The Hanged Maiden: A Reverse Harem Romance (Rise of the Ash Gods Book 1)

by Cara Wylde

  “Here.” Valentina stopped in front of the only dimly illuminated shop window on the street. “Ready?”

  “I’m freezing, so yes.”

  Val pulled at the old, heavy door, and the bell let the shopkeeper know he had clients. For a minute, Val and Piper just stood in the doorway, mouths slightly agape when they saw just how ancient the things in the store were. Books that were one touch away from falling apart, clothes so old and dusty that they probably carried the Italian Plague itself inside their tattered hems, gold and silver jewelry that needed a good scrub, and bronze statues of deities so ancient that Valentina herself had never heard of before.

  “Cosa posso fare per voi, bambine?”

  “What did he...?” Piper turned to Valentina like she was her savior.

  “What can I do for you?” The old man repeated in a strongly-accented English. He gave them a smile, too, but on second thought... maybe it hadn’t been such a great idea to show them the only two teeth he still had in his mouth.

  “We... mmm... we’re surprised you’re still open at this hour,” Valentina said. There was something about this man that had made her lose all train of thought. What could he do for her, indeed? Good question. Except she suddenly felt like asking him a dozen of other questions that had nothing to do with her recent plight.

  This time, the man covered his mouth with his hand when he smiled. “I don’t sleep much these days, and the shop is mine, so why not? He motioned toward a table and a wooden chair at the back of the store. There was an open tome on it, along with a half-melted candle and a cup of something. Tea? Coffee? It could be anyone’s guess. “Instead of tossing and turning in my bed, I’d rather just come here and read. Entertain a customer or two, if the chance arises.”

  Piper nodded and took a step back. Valentina seemed fascinated with the old man, but since she’d seen his two canines, his presence was just giving her the chills. Very different chills from those outside. She started exploring the shop, one shelf at a time. Unfortunately, almost all the books were in Italian.

  “Right. I...” Why had she come here? She winced when she felt a sting in her left side, and her mind cleared. “Do you have any books on tarot? The older, the better.”

  The man nodded and motioned for her to follow him. Piper hesitated, but eventually decided she didn’t want to lose track of Valentina. The three of them walked down the aisle, took a left, then stopped in front of a shelf which, to their surprise, was actually filled with much newer books.

  “Oh. Is this all you have?” Val asked, disappointed.

  The old man shrugged. “I’m sure you’ll find what you need here.” And he was off to his small table, drinking whatever was in his cup as he crouched over his book.

  “This is nothing. Useless,” Val whispered.

  Piper lifted herself on her toes to see over Val’s shoulder. Even when she was wearing flat boots, Valentina was slightly taller than her.

  “Don’t judge a book by its cover?”

  Val huffed. “I’m judging it by its contents, believe me.”

  “Well, I don’t understand a thing.”

  “I don’t understand everything, either. My Italian is rusty, especially the academic one.”

  “Translation app?”

  “Please.”

  Piper took out her phone and sighed in relief when she saw the signal was strong even in the creepy dungeon the old man called an antique shop. The wonders of technology! She helped Valentina translate some words she didn’t know, and they went through eight or ten books like that, with Val discarding each and every one.

  “This is drivel. They were written by Ordinaries for Ordinaries.”

  “Hey!”

  “Sorry.” Valentina placed the last book back on the shelf and pinched the bridge of her nose. “The cards said this is the place. I’m supposed to find something here. But I can’t see anything that could be even remotely helpful!”

  “Well, that’s your problem, isn’t it? You can’t see.”

  Valentina screamed and jumped when a creature the size of a book spine popped up out of nowhere right on her shoulder. She swatted at it frantically, and the thing poofed into thin air and materialized on the shelf.

  “A little violent, don’t you think?” The creature sounded offended.

  In the commotion, Piper dropped her phone, cursed under her breath, and sighed deeply when she saw the screen was fine.

  “Who are you? What are you?” Val yelled at the tiny intruder. She turned to look for the old man, but he wasn’t at his table anymore.

