In the Tarot
By Joe Filippone
Rainstorm Press
PO BOX 391038
Anza, Ca 92539
www.RainstormPress.com
The characters depicted in this story are completely fictitious, and any similarities to actual events, locations or people, living or dead, are entirely coincidental.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, in whole or in part, without written permission from the publisher, except for brief quotations in reviews. For information regarding permissions please contact the publisher:
[email protected]
In The Tarot
Rainstorm Press http://www.RainstormPress.com
Copyright © 2012 by Rainstorm Press
Text copyright © 2012 by Joe Filippone
eBook edition.
All rights reserved.
Interior book design by – The Mad Formatter
www.TheMadFormatter.com
Cover Design by David Naughton-Shires
www.TheImageDesign.com
Praise for
In The Tarot
"Fantastic. Hot and terrifying! Joe Filippone paints a master’s collage of horrific and erotic imagery that leaves you turned on and shaking under the covers."
-The Nightmare Jane, author of The Silver Conspiracy
“A wonderful tale about jealously and deceit. In the Tarot will have you wanting more!”
- Mandy Tinics, author of Darkness of Night
I would like to dedicate this book to my mother who gave me my love of reading and to my father who gave me my love of horror.
One
It was Saturday night and Landon’s Cove Amusement Park was jammed. Multi-colored lights illuminated the inky night sky a thousand shades of yellows, blues, greens, oranges, and reds. Even though the park was a good ten miles from town, it seemed that everyone had made the long trek to wind down from a long week of work and school. The heavily wooded area that boarded the park echoed with the laughter and joyous screams of the dozens of patrons. The pale blue water of the large lake, smooth as glass, acted as a window for the dozens of fish to voyeuristically watch and become hypnotized by the rolling Ferris Wheel.
Chase Slater and his girlfriend, Angie Fico, were walking hand in hand trying to decide which ride to go on next. Angie’s best friend, Jesse Von, had stopped at a pretzel stand and was munching on the biggest pretzel Chase had ever seen. It was almost as big as Jesse’s face. Chase didn’t know how Jesse would be able to finish it by himself, but then again, Jesse was a guy and guy’s were known for their ravenous appetites.
“Thanks again for letting Jesse come along,” Angie said squeezing Chase’s hand and smiling at him.
“No sweat. That’s what boyfriends are for.” Chase kissed her on her forehead and smiled down at her as they playfully swung their arms back and forth and giggled at how silly they must look. Normally, Chase would never do anything as dorkily clichéd as that, but when he was with Angie all thoughts of trying to appear cool and macho went out the window. Every time they were together his stomach would knot and he would grow nervous. He would even get all gooey whenever Angie talked about him on Facebook and Twitter.
He was thankful that Angie couldn’t see through the falsities of his words about Jesse. As much as he tried to be okay with Jesse always hanging around with them, especially when they went on dates, the truth was that Chase was getting tired of dating Angie’s best friend.
Squeezing her tight, Chase sighed. He had tried to become friends with Jesse, God knows he tried, but nothing he did seemed to win over the boy. He sighed again, if having Jesse tag along on their dates was what it took to date the exotically beautiful Italian girl then it was worth it.
“Want some?” Jesse joined the two lovers and handed a bit of the pretzel to Angie completely ignoring Chase.
“Thanks.” She smiled at her friend and bit into the soft golden brown dough. “This is good,” she exclaimed, eyes closed as the salty goodness seeped into her taste buds. “Try some, Chase.”
She broke off a bit and fed it to her boyfriend. Salty, cheesy bliss invaded Chase’s taste buds. It was the softest, moistest pretzel he had ever eaten.
“That is good,” he said, mouth salivating and stomach rumbling, instantly craving more. “I’m going to have to go buy one of my own.”
Good idea, Jesse thought as his eyes filled with hateful daggers. He stared at Chase like a cobra staring at the bird it is about to consume. For once in your life go get something that’s yours and not mine.
