Page 69 of Speak of the Devil

Did the metal and precious stones interfere with her psychic connection with her clients?

Not being in the habit of visiting psychics, Delia couldn’t begin to guess. Marva’s fingers were cool but not cold, and she held their hands lightly for a moment before letting go again.

“Something has been weighing on both of you,” she said, and then she sent them both a smile that was almost wicked, her dark eyes dancing. “But I suppose you would tell me that much is obvious, or else you wouldn’t have come to see a psychic.”

Delia couldn’t quite prevent her own mouth from quirking. “Yes, we’ve had an…eventful…couple of days.”

Marva looked over at Caleb. “There’s something about you, though…something I can’t quite place.”

Expression completely neutral, he said, “That a fact?”

The psychic didn’t even blink. “Yes, it is a fact, I think. As to what it means, I suppose I’ll let the cards help me figure it out.”

She reached for a black velvet bag that had been lying on the tabletop, then pulled out a set of Tarot cards. Although Delia had played around with Tarot a bit in high school, all she’d had was your garden-variety Rider-Waite deck, and not the gorgeouslyillustrated cards that Marva began to shuffle, her long fingers displaying the sort of dexterity usually not seen outside a dealer in a casino or a magician who specialized in up-close tricks.

“We’ll try the downward pyramid,” Marva told them as she kept shuffling. “It’s a good spread for getting a quick and easy answer to your problem. If it’s not conclusive, or if you feel as if it doesn’t apply to your current situation, then we’ll move on to a Celtic cross.”

“Um…sure,” Delia replied after a quick sideways glance at Caleb, who didn’t seem to have an opinion one way or another. Back when she was in high school and playing around with the cards, she’d only done simple three-card spreads, so she didn’t know much about any of the other kinds.

If Marva had noticed the dubious tone in her voice, she didn’t show any sign of it. Then again, she’d probably encountered plenty of skeptics over the years.

“The first three cards describe the current situation,” she explained. “The two beneath that represent what surrounds the current problem or any problems that may surface because of it. The single card at the bottom signifies the outcome.”

That seemed simple enough. Next to Delia, Caleb nodded, signaling that he also understood what they would be looking at.

One final shuffle, and then the psychic laid down the first card.

“The Moon,” she intoned. “Secrets…illusions…that which is hidden.”

Well, a whole lot felt as if it had been hidden from them, so that particular card seemed pretty on the nose.

Marva set the second card next to the first. This one depicted a handsome older man with a raven perched above him, although it was in the reversed position, which Delia vaguely remembered meant something negative.

“The King of Swords, reversed,” the psychic said. “A person of intelligence and cunning, someone who is at cross purposes to you.”

Lately, the whole world felt as if it had been at cross purposes with her — and with Caleb — so Delia wasn’t sure how much illumination that particular card provided.

The third card was placed next to the stern-looking king with his raven companion. It showed a woman sitting in the lotus position with a group of wands placed around her, but it, too, was reversed.

“The Seven of Wands reversed,” Marva said. “This could signify some sort of attack — and of course, it doesn’t need to be a physical attack. Mental and spiritual assaults leave their own wounds.”

While that made sense, Delia didn’t think she and Caleb needed to dig into the deeper meaning of the card, not when he’d quite literally been attacked by demons just the night before.

As she finished speaking, Marva pulled another card from the deck and set it below and slightly offset from the Moon card. On it, a dark-haired woman was being attacked by a pair of crows or ravens.

“The Two of Swords,” she said. “Stalemate…or a difficult choice needs to be made.”

Delia hoped the psychic was wrong about that. Stalemate meant they’d have to find a way to live with the current situation…and that was something she knew Caleb didn’t want. He didn’t move, his dark eyes intent on the cards that lay on the table before them, and she really wished right then that she was the kind of psychic who could read someone’s mind.

Or maybe not. She didn’t know for sure whether she wanted to go tromping around in a part-demon’s brain.

But although her memories of the Tarot’s meanings were hazy at best, even she recognized the card Marva set down next.

The Tower.

“It’s not always a negative card,” Marva said quietly. “In this case, where I’m working to get a sense of the energy surrounding your current circumstances, it could mean more a change of some sort, a shift. Something is about to break loose.”

Well, that could be good or bad, depending on who was doing the breaking. Caleb rubbed his chin, looking thoughtful; he hadn’t shaved that morning, and a faint haze of dark scruff covered his jaw.

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