“Cass, my darlin’ girl, I swear by all I hold holy on Earth and under Sky, if you don’t stop pacing, I will knock you upside the head with this here pot, stake you out in my herb patch like Gulliver, and let the ants pick your bones clean.”
Cass stopped pacing. Veda’s voice had never risen above a serene, conversational tone, and her stirring hand had kept right on gently stirring the pot she’d made reference to, but as threats went, it was top-notch. Cass plopped down at the kitchen table and cupped her face in her hands, scrubbing at her forehead with her fingertips.
“I’m sorry. I just can’t settle.” She thumped back in her chair and crossed her arms over her chest. “I woke up off-kilter, and it’s just gotten worse as the day’s gone on.”
“Mmm. A disturbance in the Force you sense.” Veda’s imitation of Yoda was spot-on. She paused in her stirring to look over her shoulder at Cass. “Fear and doubt stifle the third eye. If you settle yourself down, whatever it is will come clear. You know that.”
“I do know that,” Cass muttered. She met Veda’s calm gaze with a troubled frown. “I’m afraid to know. It’s Jack. Something’s wrong.”
Veda turned back to the stove. “I figured as much. A few more minutes here, then this’ll be ready to steep. If you want, I’ll read for you.”
Cass blew out a huge breath, relief softening the rigidity in her shoulders. She had wanted to ask, but had been afraid to do even that. “I’d appreciate it. Can I do anything to help, in the meantime?”
“You can bring in some more wood for this stove,” Veda answered. “While the weather holds cool I want to get some of that ginger syrup put up for Emma. It’s the only thing helping with her morning sickness, and she’s just about out.”
Cass stood up and kissed the top of Veda’s head before she headed outside. After the plague had done its bitter work on the island, most of the survivors had settled together in a cluster of smaller homes on the northwest end of the island. While the mansions on the lakeshore stood deserted, they were building a thriving little community here, working together, sharing resources and knowledge and life. Cass and Veda’s back yard butted right up to the newly pregnant Emma’s, and the communal garden they shared sprawled into Charlotte and Paul’s yard as well.
Speculation over who the father of Emma’s baby was had run like wildfire through the community, but Cass and Veda’s money was on Paul, Emma’s much older and unhappily married neighbor. Neither Charlotte nor Paul had made any secret of the fact they’d both wished the other dead in the plague, and for the life of her, Cass couldn’t figure out why they kept on keepin’ on. She was hoping the resolution of the situation didn’t cause too big an upheaval. When you lived in a group of less than thirty people, privacy did not exist.
The rest of the survivors lived nearby in two’s and threes. There were only a couple of exceptions. Mr. “Smith,” who always introduced himself with air quotes and never, ever revealed even a scrap of personal information, still lived on his off-grid property at the southern end of the island. Another group, a family of four, also maintained their off-grid homestead from before the plague. The Nolettes, however, were considerably more interactive than Mr. “Smith.” Gavin and his wife Maddie were both in their mid-forties and had lived together on Beaver Island for years. Gavin built custom boats entirely by hand, and Maddie was an artist. Their sons, Luc and Bastian, were 17 and 15 respectively, and as independent-minded as their parents. The boys had been invaluable during the winter just past, sharing wild game and showing people who had never touched meat not purchased in a supermarket how to skin and prepare wild game for consumption.
The boys were emulating their parents, who had also assumed “teaching” positions in the community in the wake of the plague. In nearly thirty years of living without modern amenities, Gavin, especially, had become a master at improvisation and adaptation. All things considered, and especially compared to the mainland, they were thriving, in large part thanks to the Nolette family and their tutelage.
Cass didn’t dare say it out loud to people who had lost so much, but to her, there was a touch of Nirvana about their current situation. This was life as she’d always sensed it should be, lived in intimate contact with the land and swaying in time with the passing seasons. She resonated with this way of life much more than the techno-saturated, social-media-ruled world of before. She knew they’d been lucky, and also knew hardships would come that would make her long for the old days. But for now, if she could just figure out how to get a horse or two to the island, a childhood dream could be realized, and life, as far as she was concerned, would be complete.
Cass hopped off their back stoop and filled her arms from the woodpile just outside their back door. She took three loads in, filling the wood box beside the stove to bursting, then returned to the back stoop to enjoy the summer day while she waited for Veda.
