The Angel Trials- The Complete Series

by Michelle Madow

  The Angel Trials

  The Complete Series

  Michelle Madow

  Dreamscape Publishing

  The Angel Trials

  Dark World: The Angel Trials 1

  1

  Raven

  The last way I’d ever imagined spending my twenty-first birthday was by working the register at my mom’s new age store—Tarotology—below our Venice Beach apartment.

  If I hadn’t traipsed off on a solo backpack trip around Europe without telling anyone—and without returning until after the semester began—I’d be getting ready for a night out with my friends right now.

  Instead, I was grounded. And I still didn’t even know why I’d gone to Europe.

  Yet, I’d done it.

  The memories of the trip were hazy—like I was watching someone else go off on the adventure instead of me—but they were there.

  According to the spiritual psychologist my mom had dragged me to, I’d suffered a break of the heart and mind. I was now taking a variety of herbal medicines every day and sleeping with crystal healing wands next to my bed to “mend the break.”

  It was ridiculous. Herbs, crystals, and all that stuff were pseudo-science. But my mom had threatened to stop paying for my college if I didn’t cooperate, so I had to go along with the program. Sure, I could have taken out a student loan, but getting into massive debt when I didn’t need to would have been an unwise decision.

  So, here I was. I just needed to get through the next few weeks. Then the summer semester would start, and my life could finally return to normal.

  “Excuse me?” a customer asked—a short lady who looked to be in her forties. “Can you help me select a tarot deck?”

  “Of course.” I pasted on a customer-friendly smile and walked with her to the tarot stand. The stand was large and in the center of the shop, since tarot was the store’s specialty. “They’re all right here,” I said. “Look through the cards in the sample decks, and select the deck that calls to you.”

  Her brows knit in confusion. “How do I know which one is calling to me?” she asked.

  I wished I could roll my eyes and tell her to just choose the one she thought had the prettiest pictures.

  But obviously that wasn’t an option, as it would ruin the “mysticism” of the experience.

  “Handle the cards—shuffle them, and look at the images on each one,” I said, maintaining a practiced serene smile. “Try to sense a personal connection between yourself and the cards. Once you do, bring the deck up to the front so I can ring you up and give you your free tarot reading.”

  “Perfect.” She smiled and reached for one of the decks. “Thanks for your help.”

  “No problem.” I returned to the register and glanced at my watch, glad to see that there was half an hour left until closing.

  The lady eventually selected a tarot deck, and I gave her the promised free reading. As always, a few tactical questions allowed me to generically relate the cards to her life and impress her with my “psychic abilities.”

  “Can you give yourself a reading, too?” she asked once I was done. “I’m curious how else the cards can be interpreted.”

  “All right,” I agreed. “I’ll give myself a simple one card draw.”

  I shuffled the cards and picked one from the deck, placing it on the table between us.

  A skeleton in black armor riding a white horse stared up at me.

  Death.

  The lady scrunched her nose. “That’s grim,” she said.

  “Not always.” I sat straighter, forcing perkiness into my tone. “The cards are metaphors—they shouldn’t be taken literally. The Death card doesn’t mean that someone close to me will die. It refers to transformation or change. The death of an old way of life so a new one can arise.”

  “Interesting,” she said, although I could see she was still spooked. “Pick another card.”

  “It was a one card draw,” I said. “I’m not supposed to pick another.”

  “I’m superstitious, and I don’t like the look of that card.” She leaned forward and gave me a small smile, as if egging me on. “One more can’t hurt, right?”

  “Fine.” My mom wouldn’t be happy, but what she didn’t know wouldn’t hurt her.

  I selected a second card and placed it face-up on the table.

  It was the Tower—a card with a burning tower in the center, lightning striking above, and people falling out of the windows.

  “That one doesn’t look good, either,” the lady said.

  “Like Death, the Tower represents change,” I told her. “Usually in the form of sudden disruption, conflict, or upheaval.”

  “Well, then.” She took a deep breath and clasped her hands together. “It looks like you’ve got something big to prepare for, doesn’t it?”

  “Looks like it,” I agreed, since to someone who believed in all of this, that would be what the cards were saying. “Oh—and I recommend grabbing a quartz crystal from the basket.” I motioned to the basket full of quartzes in front of the register. “They’re only five dollars each, and placing a quartz on top of your tarot deck while you’re not using it will cleanse its energy for future readings.”

  “Wonderful.” She reached into the basket and placed a quartz next to her deck. “Definitely add that on.”

  “My pleasure.” I smiled and slid her credit card through the machine.

  And cheers to the up-sell.

  2

  Raven

  I’d just finished closing up the shop and was about to head upstairs when someone banged on the front door.

  I took a deep breath in preparation to face whatever entitled person thought the shop should remain open for a bit longer just because they saw someone inside.

  Instead, I saw the smiling faces of my three closest friends—Kaitlin, Tiffany, and Amy. They were all dressed up, looking ready for a night out on the town.

