Nora let that sink in a moment.

“No,” Nora said. “I might not appreciate the sentiment, but I wouldn’t blame you.”

“Then maybe this is a talk we can have. Woman to woman. Not enemies. Not rivals. If not friends, then allies.”

“We can try,” Nora said. “I think we’re on the same side. You have your commandment, I have mine. Hurt, but don’t harm.”

“A good rule,” she said, nodding. “If you will hear me, I’ll tell you.”

Nora couldn’t recall a time when she’d been in the presence of a woman with enough presence to intimidate her. But as Mercedes sat in the armchair, hands on her books, eyes on Nora’s eyes, she felt a chill run through her not unlike touching a live wire, like touching raw power.

Mercedes picked up her wine glass again and finished it off with a final swallow. She set it down and turned her attention back to her book.

“November ninth,” Mercedes read aloud. “Difficult reading today. A woman came to me for a half-hour read. I should have made up an excuse to say ‘no.’ The second I saw her, I knew she was dangerous. So much male energy, so much violence in her blood. I did it anyway. Always a sucker for a beautiful woman.”

Nora stared at Mercedes, eyes narrowed. Mercedes, however, wouldn’t meet her eyes. She continued:

She told me she was moving to New Orleans, here to buy a house. I used the Old Path deck, which I rarely use. I wasn’t sure why until I turned over the card for the High Priest in present position and her green eyes went wide as two jade moons. In other decks, he’s called the Hierophant. The card was in present position, reversed. Upright means conformity to the status quo. Reversed means departing from the status quo, the traditions and insinuations she’s been bound to her in her life. And the next card was the Three of Staves. A journey ahead.

She laid her hand on the page over a paragraph of writing. Nora started to ask her what else she’d written when Mercedes turned the page and began to read aloud again.

I told her the safe things I saw. That she would get her house. That she would have success in her twin careers.

Other things I didn’t tell her.

A death coming that couldn’t be prevented. Immediate family, I think.

A new lover, too. The Knight of Cups—a quiet and gentle lover who carries a cup of wine in his sword hand. Though there was opposition to the match.

I summed both up by saying there were challenges ahead, unavoidable, one good, one painful.

Then I saw the fire. The Tower burning. I knew it was the city. I knew this woman started the fire. If she makes the right choice, the fire will be a cleansing flame. If she makes the wrong choice, the innocent will burn.

I told her she would face a hard choice ahead. She asked me what it was. I couldn’t tell her. It’s too far down the line. Like trying to read words written in smoke. I don’t think she believed me.

Knowledge is power, the old philosophers said. They were wrong. Knowledge is responsibility. I’ll have to keep an eye on this woman and cast spells of protection. Hematite for protection. Beads for binding—purple for wisdom, silver for feminine power.