Touching Fate

by Brenda Drake

  “Good girl,” Gram said, patting Aster’s knee.

  This is so out there. Shit like this only happens in movies.

  “Now,” Gram said, handing the hatbox to Aster and standing. “Take some time and study everything in here. When you’re through, we must find a good hiding place for it.”

  Before Gram could leave, Aster asked, “What about my sisters? Do you think they’re like me?”

  “I don’t know.” She opened the door. “But if I’ve learned anything from you, it’s that we should find out. Let me think on it. Maybe we can come up with a way to test them or something.”

  “Okay. Thanks, Gram.”

  “I love you, dear.”

  “Me, too. Um, I mean, I love you, too.”

  She smiled and closed the door.

  Aster unloaded the items in the hatbox onto the bed. The couples in the photographs made her think of Reese. She picked up her phone and flipped through the pics they took during prom. Her favorite was when she was about to take a selfie and Reese photobombed her with a goofy face. He looked so sexy even wearing a silly expression. The next photo she took was of them kissing. She turned off her phone and tossed it on the pillow.

  The parchment papers attracted her eye first, so she untied the twine and leafed through them, keeping them in order. Written in a different language, the script was neat and precise. There were equations like in Tillie’s journal. She looked closer at one parchment with a black and white photograph sticking to it. It was of two women in a classroom.

  She carefully peeled the photograph from the page. On the back someone had scribbled, Dika Froggatt with Mileva, Zurich Polytechnic, 1900.

  No. It can’t be. She wondered if the Mileva in the photograph was Einstein’s first wife, because the two went to the school about that time. Dika had to be a relative of Gramps since they had the same surname. She counted the pages before it, grabbed the journal, and flipped to the page with its translation.

  The entry told of Dika, a fate changer, and her love for Armand Van Buren, a firstborn son cursed to die.

  Reese’s middle name is Armand. They’re related, just as Dika and I are. Our destinies keep repeating.

  Dika was one of only a few young women who studied science. Believing the magic behind fate changing was much like physics, she sought help from a fellow student, Mileva, to figure out how to manipulate it. Out of fear that if she changed Armand’s fate, her brother would die, she worked tirelessly to find a way to undo the curse.

  Aster studied the equation on the page. It was a magnetic force formula.

  At the time a changer touches a tarot card, the upright image separates from the reversed one. Okay, knew that. This action sets off a magnetic field that enters the changer. The changer holds on to the charge until transferring to another conductor.

  I’m a conductor. That’s why I set off a static shock after touching a fate. And when I touch another conductor, some poor victim gets the fate’s charge.

  She read further. A fate changer only has to use the correct crystal as an insulator. The changer uses it to touch a person’s fate instead of using a bare hand, insuring a fate won’t transfer to someone else.

  Aster gathered the crystals and inspected them.

  How do I know which crystal to use?

  She flipped through the pages once more until she found another mention of them. It seemed the crystal picked the fate changer. The instructions said she was to pass her open palm across a crystal to determine which one to use. The correct one would reveal itself.

  Okay? She picked each up and spread them out on the floor.

  A text chimed. She got up, picked up her phone, and read the message. It was from Leah. She was downstairs. Aster texted her to come up.

  “What’s all the stuff?” Leah asked as she walked into the bedroom and shut the door behind her.

  “Have a seat,” Aster said.

  “Hi to you, too.” Leah sat on the floor across from Aster.

  “Oh, sorry. Hi.” Aster gave her a questioning look. “What are you doing here?”

  “Daisy needed a ride home.”

  “Why didn’t she call me?” Aster asked.

  “Daisy said she tried to call you.” Leah picked up a pink quartz and held it up to the light. “Anyway, she found out her friend took your mom’s deposit. They had a huge fight. But she’s okay now, and your mom has all the checks back. The little bitch spent the cash, though.”

  “I knew something like this was going to happen. That Abby is trouble.”

