Witches by Nightfall

It was not a surprise when she came knocking at my door. The rain was coming down in torrents, and her umbrella did nothing to stop the relentless water from soaking her fine clothes. In my hand I held my favorite tarot deck, and in my heart, I could feel her sadness. “Moonchild, I require your immediate services.” Though we were acquainted, her tone remained steady and none the less chilly, as if she were talking to one of her handmaidens. I nodded and stepped aside, allowing her to walk into my warmly lit home.

“Why have you come to grace me with your presence, madam?” I did not need to ask. She wanted what everyone who comes knocking at my door in the middle of the night wants: a reading.

“Mademoiselle, please, it’s urgent. Something is happening and I need to know the outcome.” Her voice wavered slightly, nearing the edge of pleading. I motioned her towards my dining room table, watching as she sat with elegance that is common from the wealthy, or the gifted. I walked towards the stove and picked up the teakettle, ready to make a fresh pot of calming chamomile. “I don’t need tea to calm my senses. I am fine. All I want is a reading. Quick and simple. I will reward you for your time, I promise, but please. It needs to be quick. They’ll notice I’ve left relatively soon and then it will be trouble for the both of us.” I rested my hand against the handle of the kettle and took a breath, attempting to calm both myself and the lady sitting behind me. A cold reading is easy, but with frayed nerves it can give misleading answers. “Please, moonchild, sit with me. Let us get this reading going, shall we?” I sigh and sit with the lady, Milae, and begin to shuffle. The energy was warm and radiated through me, causing my pulse to quicken. Three cards fell onto the table, eager to be read. The Magician, the fool, and death. I sighed and looked at Milae, reading her expression. “Well, are you going to tell me what they mean or are you just going to sit there and stare?” her tone grew cold, and a flash of hot anger began to work its way through me. “You’re not paying for this reading, and you came to me in the dead of night. You may be a lady, but magic takes time.” I quipped. “Be careful who you trust, for something is coming and it won’t be a grand time. You are surrounded by people who are masquerading around you, pretending to have your best interests at heart. And soon, our lives are about to change.”

“Our lives? This is my reading. Are you telling me you’re somehow involved in this nonsense?” her tone was shrill, and seething. I flicked my wrist, waving off her nonsensical notion. “The part you think I play has nothing to do with the trickery of what is going on in your life, until the moment you drag me into it. So, ask the question you came here to ask Milae. It’s burning almost as bright as your anger.”

She wrung her hands, knowing I was correct. “I can’t do this alone, Moonchild. I need people I can trust, and right now, you’re the only friend I have.”

“Yes, I’ll accompany you back to the palace.”

She smiled ever so slightly, “I knew you would know what I wanted.”

* * *

“You can’t talk to me like that, Moonchild.” His voice cold, back turned to me. “I can and I will, Osborne. You are going to make a fool of us all! And you expect me to just idly stand by and let you cause issues here? No. I won’t have it, and neither will Milae or William.”

“Your boyfriend and mistress won’t always be around to save you, Little Luna. You best keep that in mind.” He turned to face me. His blue eyes were a striking shade of ice, and his handsome face twisted with anger. “You can’t keep playing house. You do not belong here.” He took a step towards me, taking my hand in his. The anger burned to the touch, and though I wanted to shy away, I could not display fear here. I guarded my thoughts carefully, knowing all too well that this was a house full of witches with powers near enough to my own that if I did not play my cards carefully, I could easily be made a fool. “Little Luna, I don’t want to hurt you. But this house is filled with people who will.” He brought my hand up to his lips and softly planted a kiss on my palm. “Osborne.” He looked up at me, his blue eyes devoid of the hot anger they held moments ago. “Why do I remember things that the others do not?” He pulls away by only a fraction and gazes at me quizzically. “You have a greater power than the majority of this lot does, Little Luna. Your soul has never broken into shards, like Milae; your heart never stone, like Amalia; your mind never compromised like William. You alone have remained throughout each lifetime, and here you stand before us, again, to lead us through the darkest of moments, and the most trivial of times.” Osborne gently brushes a fingertip across my cheek and places a lock of blonde hair behind my ear. “You’re valuable Moonchild. And that’s a good thing.”

The sound of the door opening pulled us apart, and in all her grace and glory strode Amalia. Her presence demanded attention, and when she did not receive said attention, anger burned hot within her and her magic. “Osborne, leave. I need to speak with her alone.” She spoke to him, but her eyes were upon me; colder than the chill that ran through Osborne. With a curt nod he was gone, leaving me alone with the so-called high priestess. I eyed her with suspicion, and slowly moved to the table that held my cards.

“I need something from you, child.” The magician. “It will not be easy, what I am going to ask of you,” The fool. “If you fail this task, I will be highly displeased with you.” Death. “I need you to kill William.”

I raised my eyes to see her cruel face. Beautiful once, but age and overuse of her so-called magic marred her. Her hands were clasped in front of her, much like a nun, and her shoulders squared back. In this lifetime, she had let the darkness consume her. Her dark hair was bound tightly, the signs of aging evident in the silver, like lightening streaking down in a black night. Her lips were pursed, but her eyes. They held a fire deep within. “I do not have a choice this time. Do I?” She shook her head and smiled. “My dearest child. You must do what I ask of you if you want to remain.”

* * *

The light had begun to fade by the time the conversation with Amalia had ended. Though I could feel exhaustion creeping in, my energy was high and the magic coursing through me made me feel alive. I rose from my seat at the reading table and began to pace. I thought I should tell Osborne and William of the conversation with Amalia, but her words seemed to be quite bizarre. The wizards would most likely refute any of my claims, and then I would be turned in and branded as a traitor. I shook my head, as if to release the tension and the ghosts of words.

The Magician.

The Fool.

Death.