The Emperor (The Tarot Club 2)

“Do you see Michaal Hellis over there?” I pointed to one of the esteemed sons of a property mogul family.

“Of course I can see Michael.” My mother’s voice was snappish, her manners long forgotten in the wake of her daughter dropping the f-bomb.

“Good.” I grinned at my mother, wondering how lovely it must be to be completely oblivious to the happenings around you. “I watched him do lines of coke off Sarah Liesl’s breasts last year.”

My mother gasped, her face draining of all color, and I had to bite my lip to contain the laughter that threatened to spill over.

“Sarah?” Her screech was enough to injure an eardrum. “Little Sarah?” Her shock was the only thing palatable about my parents on my wedding day. “I could have used this information during last month’s book club when her mother wanted to show the girls photos of Sarah’s Cancun holiday that she went on for that law firm she’s at.”

I shrugged, refusing to engage in the madness that was Emily Rand any further, pushing us through the crowd towards the cake.

The day was a whirlwind of moments. The cutting of the cake; The jumping of the broom; The tying of the magickal knots.

A lot of the smiling was forced, but then a lot wasn’t. Brenna ran the day as if she were a military sergeant, Ravi and Stepen lightened the mood with their banter and deliberate squatting as they made fun of themselves. But when Charl beckoned both Dimitri and I closer, bidding us to follow him through one of the doorways that led to the great library housed within, I didn’t falter. Instead, I tugged Dimitri towards the man that could offer me answers.

My shoes scuffed the emerald carpet that lay beneath, and I had to remind myself to control my breathing as I halted my steps before Charl while he seated himself on one of the floral couches in the make-shift lounge area of the library. But it wasn’t Charl that had me forcing the quiver from my limbs, willing myself to be still - quiet - unseen. It was the Demon who sat next to him.

“You are looking in far better spirits since the last time we spoke.” His voice held a mixture of accents, the most easily identifiable one being British. His dark hair and green eyes were mesmerizing, and I couldn’t stop my traitorous gaze from dipping towards the column of his throat, forcing me to contemplate all the ways in which I could press my tongue against his neck, licking up all the sweat and salt that resided there - that was uniquely him.

“Can you tone your shit down for a moment?” Charl seemed as annoyed as I was at my reaction, but the Demon simply smiled. “My apologies.”

Suddenly the vice grip that seemed to control my lust, holding it in place as it dialled the tone higher and higher still, appeared to stall, releasing me from its snare entirely.

“I take it you remember Cort?” And even with the evidence before me, I couldn’t shake the sense of shock - the sense of betrayal.

“I do, but what I can’t understand is how you know him.” The accusation in my voice was unmistakable. And still, Charl said nothing whilst the Demon only smiled, as if he delighted in my fury.

“I went to war with the Hoodoo community over this shit.” I was seething, and even Dimitri’s palm pressed against my shoulder could do nothing against the pulsing rage that seemed to beat through me. “I told you what they had accused us of - how they had argued that we were dealing with Demons, and still I defended you - defended the guild.”

“As you should.” Charl’s voice was far too calm for this conversation, and suddenly I didn’t care that I was at my wedding - that my gown was made of beading and lace - I was going to throttle him with my bare hands, and Dimitri could help me hide his fucking body.

“Do you know what is happening across the various ley lines of the earth?” Charl posed the question as if it were the most natural thing in the world, nudging the conversation back towards a place where I was more intrigued than I was murderous.

“We’ve never needed ley lines - have never used them.” I recited the words by heart, unsure of where Charl was going with this.

Ley lines were lines of power that ran through the earth itself, sometimes intersecting with one another, heightening the magic that pulsed through the soil, allowing those who were Magickally inclined to draw from the lines themselves. We had never needed them, and the thought of someone as destructive as Maxine harnessing that power made me shiver, grateful that we had agreed long ago as we sat huddled around a campfire that tapping into such power was unnecessary, for we were powerful enough on our own.

“There has been a surge of power that has rocked the ley lines, causing them to splinter in new directions, expanding the reach of Magick underground in ways that we had never imagined.”

I willed myself to not interrupt, awaiting Charl to complete his thought process, sharing the information he had seemingly accumulated. All the while, Dimitri remained silent, but I wasn’t unaware of the gun that rested at his hip - the gun he had brought to our wedding because even though this was a happy occasion, there were enemies in our midst all over the place.

“The surge of these new ley lines have caused an imbalance in Magick - an imbalance in the world as we know it. New people are emerging in a way that has never been seen before. The grapple for power is unparalleled in all our history.”

My stomach sank at Charl’s description.

“What does that mean for us? What aren’t you telling me?”

“It means that those with newly imbued Magick are not content to allow those without to remain as they are - it means that slavery of a different kind will take presedence unless someone stops it - it means that war is on our doorstep, and we are possibily the only ones who can stop it.”

I blinked as Dimitri stilled behind me.

“Haven’t you noticed an increase in your Magick? Isn’t the connection we normally meditate to seek suddenly so much easier to access?” Charl’s words settled like a lead weight within my stomach, bringing forth a wave of nausea and unease as I clenched and unclenched my fists, the pins and needles thrumming through my fingers the only indication that I might very well vomit.

“Is that why we’ve aligned ourselves with Demons?”

Court smiled at me, but this time there was nothing friendly in the gesture.

“On this, we have a common goal - to save the humans from a form of slavery they aren’t even aware is heading in their direction.”