“Damnit! Leave me alone!” he yelled.
You want me, mortal. Even if you deny it, you want me. You can’t hide the evidence from me any more now than you could the first time you saw me. Do you remember that day when you came begging for me to cure Terza? You told me you loved her, but I saw that you really desired me. That is your weakness, mortal, and it is that weakness that will be your downfall.
Again, the invisible hand touched his abdomen. When it began to move lower, he swatted at it, but his hand only struck air.
Gritting his teeth, he growled, “Leave me alone, Moira, or I swear I’ll . . .”
You’ll what? Kill me? she taunted.
When he realized there was no good retort for that one, he said, “If I’m no threat to you, then why are you hiding from me? Why don’t you come out and face me? Why don’t we get this damn battle over with right now?”
Soon, mortal. Go back to Shana or I’ll do to her what I did to Terza.
As a cold wind suddenly swirled around him, Ryan shivered. An instant later, he felt the invisible hand stroke seductively against the front of his pants. Before he could move away from it, the wind disappeared.
“Damnit! Why do you insist on involving Shana in this? Why do you want me to kill her?” he asked furiously, even though he knew Moira was gone. And instinct told him that was Shana’s role in this conflict. For some unknown reason, Moira wanted him to kill Shana—that his doing so was a critical part of their battle.
If that’s true, then she’s bluffing when she says that if you don’t go back to Shana, she’ll kill her.
“God, I want to believe that,” he stated hoarsely. However, as much as he wanted to believe it, he knew he didn’t dare risk calling her bluff.
But there had to be something he could do to protect Shana from himself until morning, he thought in frustration as he reluctantly headed for her house. By then both his and Moira’s powers would begin to wane. He was sure Moira wouldn’t risk a confrontation unless she was in full possession of her powers. That would give him and Shana tomorrow to try to come up with a solution for this mess. And he knew in his heart that that was all the time they had. By this time tomorrow, the battle would be over. He just had to make sure that when it was, Shana was still alive.
Chapter Eighteen
The Emperor Card
Advisor and Authority
AS SHANA FROWNED down at the Tarot cards, she drummed her fingers against the tabletop. For nearly an hour, she’d been trying to figure out how to read the spread. The only conclusion she had reached so far was that each cycle had five cards, and there would be four complete cycles. The first card, The Fool, was in the center of the spread. The last card Moira delivered would also go into the center. But no matter how many times Shana studied the other cards, she couldn’t figure out how to read them.
“But I have to figure it out!” she declared in frustration.
Leaning back in the chair, she looked up at the stained-glass pentagram overhead. The moon had disappeared from sight, so it wouldn’t be too many hours before dawn arrived. Where was Ryan? It had been more than two hours since he’d stormed away from her at the meadow. Although he was determined to stay away from her, the mating bond should have brought him back to her by now.
Worriedly, she raked a hand through her hair, wishing she had made him release her from the shielding spell. If she had, she could make a mental appeal for him to reassure her that he was okay.
“He’s fine,” she told herself firmly, returning her attention to the cards. “He’s your mate now. If he were in immediate danger, you’d know it, so stop wasting time by needlessly worrying about him. He’ll be back soon, and the moment he does return, you need to get the Death card from him. If you can see it lying here with the other cards, maybe you’ll finally figure out the key to reading this spread.”
Maybe it isn’t the missing Death card that’s the problem. Maybe it’s because Moira is existing inside you, and she isn’t letting you find the solution.
Shana shook her head in denial of the thought, but even as she did so, she had to admit that it made sense. If Moira could take over her mind and turn fantasy lovemaking into reality, then it stood to reason she could stop Shana from reading the cards. On the other hand, maybe Moira was afraid that she would be able to read them. If so, she would try to make her think she couldn’t read them, so she’d stop trying to figure them out.
“Everything is so damn complicated!” She leaned forward and studied the cards again. When she still couldn’t find the pattern, she said, “Maybe if I put it down on paper, I can see what’s going on.”
Rising, she headed for the kitchen. There she retrieved some paper and a pen from a cupboard drawer. Sitting at the kitchen table, she made a chart. She put the beginning card at the top. Then she listed each cycle and began to record the cards in the order received. When she was done, she propped her elbows on the table and rested her chin in her hands as she studied her efforts.
Beginning: The Fool Reversed
Cycle One
The Chariot Reversed
The Devil
The Star Reversed
The Moon
Wheel of Fortune
Reversed
Cycle Two
Death
The Magician
The High Priestess
The Hierophant Reversed
The Tower
Cycle Three
The Lovers
Temperance Reversed
Justice Reversed
The Sun
The Empress
Cycle Four
The Hermit
Strength
???
???
???
Ending: ???
“Okay, what does the chart show me?” she mused as she looked at each column.
She couldn’t see any pattern there, so she looked at the top row. The Chariot, reversed; Death; The Lovers; and The Hermit. Other than the fact that each of them was the beginning card of a cycle, what else did they have in common?
