Eyes of the Tarot Page 6

  Chapter Nine

  Maria jumped up, bumping the table and jarring the cards out of position.

  “What’s the matter?” cried Julie. “You look like you just saw a ghost. I said you got your scholarship. That’s good news… isn’t it?”

  Maria looked at Bonnie. The deep well of fear in her eyes made Bonnie sad, and a little angry. Maria should have been happy—both for herself, because of the scholarship, and for Bonnie, because of what she could do.

  Julie looked at Maria and then at Bonnie. “All right, what’s going on here? Wait. Let me guess. You were playing with those stupid cards, and Bonnie gave you some dreadful reading about death and destruction in your future.”

  Maria shook her head. “Bonnie just gave me a wonderful reading.”

  “Well, then, what’s wrong? She gives you a good reading, I bring you wonderful news, and you look like the world is about to end. I don’t get it.”

  “Bonnie told me about the scholarship before you came in. She read it in the cards.”

  “Amazing!” cried Julie. She wiggled her fingers and began to hum the theme music from “The Twilight Zone.”

  “Stop it!” cried Bonnie. She looked at Maria. “I didn’t actually say that, you know.”

  Maria snorted. “You couldn’t have come any closer without putting it into words.” She ticked the points off on her fingers. “A message involving the arts, fulfillment of my hopes, problems at home. You nailed the whole thing.”

  “Cool!” said Julie. “You can be our resident fortune teller, Bonnie.”

  “Julie!”

  “Oh, all right. Look, suppose you two just tell me what happened.”

  Quickly Maria and Bonnie went through the reading, interrupting and correcting each other as they did. Julie listened in silence, her face registering a combination of amazement and disbelief.

  “And you say Bonnie didn’t even know what question you were asking?”

  “No.”

  “Are you sure you didn’t subvocalize it?”

  “What?”

  “You know, say it under your breath. Like a prayer.”

  “No, I didn’t. At least, I don’t think I did.”

  “I bet you did. And Bonnie heard you, maybe without even realizing it, and gave you a reading that would make you happy.”

  “Julie, that’s ridiculous,” said Bonnie. “Even if I had heard her, I couldn’t choose the cards. I can only read what they told me. And I had just finished doing it when you came flying in to tell us it was true.”

  Julie frowned. “If I hadn’t been there when Mrs. Hartwell got the phone call, I’d swear you had heard about it somehow.”

  “Well, I hadn’t.”

  Julie shivered. “This is weirder than I thought.”

  “Listen,” said Bonnie. “I want you to do me a favor.”

  “What?”

  “Don’t tell anyone about this.”

  “Why not?” asked Julie.

  Maria understood Bonnie’s concern immediately. “Because every kid in school is going to want a reading. Either that, or they’ll be calling Bonnie a witch—which is not exactly a great reputation to get.”

  Julie nodded sympathetically. “I see. Okay. My lips are sealed.

  Maria nodded. “Mine, too.”

  Bonnie looked at her friends gratefully.

  “Now,” said Julie. “When are you going to do a reading for me?”

  #

  “Bonnie! Hey, Bonnie! Wait up!”

  Bonnie turned around and saw Alan running toward her. She smiled in delight. “I thought you had track practice this afternoon.”

  “I did. I skipped it.”

  “How come?”

  “I want to talk to you about those cards.”

  Her delight faded and she got an uneasy sensation in her stomach. “What about them?”

  “Look, there’s no sense in trying to pretend. I know what happened with you and Maria today.”

  She looked away from him. “What do you mean?”

  Alan took her by the shoulders. “Bonnie, don’t hide things from me. Especially not something like this. Don’t you trust me?”

  “Oh, Alan. Of course I do. I just didn’t want to tell you because—because—”

  “Because of the cards I turned over last night,” he said bitterly.

  “Yes. No. I mean, that was part of it. I was worried you would take what happened too seriously.”

  “Those were serious cards, Bonnie.”

  “Yes, but you misunderstood them. In the tarot, death is associated with change, and change with growth.”

  He made a disgusted noise. “Sounds like a sermon.”