Why does he only become interested in things that are mine? Jesse’s inner voice questioned. Angie. The pretzel. Selfish son-of-a-bitch has to take everything that matters to me. He stole Angie from me does he have to steal my pretzel too?
Jesse, whose feelings of friendship for Angie had unexpectedly transformed into unrequited love, was too consumed by jealousy to hear just how ridiculous his thoughts sounded.
“Hey you guys, look at this.” Angie was looking up at a small weather beaten tent.
It was bland, almost hidden by the other multicolored tents thanks to its drab unimpressive smoke gray color. Unless someone was paying attention and really looking for it, they would walk right past it. Stapled across the top was an old tattered banner with faded orange letters painted that spelled two words: Fortune Teller.
“Cool,” Chase said making Jesse roll his eyes. “Let’s go in. I always wanted to get my future told by a real live fortune teller.”
Jesse had to stifle a laugh. What a fuckin’ dork. Every idiot knew that carnival fortune tellers were nothing but a bunch of bullshit. This one was probably some out of work actress who couldn’t make it in Hollywood.
“Okay,” Angie said, making Jesse roll his eyes again; she always did whatever Chase wanted to do.
The trio walked into the tent. Chase led the way and Jesse begrudgingly brought up the rear. The interior of the tent was bigger than they thought it would be. The smell of incense raped their nostrils. Jesse felt lightheaded and had to fight with all his might not to pass out, he didn’t want to look a fool in front of the eternally cool Chase. The only light came from a million candles. Their orange flames created a thousand dancing shadows on the walls that watched the three college students as they looked around the tent.
“Hello?” Angie called. “Anybody home?”
Silence was her answer.
“Come on. This is stupid. No one’s here. Tent’s probably been abandoned for years,” Jesse said starting to edge toward the tent flap. The place gave him the creeps. He had a bad feeling that he couldn’t explain and just wanted to get the hell out of there and as far away as possible.
“Looks can be deceiving, young one,” a voice, dripping with age and a heavy Romanian accent, answered from deeper inside the tent.
The three looked around, trying to find the source of the voice but whoever the owner was, remained hidden. It seemed like the voice was all around them like a summer breeze. Jesse shuddered and rubbed his arms. He had suddenly gotten a case of the chills and goosebumps had sprouted up on his arms like weeds.
Stop it, he chided himself. You’re acting like an idiot.
“Where are you?” Angie called, a slight smile on her face, enjoying the game of hide and seek.
“I am everywhere. I am nowhere. I am here. I am there,” the voice answered enigmatically.
“I think we just stumbled onto the lair of Dr. Seuss,” Jesse whispered sarcastically.
“I heard that,” the voice grew louder making the hair on Jesse’s arms stand up and more goosebumps appeared. “I can assure you skeptical one, even though I may rhyme at times, I am not fond of cats in hats or green eggs and ham.”
Chase and Angie had to bite their lips
to stifle laughter. Jesse felt his cheeks grow hot as embarrassment branded its crimson onto him.
“I’m sorry,” the voice said. “I didn’t mean to embarrass you.”
Finally the owner of the voice revealed herself to the three college students. Stepping out of the shadows from the back of the tent Chase, Angie and Jesse couldn’t help but gasp at what they saw. She was a large woman, in terms of both height and weight. Her bosom stuck straight out in front of her like two diving boards, hard as granite. A plain lavender dress draped her body. Her hair, white as fresh fallen snow, was pulled back into a bun so tight it pinched her face. Her nose was long and pointy resembling a witch’s hat. Her lips were thin as fishing line. The woman was barefoot and her feet were littered with Henna. However, the thing that struck out the most to the three was that the woman looked to be about two hundred and twelve years old.
“Welcome.” She smiled revealing a row of crooked yellow teeth. “I am Madam Theodora. It isn’t very often that I get visitors. Please, sit down.”