  “Nice crystals,” Leah said, putting the pink quartz back on the carpet. “What are they for?”

  “You’re going to think I’m completely nuts, but don’t say a word. Just wait until I’m done.” Then Aster pulled her legs up and proceeded to tell Leah everything. Several beats went by as Leah processed Aster’s tale.

  “Wow,” she finally said. “Just… Wow.”

  “That’s it? You have nothing to say?”

  “Give me a moment. I’m still processing.” She stared at the crystals. “So that magic thing during my reading wasn’t Miri, it was you?”

  “Yep.”

  “You did that? Really?”

  “Yep.”

  She just blinked as she watched Aster’s face. “And you’re sure.”

  “Yep.”

  “Will you please stop saying that?”

  Aster almost said it again. “I know it’s hard to believe, but I need your help.”

  “What can I do?”

  “I need to practice changing fates on you,” Aster said.

  “No, you don’t.”

  “Yes, I do.”

  “Absolutely not,” Leah said. “You could kill me.”

  “I’d only change a bad one. So it’s a win for you.”

  “But you already changed my fate.”

  Aster picked up the journal and pointed out an entry. “It says here that fates are ever-changing and the tarot cards only predict the immediate future. If it doesn’t work, I could be a fate time bomb like before. But at least I’d know, and I’d figure out what to do with it.”

  Leah didn’t look convinced. “Okay, but shouldn’t you figure out how to save Reese first?”

  Aster glanced at the book. Curses were infinite. No conductor could transfer it to another. The curse just took a life from the changer’s family as payment. A firstborn for a firstborn. Baby Nathan for Reese. I just can’t…

  “I think I have to master changing fates first. His is a curse.” Aster couldn’t explain the feeling she had. It just seemed like the most logical step. She had to learn to control her gift—more like burden—before she could figure out how to undo Reese’s curse. Because no matter how mad she was at him, she didn’t want him to die.

  “Well, get cracking,” Leah ordered.

  Aster spread the crystals out, closed her eyes, and passed her open palm over them. She thought she felt warmth as her hand crossed one side.

  “You feel anything?”

  “No.”

  “Then meditate or something.”

  Aster opened her eyes. “Seriously? Maybe I could, if you wouldn’t talk.” She closed her eyes again. No matter how hard she tried to concentrate, the only thing that came to mind was her and Reese’s first kiss. It had been amazing. Full of energy and excitement. She’d kissed guys before, but it had never been like that. It was as if they’d been alone in the world. His kiss had been strong and warm. Every inch of her had glowed with anticipation under his touch.

  Heat rushed across her palm. She glanced down. Her hand hovered over the black obsidian. “It’s this one.”

  Leah inspected the shiny black stone. “You sure?”

  Aster passed her hand over it again, and her palm heated. “Yes, definitely this one.”

  “Well, of course. It couldn’t be one of the pretty ones.” A frown crossed Leah’s face. “Black is so dismal.”

  Aster gave her an incredulous look. “Really? Let’s stay positive, all right?” S
he retrieved the tarot box from the bed and sat back down, removing the cards and shuffling them. When she was done, she fanned the cards out on the carpet in front of Leah and snatched up the crystal. “Okay, pick one, place it above the deck, and flip it over.” The crystal heated in her hand.

  Leah’s finger twitched above the cards as she made her choice. She placed the card upright on the floor.

  “The ten of cups reversed,” Aster muttered.

  “What does it mean?” Leah asked, twisting the hem of her shirt.

  An image of Leah and Jan hugging and crying at an airport security check-in came to her. “Separation,” Aster said.

  “Well, that’s a given. Jan leaves soon.”

  “It’ll be permanent.”

  She glared at Aster. “I don’t like this game.”

  “That’s the thing.” Aster glared back at her. “It’s not a game.”

  “Well, change it already.” She worried her brows, watching the card as if it would attack her.

