The man didn’t move or respond. Instead, he stared for a long moment as if assessing me. “Come with me,” he finally said, and like a fool, I did. In my defense, I thought he might have some coffee brewed in a back room or something and empathized with my need for caffeine.
I sighed audibly when the man sat behind what appeared to be a card table, like my great granny used to use when her friends came over to play gin rummy. It was covered with a black velvet cloth, and next to it was a gigantic crystal ball.Here we go, I thought.
I was just about to open my mouth to tell the guy I didn’t believe in hocus pocus, but he waved his hands, and a deck of cards appeared. “Okay, that’s cool. What else you got?” I asked sarcastically.
The man smiled and spread the cards out. I hadn’t noticed until now they were Tarot cards, probably because the last two guys I dated professed to be fortune tellers, and neither could tell what we were going to have for supper, much less the future beyond that.
“Sometimes, your skepticism can block your ability to see,” the man said as if he could read my thoughts.
“Sometimes it keeps you from being taken advantage of as well,” I countered, and the man chuckled, smiling at me like an adult at a petulant child. I thought about leaving, but the fog was too thick, and I liked the store, even if it was full of ridiculous magical stuff I didn’t believe in.
“Tell me, young Damian, what causes such a powerful wizard to second-guess the mysteries of our world?”
I laughed before shaking my head. “Okay, you’re good. I have no idea how you know my name, but I’m no wizard, witch, werewolf, or other. Why don’t you show me how you do the card trick, and I’ll buy a deck of cards for my friend who keeps fixing me up with guys who think they can use them?”
Ignoring me now, the man began to shuffle the cards, and I had to give him credit for handling my attitude as well as he was. Molly’s friends hated me and had no problem telling me to my face. Of course, I’d dated and dumped two of those friends, but theyhadbeen cheating, lying assholes.
“The darkness gathers, young wizard,” he said, and I smiled, thinking that would be the perfect line for a new video game. “The transfer of power from one powerful mage to another always comes with risk. Pick a card, but let your instinct guide you. Let your future be known through the cards.”
I didn’t resist the urge to roll my eyes, but why the hell not? It’s not like I hadn’t done all this before. I ignored the “lookinside yourself” nonsense and took the first card my hand landed on. I tried to pull it out, but it felt stuck in concrete.
The man’s eyes didn’t leave mine. “Pick the card your heart tells you to pick, not the first one you come to.”
I tried another card, and it too was stuck. “How are you doing that?” I asked, thinking I really did need to bring Molly here to try the place out.
“Try again. This time, focus on the cards. Which onefeelslike the one for you?”
I don’t know why. Maybe it was the fog, maybe the cute shop, or maybe it was because I knew Molly would freak out when I brought her here, but I did as he asked and focused on the cards. For a brief second, one card seemed to glow. I reached out and took it. This time, it came free.
I flipped it over and saw the Wheel of Fortune. “Ah, you’ve come to a crossroads. Darkness has played in your life,” he said, pointing toward the weird drawing of a snake on the left side of the card. “But Hermes, shown here as Anubis, guides your future. Are you ready to accept your gifts? Are you ready to take up the mantle, young wizard?” he asked, and I almost laughed.
Before I could say something sarcastic, the world went dark, and I couldn’t see anything, like nothing. I would’ve jumped up and searched for my phone, something to give light, but I couldn’t move.What’s going on?I wanted to yell, but I couldn’t even do that.
“The darkness is here. It seeks to stop you from taking your position. Fight it, push it away,” a voice said in my head.
“How?” I asked, freaking out but still unable to speak out loud.
“Trust your instincts. Trust your own powers,” the voice replied.
I forced myself to focus on my core, as Molly had told me when she’d tried teaching me some magic thing or another. I felt warmth spread and flow from my abdominal area, and fill my body. I immediately got movement back and, instinctively, I threw my hands out. Light erupted from them, from me, filling the shop.
The man across from me looked as if he’d passed out, and I quickly rushed over to him. “Hey, mister, are you okay?”
He slowly came to and nodded. “You’ve passed the test. Now you’ve also had a taste of what you’ll have to face.”
Slowly, he sat up and gestured for me to sit back down. “I can’t advise you much. I can only read the cards, but I can give you this,” he said, unclenching his fist, and a beautiful ring appeared there as if by magic.
“What’s this?” I asked.
“Something that now belongs to you. Can you try it on?”
I was mesmerized by the ring, my entire body throbbing with the need to take it from him, but something held me back, something primal.
I ignored the warning, letting my desire to hold the ring overcome the fear, and immediately slipped it onto my finger. “The mantle has been passed,” the man said, and I felt dizzy at the proclamation.
Once again, my world darkened, but unlike a moment ago, this felt intentional, like my own doing. I saw the image of a man. He was slight of build, dark complected, dark hair. At first, I wondered if he and the man across from me were related, but no. I somehow knew he wasn’t.
When the image cleared, the man who’d been standing across from me now stood at the front door. “What the hell?” I asked, and the man put his finger up.
