"Pull over here," Tayler said.

I parked and checked the time on my phone: 3:10 AM, perfect. Hopefully we can get this done in the next 45 minutes…

The two men cramped in my lil' Datsun pickup limped out. I felt bad for them…

"It's that cellar door—you can just barely see it in the shadows…" Tayler wheezed. That wheeze could only mean bad things. This Magician better be a healer, like Tayler said he is…

This chill October night air was putting into context how panicked I was. Keep it together, Jade.

I opened the cellar door…

I knew what to expect from Taylers report of the place, but seeing it still took my breath away.

I was the first one in, carefully descending the cobblestone steps down, looking in all directions, all the endless directions…

Morgana and then Tayler followed close behind, taking it slow. God knows what happens if you fall down into those galaxies below, seeming contained by only a thin layer of water…

"Help us, Magician!" Tayler shouted ahead.

I looked to the end of the island, where at a rectangle table sat a red bearded man with blonde hair.

"The Fool brings allies!" The man who must be the Magician shouted back to us.

We'd safely made it to the ground at the end of the steps.

Morgana stumbled forward a few steps and collapsed, coughing blood up.

"Oh god!" I screamed, "Mage, please heal these two, I think they've both punctured their lungs at the least!"

I got on one knee next to Morgana and pressed his chest with the now crimson red shirt.

Tayler sat where he was, not far away, breathing heavily.

"You're a medicine man—aren't you? Heal him first... He got hit by two magic arrows."

I didn't hear him approach, but he was suddenly next to me, kneeling.

A warm green light enveloped Morgana's chest. I lifted his shirt.

You could visibly see a broken rib go back into place, and the blood from the shirt seemed to seep back into him as I saw those two holes in his chest clot instantly.

"What the fuck…" I murmured under my breath.

"It is good indeed that he is unconscious for this," I think he was speaking to me.

He got up and walked the short distance to Tayler, who was sitting criss cross. He did not knell, he reached a hand out standing above Tayler and tendrils of green glow seeped out of his stretched out fingers…

They wrapped around him, gently, and Tayler grimaced in pain, gritting his teeth, increasing his breathing rapidly, before laying down on his back and squirming.

"It is done…" the Mage turned to me. "Is it a good night, Devil? I see you're in league with these two, and even fell for The Fool… The Lovers have been strong this year, orchestrating much."

"I'm The Devil…?"

"Very much so. I see you haven't summoned your familiar as of yet? But you did learn to control emotions, very recently..."

"Summon? Familiar?" He walked back to his desk and I followed him.

"We are getting ahead of ourselves. You're in need of this," he took a… wand, I think that's what you'd call it, he took it off the table and handed it to me.

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

I took it in my hand, feeling it's weight and material… It looked somewhat like a dagger, but slimmer, and I couldn't quite pin what it was made of even as I felt it's length.

"That's Kaguya's parrying dagger, it is yours now however. All you must do is sweep with intent, and it does the rest. And for your lover, The Fool…"

He passed me a sword on his desk. It looked like a shinai, Sophie taught me that word for it… but at the same time, it definitely wasn't.

"What is this…"

"I made it on my own, with inspiration from that Fool's hobby, of sorts… I call it a verse resonate sword. I found a strong redwood, made the length, hollowed it out, and inserted in enchant steel that rings in a frequency that disorients the opponent."

It was certainly made wholly of a single piece of redwood and had similar dominions to that of a shinai, however there were various slots in it filled with a steel tinged blue, alternating slots of it. It was a striking contrast, and surprisingly light.

"Jade—ask him how to solve the cards, we must know! I must know why they want our deaths!" Tayler yelled at me, supporting himself up with an elbow.

"The reason they want death is in order to gain your curse for themselves. If you kill your match, your abilities transfer and stay permanent, never degrading like they would."

"It's about time you spill how this all works… we've been in the dark too long!" I yelled with vengeance in my heart.

"'Tis too early to tell, Devil. We'll both have to wait for events to unfold."

"Then tell me, what about me? How long until I turn into a full male?"

"Incorrect, Devil. You will turn half male, half female. In between the genders, that's the devil's identity. The devil's power is control over emotions, as you've gleamed already. And your familiar—"

"Yes, how do I summon this familiar?" I crossed my arms.

What an irritating man.

"You must will it to life. Have you tried to conjure the image of it? No, Devil-woman, you have not!"

Now he was angry with me!

"What a joke—!"

He stuck out his hand and that same glowing aura of green evanescence, like an extension of his fingers, found their way to my head.

"Ahh!" There was a sudden pounding in my head! Fuck!

I swiped the dagger in my hand and felt a sudden relief, followed by me falling to the ground.

I was breathing hard and I could hear… a knocking sound, like someone was kicking inside my head!

Hello, can you hear me now? Said a small voice inside me.

Call me, my name is Zada.

The words seemed to speak themselves… "Zada," I whispered.

I felt something… escape from me.

From out of my forehead.

Still on the ground, I clutched my head as an intrusive thought came into my head… an image of a young child in a long dress and sash hanging loosely, wearing a crown of roses.

I closed my eyes tight, trying not to think at all.

I heard above me, "Hello, big sister."

I slowly looked up. The same girl I saw in my head was materialized right in front of me…

She seemed to be a tween, I'd guess no older than thirteen. Grey eyes with pupils that looked like gears, with white-blonde hair and fair, pale skin… she was certainly unique.

She was menacing.

"Zada, huh? Let's get out of here."

She vanished, out of thin air, into nothing. I knew too that she was in my head again. I'd listen to her now.

"Devil, use your familiar for reconnaissance. Find Temperance, find The Wheel."

"I will…"

I took out my phone—it was 3:50.

I had nothing else to say to this nebulous man… although I was certain to have questions later.

Maybe there was no other way around it.

Both the guys were getting to their feet now, they'd be very sore, but they were both still alive.

I think I can speak for all of us when I say: it hit us like a truck, we realized we were playing a game without knowing the rules.

- - - -

All three of us walked in to Deirdes house, I called her before coming maybe 20 minutes ago.

She was waiting on the couch, legs crossed and jumped up at our entrance, heading straight for Morgana.

They hugged and Deirde kissed him before pulling back and looking at us. "Thank you for returning him safely, even if he is bruised," she said.

"Don't mention it…" I didn't know what to say.

"This was our loss today, Deirde, but I promise it won't happen again," Tayler said.

"It better not," Deirde smiled weakly. "I don't think I'd be able to take it again. We thought you died."

We really did…

Tayler and I had a long chat upon going home and what had happened in full, and the letter Sophie got the day before.

On that note, I sign off. Sorry for not being a talkative narrator.

Until next time—this has been Jade.