by Jeri Baird
He gulped and shook his head.
Sophia turned to Alexa. “Spin the wheel. Learn your fortune.”
Alexa used both hands to pull down the peg and set the wheel in motion. It spun round and round, mesmerizing Zander, before it stopped at a red wedge.
“Fire.” Sophia shrugged. “It appears turmoil will enter your life.” She handed Alexa a small metal star. “For good luck.” She frowned and added, “Moira says you may use it in your quest.”
Zander’s throat tightened. Moira talked to Sophia? He thought Fate only oversaw Puck’s Gulch.
Alexa grabbed his hand. “It’s my second star. Zander, I can use it for light.”
As they moved away, Sophia called, “When you’re ready to see your future, you know where I am.”
Alexa chattered on as Zander played a game of marbles and a round of darts. He gave her the trinkets he’d won, and they moved from the games and into the Raskan market where he admired the horses and laughed with Alexa over the antics of the goats. A Raskan child dressed in multi-colored skirts, danced and sang a lyrical song in a language Zander didn’t recognize. When she bowed at the end, he hauled out his last coin and gladly dropped it in her palm. She ran away giggling. It was only then that Sophia’s charms lost their hold.
As they strolled past a black tent with red symbols painted on the side, a woman stepped in front of them. Her dark skin contrasted with her pale blue eyes. A tunic embroidered with snakes hung over a black velvet skirt swirling around her ankles.
She searched their faces. “Come,” she beckoned to the tent and pulled aside the cloth door.
Zander balked. “Not another fortune, Alexa.”
She tugged his hand. “This is different. The other was for play. This is what Melina Odella does.”
“I’ve never had a fortune-teller read me,” he whispered. “I don’t know if I want it.”
Alexa’s eyes twinkled. “It’ll be fun. Let’s see if she knows we’re twins.”
As his eyes adjusted to the candle light, only Alexa’s firm grip on his hand kept him from running. A black panther squatted on its haunches next to a table covered by a purple cloth. Its glowing green eyes tracked Zander’s movements.
The fortune-teller tucked Alexa’s offered coin into a hidden pocket in her sleeve. “I am Tshilaba, the seeker of knowledge.”
She studied Zander. “Great power lies in your name, defender of all.”
Defender of all? Melina Odella had told him to find the meaning of his name. What did it mean?
Tshilaba searched their faces. “Names are important. They’re meant to guide you.”
Alexa asked eagerly, “What does my name mean?”
Tshilaba smiled. “You’ll learn soon enough.” Her gaze moved to stare beyond them and she grew stern. “Danger surrounds you. Your auras are clouded with it.” She examined Alexa. “You are as the night.” Turning to Zander she added, “And you are the day.” Taking their hands, she closed her eyes. “One cannot exist without the other. Your destinies are entwined, but I cannot see the outcome.” She shuddered as if coming from a trance and motioned them to the table. “Sit.” She shuffled a deck of cards and spread them in a line. “Let’s see what the cards say. You will each choose three.”
Alexa picked first and left her cards face down on the table. Zander’s hand hovered over the cards before drawing three from the middle.
The fortune-teller turned their first cards face up, side by side. She turned to Alexa and held up the Tower card. “You have a choice before you. You can continue to try to control your circumstances or you can trust Fate.”
Alexa’s hand clutched Zander’s. He glanced at her solemn face.
As the fortune-teller bent toward Zander, his heart quickened. Tshilaba’s stare seemed to penetrate his soul, and although he longed to look away, he could not, even as he feared she discerned his secrets.
“The Hermit warns not to search outside yourself for what is real. Truth lies within your heart. When you release what you think you know, the truth will arise gently as smoke rises from a well-tended fire.”
Zander wiped his free hand on his tunic. What did that mean?
Tshilaba pressed the second cards on top of the first ones. To Alexa she said, “The Nine of Wands. You are not where you will be. Do not be deceived that this,” the fortune-teller swept her hand through the air, “is your destination. The life you live now will soon change in a way you cannot yet understand.” She hesitated and murmured, “If I could stay longer . . . I would be of help to you.”
