Chapter Thirteen #2
Set just outside the seating area are three small eerie tents with dramatic peaks.
Their swirling red, gold and black sides flap ominously in the still night.
A heavy curtain hides what’s within. A signpost pounded into the ground announces Fates.
Above each entrance, the occupant is named: Maiden, Mother and Crone.
“What are they?” Jaz asks, eyeing the tents suspiciously. They look like they belong in a nightmare.
“Psychics,” my mother answers excitedly. She’s almost uncharacteristically giddy. “They read tarot cards, palms and answer specific questions about your fate. The Maiden was at a party I attended last year. She’s very gifted. You should all get your readings done before everyone arrives.”
I stare at the tents, not tempted to step toward them. The girls don’t need a second invitation, each choosing a Fate, poking their heads through the slot before disappearing inside.
“Which will you choose?” Mom asks over my shoulder.
“I don’t know,” I say, not committing. My stomach swirls with nerves at just the thought of entering one of the tents.
While the girls are getting their fates revealed to them, my mother finishes the tour, pointing out all the little details “we” decided upon.
It’s not the party I would’ve planned, but it is pretty incredible.
They thought of things I’d never have considered, like the wall weeping blood in the hell club.
And the rain of feathers floating from the ceiling in heaven.
When we circle back to Purgatory, Danika is ducking out of the Maiden’s tent, biting her lip. I can’t read if it’s a good expression or not.
“Now you,” my mother encourages. I take a breath and allow my feet to lead me into the tent, passing a dazed Danika. I try to get her attention, but she looks right past me. I pause at the entrance and swallow.
“Come in, Sadie,” a melodic voice calls from within.
I pull back the curtain and step through. As soon as I cross the threshold, the heavy fabric falls closed behind me.
The interior is small but spacious enough for a table with two chairs, a bookshelf filled with mysterious artifacts, crystals, tarot decks and maybe a real human skull.
I’m afraid to look too closely. The table is draped with black that shimmers with tiny flecks of silver.
It looks like it’s twinkling, like the fairy lights strung around the peak of the tent.
A hidden woman sits in the chair opposite me. A dark blue cloak conceals her face beneath a dramatic hood. Long ash-blond tresses flow down her chest, past the edge of the table.
“Please sit, my dear.”
Her voice sounds older, more mature than I originally thought.
It has force behind it, like my mother when she needs people to cooperate and get things done.
A tone that has me pulling out the chair and lowering myself to sit as if I didn’t have any other choice.
My wings hang over either side of the seat and drag on the ground—they’re much more pliable than I originally thought.
“Take a breath, my darling. Relax. We aren’t going to hurt you. We’re only hear to guide you on your journey.”
I inhale deeply and release it slowly. “What do I do?”
“Tell us, do you inquire about the mind, the body, the soul or the heart?”
“The heart,” escapes from my lips before I consider why. Especially since I know who my heart belongs to.
“Set your hands upon the table with your palms facing up.”
I do. My fingers tremble ever so slightly. It’s as if electricity runs through my palms, causing them to buzz and tremor. I release another breath.
The Maiden hovers her hands above mine, inches apart. Their warmth seeps into my palms. The buzzing intensifies. I close my eyes, trying to control my racing heart. My entire body is lit with a current that runs the length of my spine down to my feet.
When she speaks, her voice is raspy, that of an old woman, as if she’s aged within seconds.
“Your heart is open, but your eyes are not. If you don’t see the truth, you will lose him to the flame.
For he is fire, raging within. And it’s only the true love of another that can contain it, keep it from burning everything to the ground.
Open your eyes, girl. You are the only one who can see the truth.
You are the only one who can save him from himself.
But first, you must seek courage. It is carved into your bones.
Let it come forward. In his redemption, you will find your destiny. The Fates have spoken. You are bound.”
I can feel the chill as soon as she removes her hands.
I stare at my trembling ones still resting on the table.
I gaze into the dark shroud hiding her face.
I open my mouth to ask for an explanation.
To makes sense of what she just told me.
But it’s her amplified voice that fills the tent, “Now leave us.”
I stand quickly, tipping the chair back, and rush from the tent.
I don’t know what that was, but my stomach feels like it’s trying to tie itself into knots.
“You will lose him to the flame.” That doesn’t even make sense.
Who is she talking about? Except somewhere deep within, I know she means Jonathan.
And I have to believe the fire refers to his anger, the rage I saw a glimpse of last night.
The fiery side that I have refused to see all these years.
Not wanting to see him hurt—or maybe more accurately, hurt others.
I want to believe his passion gets the best of him, his sense of justice.
But I don’t know if I believe that’s always true.
Which is why I never looked too closely, needing him to be the protector. The boy I’ve always loved. And not the one who others need to be protected from. But according to the Maiden, my eyes aren’t open.
And somehow, it’s my responsibility to save him from himself? No pressure or anything. It would be nice if I could get him to call me back once in a while.