Touching Fate

by Brenda Drake

  “What’s this?”

  “Sage,” she said. “You must smudge your cards. Light one end and waft the smoke over the deck. Only do it once, but I’m giving you three. You should cleanse your deck regularly. Make sure your thoughts are clear while you do it. Think of nothing. It will clear your deck of any lingering power. Good or bad.”

  Aster nodded her thanks and left without another word. When she got home, the shower was off and Leah was sitting in her window seat tapping her foot. “How did I get back here before you?”

  “I had to make a quick stop before coming home.”

  “Your gram is really suspicious now,” Leah said, looking annoyed. “I had to lie again. Be prepared. You should probably get under the covers and act sick.”

  At hearing Gram’s approach down the hall, Aster jumped into bed and threw the covers over her.

  Leah crossed her legs, a smug look on her face. “I did mention she was fetching an enema for your intestine problem, right?”

  Aster bolted upright. “What?”

  Chapter Twenty

  Reese

  Reese headed down the wide staircase, eyeing the huge ballroom decorated in the theme of a winter carnival, just like the rest of the castle. His mother had hired the best decorators, chef, and staff to make the event memorable.

  “Hello, Reese,” one woman dressed in a fancy red ball gown said as he strode past her. Reese tipped the edge of his mask and nodded a hello in return. Noise from partiers playing at the casino tables filled the room. The many corridors were crowded with carnival games and tables where tarot readers dealt partygoers’ fates.

  “Whoa,” Henry said from Reese’s side, his eyes darting from one masked female to the next. “The problem I have with concealing faces is that one hasn’t a clue of what they’re getting.”

  “It goes both ways,” Lars said, stepping down the steps with a little more confidence than normal. “Evens the playing field for us blokes who aren’t graced with your good looks.”

  Reese smirked at their exchange. “You two may have all the ladies tonight. I, for one, am going to drink and try my hand at the games.”

  “Suit yourself, then,” Henry said. “That leaves all the more for us.”

  The truth was, the only girl on Reese’s mind was Aster. No one in the entire room could draw his thoughts away from her.

  His mother spotted him as he came off the staircase and made her way through the crowd to him. She greeted him and his friends in Dutch, but Reese interrupted her. “Mother, Henry doesn’t understand our language,” he said.

  She gave a quick smile. “Forgive me, I forgot. You all are quite handsome in your costumes. Now have a splendid evening.” She lightly touched Reese’s cheek, her mask unable to hide her sad eyes. “Happy birthday eve, my son.”

  She slowly walked back to the arriving guests—her body slumped under the burden of her sadness. Reese wished she’d had other children to lessen the pain of losing him. He worried she would have a rough go of it when he passed. If Reese hadn’t been cursed to die, he would’ve given her many grandchildren to enjoy. As it was, it was comforting to know they’d have Jan around to distract them.

  At the thought of Jan, Reese wondered when his friend would arrive. Jan had texted Reese when his plane had landed at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol. He expected Jan and Leah to be there already. With everyone in masks, he might miss them. He pushed his mask up to his forehead so that they could recognize him should their paths cross.

  Henry clapped Reese’s back. “Well, you’re on your own, mate. The best place to find a bevy of beauties would be near the dance floor.”

  “I’m with you,” Lars said.

  “When you’ve tired of chasing skirts,” Reese said, “find me in the casino.”

  Reese had tried his hand at poker and won every hand. When he tired of that game, he moved on to roulette, where his luck still held. But when he was successful at craps, he knew it was rigged. He was to win every game he played that night.

  After cashing in his chips, he made his way down the rows of carnival games. The balloon game caught his eye. The memory of Aster studying the one in Ocean City made him smile. He threw his first dart as hard as he could and missed. The next one he threw bounced off a blue one. The third one wasn’t even on the board.

  He imagined Aster teasing him about his attempt. The memory of her laughter rang in his ears. If he could have anything he wanted tonight, it would be to see Aster again. He longed to smell the spicy floral scent of her hair and touch the softness of her skin. But his mother couldn’t buy that request for him.