For what seemed like the thousandth time, she went through the circumstances surrounding the delivery of each card. The Chariot came at Ryan’s motorcycle accident. Death came when she lost her powers. The Lovers card had frightened Ryan. He’d run away and met Oran, who gave him the witch stone. The Hermit came when she went to Oran for help. They were all events, but . . .
“That’s it!” she gasped, bolting upright. “They were all events.”
She quickly added a new column to the left and wrote the word events. Then she switched her attention to the second row of cards.
Comparing them to the first group of cards she murmured, “The Chariot was Ryan’s arrival, which was brought about by black magic, thus the Devil card. Death was my loss of powers and Ryan’s transformation into a warlock, which is represented by The Magician. The Lovers are struggling between sacred and profane love because of Temperance being reversed. That was the card that told me Ryan was Aric’s reincarnation. And, of course, Strength represents my determination to save Ryan and our child from Moira, which sent me to Oran, The Hermit, for guidance. So what does all that mean?”
She quickly reviewed the comparison again, and then she frowned in confusion. These cards seemed more like causes of the events, but why would causes come after the events? That didn’t make sense.
She closed her eyes and visualized the spread. The first group of cards was at the bottom. Then she moved counterclockwise to the next set of cards, and . . .
“Of course!” she gasped, opening her eyes and staring down at the chart. I’m going counterclockwise, so everything is backward. The event will take place, and then I’ll find out what caused it!”
Excitedly, she wrote causes next to the second ro
w and moved to the third one. Now that she finally understood the pattern, their meaning came almost instantly. “They’re the influences over the events! The Star represents Ryan’s stubbornness, pessimism, and doubt, which allowed Moira to work her black magic to bring him to Sanctuary and to continually turn him into Aric. The High Priestess was the hidden influence—Moira—stripping my powers from me and giving them to Ryan. Justice, reversed, is Moira’s unfair means of drawing Aric out instead of fighting Ryan for his soul.”
She moved on to the fourth row. Again, the solution came quickly, and she shook her head in disbelief.
“They’re clues! The Moon—unforeseen perils, deception, and psychic influences—was Moira’s way of telling us that she is playing games with us. The Hierophant, reversed, was to let us know she’d use unconventional and unorthodox means to get us to do what she wants. The Sun, of course, was telling us that all of this is happening because Ryan is Aric’s reincarnation.”
After adding clues next to that column, she moved on to the last row. It took her a little longer to figure out what they represented, but then it came to her like a thunderbolt.
“Complications!” she declared in excitement. “The Wheel of Fortune, reversed, was Ariel’s unexpected arrival, which prevented me from stopping Ryan from trying to leave. Unforeseen catastrophe in The Tower was my giving Ryan the witch’s vow. That mated us and drew Aric out, because he thought Moira was trying to trick him again. That’s also where Ryan confessed that he’s not afraid of death, but life.”
Pausing, she gave a rueful shake of her head. “And finally, there’s The Empress. If Moira’s right, I’m pregnant, which makes matters even more urgent and precarious. A definite complication.”
Adding the word “complications” to the chart, she again studied it. Now that she understood the pattern, all she had to do was look at the last four cards and decide how they could fall into the empty categories. She wrote the names of the missing cards at the bottom of the paper, and then she lifted it and studied her efforts.
Beginning: The Fool Reversed
Cycle One
The Chariot Reversed
The Devil
The Star Reversed
The Moon
Wheel of Fortune
Reversed
Cycle Two
Death
The Magician
The High Priestess
The Hierophant Reversed
The Tower
Cycle Three
The Lovers
Temperance Reversed
Justice Reversed
The Sun
The Empress
Cycle Four
The Hermit
Strength
???
???
???
Ending: ???
MISSING CARDS:
The World; The Hanged Man; The Emperor; and Judgment
“I can’t believe it was so simple,” she said, shaking her head in amazement. “If I can figure out the clues that Oran gave me and apply them to the cards, I should be able to figure out what Moira has planned.”
She laid the chart back on the table and leaned back in her chair. Going over the points of her conversation with Oran, she held up her index finger. First, he told her that this is the fulfillment of a very old prophecy.
Raising her middle finger, she noted that Moira had negotiated a bargain with the dark forces for Aric’s soul. According to the terms of the bargain, he would surrender his soul to them for five hundred years. Though Oran couldn’t tell her why it was specifically for five centuries, he had indicated that the terms of the bargain were important.
Her ring finger came up. When she asked him why Moira had been obsessed with Aric, he had told her the answer was important and that there was a clue in the knowledge she had. When she tried to get him to elaborate, he made her recite the meaning behind the spelling of the coven members’ names. She frowned, still bewildered by that exercise. What did the names have to do with Moira?
The answer was as elusive now as it had been then, so she ignored it and raised her little finger. When she asked if figuring out the key to reading the cards would help defeat Moira, Oran said that knowledge was power, and whether or not that knowledge would help would be up to Ryan. So figuring out how to read the cards wasn’t as important as what Ryan would do with the information.
