Dark Tarot (Dark Carpathians)

She pushed her forehead into the heel of her hand. “I know I was wrong to withhold anything at all from you. It’s just that it all seemed so preposterous, and I was afraid to tell you the truth. You were hiding things from me. I wasn’t a partner. Then, when I realized if we didn’t work together, neither of us was going to succeed, I almost told you, but I couldn’t bring myself to trust you.”

“Keep going. Get to the part where you think I would be angry. I am displeased with you holding back information that put you in danger. That does not anger me.”

“The story in my family is that a woman, Liona . . .” She watched him closely. He didn’t react at all. “Sandu. Do you not recognize that name?”

He shook his head. “Should I?”

She sighed. “I’ll just tell you the story I was told. There was a woman, Liona, very sweet, who befriended two sisters, Nera and Tessina Ravasio. They were considered what was called Striga. I know most people think immediately that the Striga were all bad, demons who hunted men and children and turned themselves into birds of prey to feast on them. But there were two factions, and our ancestors were on the side of good, learning to use the elements—air, water, earth and fire—to aid those in need. They learned how to help the sick with plants and herbs. They didn’t call up demons or try to use what they knew for personal gain.” She paused and looked at him again.

Sandu made no sound. He was very still, and as usual, she couldn’t read his expression. His eyes were black, those red flames, just embers, smoldering low, barely there. Waiting. She took a deep breath.

“When the two sisters first met Liona, they had no idea anything was unusual about her. The two sisters had cards they played with, tarot cards. Their mother had painted the cards for them. They both had strong feelings when they saw the cards placed in a certain order, and they would say what they felt. Eventually, they realized the things they saw came true. Liona was intrigued by this. Occasionally, Liona would bring three of her friends along, and the girls would stay up all night with the cards, playing.”

Sandu’s brows came together. “This is what you were told as a child? As a story?”

She nodded. “I told you there is a book. It is in this book in pictures, but my mother told me the stories as her mother told them to her. I believe Liona was your sister, Sandu. Do you remember anything at all about having a sister?”

He shook his head. “Continue.”

Adalasia pressed her hand over the spot where she kept the deck close to her, against her skin. “We have a powerful bloodline, and there were two forces at work in the Striga. They had infiltrated the sisterhood, pretending to be part of that branch, befriending my ancestors and trying to lead them toward the dark arts with promises of immortality and riches. Liona could hear lies, and she cautioned the sisters. Nera chose not to believe her, although she pretended that she did. Tessina did believe her and began watching the women in the order much more carefully.”

Adalasia’s foot was falling asleep, so she stretched her leg out, careful to keep from kicking him. That required scooting to the other end of the bed. At least that gave her something to rest her back against. She was suddenly feeling raw and very vulnerable. Sandu shackled her ankle with warm fingers and began a slow massage of her foot, bringing the blood back into it.

“Keep going, Adalasia.”

“Nera, with the aid of the other two women, the outsiders, set up Liona. They wanted her blood. They claimed she was immortal, and they could use her blood to draw out others like her, and when they had enough, they could open a certain gate and revive a demon beast, one Lilith—the wife of Satan—wanted control of. Tessina found out about their plan and stopped them.”

Sandu kept his eyes on hers. “I take it, at that point, a council was called.”

She nodded. “My family, your family and the families of the three other women that Liona had introduced my ancestors to. They came from other regions, but they knew women who came from strong, powerful families like mine. It was decided to place four watchers, four guardians, to hold Lilith’s Strigas at bay. The Carpathian women would find a like family . . .”

“You mean ones strong in the elements.” It was the first time he interrupted her. “Earth. Air. Fire. And water.”

She nodded. “The Carpathian women could read the human families and know the traits they sought. Each woman chose a family. My mother painted a deck of tarot cards for each of the other families and included a seventy-ninth card, the card of the goddess. That card represented the Carpathian woman. She mingled her blood with the blood of the ancestor of the family who would help to guard the gate. Your sister coated our goddess card and our book with her blood and Tessina’s blood. That’s why the cards and book don’t disintegrate.”