She didn’t notice the man standing quietly at the podium.
Chapter Two
“Are you still doing readings?” the man asked, breaking Ember from her concentration. She turned around sharply. Her eyes widened with fear and anticipation, and she nearly fell into the nearest pouf.
This can’t be real, she thought to herself as she found her footing.
She took a deep breath to steady herself. There was no mistake.
In the light of the candles, he looked more mysterious and shadowed than the man in her dreams, a mysterious and unnamed man, tall, with short, black hair and piercing blue eyes. A man who had haunted her dreams for as long as she could remember.
In her dreams, the clothing he wore was never the same, but he was always clearly looking at her-no-into her, as though he could see into her very soul. “Yes. Would you like a reading?” she asked as she took her place behind the podium, turning on the iPad to ring him up.
The man seemed to be staring at her, and she had to focus to keep from blushing.
“Yes, please. How much?” He opened his wallet, his eyes glancing down momentarily.
Ember breathed a sigh of relief.
She cleared her throat as she flashed her eyes toward him then back at the iPad. “Twenty dollars.” She gripped the podium as a wash of déjà vu swept over her.
The man handed her his credit card.
Ember reached to take it from him, her fingertips brushing his in an almost intimate exchange. The feeling sent a shockwave coursing through her. She slid the credit card through the attachment on the iPad and tapped the touchscreen buttons, turning the iPad toward him.
“Please sign here.”
The man elegantly moved his finger about, in perfect motion, and Ember couldn’t shake the feeling she’d seen that same motion before, the movement reminding her of how a maestro conducts his orchestra, or a wizard commands his wand.
What a silly thought. You don’t even know this man; you’ve clearly been watching too much Harry Potter again, Ember chastised herself. She pulled the device back, tapped a few buttons, and then placed it back on the stand before extending her arm toward the table.
“Please, have a seat.”
He took his seat gracefully, and Ember moved stiffly to sit in hers, directly across from him. She picked up the deck of cards, which suddenly felt very heavy in her hands. With a deep breath to steady herself, she held them out to him.
“Please shuffle the deck until the spirits move you to stop,” she instructed. Mr. Blue Eyes eyed the deck nervously but took them from her.
The energy coming off of him is so intense, she thought. She wished momentarily that she could see auras like her grandmother, Joanne.
Ember inhaled the scent of sage and lavender; focusing if only for a moment on her own breath. She closed her eyes, as she always did to center herself. When she opened her eyes, he was still shuffling the cards.
A stray card fell out, and he reached for it almost instantaneously. Ember held up her right hand, imploring him with her eyes to stop. “We’ll put that off to the side for now. The spirits obviously have something they wish to tell you,” she said in a calm, steady voice.
Mr. Blue Eyes finally set the deck down. “Alright” was all he said.
Not much of a talker, are you Mr. Blue Eyes? she thought to herself.
Ember drew the first card.
The Tower Upright.
How odd, she thought.
I haven’t drawn this card all night, except … she let her thoughts wander as she pulled the next card -- The World Reversed.
Ember felt awash with sudden heat and trepidation as she pulled the last card -- The Ten of Cups Reversed.
The chances of someone else drawing the same cards, in the same order, on the same night were …
Next to impossible. Especially given the fact that Ember was not the one who shuffled the cards.
“Interesting,” she said aloud.
Mr. Blue Eyes leaned closer. He smelled like the burning embers of palo santo and clove, and the mixture was both soothing and magical to her senses.
“What does it mean?” he asked. His voice was smooth, like chocolate silk pie.
What can I tell him? she wondered.
She knew what the cards meant; she’d read them for herself earlier. They could mean something else for him, she thought, but in her gut, she knew exactly what they meant, the same way she always knew what the cards meant.
“The Tower signifies a big change coming your way or that change is already starting to pass.” She spoke confidently, despite her own wonderment.
“Well I don’t plan on jumping out of any buildings,” he said with a hint of humor.
“Come again?” Ember was confused.
The man pointed to the artwork on the card, which depicted a tower with flames in the background, and an exceedingly small, airborne man.
Of course, the imagery was always something people took all too literally.
“I wouldn’t take the pictures too seriously. They are hundreds of years old, you know, and as far as I know, no one who’s ever drawn The Tower has actually jumped out of one,” she said sweetly.
The man stifled a laugh, and she couldn’t help but smirk herself.
She hovered her hand above the second card feeling all at once anger, sadness, and guilt. Different emotions clashed within her: the loss of something wonderful, heartache.
She looked at The World Reversed; puzzled.
“The World, in this reverse position, means things won’t go the way you planned, perhaps this change in your life is not going where you hope it will.” She always tried to deliver the hard news in a happier tone, hoping it would be easier to accept.
“That sounds rather wonderful. This is turning out to be quite a downer,” he said as he crossed his arms in front of her.
Ember pushed back against the onslaught of emotion that overcame her, excitement, and wonder dancing with fear and heartache. It was all hitting her at once.
She hovered her hand over the last card, the Ten of Cups Reversed, and as her fingers grazed the glossy coating of cardstock in front of her, Ember saw something.