She tapped Zander’s card. “The Seven of Swords warns of bad luck. You may soon learn that life is not always fair.”
Zander almost laughed. He’d learned that lesson a long time ago.
Tshilaba studied him. “Beware a theft.”
A jolt shot through his gut. Shadow was the only thing he feared stolen. Surely Moira wouldn’t allow a patron to be taken. As he stroked the heart token Melina Odella had given him, the calm energy filled him. It was the only way he stayed seated.
Grasping Alexa’s final card, Tshilaba closed her eyes, and held it to her chest. She whispered, “The card of the Master.” She opened her eyes and placed her right palm on Alexa’s forehead between her eyebrows. “You are the master of your own destiny, but not in the manner you now seek.” She shuddered. “It was right I read for you. If you heed my advice it could save your life.”
Apprehension filled Zander as Tshilaba turned his final card. A man hung upside down chained by one foot to a circle. Zander started to shake.
“Do not fear the Hanging Man.” Tshilaba rested her hand on his. “It will be through silence you will understand. You will choose this, for it will bring you great wisdom.”
The fortune-teller swept the cards from the table and returned them to the deck. She fumbled in a pouch at her waist and pulled out a stone half-red and half-black. She folded Zander’s fingers around the stone. “When the silence comes, hold this to your heart.”
Trembling, Zander reached for his bag to add it to his tokens.
She shook her head. “No, not there.”
Zander nodded and slipped it into his pocket instead.
As they stood, Tshilaba placed her hands upon Zander’s and Alexa’s shoulders. “A dark night is upon you. As an arrow flies to its target, so fly you to the blackness. Nothing I say will change your path, for you have chosen. Fate will ensure you fly true to your destinies.”
As Zander stumbled from the tent, he blinked in the sun. “What was she talking about?” he whispered.
Alexa shook her head. “I’m not sure. What did she mean, the dark night?”
He shivered. “That panther. And the stone she gave me. She scared me.”
They didn’t speak again until they reached the stands. Alexa twisted her hands. “Are you ready to wrestle Dharien?”
“Yes—two wins to be the champion.” He stuck his hand in his pocket, and when he clasped the red and black stone, a vibration moved through his chest. He frowned. What kind of magic did it hold? He didn’t want it interfering with his favor when he wrestled, so he held it out to Alexa. “Would you hold the stone Tshilaba gave me?”
After placing it in her sewing bag, Alexa clutched Zander’s arm. “Good luck. I know you can win.”
As Zander hurried to the rings, he twisted to glance at Alexa. She bent over a cloth and the sun flashed from a needle as she stitched.
Tshilaba’s words nagged at him. Was he cheating when he used his favor to win, or was it his right to use it? Moira gave it to him early. What was its purpose if not to help him? He couldn’t think clearly with her warnings in his head. But even with the questions, Zander remained sure of one thing. He had to beat Dharien. Twice. And he would do whatever it took to win.
Cobie helped him warm up. “Dharien’s bragging how he’s going to beat you in one match
. You have to win.”
“I will.”
The championship matches would be played one at a time. His and Dharien’s would be third. Zander couldn’t focus. What did Tshilaba mean about the silence? And the dark night?
Greydon wrestled a peasant in the second match. Zander pulled his thoughts away from the fortune-teller’s words to watch. Greydon had become a friend, and Zander wanted him to win, but the boy he wrestled needed the money. Greydon competed for glory. For the peasant it meant his family could move from the alley. Zander hadn’t given any thought to the money. He’d never come this close. He just wanted to tromp Dharien.
Dharien cheered for his brother. Not that it mattered, but Zander wondered who Greydon would root for in his match with Dharien.
Cheers from the audience brought Zander’s mind back to the match as Greydon pressed his opponent’s shoulders to the ground, and the ref declared him the winner. Greydon jumped to his feet, and Zander experienced Greydon’s excitement as if it were his own.
After Greydon accepted the purse, he pulled Dharien to his chest. “Make our father proud, brother. Give us two champions in the family.”
