The Wheel of Fate (Twisted by Tarot #1)

Chapter 1

One

Knox

T he air is heavy with sandalwood and certainty. Plants and various crystals hang from every corner, bits of light bouncing off them and sprinkling the room in shards of light. Candles litter every shelf, their still flames casting shadows amongst every nook and cranny of the crowded back room. Past a beaded curtain too bland for the space, I look at the small table in the center of the floor. On it sits a large deck of cards, each stacked face down with black, purple, and gold symbols adorning their backsides.

“Sit,” the witch instructs, taking a seat in the plusher of the two chairs. I glance around nervously, wondering if this was a good idea.

“I’m not sure?—”

“You’re in the right place,” she assures me, as though she can read my mind. “No one comes to me who isn’t meant to.”

“Ever?” I ask, but she shoots me an exasperated look as she shuffles the deck of cards.

“Sit,” she says again, and I pull out the seat across from her. She watches me intently as she shuffles, the corners of her mouth curling up slightly. I’m not sure how old she is. One can never quite tell with witches. The slight wrinkles around her mouth and between her brows tell me she’s not as young as she once was, but she could easily be in her hundreds and using magic to appear in her forties.

“So, you’re tired of waiting?” she says.

“I’m sorry?”

“That’s why you’re here. You’re looking for your one true mate, and you think that I can help you find her. Or him.”

“I don’t care who my mate is. I just don’t want to be alone anymore. They’re surely a shifter, but I’ve been through all the wolf packs in the area and have yet to find her.”

“Perhaps she’s not a shifter at all,” the witch says.

“But … we always mate within our kind,” I say.

She smiles wickedly. “We’ll see.” She sets the cards down and holds out a hand. Past crimson nails, I notice a rat tattoo that travels up her wrist and disappears into her sleeve. “Agatha Nicholson, but you’ve probably heard me called the Witch of Bonds. At least, rumor on the street is that’s what they call me these days.”

“These days?” I ask, but she simply cocks a brow and smiles. I clear my throat, placing my hand in hers.

She gives it a firm shake, then waves her arm over the top of the table. “The cards can help find your mate, but know this: Magic always comes at a price.”

“What sort of price?”

She smiles, refusing to elaborate. “I am not a god, I can’t create something from nothing, and you shouldn’t expect this. If you do?—”

“I don’t,” I assure her, “but I don’t want to wait any longer. I don’t want to be alone anymore. Every day that passes where I stay unmated leaves me more miserable. I can’t take it anymore. I need to find her. I don’t care what it costs. Whatever it is, it’ll be worth it.”

“If you’re sure,” she says. With a flourish, she spreads the deck of cards across the tabletop, fanning them out until they all lay visible. She runs her hands above the cards, her palms hovering mere inches from them as she hums and haws. “Hmmm. Yes. The cards feel very alive today, buzzing with energy. I think they’ll do well for you, Knox Roffe.”

“How do you?—”

She waves a dismissive hand. “The cards can tell a great many things to those who really listen. And if you want this to work, Knox, then you’ll have to really listen.”

“How do I know which card to pick?”

“Let your hands linger,” she instructs. “Feel their energy. Take your time. The right card will call out to you, as will your mate once the cards have decided your fate.”

I nod, exhaling deeply as I look over the cards. “Okay. Here goes nothing.” I do as she says, letting my hand hover over the cards. One by one, I pass them by, not feeling anything, not hearing anything but my labored breathing as my hand trembles, nervously panning the table. I’m nearly at the last card in the row when I feel it. It starts as a buzzing in my palm, then travels up my wrist until my whole arm tingles menacingly. I pick up the card, ignoring the biting prickles as I touch it.

“Set it here,” Agatha says, waving to a spot on the table near her. I place it face-up, and she gasps.

“What?” I ask, heart beating in my chest. “Is it bad?”

“None of the cards are bad ,” she harps. “It all depends on what you do with them. This one that’s called to you, The Wheel. It signifies change, cycles, and an inevitable fate.”

“That’s good, right? I bet the change will be the inevitable fate of my mate and I finding each other. And the cycles must mean the end of my cycle of loneliness. That all makes sense.”

“The cards are rarely as simple and straightforward as they initially seem,” she muses, picking the card up and looking at it a long while before setting it down in front of me. The embossed gold wheel shimmers and dances with the now-flickering flames in the dimly lit room.

I run my fingers over the card. The strange buzzing I felt when I initially touched it has gone. No matter how long I stare at it, it seems nothing more than an ordinary card. “I don’t feel any different. Aren’t I supposed to feel something?”

Agatha smiles, her top lip curling up in a sneer. “I haven’t sealed your reading with a spell yet, dear. But I must ask one last time: Are you sure you want to do this?”

I take a deep breath, my stomach clenching in a thousand knots. “I’m sure. I’ll do anything to find her. Sacrifice anything so long as you can guarantee this will work.”

“Oh, it’ll work alright. When I’m done, I will begin to sense your fated love. The cards will lead me to her. Once I’m sure it’s her, I’ll cast a spell that will signal you to her location. You’ll feel a strong pull, an inescapable desire to move to her. But you must be patient. Are you ready?”

“I am,” I say confidently.

Agatha waves her hands around each other, and a ball of light blue smoke forms. I stare in disbelief as the tattoo on her hand transforms into a live rat, crawling into the palm of her hand and hissing loudly as the blue cloud floats all around, the smoke surrounding me until I can barely see across the table.

I cough loudly, fanning the smoke from my face as Agatha whispers indiscernibly. A piercing sound fills the room as I shut my eyes and cover my ears. My head is spinning, and for a moment, I feel as though I might pass out.

Then, as quickly as they started, the noise and smoke dissipate. I open my eyes slowly, the rat and cards having vanished. There’s nothing here but Agatha and her witchy room, the candles all having grown still again.

“You can go now,” she says firmly, again flicking a dismissive hand in my direction. “The spell will work. The tarot has confirmed it will be done.”

I look around the room. I don’t know what I expected, but I feel no different. “So … that’s it? Just like that? That’s all I needed?”

Agatha sighs. “You ask too many questions. Go, go back to your routine. The magic will lead me to your mate; you’ll know when I’ve found her. As as soon as you feel a pull, head in that direction. You’ll know it’s her when you lay eyes on her.”

I nod, nothing left to say to the mysterious woman. As I step out into the low light of the evening, Agatha calls out from behind me. I turn and see her standing there, an ear-to-ear grin suiting the mischievous twinkle in her dark eyes.

“May she love you in all your forms, Knox,” she says. I bolt out of there, not daring to look back again.