“I researched two occult shops on the way out to Joshua Tree,” Chase begins, flipping through his journal. “They’re on alternate routes, so we need to decide where to stop.”

“No, we need to let the cards decide,” I add. “Which reading configuration do you think we should use?”

Chase furrows his dark brows, his brain thrumming like an engine.

“Obviously we need one of the simpler configurations,” he begins. “I’d say the two-card Yin and Yang, but a classic One Card Pull will probably do.”

“Couldn’t agree more,” I answer, beginning to shuffle the cards.

As usual, I can feel our added homemade cards brushing my palms, their laminated edges slightly thicker than the rest. Grandma’s deck has always been missing four cards, ever since she bought it at a yard sale years ago. This deck is full of gorgeous, seemingly hand-painted images, so when Chase and I were kids we crafted our own far-inferior replacement cards. We’ve been obsessed with the tarot for as long as we can remember, likely because Grandma taught us everything we know about it.

One thing we’ve never learned, however, is where this deck really comes from. We haven’t been able to find any mention of anything like it online. Growing up, Grandma always said she’d take me and Chase on an adventure to find the missing cards once we were older, a kind of mystic road trip where the tarot would be our guide. Grandma might not be able to take that trip with us anymore, but when Chase and I were deciding how to spend the last two weeks before college, our answer was clear.

“Any key differences between the two shops?” I ask.

“The first is called Eastern Light Tarot and the second is Mother Earth Occult and Antiques. That gives us plenty to go off.”

“Perfect. Cut the deck and draw the first card?” I say, holding out the stack toward Chase. “Everyone ready to see where the tarot takes us first?”

“Am I the only one who finds this spooky?” Cleo asks, craning to watch.

“Spooky or not, that junction is coming up in a few miles,” Logan says, glancing at the GPS. “Please let the tarot proceed with some speed.”

Not wasting another moment, Chase pulls the top card from the freshly cut deck. He looks down at it and grins for a few seconds. When he finally lays the card down, I see why. I gasp out loud when I glimpse her green goddess eyes staring up at me.

The Empress.

“Well that couldn’t be clearer,” Chase says. “The Empress stands at a doorway to transformation, beckoning us to take action. But most importantly, The Empress is the Mother Nature figure. So, Mother Earth Occult it is?”