  Across the row, a group of girls tossed rings over bottles. One had long auburn hair much like Aster’s. He gravitated toward them. She turned, and Reese could see the part of her face not covered with a mask. Her lips and chin were all wrong.

  The buffet had everything Reese had ever mentioned that he liked. He piled food on a plate and found a table. Considering the party was being thrown for him, Reese spent a lot of time alone. No one came up to him or sat with him.

  “Well, aren’t you a sorry bloke.” He heard Jan’s voice from behind him. “Who sits alone on their birthday?”

  “It’s not my birthday yet.” Reese popped an olive into his mouth.

  Leah sat down beside Reese, the skirt to her ball gown billowing up. Her lipstick matched her red velvet mask, the feathers attached to the side bouncing with each of her movements. “This is a fantastic party,” she said. “We should dance. The floor looks like something out of a fairy tale. There has to be a thousand icicle lights hanging from the ceiling.”

  “Sounds like something I’d never notice,” Jan said, resting his hands on Leah’s shoulders. “I say we visit the buffet before I pass out. Then I’ll twirl you for hours.”

  As they walked away, hand in hand, Reese diverted his eyes, not wanting to witness their happiness. He wanted to be selfish tonight and forget what would happen to him in less than twenty-four hours. Precisely sixteen, if he was counting down. Which he was.

  A girl in a pale blue ball gown, the rhinestones on it glittering in the light, passed his line of sight. Her white mask made of icy snowflakes, with tall feathers sprouting out the top, dominated her face. Her auburn hair was teased big with curls falling down her back. The girl’s lips and chin were the same shape as Aster’s.

  He got up and followed her, moving through the castle. Each time he got near her, she seemed to vanish, only to appear again. Was she teasing him? Or was it only a mirage, brought on by near death and stupid wishes? The game kept him busy. It couldn’t be Aster. She was across the world from him. But the girl’s resemblance was close enough. With the mask on, he could almost believe Aster had come to see him one last time. The girl stepped into the foyer and ascended the staircase. Most likely, she was headed for the women’s powder room.

  “There you are,” Henry called across the foyer. “What are you doing out here? We have a table full of girls. Come join us.” He handed Reese a glass with amber liquid in it.

  Reese gave a quick look up the staircase. The girl had vanished. He took the glass and followed Henry back into the party. The table was lively, the girls lovely in their masks, and Reese felt utterly alone. He sipped his drink and worked hard at participating in the conversation happening around the table.

  One blond-haired girl sidled up to him and removed her mask. “Do you remember me, Reese?”

  He didn’t.

  But she was determined to remind him. “I’m Danique. We used to play together during the holidays. Our mothers went to primary school together.”

  “Right. And how have you been?” Reese had no memory of this girl, but he pretended he had, not wanting to embarrass her.

  “I’ll be going to university abroad after this year. Where will you be attending?”

  He remembered sitting with Aster at her kitchen table as she tried to decide on a university. She’d had many offers. “I’m not certain. Likely somewhere in the U.S.”

 
She looked incredulously at him. “You haven’t decided on a school yet? Aren’t you worried you won’t get in?”

  Lars laughed and slammed his glass down. “He’s a Van Buren. His name is a free pass to wherever he wants to go. Where’s the server?” He teetered to his feet. Obviously, he’d had a bit too much to drink, and Reese had had too much of him.

  Reese stood and offered Danique his hand. “Would you care to dance?”

  Her lips, the color of poppy petals, pulled into a smile. “I’d love to.” She accepted his hand, and he escorted her onto the dance floor.

  Taking her left hand in his right, he wrapped his other arm around her waist. She placed her right hand on his shoulder as the music started. He waltzed her around the floor. Other couples slowly joined them. Danique was a lovely girl, full of enthusiasm, but she smelled like powder and hair spray. The smell was off-putting.

  When he brought her back around the floor, he spotted the girl dressed like an ice princess with auburn hair. He stumbled, and Danique slipped backward before he quickly caught her.

