Luca stopped and turned around. “Yeah, sure. I’m game.”
“Is there something in particular you’re interested in asking the cards?”
He shrugged. “Not really. You can just give me a general reading, right? Like tell me if I’m going to die tomorrow or something?”
Collette shook her head. “Oh, no. I would never ask the cards that. There are some things we’re better off not knowing, you know?”
“That’s the truth right there.”
“People are fragile. That kind of information would fuck someone up.”
Beside the counter, a white plastic stand held books on the occult. Luca picked up a paperback with a picture of a Ouija board on the cover. “You ever play with one of these things?” he asked.
“I have.”
“Do you think it’s real? Like it really works?”
“If you believe in it, I think it can work.”
“I’ve never tried, but I’m curious about it.”
“Have you ever had your cards read?”
“No. I did have a lady at a carnival read my palm once.” He flipped his hand over, palm-side up. “Based on one of these lines, she said I would have a long life.” He laughed. “Long is a relative term. So, I’d say I’ve never had my fortune told by someone who really knew what they were doing.”
“Well, I’ve given you my disclaimer that I’m still learning. So…” The keys hung on a nail behind the counter. She stuck her finger through the brass ring and headed toward the door. “I’m going to lock the door and then we can get started.”
Luca replaced the book on the stand and tucked his hands into his pockets like he was nervous.
Collette gathered the cards from the counter and pointed toward the rear of the store. “There’s a room back there for readings.”
A black curtain separated the private reading room from the store. Collette pulled it aside and flipped on the light switch. It looked like an office more than a mystical fortune-teller tent. There were books on shelves lined up on the pale blue walls and a square desk with a chair on each side near the one window. Paintings from local artists hung on the blank spots between the bookshelves. It was bright and inviting, not creepy and dark like in the movies.
“Have a seat. Whichever side suits you.” Collette pulled the curtain closed even though no one was in the store to interrupt them.
Luca sat on the side with the books to his back. “What? No crystal ball?”
“Nobody uses those for real.” Collette laughed and sat across from him. She shuffled the cards. “Where are you from, Luca?”
“I’m from here.”
“So you grew up in New Orleans?”
“You could say that.” He had glossy dark hair that women would pay good money to have and long black lashes that almost looked like he wore mascara. “What about you?”
“I’m from the North Shore originally, but I’ve been here a few months.”
“Do you live around here?” he asked, tucking some unruly strands of hair behind his ear. A lot of guys couldn’t pull off the shoulder length tresses without looking too feminine, but Luca wore it well. Very well.
“Yes. I live upstairs, actually. Alice gives me a good deal on rent and I keep an eye on the shop at night.”
“That’s convenient. I was going to offer to walk you home after this, but I guess I won’t have to.”
“Nope. Not necessary.” Collette smiled. “Shall we get started?”
“Yeah. Let’s do it.” He smirked and crossed his arms over his broad chest.
Collette cleared her throat and closed her eyes. She shuffled the cards and calmed her mind. It was important to start with a clean slate. Three cleansing breaths in and out and she was ready. “You said you don’t have a particular question in mind, correct?”
Luca leaned an elbow on the table and stared at her. “That’s right.”
The cards were light in her hands as she shuffled them. “Okay.” She flipped the top card onto the table. The Magician. The second card was placed to the right. The Chariot. Finally, the third card. The Hanged Man.
She touched the Magician card, trailing her finger over the sword and wand in the picture. “This card is your past. You’re smart and when you set your mind to something, you make it happen. You set goals and it’s important to you to meet them. It’s an action card.”
Luca nodded. “That’s a fair assessment.”
Collette smiled and exhaled before touching the second card. Two horses, one black and one white, pull the chariot. “This is your present. The Chariot signifies a victory of some sort. You’re involved in some kind of battle and you’re likely to come out ahead, but it won’t be easy and you might feel like you won’t make it. Keep your eyes on the prize. This is a powerful card in a really good way.”
“Can you tell anything more specific about that?”
She shook her head. “No. I’m sorry. I’m not that good.”
Luca laughed. “You’re doing pretty good so far.”
“Thanks. When we finish this spread, if you want to ask something specific, we can do that.”
“Okay.”
The last card on the right was inverted. “This card is your future. The Hanged Man is about sacrifice. Whatever battle you’re involved in, you’ll be called on to give something up. Consider it carefully, Luca. Whatever you do, there will be no going back. It’ll be permanent.”
“Interesting.” Luca’s jaw tensed.
“Does any of that make sense to you?”
“Yeah. It’s kind of uncanny actually.” He absently ran his finger over the slight dimple in his chin.
She gathered the cards up and put them back in the deck and began shuffling them again. “Did you want to ask a specific question now?”
“Maybe.”
“If you can phrase it as a yes or no question, that works best.”
“Okay. Let me think for a minute.” Luca leaned back in the chair and looked at the ceiling. He flexed his biceps and they bulged against the sleeves of his T-shirt.
“Take your time.” Collette continued to slide the cards over each other. She wanted to ask him what kind of battle he was waging. Was it something inside himself or did it involve someone else? It wasn’t her place to pry though, so she sat quietly while he contemplated.
