Love and Blood (Evening Bower Book 2)

by Sherry Rentschler

  Amor-el found it necessary to include him on his occasional nightly jaunt. Am excluded Sondra, of course, and she worried for Rhea who expressed unhappiness with this new development. Sondra watched Rhea fight her feelings of abandonment leading to deep sadness. Am saw it too but was powerless against Destin’s need.

  After the club guys left on the third night, everyone gathered for a picnic on the old library floor. The house was empty, and every sound echoed off bare walls. After almost a week of moving, every soul showed their exhaustion. Even Destin said he felt too tired to eat and curled up with Reaper for a nap.

  But this was the last night in Am’s old home, and Rhea felt particularly nostalgic. In memory of the old house, and with a sad smile directed at her sleeping son, she regaled the story of how she arrived at the bower and into Amor-el’s life.

  “So romantic,” Victoria sighed.

  Keta burped, nodded and kept eating. “Drahomira must be seeing her husband for reals now, right?” Keta wondered between bites.

  Rhea tried not to sound worried but shook her head. “I do not think she will go overseas yet. Definitely by Christmas. She said she would return before the Halloween party. Is she not planning to participate in the French Quarter Halloween madness with a party at the club?”

  “The club. I almost forgot about that party. Keta you might want to check in with the guys and see if they started the decorations yet,” Victoria suggested.

  “Yeah, I can do that. But it’s still a month away.” Keta got up to call the club from the hall phone. Tomorrow the phone company would disconnect here and then activate the lines at the new house.

  “I’m going to miss this place,” Am said with a wistful glance at Rhea.

  “Then let’s leave on a high note.” Victoria set out her tarot cards. “Right now.”

  Rhea took a deep breath. “If I must. I know I promised and we keep getting interrupted.”

  Cooke, who was in the process of removing dishes, decided to wait and watch.

  Everyone cleared the plates from the blanket and Victoria pushed the linens away, making room on the floor. She wiped the hardwood with a damp cloth until the space shone. Gone was the flighty girl who loved shopping. In her place, Rhea saw the wise old soul she first met, the one who “saw things” and only wanted to help strangers.

  Victoria removed the large Egyptian-made cards from her bag and caressed them.

  “So beautiful,” Sondra whispered.

  “My grandmother had these made for me. They are hand painted and imbued with significant energies that mirror my inner sight. They have never let me down.” Victoria said with emphasis. “Are you ready Miss Rhea?”

  “I am. I have had readings before, my dear, and they are always circumstantially manipulated to some extent. But I have never had one that I thought was completely improbable or impossible. Forgive my cynicism.”

  Victoria grinned. “You won’t be the last who says that I’m sure. You will soon see that I am not one to make things up. I do “see” beyond the moment.” She paused for questions, then spoke in a clear, firm voice, “Once I begin I can’t stop, or I end up with nightmares. The cards have appeared the same for me every time I did a read about you, Miss Rhea. But to be sure that my visions remain true, I will ask you to help me. First I will shuffle.”

  With deliberate slowness, Victoria handled her cards, shuffling while keeping her eyes closed. Finally, she set them down.

  “Now Rhea, you shuffle the cards and set them on the floor again.”

  Rhea did as requested and waited. Her heart pounded with anxiety. What was the matter with her? The prophecy was fulfilled. Even Viseriel said so. They had Destin as proof. So what was wrong? She feared something else, something terrible. What if Victoria was right and the prophecy was incomplete or unfulfilled?

  Am knelt beside her and lifted her hand to his lips. “Don’t look so anxious, m’ange. You are too pale. They are only cards. It will be fine,” he whispered.

  “From your mouth to the gods,” Rhea whispered back and said a silent prayer to Viseriel.

  Victoria dealt the cards, and everyone quieted. Even the empty room felt as though it held its breath. She began, “I’m going to lay out a standard past, present, and future in a line, with the center card as your present. Next, I will lay a card across the present indicating current influences and one just above the present to indicate current obstacles.”

  Victoria paused, and Rhea nodded for her to continue.

  “I don’t know why I’m so nervous,” Keta said. “This makes me hungry.”