  Reese kept looking over Danique’s shoulder, trying to find the mystery girl. She had vanished again. The song seemed to drag on forever, and Reese couldn’t wait for it to end. He had to find that girl. The way she kept appearing and disappearing—it was torturing him.

  He had an irrational thought. Was it death disguised as his love? Tempting and teasing him to enter the afterlife? There had been tales told by the gossip-loving women of his family. Tales of the firstborn sons seeing death before it took their lives. He’d thought they were crazy, but that was before he and Jan had stumbled upon the ledgers.

  The song ended, and Reese took Danique back to their table, excusing himself. He weaved through the crowd with determined steps, searching.

  Searching.

  And searching.

  She was as elusive as a rare bird.

  Aster’s many expressions flashed through his mind—confused, happy, sad, frustrated. But his favorite look was the one she’d given him while lying in his bed. It was love, he was quite certain of it. If he was delusional and she was just a figment of his imagination, then he wanted to be insane, to be with her one last time, real or not. His pulse raced as he slipped by the many groups of people.

  And there she was, gliding down one of the carnival halls, her dress swishing back and forth with each of her movements. He jogged across the expanse of the room to the hall she had sashayed down. His heart pounded against his breastbone. It was getting hot with all the people crowding the halls. Sweat beaded on his forehead.

  He had lost her again.

  I am seeing things. He punched one of his mother’s papier-mâché doves hanging down from the ceiling. Great. Now I’m chasing death. Just then, he caught a scent of spicy floral in the air. Aster? He spotted the skirt of her dress swoosh around a corner, and he started his pursuit again.

  Not looking where he was going, he ran straight into Leah. She landed on her bum.

  Jan glared at Reese as he helped Leah to her feet. “Have you gone completely mad?”

  “Actually, I have,” Reese said, panting. “There was a girl. Her hair is the same color as Aster’s. She had the same lips and chin. Her mask concealed the rest of her face, but her smell…”

  “You can’t possibly think it’s her,” Leah said as she adjusted her breasts in the dress she was wearing.

  Hearing his words, he realized how foolish he was for even hoping. “No, I can’t.”

  Jan slipped his arm over Reese’s shoulder. “I think you need a drink.”

  “Oh, and after that, can we have our tarot cards read?” Leah asked.

  Reese gave Jan a startled look.

  Jan shrugged.

  Of course Leah wouldn’t know about his curse. There were so many tarot readers that everyone was visiting them to learn what the future held. If they knew the dark side of the tarot, the one never spoken of, where fates could be changed at the touch of a card, all hell would be set loose on the world. For humankind was greedy. If a person could prevent his or her death, there’d be no cost too great.

  “I’m going to powder my nose,” Leah said stiffly. “I’ll meet you in the lounge area.”

  The look Leah and Jan exchanged before she sauntered off was curious. It was as if they were passing a secret code with their eyes.

  “Finally, alone,” Jan said when Leah was out of hearing range. “How are you faring?”

  “Other than losing my mind and fearing my impending death? Quite well, I must say.” All joking aside, Reese hadn’t had time to think about his appointment tomorrow.

  “There you are,” Reese’s mother announced from behind him. “You keep disappearing.”

  Reese chuckled. The girl in the ice princess mask wasn’t the only one being elusive.

  “Hello, Jan, dear.” His mother offered Jan her cheek and he kissed it. “Hoef je niet knap uitzien in uw kostuums.” Reese agreed. They did look handsome in their suits.

  “So when were you actually born?” Jan asked. “You know, time of day. I’d like to plan something special for it.”

  “I’ve told you this before.” Reese gave him a warning look. “At two, but you needn’t go to any trouble.”

  Jan grinned. “That’s correct. In the afternoon?”

  “Yes,” Reese answered.

  Reese’s mother raised an eyebrow at them. “It was in the morning. Why does it matter anyway? We’ll do something quiet tomorrow. Why haven’t they served the cake?” His mother stormed off in the direction of the kitchen.

  It was as though Reese’s tie had suddenly gotten tighter. Pulling out his mobile from his front pocket, he checked the time. Midnight was approaching.

