Tarot

by Marissa Kennerson

  “We’ll hold the King off as long as we can, Anna, but you should focus on binding the tapestry.”

  Topper and the Hermit came and joined them on the steps.

  “But it’s just a theory. What if I’m wrong?” Anna bit her lip.

  “Anna, how did you get here?” the Magician asked suddenly.

  Anna cocked her head at the Magician. “Like you, over the bridge. I was running from the King’s men, cornered nearly, and this bridge appeared.”

  The Hermit and the Magician exchanged a look.

  “Think, Anna. Think back to that night and tell us exactly what happened,” the Magician urged her.

  Anna recalled hearing the King’s men approaching and then running for her life, only stopping for a moment.

  “I pulled out pieces of my tapestries.” She closed her eyes and thought back to that night in the dark, with only the Hermit’s lantern to guide her. “I felt like I couldn’t go on, and I wanted to remind myself why I had fled. I threw the tapestries on the ground: there was a Page, a Queen, and a King. There was a girl having a tea party and a boy swimming in a turquoise sea. . . .” Anna trailed off. “I need my satchel.” Anna stood up suddenly.

  “What is it, Anna?” Topper took a step toward her.

  “We need to go to the villa,” Anna urged. “Now.”

  The Magician rose from the steps. “Then this will be where we leave you, Anna.”

  “How will you get back?” Anna asked the Magician. “There is no tapestry for the Hierophant Kingdom.”

  “I don’t think our return trip will be an issue. The King has never even thought to place a barrier spell around the kingdom. There was never a need,” her aunt said.

  “I wish you didn’t have to go.” But Anna thought of the Fool. They needed to go back for him.

  The Hermit put his arms around Anna. “We thought it was goodbye once before,” he whispered in her ear.

  Anna stood tall and set her shoulders, but the tears still rolled down her cheeks. “Take care of our Fool,” she said. “I can’t stand the thought of him in the dungeons.” Her voice caught. Topper stood next to her. He brushed his hand near hers.

  The Magician strode over to Anna and kissed her on the forehead. Topper took a step away to make room. “Do you still have your necklace?” the Magician asked.

  Anna pulled it out of her dress.

  “We are never really apart, right?” The Magician looked Anna in the eye and plucked her wand out of her robe. “Hold on to me,” she instructed the Hermit.

  The Hermit kissed Anna’s cheek once more and then held on to the Magician’s robes.

  “Wait!” Anna called. “What if binding the tapestry doesn’t work?”

  The Magician gripped her wand and leaned down, encircling herself and the Hermit with golden light, starting at their feet and moving toward their heads. As the light traveled up their bodies and they began fading from sight, the Magician gave Anna one last look. “Then you’d better weave an army.”

  Topper wrapped Anna in a tight embrace. Tears spilled over her cheeks, and she buried her face in his neck. Just then the Moon returned to the sky, and the beach lit up once again. Anna and Topper looked up, blinking against the sudden brightness.

  “We have to get the tapestries back to the villa,” Topper said.

  “What is going on here?”

  Anna and Topper jumped apart.

  James pulled up on his horse, watching as the Hermit and the Magician disappeared into the golden light, leaving behind only the impressions their feet had made in the sand.

  “James.” Anna’s voice shook. “How long have you been there?”

  “Long enough to know that Daniel was right. You have been lying to us all along.”

  Anna started to run to James, but he pulled on the reins and dug his heels into the horse’s sides, turning back toward the villa, the sun rising behind him. Seeming to change his mind, he gave the reins a tug once more and slid off. He stalked toward Anna, raising his finger to point at her chest. “You are nothing but a liar, and you’ve put my family in danger.”

  The sea, which until then had been still, reflecting the pink light of dawn on its surface, began to stir.

  “James.” Topper tried to step between them, but James gave his shoulder a rough push, and Topper stumbled backward.

  “Oh no,” James said. “I don’t want to hear a word from you. I think it’s pretty clear where your loyalties lie, and they are not with me.”

  Topper tensed. “I know you’re angry, but if you’d just give us a chance to explain—”

  “Since when did you two become an us?” James was seething, his face reddening and his green eyes shining.

  “James, stop this.” Anna took a big step forward and placed a firm hand on James’s chest. She needed to get to the villa, and they were running out of time. “Let me explain everything to you.” Waves were erupting in the sea now, gaining strength in its center and building until they came crashing onto the shoreline in an explosion of white foam.

  James jammed his finger toward the sea. “That is because of you. The earthquake that could’ve killed all the people I love was because of you. I get it now. I’ve had enough of your explanations for a lifetime, Anna.” He stormed off and remounted his horse. “I’m going to tell the others,” he spat, kicking his heels into his horse’s sides and tearing down the beach.

  Topper sighed, rubbing his hand over his face.

  Anna stared at the sea. “Is that really because of me?”

  “The stirring of the elements does seem to match your moods,” Topper offered gently.

  Anna told herself that she would need to stay calm if they wanted to reach the villa in one piece. She tried to mimic the Hermit’s deep breathing, attempting to distract herself from the anger and sadness warring inside.