On the opposite side of the stoop, a weathered string of jazz cd’s hung from bright pieces of yarn strung between two sturdy sticks, spinning and glinting dully in the breeze. The cd’s marked the graves of the couple who had died in this house – Brent and Amelia Walker, their driver’s licenses had said. Both souls had long since crossed to rest permanently in the spirit world, thanks in part to Cass. Brent, especially, had struggled with the passage. His big, booming personality had been nearly as bombastic in death as it had been in life, and Cass had been plenty relieved when he had at last accepted his death and transitioned.
So many had died so quickly, their remains as yet unburied, and the resulting abundance of lost souls could be overwhelming. Most of the homes the survivors now occupied were quiet, the bodies of the previous owners respectfully buried, and their graves marked, their souls safely crossed over. Cass had helped with that process whenever necessary, though it hadn’t been her preference in the time before to work with the restless dead. She had left “ghost-whispering” to others, but in these times, one did as one must. When she needed a break from it all, she went to the island’s cemetery, a habit she’d carried over from childhood. It had always amused her that people considered cemeteries frightening. In her experience, they were the least-haunted places she knew.
She lifted her face to the soft sun, and deliberately steered her mind away from her worry about Jack. As Veda had said, her fretting was getting her no closer to understanding. What she needed was some activity, something to take her mind off it. Maybe later this afternoon she’d head to the marina, see if she could get in some sailing practice. Veda had grown up on the water and had been sailing as long as she could remember, but her age and poor health made Cass reluctant to take her out now that she’d learned the basics. She was diligent about studying the how-to books she’d found, but she learned best by doing. She needed another teacher, and that was that.
“Hey, Cass.”
She opened her eyes, and lo and behold, there was the teacher she’d called for. Crazy how often that worked.
“Hey, Luc.” She returned the greeting, then tilted her head to the side, scrutinizing him. “So, I’m betting the son of a boat builder would know just about all there was to know about sailing.”
Luc scuffed a foot in the dirt and shrugged. Dark-haired and dark-eyed like his French-Canadian father, he had already matched his dad’s lanky six feet and would probably surpass him in another year. Right now, though, he was all shy boy. “I guess I know a fair bit. I’ve been sailing all my life.”
Cass hopped up, ready to bargain. “What would you need in trade, to give me lessons? I know you and your folks are awfully self-sufficient, but surely we could come up with something? I need to learn, and –” She glanced conspiratorially over her shoulder at the door to the cottage. “I don’t want Veda taking me out anymore. Her hips give her so much pain, and she just can’t move fast if we were to get into trouble.”
“I understand.” His face took on a rosy hue, and his dark eyes dropped back to the ground. “I’d just teach you. For free, I mean.” Again with the shrugging and the scuffing. “It wouldn’t be any trouble. None at all.” He glanced up, and his eyes were filled with a longing he was trying – and failing – to hide. “I’d like to help you, Cass.”
Uh-oh. Cass didn’t need to be psychic to see what was going on here. Luc was sweet 17, and clearly thinking about being kissed. Unfortunately, his prospects on the island had diminished considerably. At 22, she was the closest to his age, if you didn’t count Emma’s little half-sister, who was nine. So unless he wanted to wait for Tiana to grow up, Cass was his best bet. Cass felt a flood of sorrow for him. How much would it suck to have your dating years stunted by a pandemic? His crush would fade in time, and in the interim, she would be sure to be careful of his feelings.
“Thank you for the offer, Luc, but I would have to insist on a trade. You’ve already done so much for the rest of us, and I believe in an energetic exchange. Like for like. Would one of Veda’s herbal preparations come in handy?” She hesitated, not wanting to weird him out. “Or one of us could do a reading for you. Veda reads palms and does Tarot, which can help you understand your path and the circumstances going on around you. I communicate with those in the spirit world.”
“I know what you do.” His rosy hue got even deeper. “I think it’s really cool. And now that everyone is different, they all believe you, too.”
Cass laughed. Out of the mouths of babes. “Well, that’s nice to hear, because they sure didn’t before. Well? Do you want to think about it?”
“No, I don’t need to think.” His rosy flush dissipated, and his eyes went liquid with sorrow. “My best friend, Zeb, died in the plague. Would you…could you check in with him, to see if he’s okay?”
