Courting the Darkness (13 page)

Caleb stared at the card, raising an eyebrow. “What does that mean?”

She sighed. “It means you may be going through mental and emotional trials. You should trust your instincts.” Looking up, she glanced nervously at the guys, and then drew the last card, placing it on the other side forming a diamond. Her fingers trembled upon seeing the card. She closed her eyes to control the emotion, not wanting Caleb to read her feelings. She closed her eyes again briefly. When she opened them, she looked him directly in the eyes. “This is the card of your future. This is the Tower card.” She shivered. “You can recognize it by the tower with a powerful bolt of lightning. There is a figure falling from the tower, crashing into the waves below. It stands for false structures—false beliefs that are going to come tumbling down.”

“Huh…” He cocked his head suspiciously, searching her eyes. He sat back in his chair, glaring between her and Mica. “What is it telling me?”

Swallowing hard, she replied reluctantly, “You’re in for a very rude awakening.”

He glared between them suspiciously again. “This is just all in fun, right?”

She answered a little too quickly. “Oh, absolutely.” There was unease in her expression, and she tried to smile; inwardly, she cringed.

Mica smiled enthusiastically to break the sudden tension in the room “It’s my turn.”

She tried to smile, but it was difficult because she felt a little shaken by Caleb’s reading. Picking up the cards, she handed them to Mica. “Shuffle the cards, and hand them back to me.”

He did so. “Tell me about myself, oh wise one,” he remarked jokingly.

She grinned at his poor attempt at humor. Closing her eyes, she concentrated on the cards as she had done for herself and Caleb. Drawing the first card, she placed it on the table. “This card describes you. This is the Emperor card. Look at the throne. There is a ram’s head, orb, and scepter.” She grinned at him. “It represents the first sign of the Zodiac. The ram, Aries, is an infant.” Caleb laughed, and Mica glared at him. She tried hard not to smile. He inclined his head for her to continue. “He is filled with passion, hostility, and power. He is undeviating, straightforward, and all too often irresistible.” She locked eyes with him. “Unfortunately, like an infant, he can also be intolerant, demanding, and controlling. He signifies the leader whom everyone wants to follow. He sits on a throne of an Empire he created, loves, and rules with intelligence and enthusiasm. The throne, however, can be a trap. It can be a responsibility that has the Emperor feeling on edge, bored and discontent. Don’t let yourself be controlled by the desires and needs of others. This is not the time to give into the unconscious. This card gives you permission to be forceful, courageous, daring, and in control.”

“Wow, she’s got you pegged,” Caleb remarked to Mica.

“Continue,” Mica remarked irritably.

Smiling, she patted Mica’s hand. Picking up the next card, she placed it below the Emperor card. “This represents your past. This is the Judgment card. Look at the angel in the sky with the trumpet, and the people rising from the water and their graves. Judgment is about new beginning or rebirth. This card says to summon the past, absolve it, and let it go. We all have sins we’ve committed that we refuse to forgive. This card advises us to face these obstacles and recognize that the past is the past, and to put it to rest.”

“I have done things I’m not proud of.”

She smiled in understanding and nodded. “We all have.” Drawing the third card, she placed it to the left of the other two cards. With a trembling finger, she pointed to the card. “This card represents your present.” Her voice shook. “This is the Devil card. You can recognize it by a winged, horned devil on a black pedestal. There is a naked male and female figure in chains with an inverted pentagram. The Devil is Pan the half-goat nature god. This is the god of gratification and abandon, of wild behavior and uninhibited desires. This card explores some very frightening things, things we are taught to view as wicked or disgraceful. Things like greediness, and sexual desire.” She closed her eyes as she spoke the next words. “Some have said that this is the most powerful and dangerous card in the deck.”

“Does this mean you think I’m evil?”

Her eyes flew back open, looking into his. “No, not at all. As a person, the Devil can stand for a man of money or great power. A man that is forceful, controlling, or just persuasive. This is not necessarily a bad man, but certainly a powerful man who is hard to resist.”

He grinned. “That doesn’t sound so bad.”

She smiled back. “It’s not.” Drawing the fourth and final card, she placed it next to the others to form a diamond.