  I rushed over to the door and unlocked it, opening it but not letting them inside. “What are you guys doing here?” I asked, despite being happy to see them.

  “What kind of friends would we be if we forgot your twenty-first birthday?” Kaitlin said with a sly grin. “We’re here to take you out.”

  I threw my head back and laughed. “Fat chance of that happening,” I said once I’d recovered. “You know I’m under house arrest until the end of the semester.”

  “About that…” Tiffany’s eyes twinkled with mischief. “Your mom’s the one who reached out to us. It was her idea to give you the night off.”

  “What?” My mouth dropped open in shock. “You’ve got to be kidding me. This isn’t some April Fools’ prank, is it?”

  Having a birthday on April First was the worst. I hated being the butt of pranks, but when your birthday’s on a day devoted to pranks, everyone takes it as an invitation to make you the center of them.

  “Not a prank.” Amy placed her hands on her hips, looking offended. “Don’t you think we know you better than that?”

  “Of course,” I said, since it was true. The three of them had been there with me since our freshman year of college. They were the sisters I’d never had.

  “So are you coming or what?” Kaitlin asked.

  “I need to thank my mom… and I need to change.” I motioned to the flowing white new age shirt I was wearing, since my mom insisted I wear her hippie clothes while working at the shop. “Wait down here. I’ll be back in ten minutes tops.”

  I rushed up the steps and into the apartment, thrilled with the prospect of freedom for the night.

  My mom was already waiting at the kitchen table, a small gift bag in front of her. “I guess your friends arrived on time?” s
he asked with a smile.

  “It’s true then?” I held my breath in anticipation. “You’re cutting me loose for the night?”

  “You only turn twenty-one once,” she said with a flourish of her wrist, the many bangles she wore clanking together with the movement. “I couldn’t take this experience away from you, no matter how much trouble you got yourself into this winter.”

  “Thank you.” I rushed over to her and enveloped her in a hug.

  “You’re welcome,” she said once the hug was broken. “And the night of freedom isn’t the only thing I’m giving you for your birthday.” She reached for the bag and handed it to me, her eyes glimmering with a fine sheen of tears. “This is for you.”

  Curious to discover why the present was making her so emotional, I sat down and dug in. A jewelry box was inside. I opened it, revealing a beautiful lapis lazuli charm necklace.

  It was the one my mom always wore.

  She never took it off, but it was absent from her neck now.

  “You’re giving this to me?” Guilt filled my chest at the thought of accepting the present, since the necklace meant so much to her.

  “I know you’re skeptical about the power of crystals,” she said.

  I said nothing, since she was right, and we both knew it.

  “As you know, lapis lazuli helps open the window to the soul,” she continued. “I bought this necklace for myself when I turned twenty-one. The crystal helped me get more in tune with my abilities, strengthening them into what they are today. I hope that wearing it will do the same for you.”

  “But I don’t have any abilities,” I said gently, placing the jewelry box down on the table in front of me. “You know that.”

  “I know you think that,” she said. “But I’ve been telling you since you returned from Europe that something big is happening in the world—a shift from light to darkness.”

  It took all of my self-control not to heave a sigh.

  My mom had been preaching doomsday mumbo-jumbo for weeks. I’d been hoping she’d drop it, but she was growing more paranoid each day.

  I was getting concerned about her. She’d always been eccentric, but the doomsday stuff was a whole new level of crazy.

  “Something’s coming, Raven.” Her eyes were fervent as she held her gaze with mine. “Darkness looms on the horizon. Last night I did a tarot spread for you—it seemed appropriate, on the eve of such an important birthday—and the cards made the upcoming change clear.”

  “What cards did you select?” I asked.

  “I thought you had no faith in the cards?” She sat back and raised an eyebrow in challenge.

  “Humor me.”

  She nodded, looking thrilled to share her findings. “I did a three card spread,” she said. “Regarding your past, present, and future.”

  “And?” Anxiety brewed in my stomach as I waited for her to spit it out. Which was silly, since I didn’t even believe in this stuff.

  “I pulled Death, the Tower, and the Chariot.”

  3

  Raven

  I froze, my heart pounding. What were the chances of her drawing both of the cards I’d pulled for myself earlier? And in the same order?

  Statistically, it wasn’t impossible.

  But it was certainly improbable.

  “All three cards have to do with change,” she said, apparently sensing my unspoken desire to hear her interpretation. “Death in the past was likely referring to your European getaway. It was so unlike you—a definite change from your normal behavior.”

  I nodded, since the trip being unlike me was something we both agreed on.

  “The Tower in the present is not only worrying, but it confirms my intuition of sudden change or upheaval,” she said. “Then there’s the general interpretation of the card—that of demons being released from ancient hiding places.” She shuddered, clearly disturbed just from talking about it. “I can’t help but feel like it relates to the darkness I’ve been sensing in the world. Perhaps it even needs to be taken literally.”

