The Magical Tarot Deck

by Marieke Lexmond

  ‘What did you do when you arrived here?’

  ‘Rosie was here, and I showed the Deck to her.’

  ‘You showed it to Rosie?’

  ‘Yes.’ hiccups Emily.

  ‘Where exactly?’ Bridget uses her years of training to stay calm and get the whole story out.

  ‘We sat down at a table in the back. You know, we wanted to be inconspicuous.’

  ‘Were there other people sitting at the table around you?’

  Emily takes a minute to think about that. ‘There was a man at the table behind us. He was in the shadows, there’s not much light there.’ Bridget nods in the hope that she can give them more details.

  ‘I think he was drinking a cup of tea.’

  ‘What did he look like?’

  Emily shrugs ‘I couldn’t see his face.’

  ‘Just the man? Nobody else?’

  ‘I don’t think so.’

  ‘Did Rosie like the Deck?’ Maybe Rosie took it. She needs to consider all the possibilities.

  ‘Did you ever see it?’ asks Emily. Bridget stays blank, best not to give out any clues. ‘The cards are moving! It’s amazing. You’re all on it. There was even one for me. It was so beautiful; the Stars seem to flow from my hands into the sky. When I touched myself on the card, it was almost as if I could feel it.’ Emily touches her stomach. ‘Like right here.’

  ‘Did you use the cards?’ Bridget steers her back to focus on what happened.

  ‘No.’ Emily looks at Wes. ‘No, it actually freaked me out. I knew I shouldn’t have taken it. So, I put it back in my pocket, and I got up.’ Emily freezes, and her eyes widen slightly.

  ‘The man! He bumped into me right then.’

  Bridget hides her excitement. ‘Can you remember anything more about him.’

  ‘No, I was worried, and I rushed over to Uncle Ron, and that’s when…when I realized it was gone.’

  ‘Thanks, sweetie.’ Bridget squeezes Emily’s hands. ‘I know you know you did something wrong. I don’t want to rub it in, but it’s vital to be extra careful at the moment. It’s hard when you don’t know what’s going on. With your mom, away…A lot of things are happening, and you need to be smart. If there’s anything, you can always talk to us.’ She looks at Wes and gives him the tiniest nod. He gets up and trades places with Bridget.

  ‘About anything.’ adds Wes and envelops her into a bear hug.

  Bridget quickly leaves and joins Tara, Maeve, and Gwen at the bar. They’re talking to Fin.

  ‘And?’ Say Tara and Gwen at the same time.

  Bridget turns to Fin. ‘Do you remember anything about a man sitting over there, in that corner.’ Bridget points to the back of the room. ‘He had some sort of tea.’

  Fin takes a moment. ‘Not really. He was pretty nondescript…He might have looked vaguely familiar.’

  ‘In what way?’

  ‘I don’t know. Maybe I’ll remember. He probably came in before.’

  ‘Great. That gets us nowhere. This place doesn’t have any cameras, does it?’ Then she turns to Tara. ‘It might come down to your skills as a tracker, Gran.’

  FAIRY

  Ceri’s feeling uneasy about the whole situation and had tried to take some shortcuts to reach Mab as quickly as possible, so she could go home and talk to her mom. Unfortunately, this had only seemed to lengthen their journey. Of course, this whole thing is ridiculous, but somehow it keeps festering in her mind. Seamus is her father. He loved her, and while growing up, he had always been there for her. She had a closer bond with him than with Tara. He was always encouraging her curiosity about experimenting with magic. It’s not possible! But on the other hand, it’s hard to deny that she feels at home here and that her magic had grown since she arrived. She thought they had altered her somehow, but what if…No, she’s not going down that road.

  Lucy is moping along behind her. Ceri had gagged her again as she couldn’t handle any more lies at this point.

  They make their way through busy streets. This place reminds Ceri of Venice in Italy. Bert had taken her there for her honeymoon. Such a wonderful city, full of culture and magic. They had wandered endlessly through the streets never to see the same thing twice, and after two days, they still hadn’t seen everything. A tear drops down her cheek, poor Bert. He must be beside himself. If only she had prepared him a little better. He knows she’s a witch, but if he really understood what that means…Another train of thought she doesn’t want to follow.

