Crescent Calling

by Nicole R. Taylor

  Maggie shrugged and slipped her phone into her jacket pocket. “Nah, I just would’ve thought you would stay a little longer before you made up your mind.”

  “Them’s the breaks.”

  “What are you doin’ out here?”

  “Waiting for the real estate agent. He’s coming over from Sligo to evaluate the business.”

  “Ah, this will be him now, I suppose,” she said as the sound of an approaching car hummed in the distance.

  Behind us, the bell rang over the door as Mairead appeared. She glared at me and shook her hair defiantly. “Your boyfriend show up yet?”

  “See what I mean?” I said to Maggie.

  We lingered on the footpath, listening to the approaching car. When it appeared, zooming around the bend at an alarming speed, I realized the man behind the wheel hadn’t seen the tree in the middle of the road. The look of horror on his face was priceless. If he weren’t about to crash, I would’ve burst out into fits of laughter.

  My heart skipped a beat as the car swerved around the hawthorn, careened through the coach bay, and splashed into the creek where it finally came to a halt.

  Mairead began to laugh as the real estate agent kicked open the door—it was the one and only Fredrico because the name of the agency was on the side of the car—and tumbled out onto the ground.

  “Oh, cac,” Maggie said, her sides practically splitting open.

  “What’s cac?” I asked.

  “It’s Irish for shit,” Mairead explained.

  “I’ll say,” Maggie declared. “We’re going to have to fetch Roy and his tractor now. It’s going to cost the poor guy.”

  “The power of three,” Mairead said. “I told you so!”

  “What?”

  “Three omens,” she explained triumphantly. “First the door, then the computer, and now that guy’s car crashin’ into the creek.”

  “That’s stupid,” I declared. “There’s no such thing as omens. You’re just seeing what you want to see.”

  “Tell him that.” She nodded toward Fredrico, who was ranting loudly in Italian.

  Later, as I stood there watching Roy drag the car out of the creek with his tractor, and Fredrico told me he wouldn’t sell the shop for all the commission in the world, I started to see things from Mairead’s perspective. The power of three.

  I wondered if fate was an actual thing or if Derrydun was some kind of vortex like the Bermuda Triangle. Strange things kept happening around me, and it wasn’t anything to do with the villagers and their peculiar quirks. Something wanted me to stay. Desperately.

  Once Fredrico had sped away and Roy was on his way back to his farm, I went into Irish Moon, feeling rather sheepish.

  “You were right,” I said to Mairead.

  She leaned against the counter, cleaning up after the last busload of tourists had been through. Most of them had stood around watching the car being towed from the creek and taking photos, which didn’t help my situation. Roy thought it was hilarious, so I was pretty sure the gossip would make its way around the entire village by the end of the day.

  “What? I can’t hear you,” Mairead said, pretending to be deaf.

  “I said you were right!” I screwed up my face and stamped my foot. “Okay? Don’t rub it in. I don’t want to know her because…” I sighed dramatically. “She left me behind with my dad—who’s dead by the way—and you all worshiped her, okay?”

  Mairead’s triumphant smile faded, and she shrugged. “I suppose I’m sorry, too. I didn’t think of it that way.”

  “Well, at any rate, it looks like I’m staying. For a while at least.”

  “It was really funny, you know.” The girl smiled. “The car…”

  I snorted and began to laugh. “It was, wasn’t it?”

  “I thought his head was going to explode.”

  “Imagine if his car hadn’t started.”

  And just like that, Mairead and I became friends—proper friends—and Derrydun became a little more like home.

  Chapter 7

  The next day, I opened Irish Moon early.

  If I was sticking around, then I had better start making an effort assimilating into village life. That meant taking an interest in the business that might end up being my job for the next fifty years. Ugh, imagine that.

  Sitting behind the front counter, I began sorting through the papers that had been shoved underneath the till. Old receipts, delivery slips, and handwritten notes dating back years had accumulated in the little space, so I pulled them all out and put them into an old cardboard box from the storeroom. I would have to sort through them later.