“Sure. He may or may not come through, but we can try. I can ask right now, if you’re comfortable.”
At his nod, Cass sat down on the stoop. Luc shuffled around awkwardly for a moment, then sat down beside her. Cass shut her eyes and cleared her mind, centering herself, asking for her spirit guides to support her and praying for protection for all involved. She took several deep breaths, and enclosed both herself and Luc in white light, through which evil could not penetrate.
She opened her eyes and smiled at Luc. “May I hold something of yours?”
Luc fumbled around, patting his pockets, then pulled a ratty paperback book out of his back pocket. 1984 by George Orwell. He held it up. “Like this?”
“Yes.” She took it from him, then raised her eyebrows questioningly. “What, the world isn’t dystopic enough for you these days?”
Luc shrugged. “It’s the book my mom and I are currently studying. I’m supposed to be drawing comparisons between Orwell’s vision and what we know about our current situation.”
Cass was intrigued. “I may have to jump in on that, if you guys are open to a book club. I love book clubs, but we never stayed anywhere long enough for me to join one. Anyway.” She held the book in her hands and closed her eyes. “Time enough for that later. Let’s see if spirit wants to talk.”
For a moment, the world around her shifted. Then she felt the familiar tingle that signaled an arrival from the spirit world. “Someone is coming through for you. He says he’s above you? Above and to the side – an uncle? Do you have an uncle who has passed?”
“We don’t know. My dad’s brother lives in Big Rapids, but we couldn’t reach him or his family. My mom has a brother, too, but they weren’t close. I haven’t seen him since my grandpa’s funeral when I was little.”
“He’s one insistent guy,” Cass murmured. “His name starts with an S. Steven? No, it’s more unusual. Sebastian? Was that his name?”
Luc’s voice was excited. “Yes! My little brother Bastian is named after him!”
“Okay, well, he’s telling me to tell you to tell your dad that he’s…” She frowned, and addressed the spirit she was interacting with. “I’m sorry, can you show me in a different way? I’m not getting it. Oh! He’s saying to tell your dad that he was right and your dad was wrong – there is an afterlife, and it’s beautiful, and he’s in it. Okay.” She grinned at Luc. “He’s doing that ‘nanner-nanner-boo-boo’ thing, and he wants you to say that to your dad. Does that make sense?”
Luc’s jaw went slack with shock. “Holy shit!” He reddened again. “Sorry,” he muttered. “That’s what they always said to each other. They were really competitive, especially when they were growing up. Grandma was super strict about trash-talking, so that’s what they came up with. Wow.” He was quiet for a moment. “Wait. That means he died, doesn’t it?”
“Yes,” Cass said quietly. “He’s in the spirit world with your aunt and your cousins. He said your grandparents were there to meet him, and other friends and relatives as well.” She reached to rest her hand for a moment on his strong, young forearm. “He’s okay, Luc. They’re all okay, and at peace.”
Luc looked down at her hand, and, as casually as she could, she removed it. She usually didn’t hesitate to touch a client, but she didn’t want to lead this poor kid on. Luc swallowed hard a few times, then looked up, his black eyes glossy with tears he didn’t want to shed in front of her. “Is there more?”
Cass focused once more. “Not from your uncle. He’s pulling back. He said what he came through to say.”
“Can you ask for Zeb, please?”
His politeness made her smile. “I wish it worked that way, but it doesn’t. Spirit comes through according to its own rhyme and reason. Zeb knows you’re wondering about him. Let’s just give it a minute.”
“Okay.”
They waited together under a pure blue July sky while a breeze stirred the leaves of the huge Elder tree that sheltered their yard from northern winds. Veda had chosen this cottage specifically because of that tree, and though she wouldn’t sit underneath it for love nor money, she had a use for all of its parts, from flowers, to leaves, to berries, to wood. Cass didn’t know if her fear of getting whisked away to the world of Faerie was real, or if it was a fantasy Veda had created for her eccentric, tarot-reading public persona. The line between those distinctions was starting to blur as Veda aged.
Cass closed her eyes again and let her mind shift into a neutral, receiving space. She tucked Luc’s paperback into the crook of her lap, and opened her hands on her legs, palms up, signifying that she was willing to convey a message from spirit to Luc. No sooner did she issue the invitation than it was accepted, and another energy made itself known. Youthful, shy, masculine. Without opening her eyes, she started talking.