  “At least, your questions make sense,” the creature said. “Would you care to look at me? I’m trying to introduce myself here.”

  Valentina blinked in confusion. The creature seemed satisfied, even though she was staring at it like a madwoman.

  “He’s so plump for such a tiny fellow,” Piper giggled. She tried to poke the creature and got her finger bitten in the process. She gasped and immediately put it in her mouth to suck at the tiny wound. “I hope you’re not poisonous,” she said.

  “Knock it off, Ordinary! Of course I’m not poisonous! I’m a hobgoblin, not an imp.”

  “Hobgoblin?” Valentina’s face brightened. She’d read about hobgoblins. Not many could be found in the US, though, so she didn’t have any experience with them.

  “Yes! If you’d just let me introduce myself properly...” He sighed. “Nevermind. My name is Magnus Luchtar, and I’m a hobgoblin. At your service, Keeper of the Spades.” He bowed respectfully.

  Piper burst out laughing, but Valentina wasn’t amused in the least.

  “Magnus what?!” Piper couldn’t stop giggling. “That name is like... ten times bigger than you.”

  “How do you know who I am?” Valentina whispered through gritted teeth.

  The hobgoblin snickered and tapped his toothpick of a finger between his round brown eyes. “Because I can see, Keeper. Get it?”

  “No. I don’t get it.”

  Magnus blew out his cheeks and rolled his eyes. “I don’t know how to explain it when you’re clearly so daft. A waste of my time, so let’s keep it simple: I have magic vision.” He wiggled his brows at her. “Think of it as a mix of clairvoyance and claircognizance.”

  Piper was holding her middle and trying to regain her breath. “Oh God! Or Goddess. That was a good laugh. Now, what’s that last thing you said? Claircogni-what?”

  “Claircognizance,” said Valentina. “It’s the sense of clear knowing. Along with clairvoyance, I guess you see something, think of it, and then you know what’s true.”

  “Wow! Where do I sign up for this?”

  Magnus rolled his eyes again. A new truth struck him: starting now, he was going to do a lot of eye rolling.

  “You’re so basic, Ordinary. And boring. Would you just step back and let the grownups talk about important things your mind will never be able to comprehend?”

  Piper crossed her arms over her chest. “So that’s how you want to play it...”

  “Stop!” Valentina stepped between them, patting Piper on the arm, and giving the hobgoblin the most murderous look she could muster. “She’s my friend, so you’d better show some respect. Now, if you’re not going to help, then I suggest you poof back to where you came from and leave us alone.”

  Magnus waved his tiny hands in surrender. “All right, all right. I swear on my beard... I’m just trying to help.”

  “Yeah, you should shave that,” Piper snickered.

  “Piper!”

  The blonde gave Valentina an apologetic look and batted her eyelashes cutely.

  The hobgoblin sighed, sat down on the edge of the shelf, and crossed his plump legs.

  “Let me explain some things to you, Keeper’s Ordinary friend. No, no, no... I’ll be brief, I promise.” He smiled at Valentina, then turned back to Piper. “I do shave. Every morning, with my magic shaver. I comb my hair, too. With my magic comb. It’s my genes, okay? I come
from a long lineage of hairy hobgoblins who have always taken pride in their hairiness, considering it a staple of power, masculinity, and hobgoblin nobility. Not me, I assure you. I’m a modern hobgoblin and I understand and do my best to abide by the modern principles of hygiene. It’s not my fault that my own genes are working against me. Now, I would appreciate it if you didn’t bring up the subject again. Do you think you can do that, err... Miss Piper Chase? It’s a sore spot with me, you see.”

  Piper was speechless. She swallowed heavily and nodded. She would have said something, but there was this tightness at the back of her throat, and she didn’t want him to see just how emotional he’d made her feel. Well, he probably knew already, but she refused to think about it.

