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The Cartomancer
The bleak clouds that hovered over the rattling roof of the Reece family's house hadn't drenched the neighborhood with its contents yet, but young Lydia Reece knew it was coming. The swirling storm and groaning winds built to a tumultuous roar over the last few hours, and though she normally loved a good rain, this was oddily frightening to her.
It was a very strange feeling to Lydia; fearing that which she expected was highly uncommon for her. Lydia was used to having the talent to tell people what to expect, so why be so fearful of something she knew was coming?
I'm being childish, Lydia thought to herself, brushing aside a few wayward strands of her fiery red hair as she peered out the window of her room. Though her breathing was steady and controlled, her electric blue eyes darted from house to house, observing each one's ability to withstand the harsh squall that was nearly upon them.
Her family was away for the weekend, and for a moment, she was enjoying her peace and quiet. But not today. It was the first time since Lydia was a little girl that she wanted to be with her mother, or hearing her father's laughter from downstairs as he watched his favorite shows.
"I should just check out what's on TV," Lydia muttered, more to hear her own voice for comfort in her solitude than actually telling herself what to do.
She grabbed the remote and fell onto the bed, laying flat on her stomach and gathering a few pillows under her chin.
Click.
Infomercial.
New song from Lil' Jon.
Late Show.
Old movie.
Blah.
Click.
"Well, that was fun," Lydia mumbled disgustedly, pulling the pillows tighter under her head as the tip-tapping of the starting rain pelted her window, and the low growl of thunder rumbled past.
Maybe reading a book'll help, Lydia contemplated as she switched on the lamp which sat on her nightstand.
The glow from the lightbulb fell on a curious dark purple pouch next to the lamp. Lydia stared at the bag quizzically, particularly because she swore the pouch was in the drawer the last time she saw it.
Lydia gingerly ran her finger along the gold weave adorning the top edge of the pouch, running in and out of the small velvet bag and leading to two gold strands which held the pouch closed. She carefully untied the bow knot, spreading the jaws of the pouch open as the thunder bellowed.
Cards. Particularly, her Tarot cards, as well as a black silk cloth. A gift from Lydia's Grandmother Miriam, 'Grammie' as she was remembered, whom Lydia hardly knew yet loved more than most anyone else in the family.
"Remember, there is Fate and there is will," Lydia remembered her grandmother telling her as she passed Lydia a small, plain white box which held the pouch and its contents, a gentle smile spread across her grandmother's time-worn face.
"What do you mean, Grammie?" Lydia had queried then, opening the box curiously.
That was Lydia's 12th birthday, a little over five years ago. And the last of too few times she would ever speak to her Grandmother Miriam again.
Lydia knew now what her grandmother meant. Fate was unchangeable, solid. Things happen. But free will determined how one handled anything Fate put in their way. By giving Lydia the old set of cards, Grandmother Miriam had passed on both an insight to the world and a means of teaching others the same message.
There was not a soul in the house, but Lydia always believed Grammie's soul stayed behind, possibly even attached to the cards. Though Lydia had no real question to ask the cards, she reasoned that her grandmother set the cards for her to find; the explanation of why they were set out escaped her.
Lydia slipped the cards and cloth out of the bag, unsure of what exactly to ask. She laid the cloth out on the bed, kneeling at the foot and shuffling the large stack in her hand, the roar of rolling thunder adding to the constant flopping of the cards.
She separated the cards into three uneven stacks. Normally, Lydia used a Celtic Cross formation when reading for others, but for herself a simple three-stack reading sufficed.
"Grammie, I know you're here," Lydia whispered into the oft-broken void surrounding her, certain her grandmother was present. "What're you trying to say to me?"
The lightning hissed and crackled overhead and the desklamp flickered as Lydia turned the first card over.
The Magician. A guide or mentor.
Obvious. Her grandmother. Lydia was almost certain she was here now.
The rain, at first a drizzle, grew even more erratic as Lydia turned the second card.
The Tower. But something was odd about it. Lydia looked at the card closer, her eyes widening and her breathing clenched.
Where two male figures once fell out of the Tower in the picture, now it was two female figures.
Grammie. And Lydia herself.
Ka-thunk!
Lydia looked over her shoulder at her bedroom door, certain she heard it swing open, then close. But the door was shut and locked, as Lydia had left it originally.
Her heart drummed in her chest as she focused back on the card, still somewhat petrified at the image on the card.
But the card was normal again.
"...too weird," Lydia whispered.
Ka-thunk!!!
This time, the sound was louder, but Lydia was sure now that the sound was coming from one of the other rooms, not her own.
"Stupid drafts," she convinced herself, though again it was more to hear her own voice in the midst of the chaos. Though she figured it was elsewhere in the house, and that she should check on it, Lydia simply wasn't brave enough to step out of her own room at the moment.
Lydia turned her attention to the third card, reaching out to flip it over as the winds howled and the rain clawed over the house.
Cold. Lydia felt an odd chill in the room, and she pulled her hand from the last card.
She stood up from her perch near the foot of the bed, where the cards were still laid out, and went to her window to make sure it was locked down, the room violently illuminated by the lightning, now a flashing frenzy.
Then...nothing. No sound, no rain. Nothing.
Lydia looked up slowly, gazing at the window as she tried to pull herself together. In the sudden silence, she moved one quivering leg, then the other, trying to steel herself against the unnerving chill this new quietness brought with it.
She saw herself in the reflection of the window, and gazed past her image to an ominous and impossible sight.
The storm, once violent, was now frozen. As if the last bolt of lightning were a cosmic flashbulb, the violent downpour now nothing more than a snapshot framed by Lydia's window.
No...it was moving, but dreadfully slow. Droplets of water hung suspended in the air, resembling a curtain of stabbing diamonds slowed to a mind-numbing crawl.
Lydia's ragged breath caught in her throat as she stared at her reflection. Her legs nearly collapsed from under her, and she could hear her heart almost punching through her ribs, screaming to escape what she saw.
There was another image in the window behind her. Someone else was there, watching her.
It wasn't her grandmother.
Community Member
So pretty Arcane!
I wanna know who the other person is!
Contuination?