  Better to focus on her task. She takes a moment to look around her and orientate herself. The buildings surrounding her are so detailed. The imagery is in constant motion, and it feels as if the front of each building is a living breathing thing. Colors flow throughout; all the movement is making her a little unsteady on her feet. Lucy is concentrating on her feet as the whole thing makes her feel seasick. The fairies inhabiting this city are just as colorful. Any imaginable piece of clothing and hat wear seems to exist here. They’re short and tall, big and small, it’s like your imagination is running wild. For a moment, it does distract Ceri. She would love to live in a place like this, and this brings her back to her pondering. Does that mean she’s part fairy? Is she immortal? She always gets complimented on her youthful skin. Oh no. Here she goes again! She needs to get to Mab; she can’t keep it together much longer.

  NEW ORLEANS

  Tara is up before sunrise. A horrible sense of urgency is pressing down on her; she needs to find the Deck. By the dim light before dawn, she takes the four of swords from her altar and shuffles her cards. Time to see what the day will bring. Her practiced hands are shaking a little; old age or nerves? One card falls out of the deck. That must be it. Hopeful, she turns it around, the ten of swords. Betrayal, her heart sinks. A Capricorn is climbing a steep hill, ten swords point toward him. A traitorous sharp point of rock seems to block his path. Whatever its skills, this doesn’t seem to have a favorable outcome. Not a pleasant card. After everything that had happened yesterday, it makes you wonder what else can go wrong today. What did she expect? With a sigh, she puts it on her altar.

  Tara sneaks out of the house before anyone can start at her again. While her mind is wandering, her feet find their way to the tomb. Without even looking, her hand moves to the fire triangle when Gwen’s voice comes from right behind her. ‘Where do you think you’re going?’

  ‘Gwen…’ Tara tries to find the right words to say. The woman looks angry. Steam is literally emanating from her. She had tried to evade her, but here she is.

  ‘I should have never trusted you all. Who knows what’s going to happen to the Dagger now?’

  ‘We weren’t the ones who lost it in the first place.’ counters Tara, abandoning any form of diplomacy. It takes every ounce of self-control for Gwen not to go for Tara’s jugular right now.

  ‘I’m sorry, that was…’

  ‘Mean. Your arrogance is staggering. I’m very aware of my limited choices right now. But let me be clear. If this is resolved, you will get the Dagger out of the Deck, and I will take the Dagger. Our family is its guardian. Whether you agree with that or not.’ Gwen doesn’t wait for an answer. She pivots and stalks out of the clearing.

  Tara exhales, wow, she can’t blame the woman. In her position, she would have done the same. However, the whole thing must be put on the backburner for now. First, she needs to get the Deck back. It’s time to go to work. She touches the fire symbol and disappears into the tomb.

  Several hours later, Tara stands in the middle of a protective circle in the tomb. Her hair is tousled, and her hand is bloodied. The candles have burned down to little stubs. The ancestors sit on top of the graves, fascinated by Tara’s desperate tries. It has been a while since magic has been used with such ferocity in their presence; it roused them from their sleep. This is Tara’s sixteenth try of a different kind of tracking spell, and again, it doesn’t work. Completely exhausted physically and magically, she lowers herself and sits with her back against the altar feeling totally defeated. All her
hopes were set on this. Unfortunately, Seamus had done such an excellent job protecting it so that only one person can ask the Deck a question.

  ‘What am I going to do?’ She asks out loud to no one in particular.

  ‘Whatever you’re searching for, a tracking spell doesn’t seem the way to go, Love,’ answers her great-great-grandmother.

  UTAH

  Mara is curled up by a massive fire in the living room of Lucy’s home. Not a word from her stupid half-brother, Cal, ever since he went to New Orleans. It will be up to her to find her grandmother. He’s useless, what did she expect?

  She had spent most of the day engrossed in Lucy’s spellbook. There was so much to learn and also so much insight into her grandmother. She will need to take some time to let the amazing amount of knowledge in the spellbook sink in. Once Lucy is back, Mara is sure she will not be able to look in it again. The pain of being banned from her family feels so raw when she reads it. Such a sad thing. Mara has a tense relationship with her mom, a voodoo priestess in New Orleans, but she knows she’s always welcome at her house.