Luca straightened in the chair and put his hands on the table. “Will this be over soon?”
Collette cut the cards and pulled the one from the top. “The Emperor is a strong card. If you’re able to be rational and stand up for yourself, the answer is yes.”
“Can I ask another question?”
“Sure.” The Emperor card was slid back between the other cards and she shuffled them again.
“If I don’t do anything, will the problem go away on its own?”
She placed the card on the table. The skeletal reaper with dismembered body parts was a daunting card and scared people when they didn’t understand its meaning. “Death. Hmm. This card is probably one of the most versatile. The message is based on the context of the reading. It generally signifies change, but in answering a question like yours, it’s not a positive card. The answer is no. If you decide to ignore this problem, I don’t think anything will change.”
His lip twitched. “That’s what I thought.”
“Anything else?” she asked him.
“No. I think that’s all.”
“All right.” Collette slid her hand across the table and touched the back of his. His skin was cool and soft. “Thanks for letting me do a reading for you.”
Luca turned his hand over and squeezed hers. “No, thank you for doing it for me. It was very cool. Can I pay you?”
“No. No. This is totally off the books.”
“That’s real nice of you. Maybe I can take you out for a drink instead then.”
“Are you asking me out?” She smiled.
“Would you say yes if I was?”
“Should we ask the cards?”
He laughed. “I might re
gret this, but, yes, let’s ask the cards.”
Please don’t let this backfire she chided herself silently and flipped over Justice. She laughed. “Jesus. Justice isn’t really a yes or no card, but more of a karma card.” She covered the card with her hand. “I have a good feeling about you, so I’m going to say yes.”
“I’ve been known to give some good feelings. Do you work tomorrow night?”
“I do, but I’m off at ten. Unless that’s too late. It’s just that my days off are during the week. So it’s up to you.”
“Tomorrow night after ten works for me.” He rubbed his thumb over the back of her hand and grinned. “I told you I’m not really a morning person.”
“Great. So, I’ll see you tomorrow night then.” Her stomach fluttered excitedly at the thought of seeing him again.
* * * *
AFTER THE READING with the cute girl in the voodoo shop, Luca knew he’d made the right decision. Sometimes doing the necessary thing was difficult.
A tall wrought iron gate surrounded the home he shared with Betina and Jӧrg. Luca had been there first, but when he started questioning some of the things Betina was doing, she acquired Jӧrg and was slowly replacing Luca with the taller, younger but more obedient vampire.
Luca slipped his key into the deadbolt and turned until it clicked. The house was quiet but for hushed whispers upstairs. A girl laughed and his stomach tightened. There was a good possibility she wouldn’t leave the house alive.
The more aware he became of what Betina was doing, the less empathy he had for her. He was a god-damn vampire too. Luca understood the needs and the pain and the discontent, but he had learned to control it. Betina had been around way longer than he had. In fact, she’d made him and nurtured him, taught him how to survive. There was a time when Luca worshipped the ground she walked on, but those days were long gone.
Betina’d had plenty of time to figure her shit out. The story that she needed the blood of young women or she’d perish was complete bullshit and she wasn’t just feeding and releasing like she should. She was killing people and Luca was on to her.
Jӧrg was good at picking up young women and bringing them home, which is what he assumed was going down tonight. The laughter was distinctly female, but it wasn’t Betina. The modus operandi was Jӧrg would bring them home, fuck them and then hand them off to Betina.
The living room was decorated with antique furniture and ornate paintings. Very few people ever saw the inside of the house. Luca doubted the neighbors on either side knew much of Betina. She didn’t go out anymore now that Jӧrg brought girls home for her. She had no reason to. Vampires didn’t need to go grocery shopping.
A creak on the stairs caught Luca’s attention. Betina smiled. Her honey-colored hair hung past her shoulders and her lips were painted a dark red. She wore a see through T-shirt sans a bra. Luca knew the game, more specifically her game. In the beginning, the seduction had been fun. It was that allurement that sucked him in the night she decided to make him like her. Anyone who believes a man doesn’t make decisions based on what his dick wants is delusional. In his case, his dick had led him into the web of a black widow.
They both looked up when the laughing turned into moaning. Jӧrg was halfway there. In the vampire world fucking wasn’t a home run, getting the blood was.
“Who’s here?” he asked, dropping his keys into the Moroccan bowl on the table in the foyer.
Betina shrugged. “Jӧrg has a date.”
“You mean he brought someone home for you?”
“We share sometimes. You know that.”
“Pfft.”
“Why are you grumpy? Do you need something?” Betina pulled at the collar of her shirt.
“No.” Luca climbed the stairs and brushed past her. The last thing he wanted was her tainted blood in his mouth. “I’m going to bed. Try and keep it down, would you?”
“Luca. Wait.” The slight whine in her voice gave the words a plaintive tone.
He ignored her and slammed the door to his bedroom. His heart still held something for her. He loved her, but he hated her for who she was now. Living in her house felt like living in a sinister orphanage and Betina was the head mistress or murderess.
