Page 27

Chapter 27

" H ec… those had better not be what I think they are," I said. But I already knew. I could see for myself without Hecate's confirmation. I just hoped with all of my heart I was somehow mistaken. "Hec!"

I shook her awake, and she yowled at me, swiping with a clawless paw at my face. She pressed it to my cheek to communicate her feelings in a less violent manner.

"Leave me alone, I'm tired...and I'm just a baby."

"Babies don't steal high value stuff from ridiculously rich people," I said, staring down at her. "What were you thinking?"

Hecate's pupils grew larger and she mewled and purred, tapping my cheek with her paw. Damn it. It was impossible to stay mad at her like this.

"Don't you pull the cute act on me." I raised her up a little closer to my face. " Why did you do this?"

"I didn't do it on purpose, I didn't even know they were in me or I would have said something."

I squeezed my eyes shut. Did I really believe that the kleptomaniac hadn't stolen these memories? It was possible, but unlikely.

"Are you telling me the truth, Hec?" I asked.

" Yes. They must have gotten into me when I was smashing their containers."

I bit down on my bottom lip and deposited Hecate onto my pillow, where she promptly curled up and went to sleep. Either she was exhausted or didn't care about what this meant. I chose to believe it was the former.

"Bea?" Penny's voice travelled through my door. "Is Hec okay?"

I hurried to the door just as she got there and ushered her inside, shutting and locking the door behind her. The three jars on the bed immediately drew Penny's attention, but she made her way over to Hecate instead.

"What's going on?" she asked. "What are those things?"

" Those ..." I ran both hands through my hair and flattened them to my scalp. "...are three of the memories the Franklins had stored in their house. Hec just threw them up."

Penny's mouth fell open and she did a double take. "Excuse me?"

"Apparently it was an accident," I said. "But that doesn't change the fact we have three important things that the Franklin family might be looking for."

As if I needed this with Shawn Donnelly breathing down my neck, too. But it did explain why he had explored every single avenue while on the hunt for Hecate. There was more at stake for the Franklins than just Troy's power being stolen; they were probably aware that some memories were missing and wanted them back. It wasn't as if these were treasured memories from times past. If these memories got into the wrong - or right - hands, the entire family could face jail time.

"Oh gods, Bea. Give me one second." Penny had made to sit down on the edge of my bed but changed her mind and instead barrelled toward my door.

She unlocked it and disappeared into the corridor, returning two minutes later with an armful of velvet cloth and an ornate wooden box.

"What are you doing?" I asked, locking the door behind her.

"This calls for some foresight." Penny spread the cloth out on the floor, tugging each of the corners straight. "We need to do a reading."

"Do we have to?" I knelt down next to her as she opened the box and took out her tarot cards. A little foresight was great on occasion, but I wasn't sure I wanted to know what the future held at this point. At least not until the shock had worn off a little.

"This is serious , Bea." Penny shuffled the cards and spread them out onto the cloth. "These are dangerous, powerful people and we need to take our next steps carefully."

" We ? Penny, this isn't your mess."

"You're my best friend. Of course it's my mess."

I nudged her with my elbow and she shot me a smile before placing both palms on either side of the cards and closing her eyes. She wasn't just my best friend, she was the best friend.

While Penny focused, I headed over to the bed to lock up the jars, screwing a gem encrusted lid onto each one. If they were here, I had to keep them safe no matter what the next step was. I shuffled down the edge of the bed and placed them on my nightstand, and leaned my elbows on my knees to watch Penny work.

After many minutes of silent and meditative breathing, Penny drew a card from the pack without opening her eyes. She placed it face down on the velvet. One by one, she pulled two more cards from the deck.

I wasn't sure I wanted to know what the cards said. What could they say that wouldn't be, 'you fucked up so bad.' I knew that already and I wasn't too happy to have the universe rubbing it in my face. What we needed was a solution on how to get out of this mess with as little collateral damage as possible, and I wasn't sure the cards were up to that.

Penny opened her eyes, took another measured breath, and turned the first card over. The card faced in my direction and I recognised it: the Seven of Wands.

"I asked the cards their perspective on this situation with the Franklins," she said. "And asked for guidance. Seven of Wands in reverse..."

"In reverse?" I clambered onto my knees at the edge of the velvet throw opposite Penny. "But it's the right way up."

Penny looked at me with her most deadpan expression. "No, Bea. If it's facing you, it's in reverse."

"Oh! Right."

"You numpty."

"Hey, I'm under pressure here. What does Seven of Wands mean, anyway?"

"In reverse..." Penny swivelled around to cross her legs and perched her chin on her folded hands. "Destroyed confidence and feeling overwhelmed. This card refers to the past of the matter. So is that what set all this in motion?"

I chewed on my lip as I thought about it. Had the hole Asher had left behind and all the devastation that came with it encouraged me to take risks in the name of finding answers about my prophecy? Without a doubt. But did the cards really have to be so blunt about it?

"Maybe," I said, lilting my tone just so Penny knew that it was more likely than not. But I didn't want to say it out loud.

Penny rolled her eyes, pumping her eyebrows at me.

"Oh, all right, yes ." I folded my arms just so she would know how much I didn't want to admit to it.

"That's better," Penny said. "You won't do yourself any favours if you aren't honest about things."

"I've got some honesty for you."

Penny stuck her tongue out at me before composing herself and turning over the second card. "The present situation… The Lovers in reverse."

Oh, hell no. Absolutely not. These stupid cards had done enough to rub salt in all my wounds and I didn't have to let them.

"Nope." I shuffled forward on my knees and reached to snatch all the cards up and put them back in the box. "This is torture and highly unfair."

"Don't you dare touch my cards!" Penny launched herself across her makeshift altar and tackled me to the ground, pressing a knee into my back that smushed my left cheek against the floorboards.

"Ow! Penny get off me!" I tried to bat at her with my hand, but both my shoulders were pressed too hard against the floor under her weight.

"Before I do that, you listen here and you listen closely." Penny waggled a finger deliberately close to my nose. "If anyone else but me touches my cards, they lose their power. So hands off!"

Gods, for all her timidness she was a real badass when it came to her tarot cards. Even if I had bought them for her.

" Fine !" I had momentarily forgotten that in my haste. "I'm sorry."

"Apology accepted. But also. " Penny booped my nose with her finger. I tried to bite it, but she whipped her hand away too quickly. "The truth isn't supposed to be easy, and I can only help you with my readings if you stop letting it get the best of you. Can you trust me, please?"

I would have sighed, but it was impossible to accomplish with so little air in my lungs already. " Yes , but please get off me. I'm dying."

Penny snorted as she clambered off my back. "Dramatic is what you are."

"You don't want me to show you real drama," I grumbled, shuffling back into a sitting position. This time I leaned against the bed, as far away from Penny and her dastardly cards as I could manage.

"Bring it, I dare you." Penny opened her arms as she returned to her place on the velvet throw, scrunching her mouth up at me.

I smiled out of the corner of my mouth. She had grown some serious balls ever since she had left home. Maybe Edward had been a better influence on her than I thought.

Penny cleared her throat and set a finger down at the base of the second card. I grimaced and looked toward the window where a spider was making its home in the corner. I would have to get Hecate on that as soon as she woke up from her self-induced coma.

"The Lovers in reverse," Penny said. "Means a loss of balance. A disharmony."

Well, that was an understatement.

"Yup, I guess that sums up the present," I said. At least it didn't have anything to do with Asher. "What's next? Death?"

Penny turned over the final card, and her eyes widened. "Actually… yeah."