  “Thank you.” The hobgoblin jumped to his feet, his whole expression and demeanor changing, as if he hadn’t showed a tiny bit of vulnerability just then. “You were looking for some books on tarot? Not just tarot, but the Tarot.” He turned to look around the shelves, then gave an enthusiastic “Aha!” and touched the spine of a book that, to Valentina’s and Piper’s eyes, hadn’t been there before. “I misteri degli Arcani. One of my favorite reads of all time!” He looked at Valentina, blinked, and when she didn’t make a move, he sighed in exasperation. “Well, take it! I would give it to you myself if it wasn’t bigger and heavier than me.”

  “Oh, I... I’m sorry. Thank you.”

  “That wasn’t...” Piper started.

  “I know,” Val whispered as she opened the book and looked at the contents. “The language is so old... I can barely read it.”

  “You’re lucky it’s not in Latin,” Magnus shrugged. “Need help?”

  Valentina nodded, and the hobgoblin poofed right on her arm, sitting astride as he started turning the pages until he found what he knew she needed.

  “This is everything on the original cards of the Major Arcana. I must say, Keeper... you’re quite privileged. Not even the late High Keeper of your coven had access to this book.”

  Val followed the finely printed lines of text with her finger, struggling to translate it from old Italian into English. Five minutes later, and with some help from Magnus when she didn’t recognize a word or a more complex expression, Valentina’s eyes were as wide as saucers, and her whole body trembled with a feeling she couldn’t quite describe. She had never been so excited, terrified, relieved, frustrated, and grateful, all at the same time. She closed the book and turned to Piper, who was waiting patiently for Val to gather her bearings.

  “Well?”

  Val gave her the biggest, craziest smile she’d ever given to anyone. She was usually so sober and put-together, but what she’d just read had turned her world upside down.

  “We can save them. The cards. All we have to do is... is...” She took the jar of ashes out of her pocket. “Take this to someone. I... I don’t know who. The book calls this person pittore di anime. As in a painter of souls, or something like that. And this pittore di anime will take the ashes and use them to paint new tarot cards.”

  Piper cocked an eyebrow. “That’s it? We just get a painter to redo the cards?”

  “It’s the first step.”

  “What’s the second one?”

  Valentina deflated a bit. “We have to track down the gods who inhabited the original cards before, and convince them to get themselves into the new ones.”

  “Gods. How did we get to gods?”

  “You know how the pip cards, from Ace to Ten, are archetypes of humanity, and the court cards, the Page, the Knight, the Queen, and the King, are historical figures? Apparently, the cards of the Major Arcana are gods and goddesses. We already have all the goddesses, and even though they’re sound asleep, at least they’re not a pile of ashes. All we need to do is find out who the gods were, or are...” She thought for a second. “Yes, are. They still are. Gods are immortal. Right, and then talk them into helping us recreate the masculine part of the Major Arcana.”

  “I don’t get it. When the cards were burned, the... ones, err... the gods inside them, didn’t die?”

  “I just told you they’re immortal. No. They were released. I think. I’m not sure. I understand very little of it, too. But it doesn’t matter. At least we have some hope now, and a lead.”

  “The painter?”

  Valentina nodded. She shooed the hobgoblin to sit somewhere else, and when he moved on her shoulder, she hugged the book to her chest.

  “I’m going to buy this.”

  “It probably costs a fortune...”

  Val pulled out her wallet and fished for her credit card. “Unlimited funds, courtesy of my father. We’re fine. We can travel the world with this and buy all the old books we want.”

  They went to look for the old man and found him behind the counter, going through some registers.

  “Mr... mmm...”

  “Everyone calls me the Antiquarian.” He set his reading glasses down and looked up at the two girls.

  “Mr. Antiquarian?”

  “Ooh! I see you have a new friend!” His entire face brightened when he saw the hobgoblin perched on Valentina’s shoulder. “Il Folletto! I’ve been looking all over for him, and now here he is. He’s been missing for months now. I thought he’d abandoned me and returned home.”