The belladonna berries looked like raisins and tasted like blueberries. He tossed a few in his mouth and chewed. The Devil’s Cherries would kill a human, but they provided a nice buzz for vampires; a little better than booze. A calmness spread through him like when he used to smoke weed. He wondered how much belladonna it would take to kill a vampire.
Luca kicked his shoes off and lay on his bed. He plugged his ears with earbuds and blared Aerosmith’s Crazy. He didn’t want to hear whatever went down that night. His days of putting up with it were almost over.
Chapter Two
COLLETTE NERVOUSLY CHECKED her lipstick in the mirror behind the counter. Since Luca was meeting her right after the shop closed, she’d taken a little extra time before work to make sure she looked okay. She dabbed a little lemon oil behind her ears. The smell of traditional perfumes made her gag. Who wanted to smell like a funeral home flower spread?
An older woman browsed the last aisle where they sold candles, incense and coal tablets. She carried six boxes of incense sticks and a gargoyle-shaped holder up to the counter. “This is so cute. It will look wonderful on my veranda.”
Collette wrapped the pewter item in newspaper and slid it into a shopping bag. “It’s adorable and a big seller here.” She rang up the purchases and held up the box of Moonlight incense. “This scent is so relaxing. I burn it next to my bathtub.”
The woman smiled. “It’s one of my favorites as well.” She offered her credit card.
Collette slid it through the reader and handed it back. It took a few seconds for the machine to spit out a curly receipt. “Have a great night and come back and see us.”
“Thank you.”
As she was about to push the door, it opened. Luca held it for the woman as she exited. He nodded at her and stepped inside. He was early. The store was open for another twenty minutes.
He wore a black tee with jeans. A leather bracelet circled his wrist. His hair was a little wavy and messy. Luca looked damn good. “Hey,” he said, walking toward the counter with a smile on his face.
“Hey yourself.” Collette curled her toes inside her shoes. The nervousness she felt slowly dissipated. She couldn’t explain why she felt so calm around him. New people usually made her feel awkward, but she got the sense she’d known him longer. Perhaps in another life they’d been friends or even lovers.
“What’s new in the voodoo world?”
“Nada mucho. But we did get in some new candelabras.” She pointed to the pair on the top shelf behind the counter. They were stainless steel with little skulls with red stones for the eyes circling the bottoms. She had put a black taper in each. “I’m going to save up to buy them.”
He leaned over the counter and peered at them. “Nice. They look cool.”
“So, where did you want to go tonight?” Collette asked.
“How about Lafitte’s?”
“Yeah, sure. That sounds good. I’ve been there once before.”
The closing routine took about ten minutes. While Luca thumbed through a catalog, Collette walked through the store and straightened items that had been picked over by customers throughout the day. She wiped down the glass cases and then turned off the lights.
“Are you ready?” she asked.
Luca smiled. “Yep.”
Lafitte’s was about two blocks away so it was close enough for them to walk. She didn’t own a car anyway. Drunk driving was never a problem. Drunk walking was another story. But she didn’t go out much. Being in a bar alone made her feel like a sitting duck or a piece of meat.
Saturday nights were busy in the French Quarter. A curly haired woman carrying two Styrofoam cups stumbled into Collette and pushed her into Luca.
He caught her by the arm. “Whoa.”
“All these people a
re the bane of my existence.” Collette laughed. “I would like to make them magically disappear so I could walk without being knocked into the gutter.”
Luca leaned close to her ear. “Can’t you do a spell or something to make them go away or freeze them or something?”
“I wish.” She laughed and looped her arm through his. “I can’t do anything that would interfere with any else’s freedom.”
“You can’t or you won’t?”
“I won’t. That’s not okay.”
“So, you’re a good witch?”
At the corner of Bourbon Street and St. Philip, they ducked inside the ancient building that used to be a blacksmith shop over two hundred years ago. A fireplace, blackened from use, stood in the center of the bar. Flames crackled and popped in it. The bar was charming with red brick walls and wrought iron sconces.
“I’m not a witch.”
“Aren’t you? How else would you be able to read my cards like you did?”
“That’s not witchcraft. Divination is just learning to be open to your extra sensory abilities. I think anyone can do it if they learn to use that part of their brain.”
Luca took Collette’s hand and led her to an empty table toward the back. He pulled out a chair for her. “Is this okay?”
Collette nodded. “Yes, it’s fine.”
“What’ll you have to drink?” he asked.
“Jack and Coke, please.”
He smiled. “Good choice. I’ll be right back.”
Lafitte’s wasn’t as busy as some of the other bars they had passed, but it was still brimming. People tried to talk over the music and each other. Luca returned with two glasses. He sat down and slid one across the table. “There you go.” He smiled. His teeth were really white, almost too white. His skin was smooth and pale. There were no calluses on his hand and no dirt under his fingernails. She wondered what he did for work. His body looked like he did construction, but there was no way those hands engaged in manual labor.
“Thank you.” Collette took a sip and blinked. “Wow. That’s strong.”
“I always get double shots in mine. Do you want me to get you another coke?”
“No. It’s good. I like my cocktails strong.”
Come Undone: Romance Stories Inspired by the Music of Duran Duran Page 36