The Hunter

The Café

Finn woke the next morning feeling hungover and angry, a side effect of the magic she had used the night before. Growling she got out of bed, flipping the blankets back so the bed could air out for the day. After a shower she poured herself a glass of water and ate her breakfast glaring at the wall calendar. She was doing her best not to acknowledge what she would have to do today, but after eating and cleaning up after her meal she sighed and got dressed.

The bus stop outside her house was a convenience she hadn't been able to ignore when she moved here, and she stepped out of her house as the bus began its approach glad that she wouldn't have to stand in the wind that cut through her clothes. The driver saw her and had the door open for her as soon as she got to the curb. As always she flashed her ID and nodded to the familiar faces on her bus.

Finn sat at the front of the bus and glared out the window for the hour it took her to get where she was going, no one said anything to her and she was glad of that. At her stop she stood and got off as soon as the people getting on were out of her way and she stepped down in front of a small café with windows clogged with painted on adds and taped up flyers. Finn glanced at the newest flyer - an ad for a fundraising pop-up shop a few blocks down next week - and took a fortifying breath. The door to the café opened with a gentle chime, lower frequency than most shop bells, and Finn smiled at the woman behind the glass counter of pastries.

"Elizabeth in?" Finn asked as she stepped towards the display.

"She's having some trouble with the new hire in the training room. You want a drink while you wait?" The woman spoke in a rich baritone.

"I didn't bring any cash with me." Finn smiled apologetically.

"I'll trade you then." The woman nodded at a table partially hidden by damask curtains. "She's been waiting for a reading for twenty minutes already."

Finn blinked. "New hire is that much trouble?"

"Fire elemental, lots of explosions."

"One read for a coffee and one of those." Finn pointed at something new in the display.

"Those taste best if I toast them a bit. I'll have it ready for you when you're done." The woman poured Finn a glass of water and tossed in a leaf of borage.

"Courage I have in abundance, thank you." Finn acknowledged the spell offering and sipped her water. The borage added the odd taste of spinach, but she continued to drink it as she approached the table. The offering made a lot more sense when she saw the woman sitting at the table.

"About time." She glared as she realized Finn wasn't who she had been expecting. "You aren't Elizabeth."

"Elizabeth may be a while yet, but I'm here to offer you a reading in her stead." Finn set her water down in the small alcove in the wall and took her seat, drawing the damask curtain closed behind her. Across from her the woman crossed her suit and took Finn in, so Finn returned the observation. The woman was in an expensive tailored suit of muted colours. Her shoes were carefully cleaned, but Finn could still see some evidence of wear. Her hair was in a  simple French twist and her jewelry was obviously heavy gold but not flashy. Her make up was simple but at the same time Finn could tell she took a long time getting it just right.

"I don't have time for an untried read. I'll reschedule with Elizabeth." As the woman shifted to stand Finn smiled.

"You don't have time for that and you know it." The woman froze and raised an eyebrow at Finn. "You've already wasted twenty minutes of your time and in law that's a lot of time. You're trying to make partner at your firm I would assume, and I am curious which one it is, but you aren't here for a reading for that. You have a plan for that and you are going to see your name on the business cards or not by your own merit." The woman settled back in her chair, eyebrow still raised, and Finn continued. "You aren't here for a reading about that, or about any of the usual issues people on your chosen life path have. I would be willing to bet that you have plans for love and family, you have a very careful budget that will see you well into your retirement regardless of whether you make partner or not, and you feel fine as far as health goes."

The woman's' mouth lifted at the corners. "Well, that's health, wealth, career, family, love. What on earth could be left."

"Regret."

The woman looked shocked, her lips parting slightly and her eyes showing despair. "I never told Elizabeth about that."

"Elizabeth would have a rage induced stroke if she knew I was taking over a read for one of her clients, but I have business with her today, and I don't have time to wait for her to finish with her current issue and do one of her lengthy reads as well." Finn shrugged. "Which brings us to the crux of our discussion. Would you like me to read for you, or would you like to reschedule with Elizabeth?" Finn sipped her water while the woman considered.

"I don't suppose I could have both." The implied question was less important than the woman's certainty.

"It makes no difference to me."

"What do you read then?"

"Palms, runes, or aura's, although I doubt we have time for an aura reading right now."

The woman held both of her palms up to Finn and Finn nodded in acceptance. She carefully flexed the fingers back and noticed the tension in the digits. She scanned the life line and saw the truth of the read she had taken from the woman's demeaner and outfit. She traced other lines, frowning until she found what she was looking for. A scar, healed to near invisibility, cut through a line. Finn nodded.

"You want the long drawn out story or the short version?" Finn asked.

"The short version please," the woman answered with a glance at her watch. "You weren't wrong about the time I'm taking here."

"Excellent. First of all there's a massage parlour on 7th West, it's in the bad part of 7th so don't take your car there. You won't need an appointment and her particular magic runs in healing and divination so she will know you're coming. Go get your hands looked after, they're stiff and you won't regret it. Second, you have two regrets. There's nothing you can do about the first one without dealing with the second. This isn't a rift between you and immediate family, a cousin maybe, but if you're wanting to mend bridges now is the time to do it."

"How would you know that by reading my palm? What if my cousin isn't ready?"

"That I can't tell you, but you are ready to deal with it, even if that means the original issue isn't resolved in a way you would like." The woman nodded and sat a moment before seeming to shake herself back to consciousness.

"How did you know?" The woman stood and pulled the curtain back to hang it on its ornate hook. "About all of it, not just the reading."

"Mostly I read you. Clothes, hair, shoes, makeup. I could have been wrong about you being in the law field, but you weren't in a hurry like someone trying to rise to CEO." Finn stood and finished her water in one long draw. "The regret is a very loud part of your aura and if you aren't careful how you feel about whatever happened will start to impact all the other plans you've made."

The woman nodded her thanks and quietly walked out of the café. Finn went to the counter and picked up her plate of toasted pastry and moved towards the training room at the back. She peered through the curtain and saw the barriers were up so she moved into the room to observe and make her presence known to the older of the two women. She set her coffee down and enjoyed her pastry as she watched the pair work. The shields ensured that no one could hear what was going on, but Finn could read lips and she frowned as she finished her mouthful.

A blast of flame erupted from the younger woman that ripped through the shielding like there was nothing there. The older woman inside raised her hands and the fire moved around her while outside Finn raised her hands as well and contained the blast, slowly compressing it into a smaller ball of molten heat that hovered in the training area.

"Finn, you have impeccable timing. I need you to finish here, I have a reading to get to." The older woman stalked out of the training room, her frustration and anger palpable, while Finn and the younger girl looked at each other.