  The rest of her time she’d spent searching for Lucy, using every spell imaginable. Nothing so far. Logic told her that meant she’s not here. Probably in another realm, with Fairy or the Astral Plane as the usual suspects. For tonight, she decided to prep Lucy’s workroom. She will search the Astral Plane first. Fairy needs a bit more research as she knows that her grandmother is no favorite of Mab the Fairy Queen. There was nothing to do now but wait for her entry window onto the planes.

  NEW ORLEANS

  Emotions are flying high in Tara’s home. There is a heavy weight to the room as if a thunderstorm is coming. Sparks are flying again, and Tara has no idea how she can calm this situation down. Although she would love to blame Emily for this predicament, it’s clear it was her own fault. Freya and Maeve are defending her choice to keep the Deck a secret, while Bridget is having a tough time not to say, ‘I told you so.’ The others are all upset to be summoned to the house again. Ron has had enough and steps up to quiet everybody down. Tara can see why Seamus chose the Emperor card for him. He seems to have bounced back from his experiences in Fairy, and his steady presence and calm exterior manage to lower the tension level in the room. It’s good to see his confidence is back. Leaving Ceri in Fairy had really bruised his ego. Not so good to have his determination turned on her now.

  ‘So, Mom, what is going on? Why is this tarot deck so important that it’s freaking you out?’

  ‘I don’t know where to start…’ Tara looks down, not ready to tell this story.

  Surprisingly enough, Maeve speaks up. ‘I do.’ All eyes turn to Maeve. ‘Grandpa had painted a Magical Tarot Deck not long before he died. They never got a chance to try it. I believe they had the best intentions, but it is a dangerous tool.’

  ‘Dangerous how? I’m not part of this family, so why does it concern us.’ Bert has had enough of this crazy family for some time now, and he has a protective arm around Emily, who’s still crying on and off.

  ‘You are, Bert. Once you married Ceri, you become part of this,’ says Tara, finally finding her voice. ‘You all are. This Deck represents the twenty-two major arcana cards of a tarot deck. When Seamus was designing this Deck, our family comprised exactly twenty-two members. So, every family member represents one of the majors. Except for Wes, as he hadn’t met Bridget then. From the Fool till the World, we all embody one of the cards.’

  ‘I still don’t see how that is dangerous.’

  ‘It is dangerous because…’ Bridget searches for the right words, ‘If you use the cards, the images on the cards come to life. You get pulled from wherever you are, and you will come through the card dressed as Seamus has illustrated you.’ Stunned silence follows. All the sparks are pouring down as if the thunderstorm has broken and everyone’s drenched in rain. A chill runs through the room.

  ‘I don’t understand…’ says Jason, Freya’s husband.

  ‘I don’t know exactly how it works, but Tara used my card, I’m Strength, and I was a passenger in a car when I disappeared from there. I materialized from the card looking like a hunter with a lion at my side. It’s terribly disorientating, and it freaked me out at first.’

  ‘I’m not a witch, are you sure it works that way for me too?’ wonders Jason.

  ‘I don’t know.’ Bridget looks at Tara for some answers. But she only shrugs. Great…

  ‘I don’t think Gran knows how it works either. The problem is that someone stole it and if they start using it…’ Now the room explodes again. They all start shouting questions at the same time. ‘This is crazy!’ ‘How can this happen?’ ‘Why didn’t you tell us?’ The tension in the room is building. ‘QUIET!’ Ron’s booming voice resonates through the room. It takes a minute, but they all settle down again. ‘We need to figure out what this all means and what we’re going to do. Fighting among ourselves doesn’t help.’

  ‘Thank you, Ron.’ Tara steps in eager to move on. ‘I’m sorry about this, but he’s right, we need to be sensible and deal with it.’