  Aster placed the obsidian on the card. The upright and reversed images separated and spun in opposite directions. Her mark glowed blue this time. The images stopped and reversed the direction they had been spinning before. When she removed the crystal, the images slapped back together and the card fell to the carpet.

  Leah’s face remained scrunched with worry. “Did you fix it?”

  “I’m not sure.” The edges of Aster’s vision darkened. Her head felt light. She was in a different room full of antique furniture.

  “Aster?” Leah’s voice echoed in Aster’s brain, somewhere just out of reach. “Are you okay?”

  Dika, wearing a Victorian-style dress, sat across from a handsome man wearing a gray suit. His light brown hair framed blue eyes that looked similar to Reese’s. The death card lay between them. Dika touched it with a bloodred crystal and the upright and reverse images parted. When the cards stopped spinning, Dika raised the crystal between the two images, the mark on her wrist glowing blue.

  “Armand, grab my hand and don’t let go,” she told him.

  “This will end the curse?” he asked, looking hopeful.

  “Yes. Hurry,” she urged.

  He grasped her hand, the crystal cradled between their palms. The images slammed against the back of their hands and the man instantly let go. Two massive sparks, like lightning strikes, hit them. Together, they fell onto the table, their bodies smoking.

  Aster’s insides twisted and roiled as if on an endless roller coaster. The room spun in nauseating waves. Her limbs shook and lights flashed across her vision. “They died,” she mumbled before blacking out.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Reese

  There wasn’t much to pack. Reese had sold everything he could. He moved the wire owl statue in different positions, trying to get it to fit in his suitcase. It took some finagling, but he eventually got the bag zipped. He stared at the bed a long while. The memory of his intimate frolic with Aster teased him. Her perfume—a spicy, floral scent—still clung to the comforter, which was ironic, considering her aversion to flowers.

  He struggled with the decision as to whether or not to contact her. Certainly, he wouldn’t have started anything with her before finding out she could save him. He’d been on his way to Florida and all the girls going wild for spring break. But he had felt something the first time he saw her. Every bit of her attracted him, even her sassy attitude.

  “There you go again. Smiling. Staring off at nothing.” Jan’s presence startled Reese. “I don’t know why you couldn’t leave with me as planned. The fare to change your flight was stunning. You keep wasting my future inheritance.”

  Reese chortled. “I want to thank you. For sticking with me. And for treating me like I’m not doomed. You’re like a brother—”

  “Oh, no you don’t,” Jan interrupted, cutting him off. “Don’t be saying your good-byes. You’re not dead yet. I’ll be back home in less than a week. I’d go with you now if Leah’s birthday weren’t in a few days.”

  “I know you would.” Reese pulled his bag off the bed. “Don’t get me wrong, I fully intend on spending as much of your inheritance as possible before my demise.” He dragged the suitcase down the hall and propped it by the door.

  As Reese was leaving the flat, Jan asked, “So where are you off to?”

  “I have a few errands to do before I leave.” He clicked the door closed behind him.

  The sky was bright and the boardwalk quiet. A few joggers pounded across the wood. Reese stopped in front of the ice cream shop where he’d first spotted Aster. A smile tugged at his lips as he recalled Aster smashing her cone into his chest. He continued on to the small craft shop and searched the shelves for the plainest stationery he could find.

  The smell of freshly brewed beans filled the coffeehouse. Reese grabbed his order from the counter and took a seat at a small table by the window. He removed the stationery and pen he’d bought at the craft store. Clicking the push button on the pen continuously, he tried to think of how to start. He couldn’t risk seeing Aster, but he could send her a letter. She had a right to know that he desired her and that there wasn’t anything wrong with her. The fact that they weren’t meant to be together was just bad luck.

  Dearest Aster,

  I could have sent a text or an email, or even possibly had Jan memorize something to say to you. But technology seems rather impersonal and Jan, well, seems a bit incompetent. Instead, I’ve chosen to send a letter along with Jan. I hope you think it more romantic than archaic. So I shall begin.