“There’s another person coming through for you, a boy. But he’s saying his name starts with an ‘M,’ not a ‘Z.’ Wait, hold the phone. He’s going really fast, showing me a lot of images,” she explained to Luc. “A Bible, specifically the gospels. Let me see if I’ve got this straight. He says his name starts with an ‘M.’ It’s something biblical, Matthew or Mark. Is any of this making sense?”
Luc nodded. “His name was ‘Matthew,’ and he hated it. He said it was the most generic name of all time. When we were ten, I told him I’d call him ‘Zebulon’ instead, ‘Zeb’ for short, and it stuck. Even his mom called him ‘Zeb.’” He drew in a long breath that shuddered, and wiped at his eyes, too overcome to hide his tears. “It’s him.”
“Okay.” Cass was quiet for a few seconds. “He’s showing me an overturned fishing creel, and…” Now it was time for her face to heat up. “And, ah, a Playboy magazine. Open to the centerfold. He’s saying that those were both him, that he was just saying ‘Hi.’”
“Oh my God, Zeb – my mom found that magazine and she is still ripping on me about how ‘porn warps and pollutes a young man’s mind.’ She made me write a 1,500 word persuasive essay – dude, I am so going to get you back for that!” Then it hit him, and his face crumpled. “But I can’t, can I? God, I miss him. He was such a practical joker, always getting us into trouble. This spring, I kept finding my fishing creel turned over and emptied out, no matter where I stored it or how carefully I locked it up. And the magazine, well, yeah.” His face didn’t color now; it flamed. “I gave Bastian hell for that – I figured he was paying me back for, well, never mind. And it was Zeb, all along.” He shook his head in wonder. “So he’s, what? Still alive somehow? Or is he a ghost?”
“He’s spirit,” Cass explained. “We’re made of energy – all of us, everything is energy – and energy cannot die. Here’s how I understand it, from the glimpses I’ve caught. As spirit, we inhabit a human form, and we live out a human lifetime according to a soul journey which was planned in the spirit world. When the human body we’re currently inhabiting dies, we return to the spirit world to be with the Divine, to rest, to be with loved ones, perhaps to plan another incarnation. So in that sense, yes, Zeb is still alive, because his spirit will never die.”
“So he’s not a ghost?”
“If by ‘ghost’ you mean a lost soul, then no. I use the words ghost and spirit and a few others interchangeably. But a lost soul is someone who either doesn’t realize they’re dead or is angry or conflicted about passing. That’s what that ‘Ghost Whisperer’ show was based on, and Zeb is not lost. He is telling me to tell you that he’s okay, that his mom was there to meet him, and they’re both happy.” She listened for a moment. “He’s fading now. Is there anything else you want to ask?”
“Will he come back again? Just to visit?”
Cass asked, but Zeb had gone. “He didn’t answer.” At the crestfallen look on Luc’s face, she started to reach for his arm again, then pulled her hand back and hid the gesture by returning his paperback. “That doesn’t mean he won’t. It just means he felt it was in your best interest to pull back right then. That’s what our loved ones in spirit form want most – what’s best for us. Many of them do pop in now and again to visit, to check on our lives. So if you find more scattered fishing supplies or incriminating porn, you can bet it was him.”
“Wow. Wow.” Luc was staring into space, exhibiting what Cass called “First-Time-Shock-and-Awe.” His face was slack and blank while his mind circled over and over what she’d said, trying to come up with some way she could have known all that and failing to produce a logical explanation. She left him to it and stood, opening the door to the cottage just as Veda was reaching for the handle on the other side.
“I thought I heard voices,” Veda said. “Hi, Luc. I’ve got the tincture your mom asked for ready to go.”
Cass looked at him and raised an eyebrow. “So you two are already trading? You could have let me know.”
Luc fell back on his all-purpose shrug. “That was between my mom and Miss Veda. And now I owe you, so when do you want to start?”
Cass looked up at the sky. “Weather looks like it’s going to hold clear, so how about this afternoon? Maybe in a couple hours?”
Luc nodded. Then, he looked past her and frowned. “Miss Veda, you don’t look so good. Maybe you should sit down?”
