A tarot reader aids a mysterious man who believes she is the only one who can help him return to his true home in the eerie Manaan caverns where they must fight the natural and supernatural to stay alive.
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Maxine Shepard is a tarot reader who h...
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For being in a cave under the searing heat of the desert, I hadn't expected to feel a cold chill creep along my flesh. Was the sudden change in temperature due to the cold shoulder my friends had just given me and less to do with an actual drop in degrees?
Still draped in wet clothes, I stood on the edge of the landing and watched Cecil and Arturo swim back across the lake to join Samuel. For all the years working at Crystals and Things alongside Cecil, that time seemed to mean nothing to her. However, maybe that's exactly what it was . . . nothing. Only a means of earning an income. For so long, that was how I had viewed my time there. So why did it cut so deep to watch Cecil turn her back on me, especially when I saw it coming?
I looked back on my memories to when Cecil had asked me to be her mentor and help her develop her psychic abilities. I remember my thoughts at that time when I refused:
Friends of all kinds, even the male variety were overrated. They all eventually turned into enemies. Liars, backstabbers, cheaters ... I know, I have experience and foresight. If Cecil had developed her latent clairvoyance—or clear seeing ability—she would have known it too.
When the lights disappeared further down the tunnel across the lake, I turned to see Blamore making his way to the unexplored passageway near us. Its blackness swallowed up the beam of his flashlight as if purposely refusing to show what it concealed.
"How deep do you think it goes?" I asked, staring at Blamore's back.
His damp hair swept his shoulders as he shook his head. "Deeper than we think." He glanced back, fixing his penetrating blue eyes on me. "This is the way. It's the only way."
I nodded. Going back would lead us nowhere. Still, Samuel preferred to retrace his path than continue on in this direction. Why? "Samuel said I knew what happened to his face, the blood, the swelling. What do you think he meant?"
Blamore shook his head. "A vision?"
No. Not a vision. None of the visions I shared would make him say such a thing and convince Cecil and Arturo to abandon me with Blamore. I couldn't put my finger on it.
"Either way, let's find the way out." I stepped over the threshold of the tunnel, moving into darkness. "We'll send help as soon as we get out of here."
We slowly and cautiously made our way through the large opening, with no end in sight. The curved walls of the passageway caught our light, but what resided at the end was still unknown.
I did my best to avoid the jagged walls as I readjusted my heavy pack on my back. Images of Samuel and Blamore's physical encounter replayed in my mind. The sound of Samuel's rage-filled blows connecting with Blamore ribs made me cringe. "Sorry about what happened between you and Samuel."
"Don't worry." Blamore crouched slightly as he remained a step ahead of me. "I'll be ok. I'm a big boy." He shot a bashful grin at me and I couldn't hold in my snort. "You'll be fine too, Max."