  “We need to go tell Daniel the truth ourselves. He’ll believe you,” Anna said. She jogged down the shore, and Topper followed.

  They ran for as long as they possibly could, but the heavy, cumbersome tapestries slowed them down. They trudged in silence for the second half of the trek, dread bubbling up in Anna’s stomach.

  When they finally reached the villa’s steps, they were faced with the whole of Cups. Daniel had his arms crossed, his mouth a tight line of anger. James stood on one side of him, his chest puffed out, and Lara stood on the other, her fists clenched at her sides and her eyes bloodshot and puffy. They were all there: Terra, Henry, Ivy, Morgan, Simon, Rebecca, and Luke, along with people Anna had seen every day but whom she hadn’t yet gotten to know. Looks of betrayal were plain on all their faces.

  “Are you ready to tell us the truth now?” Daniel challenged her. “Who were those people who disappeared into thin air? Did they come to do us harm?”

  “No.” Anna shook her head. “They are friends, advisors of mine, come to warn us.”

  “Warn you,” James hissed. Anna avoided his eyes. She understood his anger and hurt enough to know that she could no longer comfort him. She had lost his trust.

  “Please, give her a chance,” Topper begged.

  Daniel’s eyes flitted to him. “Fine. Go on.”

  How could one explain the Hierophant King to people who had only known freedom? Anna chose her words carefully and launched into her explanation. “I come from a very faraway land ruled by a tyrannical and immensely powerful king.

  “This King believes in order, rigid rules, and hierarchy. He controls everyone and everything—when his people eat, sleep, who they marry, and what they do for work.” The group listened, rapt, as if she were telling a strange bedtime story. “He believes that free will and our ability to make our own choices lead to chaos and destruction.”

  “What does this have to do with us?” Lara asked softly. “Why did you come here?”

  The question stung, and Anna had to take a
few breaths to steady her voice. “I came here to escape him. He is the one who locked me in a tower for my entire life. Those people, the people who came here today, they helped me escape. He was going to kill me on my sixteenth birthday.”

  “This is preposterous,” Daniel said, shaking his head. “Just more lies.”

  “She is telling the truth, Daniel,” Topper interjected. “You have to listen to her. If you will hear her out, everything will make sense to you. Please open your mind and your heart, Daniel. This is life or death.”

  Anna took another step forward, pleading with the people of Cups. “He is coming after me, and he will show no mercy when he gets here. He will not just take me; he will destroy Cups in the process. This land, this amazing, wondrous land, stands in direct opposition to everything he believes in.”

  “Why would you put us in this sort of danger, Anna?” Terra called, eyes shining.

  “I am so sorry.” Anna’s voice trembled. “I didn’t mean to come here. I was just running, and I was desperate to get away from him.”

  “Then why didn’t you tell us the truth immediately?” Daniel wondered. “Or when I asked you at South Farm?”

  “I didn’t want to lose you. Any of you.” She locked eyes with James. “You can’t know how much you mean to me. I would never put you in harm’s way on purpose. We can fix this. We just need to—”

  Daniel cut her off. “You must go, Anna. That is how we fix this. Go, and don’t come back.”

  Anna rushed toward them. “We need to work together to stop him. If you send me away, you will be more vulnerable.”

  A light rain began to fall. Anna felt the drops and tried to steady her breath.

  “You have every right to be upset, Daniel,” Topper said. “But you can’t turn her away. She can help us.” His eyes swept the crowd. “I know this is scary, and you think if you send her away that you will be rid of the problem. But you have not seen what I have seen. There is magic out there, and powers so great that they could easily destroy a land like ours.”

  “We lost half our livestock, and our friends are wounded, Anna. The very land is being torn apart, all because of you,” Daniel said, unmoved. “You are a sickness, destroying our way of life,” he thundered. He held up his hand, revealing the angry red scar that now ran down the length of his palm. “I will always have this to remind me just how dangerous you are.”

  Anna recoiled at his words. A boom of thunder smacked the air, and the rain fell in fat drops. She looked up at James and saw pain flicker in his eyes. He was staring at the ground, his arms crossed over his chest.

  “James, you know me. Better than anyone ever has. Please tell them.”

  A jagged line of white lightning tore through the sky.

  “I can’t, Anna. I think it is best that you leave.” Regret tinged his voice. “We have no way to trust that what you say is true.”

  “Lara.” Anna turned to her friend.

  “I’m sorry, Anna,” she said, choking back tears.

  “Topper, come join us now,” Daniel commanded, making space between him and James. When Topper did not move, Daniel continued. “If you do not stand with us, then you, too, will be banished from this land.”

  “If we don’t help her, there will be no Cups to come back to. Don’t you see?” He threw his long arms out wide.

  “Then you’ve made your choice,” Daniel said.

  “What the hell is going on here?” The King stared in disbelief. “Why has this hall been opened?”

  A line of people snaked through the halls of the castle, ending in Whitehoof. Barda watched from the doorway and stood to attention when the King approached him.