Veda was staring, as slack-faced as Luc had been moments before, and Cass knew what that meant. As Veda would put it, the “sight was upon her,” and she’d snap out of it when she was good and ready. Cass steered her towards one of the kitchen chairs and eased her round body into it, then spoke over her shoulder to Luc. “She’s okay. She’s having a vision.” She made a wry face at him. “Welcome to our world.”
“Dang,” he breathed. He moved to stand on the other side of Veda, taking her hand and patting it gently. “Must be weird, living with you. I mean,” another blush, “Visions and ghosts and such. You sure she’s not having a seizure or something? Zeb’s little sister used to have those what-ever-you-call-‘ems – petit mal seizures. They looked just like this.”
“Huh. I never thought to ask her if she’d been checked out by a doctor. I suppose if you hooked her up to a machine, there would be some abnormal neurological activity, but this is a vision. She says she’s had them her whole life, and she always comes out with information to share, though it doesn’t always make sense.”
Just then, Veda shuddered and sucked in a huge breath of air. She swayed in the chair, and Cass steadied her with an arm around her plump, soft shoulders. Luc picked up the speed on his hand-patting. After a few moments, Veda lifted a hand to rub at her forehead, and Cass hurried to get her a drink of water. Veda sipped, sighed again, then looked up.
“Well, then.”
Cass waited, but in vain. “That’s it? You usually talk my ear off about what you see. Did you not see something this time?”
“I saw.” Veda sipped again. She looked up at Cass, then looked at Luc, then back at Cass. “No need to share everything, now is there? Luc, dearest boy, your mom’s tinctures are right here on the table in this box. Mind you don’t break them – they’re in glass bottles. I’m sure we’ve kept you long enough.”
Luc picked up the box, then stood uncertainly, holding it. “You sure you’re all right? You don’t need to go lay down or anything? I feel bad, leaving.”
Veda gave him a very warm, very fond smile, but shooed him off. “You’ve done enough, sweetheart. Give your mama and daddy my regards.”
He nodded, then nodded at Cass. “I’ll see you this afternoon at the marina, right?”
“That’ll be great. See you then.”
She shut the door behind him, then wheeled on Veda, eyes narrowed. “’Dearest boy?’ ‘Sweetheart?’ Just what are you up to?”
“What? He is dear and sweet, and it doesn’t hurt to let him know that others appreciate him.”
Her innocent expression would have fooled anyone but Cass, who was playing with an unfair advantage. She checked in briefly with her guides, and sure enough. “You are so lying to me.”
Veda sighed. “’Lying’ is such an ugly word.”
“If the shoe fits, Veda.”
Veda took another leisurely sip of her water. “For right now, what I saw is none of your business. Now.” She leaned forward, all business, and picked up the silk bag that held her Tarot cards. “Did you want a reading or not?”
Time enough to weasel it out of her, Cass decided. “Yes,” she answered. “But I want you to read for Jack, not for me. I can check in with my guides when I choose a course of action. I want as much information as possible on what’s happening with Jack, and what his mindset is, so I can try to figure out what he’ll do.”
Veda folded her lips, but nodded. “Very well,” she said. “I don’t usually hold with absent readings, but I do see your point. If the spirits cooperate, we’ll read for him.” She handed Cass the deck. “Choose a significator for him, then.”
Cass shuffled through the familiar cards, looking for one in particular. When she found it, she handed it to Veda, who raised her eyebrows. “The Knight of Wands? Usually the Knight of Cups represents a brother.”
Cass shook her head and tapped the card. “This fits. I’m sure.”
Veda put the significator card in the center of the table, then took the rest of the deck from Cass. As she shuffled, she began the mantra that Cass had heard thousands of times, the words Veda started every reading with. “Tarot cards are not all-powerful, nor are they evil. They can offer insight into the events in your life and guidance when we need to make decisions, but they do not have all the answers. Tarot is a method of using your own intuition to better understand your past, present or future, as well as the lives of the people dear to you. They can be a light in the darkness, but only if you’re willing to see.” She paused, then asked, “What is your question?”
Cass had thought about this; questions were very important. “What do I need to know about Jack?”
Veda nodded her approval, then shuffled three more times and set the cards in front of Cass. Cass cut the cards, then sat back and watched while Veda dealt. As always, she dealt out all ten cards in the Celtic Cross spread, then paused once more with her hand resting over the cards. “The future is mutable. What is portrayed here represents only one possible future, the likely outcome given the events currently in motion. Nothing is written in stone. Do you understand?”
