Total pages in book: 155
Estimated words: 142916 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 715(@200wpm)___ 572(@250wpm)___ 476(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 142916 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 715(@200wpm)___ 572(@250wpm)___ 476(@300wpm)
She sensed a darkness in Nicu, much like the shadows in Benedek. He had thick scarring covering much of his soul. Her birth mother’s family had handed down their skills in demon slaying to her, and she’d also been born with the legacy of reading the tarot cards imprinted on her. There was a layout very specific to her family, which was sometimes used when the reader could see darkness in the subject she was reading for.
Four cards would be positioned in a diamond pattern. The first, at the top, signified a personal challenge. The second position, to the left, might be a personal tool. The third card, to the right, was a hurdle or wall to the subject’s goal, and the fourth card, at the bottom of the diamond, was a challenge to their goal.
The legend said that the reader could light a candle for clarity because light is a helpmate to the dark. Silke had a specific aromatic candle made from beeswax waiting on the table so she could light it when it was time.
Nicu gave her a brief, encouraging smile as he took the cards and began to shuffle. She repeated the instructions, telling him to think of what he wanted the cards to clarify for him. She told him to divide the deck into four stacks. He raised an eyebrow at the difference between his reading and the others but did as she asked, placing the stacks neatly on the table in front of him. He selected a card from each stack, placing his choice face down on top.
“This spot represents a personal challenge, Nicu. Things you lack or refuse to see can be what holds you in place, unable to move forward.”
Silke turned over the ace of wands—upside down. “You are impatient to have your ideas and strategies work. Be willing to wait a little longer for the best opportunity to move forward.”
She moved the second card to the left as she turned it over. “This is your personal tool. Recognize the strength in you that will be the most help in reaching your desired goal.” The card was the eight of pentacles. “You are focused on what it takes to achieve your goal. You are willing to work diligently to master what it takes to have what you desire. You look to others for skills and wisdom.”
Silke let her breath out slowly, forcing her body to relax. She feared what was coming, and that was unlike her. She hadn’t been completely calm at all while doing any of the readings, but it was the most difficult with Nicu.
“The right half of the diamond represents a hurdle or wall to your goal. You hold the key to life and death, to success and failure. Identify the key and find the courage to use it.” She turned the death card over and placed it in position. “Change is coming, and it will not be easy for you. What you thought you could never do, never give up, may now be the key to your survival.”
She placed the candle in the center of the diamond but didn’t light it. Instead, she took the remaining card. She felt power in the card. “This is the challenge to your goal. There will always be darkness in the universe that will challenge what you love, desire or need. You must identify what lives in the dark that is holding you from your goal.”
She turned the card over and placed it at the bottom of the diamond, below the candle. “The devil.” She stared down at it for a moment. “Negative forces look to constrain you. You’ve found yourself trapped and must identify the source of the evil that entraps you.”
Silke lit the candle and gently blew on the flame until it flickered and died, releasing a cloud of smoke. “Look into the smoke. You do not have to share what you see, but hopefully, the vision will give you insight on what to do next. A great evil has escaped into our world, and I fear that darkness calls you.”
Nicu dropped his gaze to the smoke. He studied the gray cloud for several minutes and then his breath caught in his throat and he sank back in his chair. He raised his gaze to Silke’s as the smoke dissipated.
The silence in the room was deafening. Every single person present was riveted to the sight of watching Nicu stare into the smoke. If Silke had thought he would show how he felt about what he saw, she was mistaken. Nicu gave them the same stoic, expressionless mask he normally wore.
“I saw our prince, Mikhail, his lifemate, Raven, their son, Alexandru, and many other children and their parents from back home. They were celebrating something to do with the children. A birthday perhaps. All were laughing and talking. There was dancing. The children played together in the way we did when we were young, trying to shift.”