Page 6 of Monsters' Manor

She considers the cards, picking up one, then another, laying them out and moving them around until they seem to make some kind of sense to her.

“You also didn’t mention being involved with anyone.”

The comment catches me off guard. “I’m not.”

“Really? Not even any promising prospects?”

The fact that a haze of shifting shadows and a flash of ruby red eyes crosses my mind at that exact moment means nothing. Absolutely nothing.

“No. Not even any prospects.”

“Then perhaps you just need some time to see what’s in front of you.”

“For my dating life?”

“For whatever journey you’re about to begin,” she says, picking up The Fool and thinking for a few moments. “New beginnings don’t come easy when you’re carrying old baggage.”

“What do you mean by—”

I don’t get to finish my question before the tapestries hanging at the entrance to the booth rustle, and a broad maroon frame darkens the doorway.

“Ren,” Mira says with a smile. “Coming to have your cards read?”

A wide grin spreads across his handsome face, and he shakes his head. “Not today. I’m here to speak with our Rosie.”

I stand from my seat. “Why?”

“Odelia wanted me to—”

“My answer today is the same as it’s always been.”

Renwick braces his legs apart and folds his muscled arms over his chest like he’s preparing for some kind of battle.

Mira’s eyes dart from me to Renwick, then back down to the cards before lighting up with understanding.

What she thinks she understands, I don’t even want to guess.

“I should get going,” I tell her. “Shift starts soon.”

That’s a damn lie. My shift doesn’t start for another half-hour. Renwick must already know that, too, because he lets out a huff of a laugh and leans in to see the cards spread out on the table.

“What’s the hurry, Rosie? Mira’s the best in the business when it comes to tarot. You should stay and see what she has to say.”

“I don’t doubt that at all,” I say through teeth I can barely stop myself from gritting in irritation, then turn to Mira apologetically. “I really do appreciate the reading.”

“Of course,” she says. “Come back any time and we can finish it.”

Renwick lets out a dramatic sigh. “Well, in that case, do you have any cards for me, Mira dear? Since Rosie has to leave us?”

I don’t know exactly what comes over me.

It might be the fresh irritation of having Renwick hovering over my shoulder like my aunt Odelia’s unwanted shadow. Or maybe it’s the fact that Iwasinterested in the reading, and now I’m about to scurry out of here like a coward. Whatever it is, all my anger bubbles over and lands squarely on the arrogant, provoking demon standing in front of me.

“You want a card? Here’s your damn card.”

Without thinking, without trying, without actively registering that I’m calling on a power I haven’t touched in years, I reach a hand toward Mira’s tarot deck. A warmth gathers in the center of my chest before shooting down my arm and into my fingertips.

With a soft snick, a card flies across the booth. I grab it easily out of the air before slapping it against Renwick’s chest.

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