She raised her thumb, recalling that when she asked Oran if she was overlooking something important, he said she was. He then told her to examine closely everything she’d learned during the regression. What had she overlooked? she wondered, frowning again.
She began to sort through the events that had occurred during the regression. The first thing Aric told her was that he’d gone to Moira and asked her to cure Terza. Moira had done so, but threatened to kill Terza if he told anyone what Moira had done. Evidently that was when Moira first became obsessed with him, Shana realized, because he said she’d started coming to him for dream-lovemaking. That’s when she had also started tempting him with the offer of powers.
“Okay, let’s figure this out,” Shana said, leaning forward and grabbing a new piece of paper. She quickly jotted down: Threatens to kill Terza, begins dream-lovemaking; makes first offer of powers.
Putting the end of the pen in her mouth, she gnawed on it as she recalled the next scene with Aric. He was furious that Moira had given him powers by making a deal with the dark forces for his soul. Moira told him it was a good bargain, because he’d have to surrender it for only five centuries. He told Moira to take the powers back. She refused, saying the deal had already been made, and if he refused it, the dark forces would take her soul until he surrendered his.
“Well, that’s simple enough,” Shana murmured as she added to the list: Negotiates bargain and gives Aric powers. He refuses bargain. Why five hundred years?
Circling the question, she moved on to the next scene. Aric had just returned from seeing the powerful warlock, who must have been a troubleshooter like Sebastian. He had told Aric how to defeat Moira, and . . .
“That’s what I overlooked!” Shana gasped, quickly pushing aside the paper she was writing on and grabbing the Tarot chart.
She looked down at the bottom where she had listed the missing cards. When she saw The Emperor, she grinned triumphantly. The Emperor was an advisor and authority figure. What Oran had been trying to tell her was that she and Ryan needed to go to Sebastian for advice!
“Oh, Ryan, where are you?” she asked, surging to her feet. Still clutching the chart, she began to pace. “Please come back. We don’t have much time.”
It was as if her plea summoned him, because the door suddenly swung open and Ryan stepped into the room. Immediately, Shana ran toward him, but she stumbled to a stop when she realized he was glaring at her.
Eying him warily, she said, “What’s wrong?”
“You’re what’s wrong,” he said in a low, furious voice. “I’m here only because Moira insists that I be with you. I don’t want you to look at me, talk to me, or come near me until morning. Have you got that?”
“Moira’s been in touch with you?” she asked in horror. “Did she give you another card?”
“Damnit, Shana! Didn’t you just hear what I said? I don’t want to have anything to do with you until morning, and that includes conversation.”
“I heard you, Ryan, but this is important. Did Moira give you another card?”
He glared at her. “No. Now, leave me alone.”
“I’m sorry, Ryan, but I can’t do that. Moira has only four cards left to deliver, and morning might be too late. We have to find Sebastian. I want you to contact him with your mind and tell him we have to see him. Ask him where we can meet with him.”
RYAN GAPED AT Shana, certain he’d misunderstood he
r. She couldn’t have really said that she wanted him to contact Sebastian. But even as he tried to deny it, he knew that was exactly what she had said.
“Have you completely lost your mind?” he asked. “If I make contact with Sebastian, he’s going to know I’ve become a warlock. He’ll try to get involved, and Moira will destroy him.”
She shook her head. “You’re wrong. During the regression, Aric said he had gone to see the most powerful warlock alive—the protector of all the witches and warlocks. That had to be a troubleshooter like Sebastian. That warlock told Aric how to defeat Moira, and I think Sebastian can tell us what to do. We have to go to him and ask his advice.”
“You’re willing to risk this guy’s life because Aric went to see a warlock?” he said incredulously. “That’s almost as stupid as your using Moira’s damn cards in the first place!”
“I’ve already admitted that using the cards was wrong,” she said as she stared at him with a wounded expression. “But this is not stupid. When I went to see Oran, he told me that I was missing something important—something that could help us. He said that the key was in the information we got from the regression. That’s the only point I didn’t discuss with him.
“The Emperor is one of the cards that Moira hasn’t given us,” she went on before he could argue the point. “The Emperor is an authority figure. He advises people, and that’s part of Sebastian’s job as the troubleshooter. Another part of his job is to protect our race from harm. Can’t you see that going to him is the only smart thing to do?”
“What I see is that you want to go to a man whose job it is to protect your race,” he snapped. “What do you think he’s going to do if he thinks Moira has a chance of getting loose? I’ll tell you exactly what he’s going to do. He’s going to jump in with both feet and probably get us all killed.”
“Sebastian is a warlock,” she replied. “I would suggest you remember that when you’re dealing with him. I’m afraid he has a bit of an ego problem, and he wouldn’t take kindly to being referred to as a man. I can also guarantee that he isn’t going to get in the middle of our battle with Moira. Oran says that we’re fulfilling a very old prophecy. That prohibits Sebastian from getting involved with Moira.”
Touch of Magic Page 28