Page 5 of Monsters' Manor

She’s one of the few witches at the Acres I’m not related to. From what I’ve gathered, she’s something of a nomad, and this is only her second season working her booth in the market. Mira has been warm and open every time I’ve spoken with her, and it makes me feel a little more at ease talking to another relative newbie.

“Enjoying the market?” she asks, and I nod.

I really am enjoying it. So much to see, hear, and smell. A thread of magick in the air that feels almost inviting, despite my lingering apprehension about being back amongst the witches who might have raised me if things in my life had gone differently.

“Can I interest you in a reading?” Mira gestures back toward the booth. “It’s on the house.”

“Oh, that’s alright. I don’t want to take up any of your time if you’re busy.”

She looks left and right at the relatively quiet market and raises an eyebrow. “Can’t say I’m particularly busy right now, and I think you might need it.”

Well, who am I to argue with that?

I nod again, and she beckons for me to follow her inside. The darkness of the booth closes over us as Mira crosses to sit down at a table near the back.

“Stones and bones, or cards?” she asks, gesturing to the scrying set and the tarot deck next to her.

“Cards.”

“Good choice. Please, sit.”

The inside of her booth is dim and cozy, lit by a few candles in glass lanterns that cast multicolored light against the tapestries. As I settle across from her and she starts to shuffle, their jewel tones play across the focused expression on her face.

“What would you have said if I chose stones and bones?”

Mira shrugs. “I didn’t think you would. Cards feel right for you tonight.”

A small prickle of awareness builds at the base of my skull as she shuffles and shuffles. A pulse of her magick brushing up against my skin.

“What are we reading about?” she asks, looking up from her cards to catch my eye. “Anything in particular?”

Now that’s a loaded question.

What do I want to know about? My dismal job prospects? My precarious position here? Or maybe I want to know about an irritating demon and a gentle shade, and just what the deal is with both of them.

“A general reading works for me,” I say, and catch the briefest flash of Mira’s smile before she dips her head and continues shuffling.

She murmurs a few words under her breath as her quick, deft hands work the cards. I can’t quite make out what she’s saying, but that whisper of power kicks up again, making all the fine hairs on the back of my neck stand on end.

As soon as they do, a card leaps from the deck, landing on the black velvet covered tabletop. It’s followed by another, then a few more, until Mira’s hands still and she takes a deep breath before turning the cards over.

The Tower reversed. Nine of Swords. Two of Swords. Death. The Fool. Three of Cups. The Star.

“Ouch,” I say, looking at the spread.

Mira quirks a brow. “Not happy with what you see?”

I glance at The Tower, Death, and the swords. “Not particularly?”

“There are no bad cards in the deck,” Mira says lightly. “Only helpful ones. Each with its own sort of medicine to help us on our way.”

We fall silent as she studies them for a few moments more.

She hums softly. “You’ve never told me what brought you to Edgar’s Acres.”

I shrug. “Just needed a change of pace, I guess.”

A wry smile turns up the corners of her lips. “As we all need at times.”

---