Cass nodded. Then, she watched with growing dismay as Veda flipped the cards over one by one. By the time she reached the tenth card, Cass was nearly hyperventilating.
“Never mind,” she said, reaching to push the cards away, to negate the reading, to un-see what she’d already seen. “This was a terrible idea –”
Quick as a snake, Veda swatted her hand. “Don’t touch them. What do I always tell you about Tarot? What do I always tell everybody about Tarot?”
“’The future can be changed by anyone willing to make the effort, but only if they have the facts,’” Cass quoted meekly. She stared at the cards, then spoke again, her voice barely above a whisper. “Have you ever seen a reading that was completely Major Arcana?”
“Not completely.” Veda reached to tap the Ten of Swords, and Cass blanched.
“Jesus, Veda, that’s only the worst card in the Tarot!” She flinched when Veda reached to snap her on the top of the head with her deceptively soft fingers, a gesture she hadn’t employed since Cass had been a belligerent teenager.
“You settle yourself down, now. This is not a terrible reading. I know there are a lot of big-hitters here, but it’s all about context.” She touched Cass’s hand, her voice gentler. “Honey, he’s in trouble. You already knew that. Let’s see what we can learn about it.”
Cass nodded, gulping back the huge, childish sobs that wanted to rise out of her chest. Veda was right. If she wanted to help Jack, she had to get calm, and get clear. “I’m sorry. I’m just scared I’ll lose him again, and I haven’t even found him yet.”
“I know, honey. Let’s find out what we can do to help.” She touched two cards: The Hanged Man, and The Fool. “Whatever the situation is that he’s in, he’s a willing sacrifice, in a sense. He’s willing to endure pain and personal hardship to achieve his goal.” Her eyes narrowed, and focused on something far-away. “And to protect his friends. He would do anything to keep them safe.”
She shook her head a little, then tapped The Fool again. “A traveler that didn’t watch where he was going,” she said, then shot Cass a stern look. “Sounds like someone else I know, haring off into God knows what. One might think you two were related.” Her fingers lingered on The Fool. “He’s determined to travel down a certain path, and right now, he’s ignoring all the warning signs. This speaks to his soul journey, Cass. He needs to learn to listen to Wisdom.”
Her fingers touched another card: The Devil. “This card represents what stands in Jack’s way, and I’m reading two different meanings. Very rarely is The Devil read literally, but in this case, he’s dealing with someone who is the antithesis of good, someone who wants to upset the harmony of nature, just because he can. Young,” she said, frowning. “I’m getting the words, ‘Rotten little shit,’ though that doesn’t really convey the depth of this young man’s nastiness. He’s completely controlled by fear, and he’s desperate to recreate the world as he knew it before. He wants to feel safe and in control, and he’ll do anything to achieve that end.”
She was quiet for a moment, thinking, then went on. “On another level, this card also speaks to Jack’s soul journey. He needs to watch out for the quick fix he’ll be offered to his problems, the way of violence and destruction. It might get him what he wants in the short term, but at a terrible price.”
She straightened with determined cheer, and reached to touch another card: The Lovers. “As you know, this card isn’t limited to romantic love. It can also refer to a union of opposites, a close bond between people, especially when there’s been a barrier or obstacle between the two souls involved. This is his goal, the reason all of this is in motion.” She smiled at Cass. “In short, he’s looking for you.”
Cass pressed her hands over her heart, where the ancient adoration for a big brother still resided. When she was little, before her “imaginary friend problem” had revealed itself, she had thought he hung the moon and the stars in the sky. Even after the trouble began, he’d been her longest-lasting ally. The day he had drawn back from her, a frown on his face and disappointment in his eyes, had been the loneliest day of her life.
Veda rested her finger next on the Death card and looked up at Cass. “You know better than to be afraid of this. Almost everyone I read these days has this card come up.”
Cass nodded. “Profound change. An end to the way things once were.”
Veda nodded back. “Yes. Very rarely does it signify physical death, though I’ve seen exceptions to that lately. Now tell me what the position of this card tells us.”
Cass frowned down at the spread. She didn’t read the cards, though Veda had tried to teach her. For the way Cass worked, they just got in the way. Nevertheless, she’d picked up a lot over the years. She reached out and touched Death, too. “This lies beneath the significator. It describes the foundation for the current situation.”