He no longer wondered who Greydon would root for, but as Zander glanced at Alexa he understood. He would choose her over a friend always. Warmth filled him when he spotted Greydon sprint after the loser. In the shadows, his friend pressed the winnings into the hand of the surprised peasant. Dharien would never be so noble. He and Greydon were brothers, but as different as night and day. He shook his head. Both fortune-tellers had told him and Alexa the same, but Alexa was nothing like Dharien.
Determined to win his match, Zander strode to the ring, leaving his bag of tokens and omens tucked safely inside his tunic in the shadows of the stands. Crouched across from Dharien, Zander realized how similar they were. Same height, same build. Both had straight dark hair, but Zander’s eyes were a clear blue while Dharien’s were dark, and now those brown eyes flashed with anger.
As confident as Dharien appeared, when Zander stared in his eyes he glimpsed fear mixed with hatred and a determination matching his own. Zander’s own anger rushed to the surface, and he steeled himself. He couldn’t wait to take Dharien down.
They shook hands, and the referee lowered his arm. The cheers of the crowd barely registered over the pounding of the blood in his ears. He locked his gaze on Dharien’s eyes and spied what he needed. When Dharien rushed him, Zander countered, but missed grabbing him when his opponent rolled to the side. Zander barely recovered his balance before Dharien lunged for his legs and knocked him to his stomach. Zander scrambled on hands and knees with Dharien clinging to his back. Zander managed to stand. Dharien released him. They stood panting with eyes locked.
Dharien shot head first and butted Zander’s chest. Zander landed on his back with the wind knocked from him.
Dharien went for the pin, and the ref started to count.
“One, two . . .”
He wouldn’t lose. Not to Dharien. Zander caught his breath and flipped Dharien over his head in one quick move. Positions reversed, Zander struggled to pin Dharien’s shoulders. Dharien’s legs wrapped around Zander and threw him to the side. They scrambled to stand.
Once again they faced each other. Zander grinned when he studied Dharien’s eyes. When Dharien lunged, Zander jumped over him, twisted and landed on Dharien’s back.
While Dharien scrambled to stand, Zander swept his legs and flipped him over. As he pressed Dharien’s shoulders to the ground the crowd roared.
In three seconds it was over. Zander had won the first match.
Shaking from exhaustion, Zander headed to the sidelines. Sweat soaked through his shirt.
Alexa flew from the shadows. “That was amazing! I knew you could beat him!”
Zander accepted her hug and reached for his tunic. “My bag! Where’s my bag?”
Alexa searched with Zander, as his excitement turned to fear.
The bag was gone. And all of his tokens with it. Why hadn’t he listened to Tshilaba’s warning?
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
Zander
Despair settled into Zander’s stomach, making it a quagmire of churning quince pie. They searched the ground and the piles of clothes around them. His bag was gone.
“The only one who would steal them is Dharien, but he couldn’t have. Who else would?”
“Are you sure your bag was here when you left for the match?”
Zander ran his hands through his hair. “It was here.”
“We can report it to the priest and fortune-teller. Maybe they can do something.” Alexa tried to console him. “You still have two months to gain tokens.”
When his name was called for the final match with Dharien, Zander bent over his knees. “I can’t wrestle now. Not like this.” His mind whirled. The omens would still challenge him in the quest, and now he had no tokens to fight with.
Alexa grabbed his arm and willed him to stare in her eyes. “You can wrestle, and you will win. You must!”
What Zander spied in her eyes shook him more than the loss of his tokens. She held a new secret. Somehow, she cheated for him. He grimaced, trying to understand, when she glanced to the side and blushed.
“Go. Win.” Alexa pushed him toward the arena. “For both of us.”
He sprinted to the ring as the proctor called his name for the third and final time. Before he could calm his racing heart, the ref’s arm dropped, and the match began.
Zander leaned in and sought Dharien’s eyes. Dharien knew where his tokens were! Stunned, Zander hesitated. His opponent lunged for his legs, and Zander found himself on his back. Dharien scrambled to press his shoulders to the ground. For a second Zander accepted defeat, but as the ref counted two, his anger took over. Adrenaline surged through his body, and he threw Dharien to the side. His elbow connected with Dharien’s nose. Blood spurted through the air.