  Two in the morning?

  He’d believed he had several more hours, but in actuality, he only had a couple.

  He glanced at Jan, who was frantically texting something on his mobile.

  “What are you about, there?” Reese asked.

  Jan looked surprised. “I’m informing Leah we aren’t in the lounge.”

  Reese stared at him for a long moment. Jan acted as if he hadn’t realized what his mother had said. That Reese would be dead in a couple of hours. He decided he wanted to be alone for the fateful moment his breath stopped, and marched off in the direction of the bar. After grabbing a shot glass, he snatched up a bottle of scotch.

  “Hey, Reese, hold up,” Jan called after him.

  Reese stopped and hung his head. “Leave me alone.”

  “I can’t. You’re like a brother to me, and I love you.” Jan’s hand dropped on his shoulder. “I can’t leave you alone, not now.”

  A girl in an emerald dress, wearing a gold and green jester’s mask and a white Marie Antoinette–style wig, squeezed between them to get to the bar. She puckered her deep red lips at Reese as she passed.

  “Now, that one is lovely,” Jan said, eyeing her up and down, as if she would make a good meal.

  “Not interested,” Reese stated before Jan could do anything Reese would regret.

  “Are you guys trying to ditch me?” Leah said, hoisting up her dress as she ran over to them. “You’ll never guess who I ran into. Your mystery girl. She gave me this to give to you.” She held out a card-sized envelope.

  Heart pounding, Reese opened it and read the blank card inside.

  Meet me in the garden.

  Your Ice Princess

  He reread it. How did she know I’ve been calling her that?

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Aster

  Lights twinkled like diamonds across the high ceilings of the castle. Aster moved through the crowd, her stomach twirling in nervous excitement. She shifted into a back corner, lifting the heavy train of her dress with a sigh. Leaning her head back against the wall, she searched the crowd for Reese while scratching at her irritating wig. Getting the itchy thing off sooner rather than later would be awesome.

  Watching Reese follow the girl they had costumed to resemble her pleased Aster. It showed
how much he loved her and wanted her. She fought the urge to run to him and tell him everything would okay. But that would have to wait.

  Her plan was for Reese to get obsessed with the Aster look-alike so she could lure him to the garden. And it was working perfectly. When he wasn’t physically searching for her, his eyes were.

  Mrs. Van Buren sneaked up to her. “Aster? The staff has arranged everything. I hope this works.”

  “Me, too.” Her and Reese’s lives depended on it. There were only two possible outcomes. If successful, she’d change Reese’s fate and the curse would go into the stone. Or if it failed, they both would die. Either way, baby Nathan would be safe. If Reese knew what she planned to do, he wouldn’t let her do it. He wouldn’t let her risk dying for him. And if he asked her if the plan was safe, she couldn’t lie. She didn’t know what the fallout would be, and he would refuse to try it.

  Great tragedies have been written about lovers and their sacrifices.

  “His father and I will be nearby,” his mother said, breaking into her thoughts. There were tears in her eyes as she squeezed Aster’s arm. “I will pray it works.”

  “Thanks. We’ll need all the help we can get,” Aster said, and walked off toward Reese.

  Aster hadn’t wanted to include Reese’s parents in her plans, but Jan insisted. They needed cooperation with the staff to get everything set up. His parents were upset to learn that Reese knew his fate. They had hoped to shield him from the agony of learning when he’d take his last breath.

  Knowing when you’re going to die really had to mess with a person’s mind, Aster mused. But not Reese. He’d faced it with bravery, which made Aster love him even more. If they made it through this night, Aster would never let him out of her sight again. Even if that sounded somewhat possessive, she didn’t care. She’d use a leash if she had to.

  An itch at the end of her nose almost made her sneeze, and she rubbed at it. The scent of sage lingered on her hands from when she’d smudged her tarot cards earlier. Aster had read Tillie’s translation of Dika’s notes over and over again. She was positive she had found the solution, but there was still some uncertainty. The unknown variables. Any number of things could go wrong and change the results. And they only had one chance to get it right.