  Reaching back into the shelf to make sure I hadn’t missed anything, my hand settled on a small box that had worked its way right to the back. It was a black rectangle with a metallic gold design etched into it. At first, I thought it might be a set of playing cards, but the box was a little larger than standard. Sitting on the stool behind the till, I shook my treasure, listening for a rattle. Something inside moved from side to side.

  The box was covered in scuff marks, so I assumed it had been opened and closed quite a bit before I stumbled on it. Easing off the lid, I found a stunning set of tarot cards inside. Of course.

  They had to have belonged to Aileen. It was another thing to add to the list of things I knew about her. She read tarot. I wondered if she’d been any good and if she knew all the hidden meanings.

  Tipping over the box, I emptied the cards out onto the counter. Picking up the first one my fingers found, I saw they were matte black with metallic gold designs, which shimmered as I tilted it back and forth. The deck was quite pretty to look at even though I didn’t know the meanings. Scattering them over on the counter so I could see better, I studied the wands, swords, cups, and pentacles. There were also other cards like The Sun, The Moon, The Fool, The Emperor, and more. I knew they all had meanings and ones that deepened still when set with other cards.

  Picking out a card that drew my eye, I peered at the image. It was a woman standing between two pillars, holding what looked like a multifaceted crystal in one hand and a book in the other. She was wearing a peculiar headdress—a circle with horns that almost looked Egyptian in style. The High Priestess. I wondered what she signified.

  The bell above the door rang, and I dropped the card and glanced up. It was Boone.

  He was wearing his trademark jeans, T-shirt, and tartan shirt, though this morning, the shirt was undone. As usual, his ringleted hair was falling into his eyes, and he was in desperate need of a shave.

  I eyed him skeptically, more from curiosity than burning desire. He’d never been in the shop before, and I wondered what he was up to. He hadn’t come to see me, had he?

  “Hi,” he said, smirking at me.

  “Hi…” I said slowly, waiting for the punch line.

  “I heard about the incident.”

  “Not you, too,” I said with a moan. He’d come to rub it in! Typical. “I had nothing to do with that man’s driving. He ended up in the creek all by himself, thank you.”

  Boone began to laugh. “It’ll be the talk of Derrydun for months.”

  “Then someone had better hurry up and do something outrageous so they’ll forget me.”

  “I had to put up with it for a whole year before you came along and took my crown, so I’m not in any hurry to help you along.” He added a wink for good measure.

  “What did you do?” I asked, narrowing my eyes. “I don’t believe it.”

  “Bully broke Roy’s leg, and I was able to calm him enough so Sean could get Roy out of the pen.”

  “Bully?”

  “Roy’s bull.”

  “What’s so special about that?”

  “Bulls are notoriously wild creatures,” Boone explained. “They don’t have much regard for us humans, so when they get a bee in their bonnet, it’s best to run as fast as you can in the other direction. They’re big bastards.”

  “Let me guess. You ran the wrong way?” I tilted my head to th
e side.

  “I did, but it could’ve been much worse for Roy if I hadn’t.”

  “That doesn’t seem like that bad of a story,” I declared. “It’s not embarrassing at all.”

  Boone scratched his head, looking uncomfortable. “I’m not good at bein’ the center of attention.”

  I snorted. “Seriously? Looking like that?” I gestured up and down at him. “Yeah, right. You love it.”

  “Are you callin’ me handsome?” he asked, grinning.

  “No! I…” There was no denying it. I was redder than red. Scarlet, crimson, carmine, maroon, cherry, ruby…

  Boone’s grin widened, and he leaned against the counter. Running his fingers over the cards I’d been studying, he glanced at me curiously.

  “You found Aileen’s tarot cards,” he said.

  “Yeah. I don’t know anything about them, though.” I scooped them up and began shuffling absently, finding a strange comfort in the action.

  “Your mam loved these cards,” he went on. “She would sit there and do a readin’ every mornin’.”

  “Do you know anything about them?”