“This card represents your future,” she whispered. “This is the Death card. You can recognize this card by the skeleton in the black armor riding the white horse. It is a card that can symbolize physical death, but not always.” She swallowed hard. “It can indicate that this is an instance for change. It can be a time for something to stop; but time also for something new to start. Death is not the end. It is only the precursor to revitalization.”

Looking away, she blinked back a few tears. “I’ve had enough for one day.” She stood up from the table to leave the room, not wanting to meet their eyes. She did not like the readings for either one of them, and she was too tired to dwell on it. “I’m going to go to bed. I’ll see you both in a few hours.”

Mica took a step forward to go after her, but then paused. “Be sure to check your bed and shoes.”

She paused, but didn’t turn around. “And I’m looking for…?”

“Poisonous snakes and spiders.” She caught her breath and he laughed softly. “Just check your bed before you crawl inside and your shoes before you put them on.”

Caleb laughed. “Mica, you’re scaring her, and exaggerating a bit, don’t you think?”

Desiree threw up her hand. “No, Caleb, he’s right. There are other living things in here, and it never hurts to be cautious. I’m just too exhausted to dwell on any of it. Goodnight…good morning…whatever.” She continued to walk to her cave, leaving Mica and Caleb to stare after her.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Desiree woke up starving; her stomach grumbled loudly and painfully in protest. Wrapping her arms protectively around her waist, she sat up on the air mattress. It just dawned on her that she had not eaten anything since she’d first arrived at the cavern.

It was dark inside her little cave, but she could see the faint glow of light coming from the larger cavern. Throwing back the covers, she stretched, feeling the tenderness in her shoulder muscle. Turning her head, she tried to see if she had somehow injured herself, but she could not see in the dim light.

Instantly missing the warmth of her blanket, she shivered from the chill of the cave. Rolling over, she grabbed her heavy flannel shirt, put it on, and rubbed her hands briskly over her arms in an attempt to warm back up. Still shivering, she grabbed her bag for a pair of socks. Rummaging through it, she found her clean socks and a hairbrush. She put on the socks and then brushed her hair. Reaching for her tennis shoes, she paused, eyeing them cautiously. “Hmmm, spiders and snakes.” She shivered. “There better not be.” She grimaced, and then picked the shoes up by the toe, banging them together twice before she peeked inside and satisfied herself that they were indeed empty. She laughed at herself. “Empty… Good thing. I’d have run out of here screaming like a crazy woman. I’d have a hard time living that one down.” She slid her feet into her shoes and tied the strings.

She pushed up from the air mattress, making her way to the main cavern. The lanterns put off a soft glow, giving the room an eerie feel, and she shivered again. The walls were shiny and wet in places. A natural spring trickled in the next room. The constant sound echoed faintly throughout their confinement. Her eyes quickly scanned the room; Mica and Caleb were nowhere in sight. It had been a long two days; she figured that they both must still be asleep. She headed straight for the ice chest and rummaged through the contents; she made herself a sandwich, and grabbed herself a small bottle of orange juice. She sighed, looking at the bottle of juice in her hand. She could sure use some coffee about now.

She wandered into her workroom, looking around. Everything still appeared as she had left it. The chairs were still sitting around the Altar from earlier. She sat down at the makeshift table to eat her sandwich.

Suddenly, she felt a presence behind her. Her eyes grew wide, her heart racing furiously. She froze, feeling two hands gently rest on her shoulders. “I see you’re finally awake,” Mica whispered from behind her.

First relief and then irritation engulfed her. “What’s with you and Caleb?” she whispered loudly. “Do you two take pleasure in scaring a girl like that? Could you please make a little noise and not sneak up so quietly?”

He chuckled softly. “I’m sorry; I didn’t mean to scare you.” Walking around, he sat down in a chair next to her, his eyes sparkling in the lantern light. “You don’t need to whisper. Caleb’s not here. He got bored and said he was going to drive into town in the daytime and check things out.”

She smiled in relief. “That’s good. I'm glad to hear he’s in a better mood.”

He shook his head at her statement, shrugging. “That’s the funny thing…last night…he was pretty freaked out by your card reading. He kept giving me strange, suspicious looks.” He blew out a forceful breath. “I’m not so sure Caleb’s over it. I think he took what you said to heart.”

Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath, blowing it back out slowly, mentally warring with herself over that morning’s events. Opening her eyes, she shook her head, voicing her worries. “I should have lied. I should have made something up.” She locked eyes with him. “Those cards came out and told Caleb we were keeping things from him.”

“He’ll get over it.”

“I’m not so sure… When used right, those tarot cards don’t lie. You heard for yourself how the cards classified Caleb. They describe him as a driven person who will stop at next to nothing to get what he wants. How well do you know him?”

“I thought I knew him pretty well. We’ve been friends for about three hundred years.” Splaying his hands, he shrugged. “He’s always been so happy-go-lucky. I’ve never seen him serious about anything except having fun.”

She pressed her lips together grimly before she spoke. “Well, he doesn’t seem to be having much fun now. I like Caleb—I do—but he seems kind of possessive of me for some reason.” She shivered, remembering the look in his eyes outside when they had just returned from their shopping trip. It had been cold, calculating, and suspicious. “Let’s hope your friendship is what he wants more than material things.”

He nodded and then pinched his eyebrows together in thought. “You know, I do remember something. It was so long ago that I had forgotten about it. If I can remember correctly, he had a run in with the alpha of his pack. I had to rescue him by killing the alpha. The pack nearly killed him for it. He swore that it was just a misunderstanding. We left England and set sail for America, never looking back. Nothing else has happened since, to my knowledge, so I haven’t really thought about it in years.

She scrunched up her nose. “You used to live in England? What happened to your accent?”

He chuckled “That was three hundred years ago. I’ve lived in so many other places since then. That’s also enough talk about Caleb—at least for now.” Reaching over, he took her hand. “What are your plans for today?”

She smiled, looking at her hand in his. “I—uh—had planned on doing research in that book.” She grew warm under his gaze. “I also need to work on that spell for Drake.”

His eyes sparkled in the lantern light. “Drake who?” Pulling her out of her chair, he placed her on his lap.

She laughed at his playful demeanor. “I told you last night you were a big distraction.”

“It’s a gift.” Cradling her in his arms, he kissed her neck softly, sending goose bumps down her arm. She snuggled closer. “The cards tell all,” he whispered. “You said so yourself. I’m irresistible.” He continued the tender assault on her neck.

“You don’t play fair,” she whispered, and then laughed, “to use my weakness for you against me.”

“You may be many things, but weak is not one of them.”

“That’s not true. That dark cave about did me in.” She shivered. “I wasn’t strong enough to make it on my own. If you hadn’t been there to get me through it…” She closed her eyes, trying to block out the memory, hanging her head. “I’ve never been so weak.”

He placed his finger under her chin, forcing her look at him. “Most humans fear me. My size alone sends nearly everyone hurrying off in the other direction. If they discover I’m a vampire, they don’t just hurry—they run.” Holding her tighter, he kissed her cheek “But not you.” He caressed her cheek. “No, you yelled at me for being moody and demanded I answer your questions. You impressed me. Grown men run from me, and you stand up to me defiantly. I couldn’t believe a petite woman like you could show that much courage and stand up to me, especially since you knew ahead of time I was a vampire.”

She shook her head, scoffing at his words in disbelief. “Not everyone is afraid of you… That waitress Sissy was all over you. She wasn’t afraid of you at all.”

He grinned at her jealousy of Sissy. “That waitress had no idea I was a vampire. She would have avoided our table like the plague if she had known. I would like to believe otherwise, but I’ve been a vampire for over three hundred years. People don’t change.”

She sighed. “I know all about prejudice. I guess that’s why I got so upset last night when you were teasing me about being afraid of me. I know you’re not afraid of me. I’m a little touchy about that subject because sometimes it hurts my feelings for people to see me coming and turn around and walk in the other direction. I simply want to be treated like everyone else.” She kissed his cheek, and then looked into his eyes. “You’re different—not just because you’re a vampire, not that kind of different. You’re different because you charged in knowing up front that I was a witch, and it didn’t matter.”

“Caleb knew you were a witch up front, and it didn’t matter to him either.”