  Cooke tut-tutted, “Lass, you are always hungry.”

  A nervous Sondra watched the deal. “Ssh,” she urged, “I want to hear.”

  Victoria continued, “Here I set one card underneath the present, and this will be significant outcomes moving forward. On top of the outcomes, I will place a horizontal card, and this will tell us who may be involved, help us to identify the person. We will know what it means when I interpret the results.”

  She dealt more cards with deliberate slowness.

  “This card I’m placing to the outside of the future. It will help us interpret what the future intends. I set it diagonal to the future since interpretation may vary. We’ll have to see when I turn it over. Finally, I always feel this extra card demands to come, perhaps a warning, and so I will set it to the outside of the present influences, again, diagonally because we do not know its intent. Remember this is not an exact science, but I have rarely been wrong, Rhea. Ready?”

  “Turn them over, my dear. Let us see if you get what you showed me the first time. Please, everyone, say nothing until she is finished and make no snap judgments no matter what she says.”

  “Hedging your bets, my love?” Amor-el lovingly teased.

  Rhea offered a thin smile but said nothing as Victoria turned over the first card, the past.

  “It’s the Queen of Pentacles. She stands for fertility, a woman of deep intelligence, generosity and true magnificence. The card suggests a woman of greatness of soul. Many versions of the deck show a child, and we know that you have Destin. I think that is a true representation of the life you’ve lead, Miss Rhea.”

  “Suck up,” Keta whispered with a mouthful of cookie.

  “Ssh, child. Be respectful,” Cooke snapped.

  “The next card is the present.” Victoria lifted the top card and kept it face down while she revealed the bottom, “and it is the Ace of Cups. This cup overflows with new beginnings. It shows you have a true heart, that you are content and at peace and suggests fertility, and birth and an opportunity for a new relationship.”

  “Should I be jealous?” Am winked at Rhea who ignored him.

  “We’ll look at the crossing influence now, and it is the Moon. This might be a warning, Rhea, because it suggests a need to follow your intuition, to beware of possible darkness, deception, and danger. There are potential hidden enemies.”

  “This we know to be true,” Amor-el said.

  “And this is also the card of maternity and birth,” Victoria added slowly.

  Am broke the thick silence.

  “Well if you wanted proof of Tobias and our worry, there it is. If we experience deception and danger, he’s bringing it,” Am said quietly.

  “Hush, please, my love.” Rhea squeezed his hand.

  “We have to remember the Moon’s influence as we look to the future.” She turned over the card and Sondra gasped. “This is the Tower card. Though often seen as destruction it also suggests self-conflict because you might question how you define yourself.” Victoria tapped it a moment, considering. “Yes, I believe there is deception indicated here based on the Moon’s influence. Notice the tumbling crowns, the power that is either corrupted or destroyed and may include imprisonment. But it could also be a violent awakening, and could even be internal. I will have to see more first to be sure.”

  Victoria looked around, and everyone’s eyes were wide and mouths pursed or tense. Rhea paled, and Vic
toria patted her hand.

  “Remember nothing is ever all good or all bad,” Victoria warned. “The cards do bring balance. Let see how we find that balance. Going on, the card above the present displays your current obstacles and this card is Death.”

  “Brigid’s breastbone,” said a horrified Cooke. “You must stop.”

  Keta and Sondra gasped. Amor-el stood.

  “I can’t. We have to see it through now. Rhea?” Victoria pleaded.

  Rhea nodded. “Go on. Please. Everyone, be still for me.”

  Victoria sighed and offered everyone a small smile. “The Death card though often seen as an end to mortality is also the card of the Phoenix.”

  “Oh that’s a big whew,” Keta said, food forgotten.

  Victoria smiled at Rhea. “This card is your personal embodiment, and it shows your balance and stability. There is rebirth here, acceptance but also retaliation. Death bears the mystic white rose, and look, the sun in the background is either rising or setting. Here I believe it is setting, given the darkness that falls over the cards. The question I cannot answer is who or what will die or who or what will be reborn. This is the unforeseen obstacle. It may be a sign of change, but I think it’s more. You have shown fairness in dealing with your enemies and have experienced both the rising and the setting sun. I think your future leans to the setting sun given the Moon in your present. Perhaps be warned of the white rose.