“Exactly. Your brother went through a profound change, and it set him on this path.” Veda touched the next card, the dread Ten of Swords. “And this?”
Cass’s heart began to pound again, but this time in excitement. Now that she was looking at the cards in context, she was seeing what Veda meant. “What is behind him. Events in the recent past that are in the process of being completed.”
Veda tapped the Ten of Swords again, which didn’t seem so dread now. “Cass, honey, whatever he’s going through right now doesn’t compare to what he has already survived. He hit rock bottom, but he’s on his way out of it.” She puffed out a breath of air. “That doesn’t mean he’s not in danger now, but according to the cards, he’s been through worse.”
She touched two more cards, both of them upside-down. “The Magician, reversed,” she murmured. “Again, I’m getting two layers of meaning from this. Jack is dealing with someone who is willing to exploit everyone around him for gain. He’s also facing that same tendency in himself. He can be a bit manipulative, I see.”
Cass rolled her eyes. “You don’t know the half of it.” She reached out to touch the next upside-down card herself. “The Tower. I know enough to be glad this is reversed.”
“Yes. Upright, it foretells catastrophe. In this position, and from where it lies in the spread, he’s still facing adversity and disruption of his plans, but to a lesser degree.”
She touched the second-to-the-last card, and for the first time since she had started the reading, she beamed her beautiful, joyous smile. “Strength. He has everything he needs to prevail, both over himself and over the adversary he’s facing: courage, determination, defiance, and most importantly, moral strength. Whether or not he’ll make the right choices remains to be seen. But this bodes well.”
Veda rested her hand on the last card in the spread. “And so. This card reveals what will happen, based on all the influences currently in motion. Justice.” She looked at Cass. “This is Divine Justice, as opposed to human justice. What should be, will be. If your brother stays true to his moral compass, if he chooses the side of creation and love, even if destruction and fear would get him what he wants in the short term, he will triumph.”
Cass leaned forward on her elbows and took it all in, absorbing, thinking. Then, to Veda. “Okay. One card, one question.”
Veda’s chin jutted out, but she nodded and started shuffling. “Ask.”
“What’s my role in all this?”
Veda pulled the top card off the deck and put it right in front of Cass. She stared down at it. “Temperance? I’m supposed to just be patient? You’ve got to be kidding me!”
The look on Veda’s face told her, even before her guides gave her a nudge. “Veda. You palmed that card.” She pointed at the pile of cards, still in Veda’s hand. “Show me the real answer.”
Veda flipped the card over on top of Temperance, but didn’t look at it. Her chin was wobbling, and tears sheened her eyes. “I worry so for you, when you go.”
Cass looked down at the Six of Swords, the image of a woman paddling a boat under cover of darkness. A journey of uncertain outcome. She reached across the table, pushing the cards to the side to take Veda’s hands.
“I have to go. If he gets clear of whatever’s happening, he’ll head to Pewaukee, to our parents’ house. It’s the only place he would know to look for me. If nothing else, I have to leave a message there for him, telling him where I am now.” Tears spilled from Veda’s filled eyes, and Cass squeezed her hands tighter. “Tell me how to make this easier for you, and I will. But I have to go.”
“I know that, dearest girl.” She straightened up and wiped at her eyes, then pointed a finger at Cass’s nose. “You promise to be back by Lammas. Swear it.”
Just under a month away. “I promise. Anything else?”
Now something like cunning sparkled in Veda’s smile. “And you don’t go alone. You didn’t ask anyone to go with you before, and that was pure foolishness.”
Cass groaned. They’d been over this ground before, way too many times. “Veda, I didn’t ask anyone because I didn’t think it was right to take someone else into an unknown situation. I still don’t think it is. We needed to know what was going on out there, and I was the logical person to go. The same thing is true of this trip. It’s my brother. It’s my task.”
“Luc will go with you.” Veda was once again sipping water, serene and sure of herself.
Cass blinked, startled, then shook her head. “Not a good idea. For starters, he’s just a kid. Secondly, he’s got a crush on me, so it wouldn’t even be fair to ask. Third –”
“I saw it.” Veda interrupted. “My vision. Luc will go with you. And he’ll save your life.”