She indicated a large torn couch, cushions almost totally flat, and stuffing falling out. The three sat down, causing more stuffing to fall out of the cushions and fall carelessly to the dirty floor as the frame creaked and begged for mercy. Chase shifted uncomfortably, worried that his muscular six foot three frame would cause the antiquated sofa to break.
Madam Theodora pulled up an old wooden chair that looked like it was ready to decay into dust. The wood was splintered and huge chunks were missing from the seat. The chair creaked and shimmied under Madam Theodora’s massive weight. From her pocket, she pulled out a pack of worn and torn tarot cards, yellowed with age. She began to shuffle the cards so fast, they transformed into a blur, giving the three young kids a headache.
“So you three are interested in learning what your future holds,” she confidently stated, seeming to look at the three of them at once. “Youth are the only ones who want to get to the future prematurely. Only us old blue hairs long to live in the past.” She smiled at the three and chuckled.
The elderly gypsy stared long and hard. Her many, many years as a fortune teller had taught her numerous things. Reading cards and people was her specialty.
Silence had engulfed the interior of the tent. It seemed to have overpowered the fairgrounds. Chase, Angie and Jesse could no longer hear the happy go lucky laughs of people on the tilt-a-whirl, the screams of wonder as people dropped fifty feet on the rollercoaster or even the shrieks of joyous fear as girls ran from danger in the fun house. As the gypsy stared at them, it felt as if Chase, Angie and Jesse were the only people in the whole world.
Chase felt a flock of butterflies take flight and do out of control loop-de-loops inside his stomach when Madam Theodora’s gaze fell on him. She stared at him unblinking. Her eyes were round and deep and seemed to grow in front of him. Chase felt himself falling, sinking deeper into her eyes. For a moment he thought he was the only guy in the world, as if his own personal Roanoke had happened. He wanted to look away from Madam Theodora’s unstaring eyes, sparkling like fresh cut diamonds and deep as The Grand Canyon but he was under her hypnotic spell.
Time seemed to stand still as she looked over the three, committing every minute detail to her photographic memory. She was particularly interested in the girl. Angie. Rich olive skin, oblong eyes and full pouty lips. Her hair was a flaming red that cascaded down her body in a waterfall of curls before resting at the small of her back. It reminded Madam Theodora of fresh marinara sauce. She wore a tight baby blue blouse that greedily clung to her tear shaped breasts, accentuating them beyond their C cup. She wore no bra. Madam Theodora could see the girl’s perky nipples poke out her blouse as the tent’s coolness caressed her body. Her jeans were equally tight that showed off her round tight butt and drew attention to her long legs. Her legs were what Madam Theodora had noticed first. Angie had the longest legs of any girl the gypsy had ever seen and she had seen a lot of legs in her time. It was safe to say that Angie had more legs than a bucket of chicken which was an amazing accomplishment considering how short she was, standing at just over five foot one. Yes, Madam Theodora was very interested in the eighteen-year-old Italian. She only wished Angie had come alone so she could devote more time to telling the girl how her life would turn out.
Reluctantly, she went back to studying the two boys. They did not interest her as much as Angie. She stared at both of them simultaneously, causing her brain to overflow with knowledge, retaining only the most vital information to assist in her readings.
Chase, the bigger of the two, was also the oldest at the ripe old age of nineteen. His hair was shaggy, thin as a wafer and the color of fresh brewed coffee that’s been diluted with milk. Broad shouldered with large biceps and pecs hard as granite, thanks to years of intensely working out. He also possessed a confidence that made all the guys want to be his friend and all the girls instantly fall in lust with him.
Jesse, like Angie, was eighteen and, barely breaking five foot five, was a shrimp compared to Chase’s six foot tall frame. Much to Jesse’s disappointment, his body still had not completely excised all of his baby fat; no matter how many pushups or crunches he did. His hair was dyed jet black, reminding Madam Theodora of The Wicked Witch of the West’s garb and cut in a style that paid homage to Jesse had never had much confidence when it came to girls and losing Angie to Chase, whose middle name was ‘confidence’, well let’s just say it would take the most powerful electron microscope to find it now.The Beatles, his favorite band ever.
