Court of Snakes: This Desert Cage

Clairvoyance - Atsa | August of the Third Year

Betrayal of loved ones is the sharpest sword.

"Like this?"

Terran looked up from the slip of paper at Parisa, who shuffled her cards in her hands.

"Yeah," he instructed. "You place it on the back of your hand. Watch."

He took a card and did a demonstration, watching the metal unfold. When the magick finished, he looked to the back of his hand to better understand the result. The silver loops formed a large beam and a noose that slipped down onto his wrist. His face scrunched and he tilted his head to the side, trying to understand the puzzle. "That's weird. I've never gotten The Hanged Man before."

"What does it do?"

Terran scoured his memory for the answer. He had read it in one of The King's books, but he could not recall the exact card. "I don't remember. It had something to do with gravity."

He stood from the edge of the curb where they sat and jumped. Nothing. When he reached out to lean on the wall, scratching his head, a prickling sensation shot through his arm. His hand stuck a little, and he proceeded to walk up the wall, horizontal as if gravity no longer mattered. Once he reached the top, the card wore away, his skin returning to normal once more. "Well, cool!" he called down from the roof of the building to Parisa. "Good for climbing flat things."

"So, I draw one?" Parisa thumbed through her cards. "How long do they last?"

"Yup, you draw from the top. There are some cards that won't come at all, like face cards. Kings, Knights, Pages, and Queens. They're more for identification and for unlocking the magick. Oh, and you can't use suits that aren't yours."

"Suits?"

"For example... I'm the Knight of Wands. I can't use swords, or cups, or coins. I don't know how the cards know. They just... do. They won't draw out of my deck." Terran numbered off on his fingers and flicked a pebble down to where she sat below. "You can only use cups. I don't know how you're supposed to fight with those. As far as how long they last, it depends on the card and the situation. Sometimes they'll fade on their own, but you can halt its effect early if you need to. Once you shake it off, the card will return to the deck."

When Parisa drew a card, her face scrunched. "Hey, come down here for a second."

Terran jumped from the building and rolled down the walk in the Atsa district, avoiding the street. Once he righted himself, he returned to his seat next to her. She flipped the card to show him the V of Cups. The corners of his mouth turned down in surprise, and he shrugged. "Give it a try."

The King had asked Terran to give Parisa a crash course in the cards. Now that she was missing from the palace, he was certain Talbot would make a move. It was only a matter of time. The guards were up in arms about what had happened, and patrol through the Naa'a district had doubled. Numbers had been pulled from the Atsa and Dza'ya districts, so Terran and The King were not worried about being spotted. Moving through Naa'a had now become much more difficult.

Perseus had reported to Talbot about Rune. The story among the guard was that the son of the old Sovereign had killed Rune Guildenhart and taken his place. Talbot was still thoroughly convinced that Rune Guildenhart had existed, and that he had not been tricked. Now, they hunted for a killer. It appalled Terran that Talbot could not see the snake in the grass. He would not know a traitor if it bit him in the leg.

Now, Parisa and Terran sat on a dirty street corner in Atsa and played with Parisa's new deck. Their plan moving forward was simple. Parisa was to try and get a message to Perseus through Esmond. Terran had dropped the letter off that morning. Once Esmond let him know what was going on, hopefully he would come knocking on the door, ready to help. Until that happened, The King wanted to play a waiting game. Talbot was scared. The King, as far as he was concerned, had infiltrated his walls three times. The paranoia had begun to set in.