  “A little. She would pull a few cards for me every now and then. Especially when I first came to Derrydun. She said they helped with guidance more than anythin’.”

  I sure could use a little of that right now, I thought as I continued shuffling.

  “Would you like to draw one?” Boone asked. “I can see if it’s one I remember.”

  I didn’t see the harm in it, so I shuffled once more, then drew the card right at the top. Flipping it over, I saw it was an image of a tower surrounded by clouds with lightning bolts. The top of the structure was etched in flames, and I shivered with a foreboding sense of destruction.

  “The Tower,” I said, holding it up so Boone could see.

  He frowned, his features troubled.

  “What?” I prodded, setting the card on the counter. “Do you know what it means?”

  He nodded. “The Tower looks nasty with the storm clouds and lightnin’ bolts, but it can be a very nice card,” he said, placing his finger on top. “The Tower must fall in order to be rebuilt. Out with the old, and in with the new.”

  My insides twisted, and I immediately jumped to the conclusion that read Aileen was old, and now you’re here in her place. The younger model. That was the problem. I didn’t want to pick up where she left off and become Aileen version two. I wanted to be me. I wanted to be Skye, and no one else.

  I scowled and snatched up the card. “Out with the old, you say?”

  Boone’s expression fell, and he straightened up. “Skye, I dinna mean…”

  “I know. It’s just… I don’t know what to think anymore. There’s some kind of conspiracy going on here.”

  “Conspiracy?” He tilted is head to the side.

  I opened my mouth, desperately wanting to discuss my wild theories with someone, but quickly closed it again. I knew how it would sound. Sky Williams would be the talk of the town for a different reason once I started flapping my gums about omens and strange coincidences.

  “Is somethin’ botherin’ you? You can tell me, Skye,” he murmured. “I won’t judge.”

  I almost crumbled, but I ended up shaking my head. “It’s just an adjustment thing. It’s the same but different here, you know?”

  The door opened, interrupting us at the perfect moment, and the little bell rang furiously as Mairead strode in, her boots clomping on the floor. When she saw Boone standing by the counter, her eyes widened.

  “Hi, Mairead,” he said, flashing her a smile. He fished around in his pocket and held out an MP3 player toward her. “Sorry I kept it for so long.”

  “That’s okay,” she muttered, taking the little player from him. She smiled shyly, then not knowing what else to say, turned away.

  As she hurried out the back, I gave Boone a pointed look.

  “She loaned it to me after Aileen passed,” he explained with a shrug. “It was about time I returned it.”

  “She made you a mixed tape,” I said, raising my eyebrows.

  “Aye, a playlist,” he said, not getting her ulterior motive. “It was quite good. I liked it.”

  Rolling my eyes, I scooped up the tarot card and put it back into the deck.

  “What?” he asked with a frown. Men. They were so clueless.

  “You really don’t see it?” I asked, thoroughly annoyed. I had no idea why I was jealous of a seventeen-year-old girl. It was all a little petty.

  “See what?” Boone, however, was oblivious to just about everything it seemed.

  “Never mind.” I waved him off. “Did you need anything? Or were you attracted by the lure of tarot cards? You know, how cats run at the sound of a can opening?”

  He laughed. “No, not really. I was just stoppin’ by to see how you were gettin’ on.”

  I raised my eyebrows slightly, my chest tightening. “I’m getting there. Slowly.”

  “That’s good.”

  “I suppose.”

  We stared at each other awkwardly for a moment, then as Mairead reappeared, he snapped to attention.

  “I better be goin’, then,” he said, backing toward the door. “I’ve got some work to do for Mary. I’ll see you around.”

  “See ya,” I replied, raising my hand in a small wave.

  “Bye!” Mairead said cheerily as Boone disappeared through the door, the bell signaling his departure.

  She stared after him with a dreamy expression. “He never comes into the shop,” she said to me. “At least, not while I’m here.”

  “Have you got a crush on him?”

  “Pfft, no.” She rolled her eyes and pouted.

