my nose. “And we have a destination,” I told the girls as three little kids buzzed past us giggling.
I sniffed out the old candy store a couple doors down and headed inside to get a popcorn ball and a caramel apple dipped in chocolate and salted pecans. Oh, my gee, heaven.
“You have to try this.” I spun around to offer Selene a bite and ran directly into a hard masculine chest covered in s
oft black material. A shining silver button gleamed from the stranger’s black vest. My eyes trailed up, passing his starched white shirt collar and smooth bronzed neck. I faltered for a moment, taking in the thick black stubble across his jaw—then came to a full stall when my eyes rested on his full lips—lips that were quirked in a wry, patient, yet dismissive smile.
“I’ve had plenty, thank you.”
I pulled my delicious apple back, leaving a string of gooey caramel from his jacket to my apple. “I’m so sorry. My friends”—I glanced around him to see the girls standing outside leaned against the window—“apparently ditched me..”
He raised a heavy black eyebrow, and his eyes—eyes the color of the sea just before a storm—sparkled. “I am relatively unharmed. Now what exactly are you supposed to be?“ His large hands closed over my shoulders and moved me back a step.
His gaze traveled deliberately down my body and caressed its way back up.
I caught my lower lip between my teeth to keep my mouth from falling open. What was this guy? Auras were sort of my jam. I closed my eyes and reopened them, studying him through the magic. He wasn’t human, that much I knew for certain, but the aura pattern wasn’t familiar. I blinked away the magic.
He stood before me, relaxed under scrutiny, with a slight smile. He was enjoying this. “See something you like, lovely witch?”
My stomach tightened. How did he know I was a witch?
His fingers plucked up the thick gold cross lying a hairsbreadth from my cleavage. “Yours or part of the costume?”
The costume, right. That’s what he meant by witch. “Costume. All my jewelry is real.” He grinned. “Who are you supposed to be?”
“You don’t recognize me?” He tapped his silver topped walking stick on the ground in front of him.
“Well, you’re a monocle away from being Mr. Peanut.”
He laughed. “I’ll keep that in mind for next year.” He reached into his jacket and pulled out the biggest knife I’d ever seen, red with blood.
I yelped and jumped back.
“Does this not help?” he asked, nudging the knife toward me.
“It helped me pee my pants. Is that what you were going for?” The words slipped out of my mouth before they cleared my brain. My cheeks warmed.
He twirled the knife a little too easily through his fingers, then held one hand in front of him and rammed the knife into my chest.
I screamed, squeezing my eyes shut, and dropped my treats. The store went silent around me.
“Are you okay?” Selene’s voice came from the door. “Kat?”
I opened one eye then the other. The man was still in front of me, fighting to keep from laughing. He didn’t have blood rushing from any appendage. “It’s not real,” he said, putting away the knife. “It’s fake.”
Fake. Crap. The knife looked so weird, and well, he frakkin’ stabbed me.
“What happened? What’s wrong?” Cheney said.
I craned my neck and to see him in the doorway. Sebastian walked past Cheney giving a cold side-eye glare at the cute guy. “We’re leaving,” he said, taking my arm and pulling me toward him.
I resisted. “Sebastian, let me go.”
Cute guy did the eyebrow thing again. “Boyfriend?”
“Not even remotely,” I said, mentally noting he could see elves.
Sebastian sucked in a breath as if I had hurt him, but that was impossible since he was an unfeeling bastard. “I’ll be outside,” he said.
Those blue eyes twinkled mischievously. “He seems fun.”
I shook my head. “I should go. It was nice meeting you. Sorry again about screaming and the apple.”
“Sorry if I scared you,” he said.
“What’s Halloween without being scared at least once?” I flashed him a final smile, then walked out, my fun night ruined all because of me. I was such a moron. It was Halloween for crying out loud. Gore and horror were the order of the day—that I couldn’t tell the difference between make-believe and reality was a sad side effect of people wanting to kill us. I was trying to figure out who he was dressed up as, when he pulled out a bloody knife. My first thought wasn’t that it was part of the costume. It was that Jess had sent a hot guy to kill me.
“See you soon, Katrina,” he said just as I reached door
I glanced over my shoulder, but he was already at the counter. Selene had called me Kat. He must’ve taken a lucky guess and gotten my name right. That had to be it—had to be how he knew.
Outside Cheney, Sebastian, and Sy were standing in front of Selene, Leslie, and Frost. Everyone was talking at once, except Frost who stood apart from the group with a scowl as she watched people laughing and goofing around in the street.
“What are you doing here?” Selene demanded.
“You’re coming home,” Cheney said at nearly at the same time.