She saw it as vividly and as brightly as if it were her reality, and she knew without a doubt what it was, even though she’d never experienced the sensation before.
Like a dream come to life, the world around Ember shifted in a vision.
Chapter Three
Smoke curled in the air, creating a hazy cast over the room. She could feel his eyes on her from across the room.
She looked up from her seat in the crowded expanse of the underground speakeasy, stealing a glance at him. He stood behind the cherrywood bar pouring glasses of what she only assumed to be whiskey for a group of men in suits. In the amber light of candles and gaslight, with his slicked-back hair and rolled-up sleeves, he looked positively magical.
Rose shuffled her deck of cards mindlessly as she watched the beautiful Adonis toss a bottle in the air, spinning around with perfect momentum to catch it, his eyes closed.
She set her cards down and took a hit from her cigarette.
A woman stepped into her line of vision, blocking out the bartender.
“Excuse me, but I saw you with your …” The woman pointed to her tarot cards.
“My cards?” Rose gently tapped her cigarette above the ashtray, the embers disintegrating into tiny specks from the combination of fire and air.
The woman clutched her hand purse in front of her and Rose took in the sight of her. She didn’t seem to be as inebriated as the rest of the inhabitants. On the contrary, she seemed a solid structure against the fluidity that perpetuated establishments such as this. Rose motioned for her to sit.
“Please, dear, have a seat. What can I do to help?” She gently put the cigarette out and picked up her cards.
The woman eyed the cards with an expression of interest and fear. “Are they dangerous?” she asked, as she situated herself on the chair opp
osite. Rose shrugged.
“Far less dangerous than if we were to be caught somewhere like this, I suppose.” She started to shuffle the deck.
“They’re not … evil?” She watched Rose’s movements with wonder.
“There are many evils in this world if one does not protect oneself. The evil lies not in the cards, but in the person who uses them, and I assure you, I am not some evil devil worshipper.” She proffered the cards toward the woman.
“Shuffle the cards and hand them back to me.” The woman took them nervously and did as she was told.
Rose looked up for a brief moment and saw the beautiful man tending the bar was watching her quite intently. His eyes, an electric blue, were the hottest part of a burning flame.
We’ve been here before, Ember’s thoughts rang like a bell, echoing loudly in her own mind.
Her body trembled with energy, like a pulse all of its own, and suddenly the world of vision dissipated to reveal a man with electric blue eyes sitting across from her, underneath a canvas tent.
Ember let out a breath and looked down at the card beneath her hand. Her fingers tingled numbly as she drew her hand back.
“The Ten of Cups, in this position it tells me that despite some issues or challenges, things will work out smoothly for you. This card also symbolizes joy and abundance and familial bonds, the creation of these things. “She swallowed as the tingling in her fingertips started to subside.
“Interesting, but you can’t tell me what this change is, can you?” Mr. Blue Eyes smirked, and it was then that Ember noticed his sleeves were rolled up and his hair was gelled back.
She had seen him in her dreams, and moments ago it seemed she had known him long ago … Who was this man? Ember opened her mouth to speak, but a familiar voice broke through before she could.
“It’s closing time.” Her voice was muffled between chewing.
Ember looked at Ava, who raised an eyebrow, darting her eyes toward Mr. Blue Eyes.
Mr. Blue Eyes looked at his watch and smiled. “So it is.” He rose from his chair with ease and nodded toward Ember. “Thank you, this has been rather fun and educational, but I believe it is time we part.” He sunk his hands into the pockets of his black slacks and slinked out of the canvas tent like a shadow.
And then he was gone.
Chapter Four
Ember took one last look at the cards laid out in front of her before shaking her head and hurriedly withdrawing them from the table, back into the stack before Ava could see them.
Ava was like a dog with a bone when it came to that sort of thing, and Ember knew she wouldn’t be able to explain it, not when she didn’t know herself what had just transpired.
“So, what’s the deal with tall, dark and handsome? Please tell me he’s single.” Ava sat in the chair Mr. Blue Eyes had occupied only moments ago. She set a funnel cake down between them, popping a piece in her mouth as soon as the plate hit the table.
“You know it doesn’t work like that.” Ember reached into her purse to pull out a simple black velvet bag. She unrolled the black satin strings and took a deep breath as she slid the cards inside.
“I know that, but if you’ve taught me anything over these years, it is that everything is up to interpretation. The cards may not say ‘I’m single and ready to mingle’ in plain context, but you know because the cards indicate isolation, trouble finding love and inability to commit.” Ava popped another piece of funnel cake into her perfectly defined mouth.
Despite Ava’s fascination with the metaphysical and occult, she had no divine gifts. Unless one counted her impossible metabolism, with the amount of junk food the woman consumed on a daily basis, or her uncanny ability to pull the truth out of anyone. In fact, the rest of her family stayed far away from anything remotely resembling occultism or witchcraft; due to their familial connection to the infamous Aleister Crowley.
