“She is,” Tora agreed. “She asked so many questions Fenja threatened to put tape over her mouth. Of course, she was joking.”
“I contemplated doing it more than once,” Fenja admitted, with a straight face. “She argued over everything.”
“Discussed,” Silke and Lojos clarified simultaneously.
Everyone smiled, dispelling the gloom creeping up on Silke. Nicu was next. She had been drawn to him from the start, probably because he had an affinity for animals and he was closest to Benedek. She could feel her lifemate’s affection for the man, and she desperately wanted everything to go right.
She sensed a darkness in Nicu, much like the shadows in Benedek. He had thick scarring covering much of his soul. Her birth mother’s family had handed down their skills in demon slaying to her, and she’d also been born with the legacy of reading the tarot cards imprinted on her. There was a layout very specific to her family, which was sometimes used when the reader could see darkness in the subject she was reading for.
Four cards would be positioned in a diamond pattern. The first, at the top, signified a personal challenge. The second position, to the left, might be a personal tool. The third card, to the right, was a hurdle or wall to the subject’s goal, and the fourth card, at the bottom of the diamond, was a challenge to their goal.
The legend said that the reader could light a candle for clarity because light is a helpmate to the dark. Silke had a specific aromatic candle made from beeswax waiting on the table so she could light it when it was time.
Nicu gave her a brief, encouraging smile as he took the cards and began to shuffle. She repeated the instructions, telling him to think of what he wanted the cards to clarify for him. She told him to divide the deck into four stacks. He raised an eyebrow at the difference between his reading and the others but did as she asked, placing the stacksneatly on the table in front of him. He selected a card from each stack, placing his choice face down on top.
“This spot represents a personal challenge, Nicu. Things you lack or refuse to see can be what holds you in place, unable to move forward.”
Silke turned over the ace of wands—upside down. “You are impatient to have your ideas and strategies work. Be willing to wait a little longer for the best opportunity to move forward.”
She moved the second card to the left as she turned it over. “This is your personal tool. Recognize the strength in you that will be the most help in reaching your desired goal.” The card was the eight of pentacles. “You are focused on what it takes to achieve your goal. You are willing to work diligently to master what it takes to have what you desire. You look to others for skills and wisdom.”
Silke let her breath out slowly, forcing her body to relax. She feared what was coming, and that was unlike her. She hadn’t been completely calm at all while doing any of the readings, but it was the most difficult with Nicu.
“The right half of the diamond represents a hurdle or wall to your goal. You hold the key to life and death, to success and failure. Identify the key and find the courage to use it.” She turned the death card over and placed it in position. “Change is coming, and it will not be easy for you. What you thought you could never do, never give up, may now be the key to your survival.”
She placed the candle in the center of the diamond but didn’t light it. Instead, she took the remaining card. She felt power in the card. “This is the challenge to your goal. There will always be darkness in the universe that will challenge what you love, desire or need. You must identify what lives in the dark that is holding you from your goal.”
She turned the card over and placed it at the bottom of the diamond, below the candle. “The devil.” She stared down at it for a moment. “Negative forces look to constrain you. You’ve found yourself trapped and must identify the source of the evil that entraps you.”
Silke lit the candle and gently blew on the flame until it flickered and died, releasing a cloud of smoke. “Look into the smoke. You do not have to share what you see, but hopefully, the vision will give you insight on what to do next. A great evil has escaped into our world, and I fear that darkness calls you.”
Nicu dropped his gaze to the smoke. He studied the gray cloud for several minutes and then his breath caught in his throat and he sank back in his chair. He raised his gaze to Silke’s as the smoke dissipated.
The silence in the room was deafening. Every single person present was riveted to the sight of watching Nicu stare into the smoke. If Silke had thought he would show how he felt about what he saw, she was mistaken. Nicu gave them the same stoic, expressionless mask he normally wore.
“I saw our prince, Mikhail, his lifemate, Raven, their son, Alexandru, and many other children and their parents from back home. They were celebrating something to do with the children. A birthday perhaps. All were laughing and talking. There was dancing. The children played together in the way we did when we were young, trying to shift.”
Silke’s stomach knotted. A chill went down her spine. She knew. She wasn’t the only one. Benedek’s fingers tightened on her shoulders in anticipation of the rest of Nicu’s vision.
“Above the children, I saw a dark shadow creeping down the rock, using cracks and crevices to conceal itself. It felt and appeared evil to me. Wholly evil. Just the way it moved, and the way it marked the children, gave its intentions away.”
He stood abruptly, as did the others. “We will return to the Carpathian Mountains and warn the prince that something evil is heading his way so that he may be prepared.” He inclined his head toward Silke as she gathered the cards. “Thank you for the reading. You are much appreciated.”
Silke could feel how torn Benedek was. He wanted to accompany the hunters as they went on the next journey to warn their prince andto find their lifemates. Fenja couldn’t travel, and she had little time left to live. Silke needed to be with her mother.
“If you need to go with them,” she offered, her heart in her throat. Just the thought of being separated from Benedek was terrifying when she had no idea how to take care of herself. Not just that, but everything in her screamed she needed to be with him. She refused to allow anyone to see the absolute terror, remaining outwardly composed. “You should go, Benedek. I will have to stay here with my mother.” She didn’t want to ask Tora to stay with her because Tora had been trapped in the village for so many centuries with no chance to find her lifemate. It wouldn’t be fair to her. But…the thought of trying to feed herself and sleep in the ground was absolutely terrifying.
She tried to keep her emotions from Benedek. She wanted him to make up his mind without worrying about her.
Silly woman. I cannot be separated from you. You cannot be separated from me. If I journeyed to the Carpathian Mountains, you would accompany me.Benedek’s hand curled around the nape of her neck. He brushed a kiss in her hair.Most importantly, Silke, I do not wish to be away from you. My choice is to be at your side.
What of the prince? If that evil creature stalking those children is Justice or one like him, you said it would take many hunters to destroy him.
There is a concentration of hunters in the Carpathian Mountains. Nicu, Mataias, Lojos and Tomas will go with speed to warn them. I do not worry that this evil will prevail.
Silke leaned into him as the four men, one by one, went to Benedek and grasped his forearms, murmuring in their language. They bowed to Fenja and then to Silke before they vanished from the room. All but Lojos. He stood tall, looking at Tora. “Do you come with us?”
Tora nodded and Silke’s heart dropped. She knew it was best for Tora, but she selfishly didn’t want her to go. She wanted her family together, especially since she was facing losing her mother.