  “Next!” Senator Bassett was seated in a large, ornate chair with two guards at his side, receiving the most motley group of people the King had ever laid eyes on. The room reeked of rotten garlic and sweat and who knew what else, and it was filled with a cacophony of chatter as people spoke to one another to fight the boredom of waiting in line.

  Gathered near the front of the line were three young women with long, tangled hair and pentacles charms worn defiantly on ribbons around their necks. A bastardization of the symbol the King wore to indicate his wealth and power.

  Witches, the King thought.

  Throughout the line stood men with gnarled fingers carrying sacks that gave off the foul scents. Potion makers.

  Children with dirt smudged on their faces ran circles around the crowd as their mothers and fathers tried unsuccessfully to contain them.

  “Bassett better be rounding these people up to imprison them,” the King grumbled to Barda.

  “This is in case the Magician doesn’t come back,” Barda said. “Or can’t come back. In case we need to find another way to the girl.”

  “I trust someone is posted at the bridge in the wood.”

  “Of course, round the clock.”

  “. . . and these people?” The King waved a hand around the room.

  “Medicine men, witches, alchemists—dirty frauds, if you ask me,” said Barda. “Senator Bassett offered a reward, and they came oozing out of every crevice like vermin. Makes my job easier. I’ll take the whole lot to the dungeons when this business with the girl is done.”

  “Vermin, indeed,” echoed the King. “This is a waste of time.”

  “How can you be so sure? That lot, the Hermit and the Magician, they already betrayed you once, Sire. Why would they come back, and who’s to say they will help you if they do?”

  “They won’t leave the Fool behind,” the King repeated for what felt like the hundredth time.

  “The Magician has grown quite powerful.” Barda didn’t want to let on that she’d fooled him and gotten her wand back. “Are you so sure she’ll still help you?”

  “I’m not asking your opinion on the matter!” the King shrieked. He rubbed at his beard and then opened his mouth to shift his jaw, which was tight with anger.

  “Are the troops ready?” the King asked.

  “Yes, Sire.”

  “Show me,” he commanded.

  “Right away, Sire.”

  The two men turned on their heels and walked down the hall, their heavy boots stomping as they went. The peasants farther down averted their eyes when they saw the King coming. He glared at them as he passed.

  “And have the Senator shut this down,” the King said, jamming his thumb over his shoulder as they walked outside into the courtyard that bordered the Keep. The King thought of his visit from Marco that morning. “The two traitors will be back soon.”

  * * *

  Seemingly infinite rows of knights on horses, Drake now among them, glittering in chain mail, stood as far as the eye could see outside the castle walls. The King walked through the throng, nodding to his soldiers, each glance a boost to their morale. He was making his way back to the spot in the wood where the Magician and the Hermit had disappeared, knowing with everything in him that their return was imminent.

  He would wait for those two to come back. And when they did, he would put an end to this disaster, once and for all.

  “Anna!” Anna looked up to see Ivy running down the beach. “Your satchel and some of your things.”

  “Thank you, Ivy.” She was so surprised, she could barely get the words out. “You didn’t have to run all the way down here.”

  “Well, it doesn’t mean I like you or anything.” Ivy choked out a laugh, tears springing to her eyes. Her hair was plastered back from the rain, and she hugged the bag protectively.

  “Of course not.” Anna smiled, feeling her own vision blur with tears.

  Ivy shoved the satchel into Anna’s arms. “I’m still glad you came, and I know I’m not the only one,” she murmured, and then ran back up the beach toward the villa.

  Anna squinted at the villa in the distance, with its turquoise shutters, many now damaged and hanging loose
ly from the windows. The bright red roof tiles that had caught her eye when she’d first arrived were now cracked, with patches missing where they had been swept off in the high winds.

  It was only now that Anna really took in the damage: the contrast of this battered villa with its boarded-up windows to the bright and happy paradise she’d originally come to. She turned to Topper.

  “Let’s go.”

  He nodded, his eyes filled with sadness, his shoulders slumped.

  They walked down the beach until they were out of sight of the villa.

  “I know of a place we can go,” Anna said, guilt creeping into the pit of her stomach before she even mentioned it. “Think anyone would mind if we borrowed a couple of horses?”

  The sun was setting by the time they reached the cottage.

  “What is this place?” Topper asked as they rode up.

  “You have your library; James has this.”

  “It’s enchanting,” he said.

  “It is,” Anna agreed. “I feel guilty bringing you here, but I don’t know where else to go.”

  Topper tied up the horses quietly.

  “A lot has happened today,” Anna said, kicking the sand with her feet. “A lot to take in.”

  “Yes.” Topper stood at the door of the cottage.

  Anna respected his choice to give her space, but in that moment she realized that she and Topper hardly knew each other. She felt a pang for James, for Lara, and her other friends back at the villa.

  * * *

  Anna found Topper sitting on the beach near the water with his knees tucked under his chin, staring up at the sky. Darkness had fallen quickly, and a million tiny stars sparkled above them. The Moon was resplendent and as white as snow. She took a seat next to him.

  “It’s as if he is trying to cheer us with the sheer beauty of night,” Topper said.

  “That’s a lovely thought.”

  “He’ll come around,” Topper said.

  “Who?” Anna asked.