  “I don’t know.” I shifted uncomfortably, not liking where she was going with this. “Aren’t the cards always metaphors?”

  “They’re usually metaphors,” she said. “There are occasional exceptions.”

  “But isn’t that an extreme interpretation?” I hoped she didn’t literally think demons had been released upon the world.

  If she did, I’d have to get her psychological help. She wasn’t going to like it. But because I loved her and wanted her to be healthy, I’d do it if these delusions continued getting worse.

  “Moving on,” she said with a wave of her hand. “Your future card—the Chariot—brings hope to the spread. An adventurous journey awaits you. I’ve always interpreted the Chariot as a card of triumph, but the future is never set in stone. I don’t know what your journey will be, but as long as you follow the advice attached to the Chariot card—to be prepared for the upcoming changes and to be receptive of new people who come into your life—you’ll have the best chance of achieving that triumph. And always remember—you are the charioteer of your own life. Embrace that power, rejoice it in, and don’t let anyone take that power away from you. Understand?”

  She studied me intensely, silence descending upon us. And while I wanted to chalk it up to coincidence, the eeriness that had crept over my spine when she’d mentioned the first two cards was still there.

  “This is the most thoughtful I’ve ever seen you after a reading.” She steeped her fingers together, looking as patient as ever. “Is there something you want to tell me?”

  I waited a few seconds, eventually figuring I had nothing to lose by being honest.

  “After giving a customer her free reading today, she asked me to pick a card of my own,” I said.

  “And?”

  “I chose Death.”

  “The card of your past.” Her eyes lit up at the connection. “The same one I drew for you last night.”

  “There’s more,” I continued. “The customer didn’t like the card, so she asked me to pick another. I did, and I picked—”

  “The Tower,” she interrupted.

  “How did you know?”

  “I can tell by your expression,” she said. “You never take the cards seriously, but you know as well as I that the probability of the same draw is slim.”

  “Yeah.” I wrapped my arms around myself, trying to organize my spinning thoughts. Because while choosing the same cards was improbable, there was a logical explanation for what might have happened.

  My mom could have been listening during the reading I did with the customer, and was completely making it up that she’d done a draw for me last night.

  “What happened next?” She leaned forward, her eyes wild. “Did you pick a third card?”

  “Nope.” I shrugged off my unease, satisfied with my conclusion that she was pulling one over on me. The only thing keeping me from calling her out was that I didn’t want her to change her mind about un-grounding me for the night so I could celebrate my birthday. “I changed the subject by convincing her to buy a quartz crystal, and that was the end of that.”

  “Wait here.” She stood up suddenly, her chair screeching across the floor, and hurried to her room. She re-emerged with her tarot deck and handed it to me. “Let’s do another one card draw,” she said. “Then I’ll let you go, I promise.”

  I shuffled a few times for show. Once finished, I handed the cards to her, and she laid them out in a spread.

  “Pick one card,” she said. “Think about the two previous cards you drew—Death and the Tower—and about how they relate to your future.”

  I reached forward and selected a card from the spread, ready to get this over with so I could go out with my friends. Ten minutes had already passed—they were probably getting antsy and wondering what I was doing.

  I placed the card face up, and…

  It was the Chariot.

  “What?” I stared at her in shock, because there was no way that was
a coincidence. “Were you listening to me down there? Did you make me pick this card?”

  That must have been it. She could have gone to the stock room, opened 78 decks, pulled the Chariot card from each of them, and made a fake deck of all Chariot cards.

  As far as April Fools’ pranks went, I’d have to give her credit for that one.

  “How could I make you pick a card?” She chuckled. “You shuffled and chose the card on your own.”

  I didn’t bother explaining my theory. Instead, I collected the cards back into a pile and looked through them.

  Each card was different.

  The deck hadn’t been tampered with.

  “It’s not possible.” I put the deck back down and pointed to the Chariot card staring up at me. “How’d you get me to pick that?”

  “I didn’t ‘get’ you to pick anything,” she said. “You chose the Chariot because an upcoming journey is your destiny.” She reached for the lapis lazuli necklace—her necklace that she’d gifted to me—and placed it in my hand. “I don’t know what this journey will entail, but the Tower card in the present position shows that it will come about swiftly and forcefully. That’s why I’m asking you to wear this necklace. The stone will awaken your destiny and purpose, and it will help you tap into your abilities. You’ll need them for whatever’s coming next.”

  “But I don’t have any abilities,” I repeated.

  “You’re my daughter,” she said. “You have abilities. Magic runs in our blood.”

  “I know, I know.” I held a hand up, since the last thing I needed was to hear yet another rendition of our “magical” family history.

  “Please, Raven,” she begged. “I’m not comfortable with you going out tonight without this necklace. Wear it, so I know you’ll be safe.”

  “Fine,” I gave in, clasping the necklace around my neck. The stone rested gently over my skin, and it almost felt like it was pulsing with warmth. “And thank you for letting me go out tonight,” I added. “I really appreciate it.”