  Magnus furrowed his bushy browns and crossed his arms over his chest. “You’re a relic and I got tired of your boring stories. I was here all along because I like dusty books and old trinkets, but I made sure you wouldn’t see me. I need my privacy, you know.”

  Instead of getting angry or offended, the Antiquarian laughed heartily. “Well, I’m glad I got to see you one more time before you left.”

  Valentina’s ears perked. “What? Where is he leaving? He’s not leaving.”

  The Antiquarian smiled and winked at her. “He’s been my loyal friend for long enough, and I know he wants to go with you and your friend. Il Folletto will take good care of you, you’ll see.”

  “No, no, no, no... It’s okay, really. He can stay.” She turned her head and almost knocked the hobgoblin down with her nose. “You’re not coming with us, little fellow. Thank you for showing me the book. Appreciate it. But we’re fine on our own.”

  Magnus scrunched up his nose, then smiled smugly. “We’ll see, Keeper.”

  Valentina sighed and let it go. She placed the book next to the cash register. “I’d like to buy this. How much is it?”

  The Antiquarian put on his glasses and looked at the title. “I misteri degli Arcani. Hmm... I’m sorry, but this one is not for sale. Maybe you’d like to pick something else?”

  Valentina blinked in confusion. “What do you mean it’s not for sale? This is a shop and I found the book on a shelf.”

  “Except you didn’t find it. He did.”

  Magnus giggled as if he’d just been caught pulling a prank on someone.

  Piper stretched and yawned loudly. It was way past midnight, and she’d had enough adventure for one day. It seemed to her that things were only getting more complicated with every new clue they discovered.

  “Look, I might be an Ordinary, but I’m not stupid. It’s obvious that you’re all magical here. Magny is a hobgoblin...”

  “Magny?!” The hobgoblin exclaimed in protest, but Piper ignored him.

  “... Val is a witch, and you’re something, too. I think you knew she’s a witch the moment we stepped foot into your shop. So, maybe she can do something else for you? If the book can’t be bought with money, maybe you can give it to her for a bit of... witchcraft?” She looked at Valentina, half-apologetically and half-encouragingly.

  “Yes,” Val said. “I really need this book. Maybe there’s something I can help you with. I’m good with sigils, chants, herbs... I can do a spell for you, if you’d like. Lift a curse, even? It would depend on the curse but, you know... we can negotiate.”

  The Antiquarian studied her for a long time, then finally smiled warmly, not caring about his two lonely teeth.


  “How about a tarot reading? I have the impression that you’re a good reader, and it so happens that I need some insight into a love matter.”

  “Love?!” Piper covered her mouth to control her laughter. “Sorry.”

  The man shook his head at her. “Bambina, if you keep laughing at all the magical people and creatures you meet...”

  That made Piper stare at the toes of her boots, slightly embarrassed. In truth, she had no idea what had gotten into her. She guessed this whole thing with Valentina, saving the Tarot, and fighting smoke beings was starting to mess with her sense of reality, and when the world as she knew it was being turned upside down, what was the point? What were the rules? She felt like Alice in Wonderland. Except that Piper’s new world seemed to come with more than one Mad Hatter.

  “Will you be okay on your own for a few minutes?”

  Val’s voice snapped Piper out of her reverie.

  “Yes, sure.”

  “Magny, stay with her.”

  “Really? Now you call me that, too?”

  Valentina didn’t have time for the hobgoblin’s sensibilities. She grabbed him by the back of his coat and dropped him into Piper’s hands before following the Antiquarian to his secluded desk.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  “Do you have a question?” Valentina asked as she was shuffling the cards and focusing on the Antiquarian’s energy. She had taken out the extra Lovers card she had and set it aside.

  The man thought for a moment. His light green eyes were fixed on an indefinite spot above Val’s head. With his hands on his knees, his back slightly tense, and his lips pursed, he looked like he wasn’t there anymore, but had just traveled to a distant place, to another life.

  “Will we ever be together again?” he asked in a soft, frail voice.