  Amor-el smiled and squeezed her hand. The white rose was his mother’s flower.

  “Underneath the present, are cards with the proposed outcomes from the warnings. The messenger comes and is the Page of Pentacles. Yes, so far this is identical to the last four times, Miss Rhea. Will you have me tell you again?”

  Rhea closed her eyes and looked up at Am. Her eyes brimmed with tears and she nodded.

  “Very well. This card is the page, as I said, and acts as a messenger. He brings news about a girl.”

  Sondra stood suddenly as disbelief and shock radiated from her. Rhea held up a hand to prevent her from speaking. She understands.

  “Go on, Victoria.”

  An odd sense of inevitability fell over the company. Rhea’s heart thudded painfully in her chest, and she believed the others could sense it. Flames filled her eyes as her heartfire roared to life in her defense. Her color rose, as heat wafted from her.

  Am released her hand because of the increased temperature and looked from her to the cards as he tried to make sense of them. Sondra swallowed hard and shook her head. Keta leaned over to see better.

  Victoria continued. The hard edge disappeared from her voice. “This card I set across the outcome card is the Ten of Cups. This is in answer to my question I keep asking, ‘will this outcome be all right?’ and every time my answer is to see a happy home and two children, a stable marriage, and a relationship better than expected.”

  Am put a finger on the card, covering one of the two children. Rhea quickly put her hand over his.

  Victoria’s voice quivered. “I have only two cards left. This card I set outside of the future and I asked it to tell me how to resolve these future events.” She turned it over. “It’s the Ten of Swords. I’m sorry to say this is not good. This card is the most horrible in my entire deck.”

  “No way. Worse than Death?” Keta whispered.

  Victoria nodded slowly.

  Am abruptly stood. “I’ve had enough of this. Misery, enemies, retribution. Convoluted truth and lies.”

  Victoria stopped and hung her head. Rhea looked up at her beloved and took his clenched fist in her hands.

  “Please, my love, this is important. Victoria is not trying to hurt me, you, or anyone else. You said they were just cards. Let it be then, and let my friend finish. We have come this far. Do not dismiss her now.”

  Still frowning, Amor-el sat back down. His eyes flashed with his annoyance. Victoria worried that even after her news, the reading might be damage she could not repair.

  With a cough to clear her throat, Victoria continued. “The Ten of Swords is tragedy. It represents great loss and terrible deaths. What I sense is a betrayal in the future, possible treason from a friend, and what you feared to happen will bring you sadness. But this proposes something new and may divide the possibilities. A new blue rose will grow from spilled blood. And I see positive revelations. See the picture? Again, suggesting a birth, one of major change.”

  Sondra seemed to see what no one else did. She stared at Rhea.

  “Finally, this last card I’m putting above the future and diagonally to the right of the obstacles. This is my special card, and I ask my grandmother to suggest who might be the hidden enemy.” Victoria flipped it over and smiled. “This card is the Two of Wands. It gives the red rose and the white lily as hints, and you can see the person is a male who means to hold the world, who looks across sea and land, to dominate. This also suggests no marriage or prevention of a marriage. This card could also suggest that justice will be given, no matter the distance.”

  Victoria leaned back and exhaled. “The cards are the same. Exactly.”

  “But cook it all down into an edible stew, miss. What does it mean?” A worried Cooke waved a hand over the cards.

  “I see secrets and lies, betrayal, danger, death. All bad,” Amor-el said flatly.

  “Victoria said there is balance in my card, despite the terrors. She said there was happiness ahead despite the enemy and the betrayal. That I may defeat my enemy.”

  “One who wants to rule you? One who will prevent us from being together?” Am fumed.

  “Yes, I suppose it might feel that way,” Victoria said. “But I want you to see this is a mostly feminine reading. That is telling. It suggests Rhea has a strength and power over the future. I see that there is a new beginning despite some personal conflicts. I believe this is the final coming, the true revelation of the prophecy. And your ultimate enemy intends to prevent the true prophecy from happening.”