“I will read the girl,” she announced suddenly, her voice magnified by the hollow tent which made them jump. “Come with me,” she said getting up and gesturing for Angie to follow her into the back of the tent.
“This is big,” Angie said impressed as Madam Theodora led her deeper into the tent.
“As I told the boy, looks can be deceiving.”
The gypsy brought the girl into a small room at the back of the tent. Madam Theodora offered her a seat at a small wooden table, covered in a smoke colored table cloth. A thousand candles had been placed around the room, turning Angie’s skin a light orange hue. Angie could feel the heat bouncing off her skin. The strong incense soothed her. She could feel its smoke snake around her body and wrap itself around her protectively. Even though it was early, Angie found herself fighting to stay awake.
“Don’t fight off sleep, my dear.” Madam Theodora smiled as she sat down across from Angie. “Sleep is good. Never fight sleep and always listen to your dreams. Dreams are the mind’s way of telling the truth about yourself. Plus, they have a way of revealing the future to us.”
Angie nodded, trying not to scoff at the gypsy’s words. She had never bought into all that mumble-jumbo about dreams telling your future. With all the strange dreams she had, she had trouble believing that there was any truth to the stories her mind told her while she slept.
“You are skeptical.” Madam Theodora seemed to read Angie’s thoughts as she shuffled her cards.
“I’m sorry,” she responded looking down at the dirty floor in embarrassment. Angie didn’t know why she apologized, it just seemed the polite thing to do.
“Don’t apologize, child. Many people are skeptical at first. I myself didn’t believe in this gift I was given and fought my destiny for many years.”
“It’s just that I have some really bizarre dreams sometimes. I’m talkin’ space aliens. Dragons. Shit like that.”
“Just because something reveals itself in a fantastical costume doesn’t mean there isn’t some truth there.”
Angie nodded in agreement. She didn’t know why but she felt comfortable with the old woman. Safe. Madam Theodora reminded Angie of her favorite grandma who always snuck her an extra cookie or scoop of chocolate cookie crunch ice cream when her parents weren’t looking or made sure her piece of cheesecake was bigger than her older brother Johnny’s.
“So … um …” A miniscule nervous laugh dislodged itself from Angie’s voice box. “How do we start? I …�
�� Another laugh, this time followed by a cough. “I feel like a virgin. Don’t know what the hell I’m doin’.”
Madam Theodora laughed. “But you did just fine when Chase took your virginity.”
“How did you know he was my first?” Angie asked eyes growing wide.
“From the way you look at him. The way you hold his hand. Cozy up to him. It’s obvious that you really love him and he loves you. Plus, I didn’t get the feeling that you’re the type of girl who’ll spread her legs for any man who compliments her.”
Gravity forced Angie’s eyes to fall. She blushed and smiled. It was true. She did love Chase with all her heart and prayed that he was going to be the man she was destined to grow old with.
“Will we last?” She asked the question that had branded itself to her heart. It was her first relationship and she needed to know if they would grow old together but she dreaded hearing the answer.
Madam Theodora looked into Angie’s eyes, seeming to look into the darkest annals of her soul with a fiery passion Angie had only seen in Chase’s eyes when he made love to her.
“You two will be together forever,” she finally stated confidently.
Angie let out an audible breath and smiled. “Good. Thank you.”
She knew that she should take anything a carnival psychic “predicted” with a grain of salt, but it was still nice to hear the confirmation out loud.
“I just reveal the truth, my dear. Oh and please refrain from calling me a carnival psychic.”
Seeing Angie’s eyes grow large as saucers made the gypsy smile. She was happy that she had eased the fears of the girl. Madam Theodora knew that Chase was a good guy who genuinely loved Angie. It was true what she had said, the young lovers would be joined forever. Even in death.
In the Tarot Page 1