I nod, though weird is starting to become routine for me. I could see the Magician shopping in a place like this, pocketing charms and stones with his mouth and eyes smiling and frowning at the same time. “Maybe we should go. I don’t see any tarot decks.”

“Yeah,” Daniel agrees. “This store is starting to give me the creeps.” He points to a giant stone basin overflowing with nine-inch iron spikes.

Just as we turn for the door, he appears. Or maybe it’s she. To be honest, I can’t tell for certain. Which is fitting because the World card always features an intersex person—unity in the balance of opposing forces. They are waif thin and wearing an oversized tunic with hair past their shoulder blades and pale as spider silk. In one hand, they hold a bottle like the one I first picked up but without the wax seal. In the other hand is a smaller vial from which they are pouring a dark-green liquid into the first. Their eyes are trained on Daniel and me, but they never spill a drop. After a moment, they set the vial down, cork the bottle, and shake it lazily. “Looking for something?”

“Oh. We were just leaving.” I give Daniel’s hand a squeeze, not sure how to handle this. Our new friend is blocking the path to the door.

“So soon?” They switch from shaking the bottle to rubbing it between their hands as if to keep it warm. “But you were looking for something, weren’t you? Otherwise, you never would have found us.”

I drop Daniel’s hand and pull out my tarot deck, holding it up. Their eyes are angled and rusty brown like a fox. They hold up the bottle they’re rubbing and say, “You have to keep them moving or they lose potency.”

I raise my brows.

“The Valormint blooms,” they supply, as if I am really stupid not to know. “Oh, forget it. What are those?”

“Tarot cards,” I explain. “I was trying to find another deck like them. You’re the last store on our list.”

“Here,” they say, tossing the bottle to Daniel, who catches it with wide eyes. “Just keep it moving.” They beckon with two free hands, and I pass my box over. “Oh yes,” they say with interest. “I remember these.”

“You do?” I turn to shoot a look of shock at Daniel, who is carefully moving the bottle of petals and oil up and down.

“Of course,” they say, passing them back with a serene smile. “They were purchased here a long time ago, but I never forget a sale.”

After a moment, I ask. “Well, do you have any more?”

“Oh no, I’m afraid that’s the only deck of its kind.”

“I don’t understand.” I look from my box to the clerk.

“I mean that there’s just the one.” They hold up a single finger.