Jack slowly approached the small storefront nestled between a pair of vintage clothing shops, dragging his feet. He kicked at a small pile of leaves gathering beneath one of the maple trees lining the sidewalk. It would have made for a romantic walk.

He stared forlornly at the neon sign in the shape of a palm with an eye in its center. That was new. A cinderblock held the door open, and a sign sat in the window, advertising a $20 small tarot spread. "Fortune, wellbeing, and advice," promised the purposefully worn down wooden sign that swayed in the light breeze.

One deep breath to quell the anxiety, and he stepped inside.

He caught the soft ping as he crossed the threshold into the darkened entryway. He squinted as his eyes adjusted to the low light provided by electric candles lining the shelves. He could make out a pair of empty spots, just the right size for a pair of ugly fairy figurines.

And a reminder of his obligation of attending a party in a few days.

"Come in."

Candace's voice floated out from behind a set of heavy curtains, and Jack slowly let out the breath he'd been holding. He slunk over and pushed aside a velvet curtain.

Candace sat in a comfortable wingback chair behind a small circular table covered with layered squares of fabrics. A single, fat candle burned brightly in its center. More dark fabrics hung from the walls along with posters of tarot cards and sigils.

Letting the curtain fall back into place, Jack stood in awkward silence, eyeing the empty armchair sitting across from Candace. It had a ship and lighthouse embroidered on the fabric, and he was certain he'd seen it at the Bradley Estate sale. His initial thought was that Sam put his foot down against adding it to the nautical-themed kitchen, but a few strands of loose thread on a bottom corner told a different story. He wondered which beclawed hellion was the culprit.

"Good day. Enter and be— Oh!" Candace's voice switched from mystical to cheerful. "Hey, Jack. Are you here for a lunchtime shopping extravaganza? Caterwaul is having a flash sale," she said, ending with an enticing note. She played with some of the tassels hanging from her dark blue shawl as she stared at Jack with a hopeful smile.

"Maybe if they have a coat," he relented.

"I think I remember seeing a nice peacoat in your size. And a size or two up."

Big and warm. And probably expensive. "Tempting. But uh… I'm here for a uh… Advice. Reading. Small reading. Mostly advice. I broke up with Kieran. Or we're on a break. I'm deciding." He turned his gaze to the floor, taking in the scuffed up wood and fraying rugs. "I dunno what to do."

"Oh, no. Here, sit down," Candace said, waving to the empty chair. She picked up her stacked cards and began shuffling them. "Let's start off with something small and generalized."

Jack gripped the edge of the small table as he sat down and leaned forward. "And please don't tell Sam I'm here," he begged in a low voice.

"It's tarot, not a drug deal," she said, laughing and shaking her head.

"Close enough," he mumbled as he sat up. He watched as Candace set out the cards across the table and began to flip them. His eyes flicked up with each card, paying careful attention to Candace's expression. A drawing of a handful of swords and a deeper frown.

This was not going to be good.

"Alright, so…" Candace grimaced as she turned over the final card, revealing another set of swords.

Jack knew nothing about placement nor meaning, but he knew that swords were bad. And there were a decent amount sitting in front of Candace. "I'm gonna die, aren't I?"

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

"No… But I really don't like this. You're almost always represented by the Nine of Swords for other people. I don't like how it's popping up in your own spread with the Eight of Swords." She looked up from the spread in worry. "Jack, what is going on?"

"Stuff," he said dismissively. "I just… need answers. About Kieran."

Candace tapped her nails along the cards, nudging them. "If this spread had anything to do with him, I'd say leave town and change your name."

"You're joking, right?"

"But I don't think it's him," she said without looking up, shaking her finger at Jack. "He usually shows up as Pentacles when I look into you. Mostly as the King of Pentacles. Both upright and reversed, but that's something else we can talk about later."

She looked up and caught Jack's distraught stare. "Um…"

"But you're not sure."

He was going to die, and Kieran was going to kill him. Or lock him up in the basement. Did Kieran even have a basement? Maybe the attic. Or a chicken coop on the roof. At least the food would be good.

"Sorry." Candace shrugged and went back to poking at the cards with one hand and tugging on her hair with the other. "I guess I was just hopeful that you found someone nice. I don't wanna ruin it for you. Especially if I'm wrong," she said quietly.

"Believe me, he ruined it himself." Jack leaned back in his chair with a huff, crossing his arms tightly and glaring at the candle. "Y'know that secret? Pretty fucking big. Changes the whole relationship kinda big. Changes a lot of things kinda big."

Candace gathered up her cards and began a new spread. She flipped each one over and nodded at the end. She looked up and gave Jack a reassuring smile.

"It looks like you're happier now that you know? And then there's the Ace of Swords and the reversed Devil. Knowledge leads to control over your situation," she said, switching to her official psychic voice.

"Maybe? It's better than not knowing. I think." It was weird knowing that vampires and ghosts were real, and it finally made sense why Kieran pursued him. Initially, at least. He was still uncertain if Kieran was being honest about growing attached. He wanted to believe it.

"There's something else I'm forgetting, but it's better that I know. I… I know it's better," he said as the creeping sensation of needing to remember something lingered about him. "And I guess since that knowledge is another of those stupid Sword cards, it's not a good thing."

He ran through his new mantra: mad at Kieran, security tapes, mind fuckery. There was something else, but at least it was getting easier for him to remember why he was pissed at Kieran. He should start keeping a notebook.

He quickly disregarded the idea. Someone might find it.

"Swords aren't inherently bad," Candace said as she collected the cards. "There's a lot of intelligence and ambition, which can be used for good or selfish reasons, which can lead to conflict and manipulation. Here, let's look at recent interactions."

Her frown grew deeper with each flip of a card. "God fucking— Excuse me. Sorry."

Jack leaned his elbows on the table and stared miserably at the spread. "Just tell me."

"You've been given false hope by someone close to you," she muttered mulishly. Her shoulders hunched in guilt as she pulled a chunk of her hair forward and began chewing on the ends.

"You gotta be shitting me."

"It could be something as small as me mentioning the flash sale. They could be out of that coat," she hurried to say. "Or… or it could be me thinking that these readings don't involve Kieran."

She guiltily met Jack's eyes. "Our guestroom is always available. You know that, right? If you ever need to avoid anywhere or anyone, then just come on over and hang out. You're always welcome to hang out in the back room here, too. My internet's not the fastest, but it works."

"Yeah. Thanks." Jack folded his arms on the table and rested his chin atop them. "Sam offered the guestroom, too."

"There ya' go. Wanna come home with me tonight?"

"Yeah. I'll go look at that coat in the meantime." He stood and pulled his gaze away from the cards and his doomed future. He didn't want to believe in fortune telling cards and stones, but ghosts and vampires were real.

But it was still a stack of printed cardstock mass produced in some random factory halfway across the world. Candace had a deck with cats on it. Ouija boards were sold in toy stores.

Candace wasn't psychic; she was a therapist with a moon and stars paint job.

"Oh, and uh… There's a speed trap on Herring from four to seven this week," he said as he watched her pick up her cards. Funny how her cards never told her what streets to avoid.

Candace looked up and narrowed her eyes. "I knew he was coordinating with Harrison. We'll take North Landing."

image [https://i.imgur.com/eZY0YUq.png]