  “No. It is not possible. Destin is the result of my mate and me finding each other, of our bodies and spirits in union,” Rhea protested.

  “I know. But I think everyone just assumed your son was the answer. I think, Rhea, you know that isn’t true. I think the prophecy is still unfolding and others are coming because they sense it.”

  All eyes turned to Rhea who lowered her head.

  “The prophecy isn’t finished?” Amor-el frowned as a single tear escaped Rhea’s eye.

  Victoria smiled gently. “I am convinced now more than ever because of the Moon and the Page pushing your Death card, along with the promises of the Tower, that Rebirth is imminent. You are, without a doubt, pregnant.”

  CHAOS ERUPTED. COOKE and Franklin gasped. The shock and excitement roused Reaper. He woofed, padded over to the group and sat between Rhea and Keta. Destin, awakened by the commotion, followed Reaper and slipped his hand into Am’s. Sondra covered her mouth, her eyes wide with strange panic. Keta laughed at all the reactions.

  But everyone looked at Amor-el who didn’t say or do anything. For a brief second, he seemed frozen like a statue, features blank and unreadable. Even Destin looked up to see what was wrong. Finally, his brows puckered and his eyes refocused.

  “Rhea?” He let go of Destin’s hand and helped Rhea to her feet. “Can it be true? Is this possible?”

  There was breathlessness about him that belied his calm expression.

  Tears hung in Rhea’s eyes but there was no confirmation. She stood.

  “Excuse me, everyone. Thank you, Victoria. Be sure not to forget anything because when we lock up tonight, it’s for good.” Rhea’s voice shook slightly behind a smile meant to hide her distress. She moved quickly to the back patio where she gulped in the humid night air and left the shocked faces before they could bombard her with questions. Behind her retreating form, the whispering began, but she refused to hear them.

  Amor-el followed her, closing the doors behind him. He slipped an arm around his beloved’s waist and silently listened to the bayou sing it
s night’s song, and watched the stars blaze overhead. When he sensed her slowing heartbeat, he turned her to face him, the scent of her body’s natural cinnamon perfume exciting even now. Rhea’s eyes danced with fire and bravely met his searching ones.

  “I think they forget carakahzi, that I have lived many thousands of years. I have witnessed the coming and going of prophets, oracles, shaman and all manner of charlatans. There have been spellcasters, rune readings, curses and blessings, necromancers, and crystal balls. I witnessed actual Elementals divine the future only to see mankind tear it apart. From tea leaves to divination, to numerology and onomancy, I believe I have witnessed or studied almost everything discovered or created by mankind, though I never allowed many seers close enough to read me for fear that my phoenix would be harmed or discovered. Not until The Great Book’s prophecy did I understand that I must look at the signs.” Rhea stared deep into Am’s eyes. “And had I not dared, I would not have found you.

  “Yet now those same signs wish me to trust in something that cannot be possible.”

  Amor-el closed his eyes and pulled her tight to him.

  “How long have you suspected?” he whispered.

  “I am uncertain. I have been sick, but I never had time to be sick with Destin. I have barely changed since he was born other than a slight belly pouch. I thought my human body recovered slowly from his birth.”

  Am nodded. “It does seem impossible. I know I had Khnuman’s will and your fire. By some miracle of time and space, we have our Destin. Like you, I believed he answered the ancient prophecy that decreed two spirits must mate and become one, then birth a new, powerful creature who will usher in a new era for all non-humans. We shared fire, blood, and a son. But, a second child? How?” He pulled her over to a stone bench, and they sat close together. “This kind of magic even goes against my beliefs not to mention my nature, Rhea.”

  “I have given it much thought. You remember that first night you saved me? You drank from me. That opened the door for Khnuman’s spirit. His being in you brought back my latent power and awakened my phoenix form, which is how I killed the mimic fae though I almost killed you as well. We shared blood again and afterward, the blue rose bloomed. That is the moment I knew I was with child. Our Destin. But the night after our battle with Nathan’s forces, after you used Khnuman’s fire and killed Nathan, you were still warm and alive from the flame, potent. Your new fire coaxed mine in a mingling. You may have forgotten, but we made love again.”