  “You made him a playlist,” I stated, making a face.

  “So? He was alone after Aileen died. He still is.” She sighed dramatically, and I could almost read her thoughts.

  “Yeah, right,” I muttered, walking over to the bookshelf and picking up a book about tarot cards. “Pull the other one.”

  When I went back to the cottage that afternoon, the tabby cat was waiting for me on the stoop.

  “Hey, Buddy,” I said, bending over to pat him on the head. I had no idea what his name was, but Buddy was universal. Kinda like calling someone mate.

  Over the past week and a half, we’d become good friends. He didn’t visit every evening, but more often than not, he would be waiting for me. Then he would be gone in the morning, disappearing like a ghost. I’d stopped wondering how he was getting out and accepted that like the rest of Derrydun’s inhabitants, he was just as special.

  Unlocking the door, I let us inside, dumped my bag on the kitchen table, and went to the freezer. Taking out my snap-frozen dinner of choice, I pierced the film on top with a fork and shoved the meal into the microwave. Leaning against the counter, I flipped open the book on tarot I’d borrowed from the shop called Learning the Tarot.

  Buddy began doing figure eights through my legs as I skimmed the introduction. Learning the Tarot is a complete beginner’s course on learning the hidden meaning of tarot for personal guidance. These lessons teach you the fundamentals of basic readings to help you learn and practice. Fundamentals such as, how to use one card to interpret a situation, two cards in synchronicity, and how to weave multiple cards spreads into a cohesive story.

  The microwave beeped, and I retrieved my meal and my bag and went upstairs with Buddy on my heels. Setting myself up on Aileen’s bed, I took out the tarot deck I’d found that morning, laid out the book, and began picking at the chicken with gravy, vegetables and roast potato that I’d nuked downstairs.

  Buddy curled up on the end of the bed, not in the least bit interested in the rubbery food I tortured myself with. Smart guy, that one.

  “Let’s see…” I said, opening the box and taking out the cards. Shuffling, I stopped when I felt like it might be right and drew the card at the top. Turning it over, I raised my eyebrows. The Tower.

  It was the same card I’d chosen earlier, and I wondered if i
t was yet another weird sign from the spirits of Derrydun. They sure knew how to shove coincidences down my throat, after all.

  “All right,” I muttered. “If you want to play with me, then what do you mean.”

  Turning to the index, I found the page reference for the Tower and then turned back to the right place in the book.

  I read the passage aloud so it would sink into my brain faster. “When the Tower shows itself in a reading, consider it a blessing in disguise. Forceful change is being pushed on you, and though it may feel like it is happening against your will, you need to remember it’s for your own good. Often, this card appears when a change has been in the air for some time, and you have resisted or ignored it. There may have been small problems arising because of this, and they are likely increasing and getting out of control. The Tower represents the Universe reminding you that you need this upheaval to run its course for your own spiritual growth.

  “Hear that, Buddy?” I said to the cat. “That sounds exactly like my life. Forceful change.”

  Holding up the Tower, I studied the card. Boone had said it meant ‘out with the old, and in with the new.’ I thought he’d been talking about Aileen passing, but maybe it was more than that. My old life had fallen apart, much like the picture of the Tower in the book. I’d lost my job, my boyfriend, my home, but now I was in Derrydun, and a whole new way of life had presented itself in an unlikely scenario. Lucky for me, I had dual citizenship.

  No doubt, the part referring to the ‘small problems’ could be interpreted as the trio of oddities that occurred when I had decided I wanted to sell. The door to Irish Moon became stuck, the computer froze, and the real estate agent crashed his car into the creek.

  It was very specific, and I found myself wanting to believe. Guidance, huh? Maybe there was more in these tarot cards than I first thought.

  A loud thud broke the still air, and I jumped, my heart doing a double backflip in my chest. Even Buddy’s head flew up, his eyes wide, and his irises so black hardly any green was left showing.

  “The hell…” I muttered as I saw a stack of old romance novels had fallen off the nightstand onto the floor.