  ‘Hold on for one minute, Gran.’ Again, Maeve intervenes. This is the second time now that she has felt such a betrayal. Her grandmother who she always saw as a fabulous honest witch has let them down big time. ‘After everything that has happened over the past couple of weeks. All the secrets. You still don’t trust us and tell us the most important things. Saying sorry is not good enough. How many more secrets are you keeping that could throw us into another disaster?’

  The judging quiet that follows pierces Tara’s heart.

  ‘You asked some of us to keep this to ourselves. I feel devastated I did that. Don’t you feel anything?’ wonders Maeve.

  Tara can’t find any words that would remotely address the depth of her feelings. Her incompetence and misjudgments in this situation are unforgivable. What a mess. The silence stretches on.

  Bridget sighs, ‘Although I think these are far from the last words to be spoken on this subject. We need to start searching for this man. Right now. Every moment we spend doing nothing is a moment wasted. We need to make some sort of plan to prepare everybody for when he uses it.’

  ‘I’ve some more things to say. My wife disappeared and now this…this…whatever Deck. How much longer are we going to listen to this insane old woman?’ Bert is turning dark red from barely contained anger. Selma puts a calming hand on his arm.

  ‘That’s a valid question, Bert, but she’s the only one who knows the full extent of this, and she has the most magical knowledge in this family.’ This comes from Freya, who’s been awfully quiet so far.

  ‘Bridget is right, blaming and arguing is counterproductive at this point. It has happened, it’s a disaster, but now we need to focus on the consequences and deal with those,’ adds Ron.

  ‘I suggest that we make sure that whatever we do there are always two of us together, so we’ll know when the cards are being used.’

  ‘That’s near impossible. What if both persons are being drawn?’ asks Jason. ‘I can hardly take someone to work with me.’

  ‘Is my father on one of the cards as well?’ wonders Maeve. Tara only nods. ‘Great. Someone needs to warn him.’

  Off they go again. This is going to take a while. Bridget feels that precious time is being wasted arguing. She can’t blame anybody for being upset. This was precisely what she was afraid of. And her card self is holding the Dagger. Gosh, this is such a cluster fuck. It’s all much, much worse now. She wishes that Luna was here; they could sure use her magical skills right now. Since Gran is not reliable. It must be truly awful if she’s wanting her mom to be here…

  MADRID, NEW MEXICO

  Cal has driven through the night, fueled by coffee and snacks. Almost there. The last miles are always the hardest, but it will be nice to see his mom. Although she’d let herself be intimidated by Lucy, who wanted to raise Cal, he never resented her for that. They managed to have a comfortable relationship. It’s not very often he gets to see her. The mor
ning sun hits the sign, Madrid, a small artsy town in New Mexico. His mother, Helen, has lived here most of her adult life. According to her, there are ancient powers in the hills surrounding it. The Lockwoods find her an insignificant witch, a new age dabbler, but there is something about her. A different power. Maybe not the sheer strength that runs through Lucy’s family, something unique and gentler, qualities that they don’t seem to possess. His back is aching, and he positively smells disgusting when he finally pulls up in front of Helen’s house. The door swings open, and Helen, a joyous woman dressed in bright colors and with wavy curls, runs toward the car. She’s there before he even gets a chance to step out. ‘I knew you were coming!’ She hugs him enthusiastically. ‘Come! I baked a breakfast casserole. Last night I felt this craving and then I knew you were coming!’ His mouth starts watering, and he grabs his bag from the car and follows her inside. The delicious smell of a home-cooked breakfast hits him.

  ‘Sit down. Tell me how you are.’ She motions him to sit at the bar in the kitchen, while she pulls the casserole from the oven. That’s what he means; she has impeccable timing for these kinds of things. That’s a gift too.

  ‘I’ve been good. It’s been busy, traveling a lot.’ It’s an unspoken rule between them not to mention Lucy or his Dad, Set. It has been painful for them both to be separated, and they cherish the moments they have together. Determined not to let it be ruined by talking about the people she detests, Helen puts a huge breakfast portion in front of him. He can’t wait to dig in. She grabs his chin and looks him in the eye.

  ‘You’re tired. Eat, take a shower, and get some sleep. We’ll catch up later. I have to go, it’s my day at the shop.’ Then she lets him go.