“I don’t know why you let her come in the first place,” Sy said and Selene punched him.
“Nothing happened. Kat just got scared. Maybe we’re overreacting,” Leslie tried to insert some calm.
“Not even remotely?” Sebastian said, glaring at me and ignoring their fight and trying to start a new one with me.
“Hey!” I shouted, getting everyone’s attention. “First, Leslie is right. It’s Halloween. I was surprised by a costume, that’s all. Nothing happened. Second, none of you”—I poked each elf on the chest— “are supposed to be here. You promised we could have one night and you couldn’t even give us that. Go home. We’re fine. And third”—I looked directly at Sebastian—“yes, not even remotely. You want that changed do something about it.”
I crossed my arms over my chest and Selene and Leslie did the same.
Selene waved them away. “I’ll see you in the morning. Go home.”
We, just the girls, headed down the street, deeper into the festivities. Heavy base thumped through the air, making it pulse. A gorilla ran down the street chased by a banana. Monsters and cartoon characters conversed. Superheroes and zombies laughed together. It was weird and hypnotic and completely wonderful, except for a creepy guy in the hood standing alone across the street staring in our direction. Don’t freak out again. It’s Halloween. I picked up our pace and turned left on the next street.
“Do you think they’ll actually go home?” Leslie asked.
“I don’t care.” Selene laced one arm through mine. “We aren’t going to let them ruin our fun. Let’s find good seats for the parade.”
I scanned the crowd, enjoying seeing all the people. “Hey, Frost,” I said over my shoulder. “Check out Adam at two o’clock.”
Every head swiveled to the man wearing nothing but a nude colored speedo with a leaf over his private bits.
“What do you think he does for a living?” Frost asked, eyes wide. “I mean how does someone look like that?”
“Gym rat,” Selene said, knowingly. “Showing off his assets.”
“He looks like he smells bad,” Frost said.
“That would be the smell of regret,“ I quipped.
“So what happened in the store?” Leslie asked.
I sighed. “Nothing. I thought you guys came in with me and when I turned around there was this guy behind me. Then I wigged out over nothing.”
“A hot guy,” Selene filled in.
“Yes, if I licked my finger and touched him he would’ve sizzled.”
“Well he was dressed as the most notorious woman killer and you do look like a prostitute. We’ll give you a pass,” Frost said.
I stared at her blankly.
“Jack the Ripper. He was Jack.”
My mouth formed into an “o”. That made so much more sense. “How do you know?”
“Because I know history.” Her forehead wrinkled. “Do people do this every year?”
“Wait a second, you’re human,” Leslie said. “You’ve never dressed up for Halloween?”
“No,” she said.
“Back to the guy,” Selene said, changing the subject because
Frost’s past had to be horrible and she was already temperamental. The less we brought it up the better. “What’s his name? What’s he do? Details.”
I frowned. “I don’t know. He isn’t human, but I have no idea what he is. He definitely saw Sebastian and Cheney. He was… I don’t know. Intriguing.”
“I thought you and Seb—” Leslie started, but I cut her off.
“Sebastian doesn’t know what he wants, and I don’t have forever to wait.”
Selene made a face. “He just needs time. This is a big deal for him, Kat.”
“I’m done waiting.”
“Um, guys.” Leslie stopped behind us. “Where did Frost go?”
“We shouldn’t have mentioned her past,” Selene said, pressing her hand absently to her stomach. “My back’s killing me.”
I scanned the crowd, but Frost was nowhere to be seen. Weirdly, the hooded man I’d noticed earlier had moved at the same pace we had and now seemed to be staring directly at us from across the street. “Okay. You two find seats. I’ll go back and find Frost.”
“She’s a grown woman. She’ll find us. Let’s just sit down,” Selene said.
“Let me look for her. It’s crowded and she has a hard time navigating crowds safely as it is.”
“I’ll come with you,” Leslie volunteered.
“No. Stay with Selene. I’ll be right back.” I smiled at them, though my stomach twisted into worried knots for no reason I could quite articulate. What was wrong with me tonight?
I walked calmly away from them, not wanting to let on that I was jumpy as hell. This was the first time we had been back into the human world, unprotected, since there had been a legitimate threat on my life. As much as I wanted to have fun and reconnect, the constant fear that something would happen to Selene or the baby on my watch grew inside of me.
If I were going to attack a small group of witches, the first thing I’d do is eliminate the strongest, most immediate threat.
I bit my lip. Frost wasn’t stronger than Selene magic-wise, but one touch was all it took. My finger hovered over the send button on my cell phone. We were being followed. I was eighty percent sure of it. That was probably a good enough reason to call Cheney. Hell, he was probably still here.