The ref stopped the fight long enough to shove a plug of wool up Dharien’s nose and warn Zander to watch his elbows. As they faced off, waves of hatred rolled off Dharien. Zander returned them with his own.
Dharien’s eyes dared Zander to make the first move, but Zander waited. The crowd booed. They wanted action. Zander didn’t care what the spectators thought of him, but he knew Dharien’s pride would overrule his plan to wait for Zander’s move.
Seeming unnerved by the jeers, Dharien stumbled to Zander’s left. Zander stepped to the side. Flustered, Dharien feinted to one side and then another. Each time, Zander reacted in time to stay out of reach.
In desperation, Dharien launched himself at Zander’s chest. Zander stepped to the side, swept Dharien’s legs, and fell with him. As they rolled, the crowd jumped to their feet, roaring approval.
Zander fought to stay on top. Dharien ducked his head and flipped Zander to the side. When Dharien pounced, Zander rolled and scrambled to stand. Dharien jumped to his feet. They locked arms with sweaty foreheads touching. Dharien was involved with Zander’s missing tokens, and Zander would make him regret it.
Staring past Dharien’s shoulder, Zander focused in on Alexa standing with her embroidery cloth pressed to her heart. She straightened and nodded once.
He twisted away and waited to see Dharien’s next move. After a moment of confusion, Dharien’s eyes hardened, and he gave Zander the information he needed. When Dharien stepped back, Zander followed and pushed his opponent off balance. Dharien fell to his back with a thud. Zander landed on Dharien’s chest and knocked the air from him.
As Zander pressed Dharien’s shoulders to the ground, the ref hollered, “One. Two. Three.” He slapped his hand on the ground, and it was over. The ref raised Zander’s arm while the crowd exploded. With a pat on the back, the ref handed Zander a bag of coins.
Stunned, Zander accepted the prize. He’d never had so much money. He could repay Elder Warrin. He could help Father. Fear fell like a stone
in his stomach. Coins wouldn’t help in the quest. His tokens were still gone, and beating Dharien didn’t bring them back.
When Zander returned to the sidelines, away from the view of the spectators, Alexa threw herself at him. “You won! I knew you could do it.”
He hugged her and then pulled away. “Winning doesn’t mean anything if I die in the quest. I’ve let you down, Alexa. I was careless to leave my tokens where Dharien could steal them.”
“You don’t know Dharien stole them. Cobie might have seen them and kept them safe for you.”
Zander’s face darkened. “Dharien knows where they are.”
“The cheating twins.”
Zander twirled to find Moira standing behind him. She came as the crone; wrinkled and stooped, but with emerald eyes. She held out clenched hands and opened her fingers to reveal a black panther omen in each palm.
“It always happens.” She scowled. “Every single time. Twins try to save each other.”
“You gave me your favor,” Zander stammered. “I used it to have an advantage.” Even as he said it, he heard the lie of it. He’d used it to win. To beat Dharien, because he hated him.
Moira cackled and the sound made Zander shrink back. Alexa grabbed his arm.
“You think to fool me? No human fools me. Not you, not your sister, not your parents. What is meant to happen, will happen. I see to it.” She dropped the omens to the ground. “Take them or not. They will challenge you in the quest, regardless.” In an instant, she was gone.
Zander stooped to grab the omens. He turned them over in his palm before he squinted at Alexa.
They asked together, “What did you do?”
“Never mind. Let’s get out of here.” Zander gripped Alexa’s elbow. “Come to the stable with me.” As they stumbled from the arena, Zander remembered Tshilaba’s warning. Was this the blackness she spoke of? He had chosen to cheat, and he’d seen in his twin’s eyes she also cheated.
They hiked in silence to Elder Warrin’s estate. When Zander opened the door to the stable, Shadow raced from Zander’s room and leaped into his arms. “Whoa, boy. Did you sleep all day? I wish I’d stayed home with you.” If he’d paid attention to his gut, he’d still have his tokens, and he and Alexa wouldn’t have the dangerous black panther omens. The bag of coins hung heavy from his belt. It hadn’t been a good trade. Not at all.