Chapter Three

"Faster!" Holden shouted, slamming his staff on the ground. I wiped the sweat off of my brow and repeated the series of complicated maneuvers I had been practicing.

Up. Down. Back. Duck. Sweep. Jump. High kick. Uppercut. Aim for the head

I cracked my staff down on the wooden head of the dummy, splitting it in two like an egg. Holden silently replaced it.

"Come on, Kaylee," he said, motioning for me to walk over, which I did. "Take a break. We need to talk." I gulped. The last time we had talked, we had to beat up someone who was bullying Val. Something bad must have happened.

"What is it?" I asked cautiously as we walked out of the area we used for training. My brother didn't say anything, but just swung open the overgrown wooden door to reveal the Day Market.

Families chatted and walked, going to buy groceries. I saw two kids chasing each other down the street, one of them holding a painted piece of scrap metal made to look like a Turned's arm.

"Ha! Imma get you!" He shouted, chasing his friend. Merchants called out to us as we walked by, advertising their wares. One was selling 'authentic jewelry'. Another advertised their elixirs of healing, that would cure any illness. My wolf, Anahi, growled inwardly at that. We both knew it couldn't cure anything. It hadn't cured Val, after all.

We stopped in front of a boldly dyed tent wedged in a corner. The sign outside read: Palm and Tarot readings, free your first time! I looked at Holden. He was never a very superstitious person, so I wondered why he would bring me here.

Reading my glance at him, he just shrugged.

"I had some... errands, to run." He was fighting at the black market ring again. probably for 'practice'. "I figured we could use all the help we could get to win as many fights as we could." He explained, starting to walk away. "I'll see you later! Don't get killed!" He called back behind his shoulder as he slipped between the stalls.

I chuckled to myself and approached the tent, eying it up suspiciously. I walked in slowly, pushing the gauzy curtain aside. All the materials were obviously repurposed from stuff that was thrown out by the wealthy, stains and tears everywhere. However, it managed to pull off a kind of haphazard look, thrown together in a messy, but aesthetic, way.

"Umm... hello?" I called out, approaching a low table and two stools seated opposite each other. The stools had midnight blue cushions on them, and the table was covered with some sort of thick, purple cover.

A woman swished out of the back of the tent, her wire bangles chiming together in an eerie melody. She sat down with a flourish, her lavender skirt flowing out around her. A plum-colored veil masked her face, and her black corset top accentuated her bronze skin covered in tattoos. She seemed... over the top. Excessive.

"Hello, sweet." She said, running a hand through her thick back hair. "I'm Dahlia. I presume you would like a reading?" I nodded. "Well then, would you like Tarot or palm?" She asked. I hesitated. I had never heard of either one of those. "Well, come on, now! I don't have all day, you know!" She said impatiently, inspecting her polished black nails.

"Uhhh... tarot? Please." I said, unsure. She whipped out what looked like a deck of cards from underneath the table, and looked at me with opalescent eyes.

"Ask the deck a question," She said. I stared at her.

"The deck?" I asked skeptically. She sighed in obvious exasperation.

"Yes, the deck. Get on with it, please!" She snapped. I held up my hands in defense.

"Okay, okay! Geez..." I tried to come up with a question. Then, I had it. "What," I addressed the deck. "is going to happen in my future?" Look, I know it was a crappy, classic question. Don't judge. Dahlia threw the deck on the table in a messy pile.

"Gather the cards into a deck, and don't look at them, okay?" She instructed me. I did as she said, and then she fanned them out. She plucked six cards out, and laid them down in a row.

"The first card is for where you are right now. The second card is for where want to be. The third card is for any obstacles you may have. The fourth card is for something from the past that may come up. The fifth card is for how it will all end." She explained as she laid out each card. "Now, we can begin."

She flipped over the first card. "The Tower. A great ambition ended in spectacular failure, and it has affected your life and caused many hardships for you and your family." She flipped over the second card. "The Six of Cups, reversed. You wish to start a new life, full of happiness and joy. Everyone is renewed."

She flipped the third card. "The Ten of Wands. You have so much to do, and are prone to putting too much pressure on yourself, which hinders your progress instead of helping it. You want to do everything yourself. " She flipped the fourth card. "Ten of Cups, reversed. Someone dark in your family will return, and will either hinder or help you."

She turned over the fifth card. "Death. You will lose much more than you bargained for if you plow on ahead, but there is still a chance that you might achieve your goal."

Dahlia looked up at me with a mixture of shock and surprise. "Well, now. That was interesting," she said. "Here, in case you need me." She shoved a business card into my hand, and I stumbled up and out of the tent.

"I think... I think I need some fresh air." I mumbled, stumbling outside of the tent.

"Come back soon!" She called out after me.