  I remember the first time I saw the gold specks in your eyes. Your gaze locked with mine as a glob of vanilla mixed with sprinkles slipped down my newly purchased shirt. The sun was low in the sky, and its light illuminated your face. Even though you were quite cantankerous toward me after assaulting me with your cone, it was then that I felt an instant attraction to you. And that was before I discovered you held the gift to change fates.

  However, after spotting you through Miri’s window as you touched the tarot card, I decided to stay in Ocean City. And although dating you started out with deception, it ended with you completely and utterly stealing my heart.

  You have given me many memories to keep me company in my final hours. I won’t forget your fierce determination to win the balloon game. Your ruthlessness on the bumper car rink. Your nervousness on the Ferris wheel. Or your gentleness in my bed.

  The cards have dealt me a short life. But I am not bitter. For I was lucky enough to have experienced love with you. And it is because of this love that I can’t ask you to suffer the consequences. In the past, my family has thought only of themselves, persuading your ancestors to change our fates at the cost of your family. Seeing your aunt’s baby made me realize I cannot have his death on my hands.

  Does it really matter how things started between us? For it was fate that brought us together. I love you, Aster Layne, and I am truly sorry for not being honest with you. Won’t you please forgive me? For yourself, as well as for me. My only wish is for you to experience a beautiful life. However long or short it is, savor each hour, each minute, every second. In the end, the memories are all you have.

  Always yours,

  Reese

  He folded the page and stuffed it in one of the matching envelopes. His coffee was lukewarm when he took a sip. The letter might not succeed in getting her to forgive him, but he felt a measure of relief anyway. He had apologized to her.

  Reese placed his mug on the table, dropped a dollar beside it, and followed the boardwalk to the beach. Birds flocked overhead, squawking and diving in and out of the surf. The smell of seaweed was fresh in the air.

  His mind raced with imaginary experiences. He and Aster celebrating her high school graduation. Snuggling with Aster on the couch as they watched horrible reality shows. Making love in his room for hours on a lazy Sunday afternoon. Some would think he was torturing himself with such ideas, but it comforted him to play out the life he would never have.

  …r />
  The rich green countryside passed across the auto’s window, welcoming Reese home. He missed his beloved North Holland. His choice to leave it and attend boarding school had nothing to do with his home and everything to do with his parents. The way his mother smothered him with attention and seeing his father’s eyes filled with pity was too much to bear. Neither could look at him without fearing his eventual end.

  His parents sat in the front of the Mercedes, speaking in Dutch. Reese had gotten so used to English that he had to work hard to answer them in their native tongue. But his mother, always accommodating, noticed his struggle and started conversing in English.

  “Henry and Lars arrived yesterday. You should have a fun weekend with them.” She adjusted the air vent away from her. “Almost everyone invited to your party has responded. It should be quite large. Did I mention it was a carnival theme?”

  Of course, it would be. How else could she explain the dozen or so tarot readers in attendance? All cursed firstborn sons had the same celebration. An elaborate masked ball complete with tarot readings. In a last-ditch hope that a fate changer would emerge, readers from around the globe were invited, their airfares and expenses included in their exorbitant fees.

  Reese wished he could tell his parents to save their money, but he knew his mother needed the party. She needed to believe she had done everything in her power to save her son. And Reese was determined to act as if he were having the best time of his life for her benefit. Even through his fear of dying. And in spite of his broken heart.

  Pulling up to the gate leading to the castle, his father put on the brakes. A white sign with black lettering announced that the tours were closed for two weeks. His father pushed the button on the remote control embedded in the console above his head. The gate parted, rattling as it opened.

  The Mercedes’s tires crunched over the gravel of the quarter-mile drive leading up to the castle. “Finally, we’re home,” his mother said. “That ride was tiresome.”

  As the castle towers came into view through the trees, Reese realized it didn’t feel like coming home. The place was enormous, antique, and cold, unlike the condominium in Ocean City, which was small, modern, and warm. In a sense, he had been homeless for years.