Sanctuary

Chapter 7

"You bring death with you, like a weight around your neck."

I thought Tarot card readings were supposed to tell me something I didn't know.

Tammy was a true believer in the cards, and from what the other waitresses said, she had a real gift for predictions with them. I'd tried to avoid a reading for as long as possible – if she really called on magic to see the truth, I didn't want my secrets spilled for a bunch of mortals – but ultimately, she had me cornered.

As she flipped over another card, Tammy's expression grew even darker. She bit her lower lip in something (Fear, maybe? Disapproval? I could never keep up with their feelings), and drew another card.

When all five cards were flat on the bar, arched in a semi circle, Tammy still couldn't meet my eyes.

It certainly wasn't a good fortune. From left to right, the cards were the Ace of Swords, the World, the Tower, the Hanged Man, and Death. Every card except the Tower was upside down.

I knew a little of Tarot readings – after hundreds of years of existence, it was hard not to. The occult rarely had much of a draw for me. Without a real power source, a Tarot reader was just a manipulator of blind luck and charisma. They said what they thought the listener wanted to hear, and everyone was happier for it.

Of course, those were Tarot readings that didn't take place in a town protected by Guardian magic.

Guardians don't care about much of anything. It's not in our nature to feel, because we don't have a nature. Our only concern is our power, and our mission. There is only one option that makes sense.

Sanctuary was a power source for the Guardians.

It was the only explanation. We shielded the town from anything evil, to keep our magic out of their hands, and we hid it in a place no one would think to look. Over time, humans must have drifted here because of the ease of living our gifts provided. For a mortal, the presence of a source could bring unnatural health, long life, and prosperity. For an immortal... the situation was different. Being in the same area as a source was difficult; I could draw on the power it provided, making my magic stronger than usual.

In five hundred years, I'd never come across one. I'd heard stories, but the locations of the sources were protected by the highest up of our order.

If I could draw from the source unknowingly, how many others could do the same?

Tammy read my fortune as if she were speaking to the back wall. The other waitresses huddled around me, as if to console me with small touches and sympathetic smiles.

"You are so surrounded by lies, you wear them like skin. You've forgotten what the truth is. Maybe you've forgotten more than that. You've lost something in your mind, and you're not sure if you can recover from it. You believe there is justice, but it will not come from you. You're seeking closure, but you won't find it here. Something bad is coming. You'll have a choice – the choice of sacrifice – but the outcome will always be death. You brought death with you here, and you can't let it go. Death will follow you until the end of the world."