Ava’s family even went as far as changing their last name to Michaels. Ava, however, embraced her heritage, changing her last name back to Crowley on her 18th birthday. She was extremely astute at reading people, and between the lines, with the most uncanny way of knowing what you were hiding.
Ember slipped the velvet bag back into her purse and rose from her chair before walking over to the crystal grid and gently removing each stone, placing them in the wooden box next to it.
“You know I can’t just tell you about their readings. It’s personal stuff.” Ember blew out the candles swiftly.
“Must have been really good if you’re using that excuse.” The sound of Ava licking her fingers made Ember cringe.
“I’m just drained.” Ember picked up the bundle of burning sage and wafted the smoke toward her, breathing in its strong scent.
Smoke.
The smell of smoke shifted her concentration, and the sounds of a jovial crowd in a cavernous room whispered in her cerebellum, echoes from only moments ago. It mingled with her memories; the heat of bodies, and the tinkling of ice cubes in glasses filled with forbidden liquor. She couldn’t stop thinking about how real it had all felt.
Ember tried to clear her mind, inviting the curls of sage smoke to cleanse her of whatever
energy seemed to cling to her after touching the cards Mr. Blue Eyes had shuffled.
Cards that somehow mirrored her own reading only hours ago.
Reading for clients always took a toll on Ember as their energies collected and manifested through the cards. For Ember, interpretation was not something she learned from a book like it was for Ava. For Ember, it was much more divine. It came from the energy gathered; the energy spoke to Ember directly, as if it had a voice of its own.
Most of the time the energies were quiet, still, and somber. Even the happy, joyfully abundant readings were manageable, but occasionally a client would manifest such negative energy or darkness that Ember became exhausted--physically as well as mentally.
The energy that had emanated off Mr. Blue Eyes was none of those things though; it was something … different.
It was a heavy, magnetic force that called to her like the lull of the sea. It was not negative energy, and it was not full of darkness and despair. Neither was it light and airy nor full of joyful abundance and happiness.
It was encompassing, and warm, and inviting, and it had left its mark on Ember.
Chapter Five
Three days. It had been three days since Mr. Blue Eyes had walked into the tent as though he had stepped straight out of her dreams. She sat in her aqua blue wingback chair with her cat, Stella, curled up in her lap, staring at her phone.
Ember stared at the contact name, debating on whether contacting her Aunt Kacie would do more harm than good.
Ember was not the only one in the family with gifts, but that didn’t make things any easier.
“What do you think Stella? Am I making a mistake?” She glanced down at Stella, who gazed up at her with apathy.
She’d tried her best to shake the feeling of déjà vu, the feeling of that imposing, prominent energy, which came in the form of that gorgeous man blessed with the brightest blue eyes she’d ever seen.
She had cleansed everything from her deck to herself, even her house had been purged with sage. She had adorned herself in obsidian and onyx, both known for their ability to repel negativity and tried charging herself with quartz crystals. She’d even slept with lavender and amethyst under her pillow, which always helped her sleep, but this time nothing worked.
She couldn’t get him, or that vision, out of her mind.
“Maybe it is a mistake, but I’m out of my depth here Stella. Unless you have any better ideas?” She scratched Stella behind her ears and the cat let out a contented purr.
Ember sighed and reluctantly started her text message.
Kacie, it’s Ember. I know we haven’t talked in a while, but I didn’t know who else to ask about this.
I had a vision the other night, and I can’t stop thinking about it.
Ember stared at the message for what felt lik
e an eternity before hitting the send button.
Letting out a deep breath, she jumped when her phone beeped loudly.
Kacie had responded.
I’m doing great, thanks for asking.
Ember pursed her lips as another text came through.
I need specifics. What were you doing when it happened? What’s the energy like? Were you alone? Anyone say anything to you in this vision?
Ember swallowed as she texted back the answers.
I was reading for a client, so no, not alone. It happened when I touched one of the cards. The energy is hard to describe, but I didn’t feel any bad vibes if that is what you mean. I had a full-on conversation with the client I was reading for in the vision. The vision itself … it was like a memory from a long time ago. It was in a bar, underground.
Ember waited.
I told you it’s dangerous to let other people touch your cards. I’m assuming you cleansed your cards and yourself?
Ember huffed in frustration.
Of course. I’m not an amateur Kacie.
Stella yawned and stretched her long, white legs against Ember.
Well if you knew everything, you wouldn’t be texting me now, would you?
Ember could feel her temperature rising.
Meet me tonight, 5:00 at Cory’s Diner. I’m meeting with Detective Jones at 6.
Relief and dread coursed through Ember.
Plenty of her ancestors and relatives monetized their unique gifts but Kacie had done more than that. She’d sold her gifts to the Chester Police Department, presenting herself as their official psychic consultant, which brought a lot of turmoil, and a lot of attention, to the rest of her family. Attention, that none of them wanted.
Kacie’s gift came in the form of visions and was stronger when she touched something owned by the deceased, or in some cases the deceased themselves. She had become very popular among the department over the years but she wasn't always a famous psychic consultant. Like Ember, she had worked the circuit for several years--as both a past-life and pet medium before getting mixed up with Detective Jones.
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