Page 25 of Desperately Seeking Vampire
“On the nose,” I said, booping him on his before taking his hand and leading him into the castle. “They were taking me to see Jason. I wanted to know why, but they wouldn’t say, just that this was what their boss wanted. Oh, thank you.”
A woman with stark black hair with a side stripe of white bustled up to me, speaking softly in Czech, offering me an armful of garments.
I quickly picked out a couple of skirts that looked like they would fit, as well as three shirts, and a pair of leggings that would probably be a bit too short but would be nice under the big fisherman’s sweater that I included after the memory of the chilly wind during the ride back to the castle.
Eve the housekeeper didn’t so much as raise an eyebrow at the sight of Ivo standing in nothing but his underwear, but accepted my thanks with a nod of her head, and retreated into one of the many dark hallways that led off the main entrance.
“If you insist on returning to the Faire despite my wishes for you to remain safe, so that we can have a long and happy life together rather than you being killed by the two clearly deranged strongmen, which would result in my almost immediate death, then I will accompany you,” Ivo informed me ten minutes later when I had a quick wash in his bathroom, donned the leggings and one of the lightweight sweaters, and filched one of Ivo’s plaid wool shirts to tie around my waist in case it got too cold while I finished my interrupted shift. He was once again clad in jeans and a black wool shirt that set off his eyes in a way that made my stomach squirm with happiness.
I gave him a long look. “You’re writing a poem about the kidnapping and your subsequent rescue of me right now, aren’t you?”
“Yes,” he said, trying to look down his nose at me before herding me out of the room and down the stairs. “I am, as I have mentioned, a poet. It is what I do. Besides, you love my poems.”
I shot him a startled glance, but rather than telling him the truth, a strange determination rose within me. I made a promise to myself right then that I would not tolerate anyone bad-mouthing his literary output. He might be a horrible poet, but he was my horrible poet, and I would not have his feelings hurt for anything. “All right, but you can’t scare away any potential customers. I still have two hours to go.”
“Will you read cards for me again if I pay you?” he asked as we walked hand in hand past the main stage, where a trio was crooning out ballads.
“I will happily read your cards, but you don’t have to pay me for it.” I smiled when I saw four people milling around the upturned wooden box from which my sign still fluttered. “Just let me take care of these people first, OK?”
It took more than an hour before I had time to get to Ivo’s reading. He spent the time sitting on the edge of the small poetry slam stage alternately looking thoughtful and tapping on the tablet that he treated like his most precious possession.
He was writing more poetry about me, I just knew he was.
“Right, let’s see what the cards want you to know,” I told him, quickly shuffling, and having him cut them before I laid out five in a line. “I think we’ll forgo the detailed spreads and do a quick and dirty read.”
“That doesn’t look good,” he said, pointing at the Devil card.
“Eh. It’s not as bad as ... oh.” I laid out a Broken Tower card next to it. “Yeah. OK. Let’s start from the left. First card, king of cups. This tells me that you are a giving person, that you get what you want by helping others. Incidentally, it’s also a card that says you need to let go of the past, but I think that at this point, that’s a given. Second card is seven of swords.”
“I enjoy fencing,” Ivo said, peering at the card. He squinted just a little.
“That’s good to know. Are you by any chance shortsighted?” I asked. “I apologize if that sounds rude. I don’t know if vampires can have bad vision or not.”
“It’s not rude, and I am, as a matter of fact.” His expression went guarded. “Does that bother you?”
“No! Far from it. I’ve noticed you squinting a few times, and I couldn’t tell if it was just a habit, or if you couldn’t see well.”
“My spectacles were lost during the battle where I was blown up. I didn’t have them replaced before I went into noctambul.”
“Gotcha. We’ll get you a new pair of glasses as soon as possible. It can’t be fun not being able to see well. Back to the seven of swords. Swords are a suit that talks about difficulties and the actions taken to overcome them. And seven cards are mostly about not giving up a fight. So this card tells you that there is deception around you, but you need to think on your feet in order to emerge victorious.”
“That could be the strongmen,” he said, glancing behind him.
“Possibly. This is the queen of cups. She’s here to tell you to listen to your heart.”
“You may tell her that I have done so,” he said with a look so heated that I almost fanned myself despite the coolness of the day.
I smiled, and blew him a kiss. “OK, let’s get to these two cards. The Devil and the Tower cards are warnings. The Devil warns you against falling into addictive behaviors and giving in to temptation, including patterns of negative thoughts.”
“I spent eighty-six years in that state,” he said, his lips thinning. I put my hand on his, wanting to offer him comfort, but not knowing how I could erase the pain of all those years. “Do not, Beloved,” he said, lifting my hand to kiss my fingers.
“Don’t what?”
“Feel guilty. Our past may have been star-crossed, but our present and future are filled with hope.”
“OK, that is the most beautiful thing you’ve ever said,” I said, leaning across the cards to kiss him, my lips lingering on his. Only a customer approaching had me remembering where I was. I sat back, and continued the reading. “The Tower is a card that warns that you are surrounded by chaos, but rather than the chaos leading to destruction, it means a change in the foundations of your life. But you must be honest with yourself, and not be a victim.”
“You are the change,” he said, nodding. “It makes sense.”
