Page 52 of Twisted Fates
Images immediately began to stir. I heard Mrs. Patterson repeat the chanting, but I didn’t look up. Instead, I was mesmerized by the flow of color, mostly white flowing in circles around the bowl. Finally, an image began to form, and when it settled, I wondered what the hell a horse had to do with anything. Then a voice in my head corrected me. Re’em.
Sure enough, I examined it closer and saw the single horn protruding from the horse’s skull.
“What does this mean?” I asked, but when I glanced at Mrs. Patterson, her head was laid back, her eyes blank. “Shit,” I said, and the waters immediately began to stir.
“Words are important,” Elias had warned me. So, I drew out my staff again and severed the magical ties between Mrs. Patterson and the scrying bowl. I called out for Cary to bring Mr. Stages, which he did immediately.
“What happened?” the old coven leader asked, and I opened my mouth to tell him, but the words wouldn’t come.They can’t know about the Re’em. No one can know. A voice echoed in my head.
“The scrying went bad,” I finally said. “She needs help.”
Mr. Harrison came in behind Mr. Stages, and they began to chant while placing hands on her head. Slowly, she came to and gazed up at me. “You must save him,” she whispered, then fell into a deep sleep.
Deep inside, I knew whatever caused me to hold my tongue would also keep her quiet. The knowledge of a Re’em unicorn flowed through me though. Seconds ago, I would’ve sworn it was just a story people told little kids at night.
Maybe it was a cartoon or a fairy tale, but no, damn it, no, it was so much more. Now that I thought about it, even the Bible had references to the powerful light beast.
My head hurt with the urgency flowing through me. Information about the Re’em unicorn, how rare it was for them to reincarnate. How dangerous it was when they did.
Finally, after several moments of information download, the final blow hit me. If the Re’em fell into the wrong hands, everything would be at risk. The entire universe would be at risk.
I suddenly had an intense need to find Owen and secure him. I had no idea how he was related to the new unicorn, but all my instincts told me he was.
“I’ve got to go,” I said, rushing out of the office and back to the house. Unfortunately, by the time I got home, it was empty.
“Owen,” I said on his voicemail when he didn’t answer. “You need to stay put. I’m not sure why, but you need to come back home. I’ll… I’ll try to explain when you get here.”
I also texted him, but he didn’t return my call or text. Had he turned his phone off? My insides were twisted. I didn’t know which way to turn. On the one hand, Molly was missing, and I needed to confront the vipers and get her back. On the other,my instincts were screaming about Owen. The Re’em unicorn, whatever that symbolized, was just the shitty icing on the cake. I had no idea what I was supposed to do.
Chapter thirty-eight
Owen
I’d found an earlyflight to St. Louis and barely had enough time to get to the airport. The stupid flight cost too damned much, but that was the reality of buying a ticket last minute. I managed to get to the airport and through security in time to catch the final boarding call.
Only moments after I boarded the plane, it took off. Thank goodness. I didn’t have the energy to think about all I was losing by returning home. I knew it was stupid that I’d gotten so attached, not to mention how much I’d gotten caught up in all the magic shit. Not that it’d ever impact me again. I was leaving to get out of that world. Get away before the hateful powers that be used my presence to hurt Damian.
Now I was on the flight, I was sure I’d done the right thing. I cared about Damian, and our short time together did nothing to negate how amazing he was or how strongly my heart felt toward him.
I closed my eyes and sighed, drawing the attention of the man next to me. “Is everything okay?” he asked, and I opened my eyes, smiling at him.
“Yeah, just, you know, lots of life changes happening all at once.”
The man regarded me a moment, then smiled. “Oh, sometimes life comes at you fast. Other times, it’s slow and plodding. Why don’t I read your cards?” he said.
I chuckled. “Tarot cards?” I asked, and he winked before nodding. “Um, okay, I guess.”
I figured, why the hell not? It’s not like I hadn’t just left a city of witches and dark forces threatening to kidnap me, not to mention what they were doing to Damian’s friend Molly. Or for that matter the damn wizard I was sure I’d fallen in love with.
The guy certainly looked the part. He was dark, brooding, and wore clothes like he was trying to be steampunk or something. White shirt, black bow tie, black vest, long black coat, black pants. He even wore a freaking black top hat and a cane. No idea how he got that through security.
He winked as he pulled a box of cards out of his bag, lowered the seat tray, and began shuffling.
He chatted about the type of deck he was using, saying it was an original design and telling the story of the woman who’d painted the cards, giving me a history lesson. At one point, I lost interest and waited while he shuffled and spread the cards out in front of him. “Here, lower your tray, then pick oneof the cards and flip it onto its back, revealing which card is yours.”
I stared at the cards, hesitating, then chose one at random. I tugged the card out and was about to turn it over when I realized two cards had stuck together. I rubbed them together until they separated, then showed the guy what had happened.
“Now, that’s strange,” he said as he examined the cards. “How did that one get in there?” he asked, pointing at a decorative card under the more traditional one. “Might as well turn them both over.”