  “Sorry. I don’t mean it to. But it’s important you don’t go around thinking you’re going to die any minute because of the cards you drew.”

  “That’s easier said than done—especially with the track record you’re developing.”

  Bonnie narrowed her eyes. “How did you know about Maria, anyway?”

  Alan shrugged. “Julie told Alice. Alice told Eileen. You know that group of yours. You have a pretty solid wall against outsiders, but inside the circle ‘No Secrets’ is the motto. But they didn’t spread it all over the school, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

  “So how did you find out?”

  “Eileen told me. She seemed pretty stirred up over the whole thing for some reason. Said she thought I ought to know.”

  “There’s something strange going on with her,” said Bonnie. “Do you remember what she said at Cosmo’s the other night, about how my mother should be nervous about ESP and stuff?”

  “I sure do. I tried to pump her about it afterward, but she wouldn’t say anything. Look, Bonnie, there’s something weird going on, and it’s making me nervous. Get rid of the cards. Please?”

  The breeze caught Bonnie’s curls. It carried the scent of the sea, pure and clean. Overhead, gulls circled and cried. Bonnie looked into Alan’s serious eyes and thought of all he meant to her. He was so kind and gentle, unlike some of the boys in her class. She bit her lip.

  “Well?”

  “I can’t, Alan.”

  “Why not?”

  “This may sound stupid, but I feel there’s some reason for me to have these cards. Something I’m supposed to do with them.”

  He snorted.

  “I know. It seems crazy. But I can do special things with them. Like today. I didn’t want to play it up too much in front of Julie and Maria, but I could feel some power working through me.”

  “All the more reason to get rid of them.”

  She said nothing.

  “You are the most stubborn person I know,” said Alan. “All right, have it your way. Keep them. But don’t say I didn’t warn you!”

  “You’ve warned me. Will you stick by me?” Her dark eyes were troubled, but unafraid. “Please?”

  He sighed. “You know I will.”

  #

  The High Priestess was standing beside Bonnie’s bed.

  She was beautiful.

  Bonnie had slipped the Priestess card under her pillow when she was getting ready for bed that night. She had been sure she would come.

  “I know you,” she said, smiling up at her.

  “Of course you know me. You are me.”

  Bonnie frowned. “What do you mean?

  “Never mind. Someday it will be clear.”

  Bonnie smiled again. She felt safe with the Priestess, no matter how confusing her words were.

  “I must give you a message,” said the Priestess.

  “A message?”

  The Priestess looked solemn. “Beware the eyes of the tarot.”

  “What?”

  “Not all of us are evil. But we are trapped in his power. Remember that what seems fair can often be most foul.”

  “I don’t understand,” said Bonnie, a note of desperation in her voice.

  “There is something you’ve forgotten,” said the Priestess. “Something you need to know.” She
touched Bonnie’s forehead with the scroll she carried. “Try to remember.” Her long robe rustled. Around her neck hung a pendant embedded with a pearl so large it looked like a small moon. The pearl began to glow. The Priestess smelled of roses, just like the Fool. Roses and something else Bonnie could not make out.

  “Try to remember.”

  As she spoke the words, the Priestess began to fade, shimmering briefly in the night.

  Almost like the Cheshire cat, thought Bonnie.

  “Try to remember. Try to remember.” The words circled around her, driving her deeper into sleep, deeper into the past, where she knew the secret lay hidden. Bonnie cried out and tossed on the bed, flinging her head back and forth on the pillow.

  Try to remember.

  Suddenly she was seven years old again, climbing the steps to her grandmother’s attic.

  Try to remember.

  It was a hot day in summer. The air in the attic was suffocating, but Bonnie didn’t care. She wanted to be in the attic.

  She opened her grandfather’s trunk. Pirate Jenny in her glory.

  But once the contents were removed, only the crystal ball held her attention.

  She sat, unmoving, staring into it. Sweat trickled down her face. Her T-shirt clung to her body.

  Something began to move in the crystal.

  Bonnie licked her lips and stared more intently. She could see the ocean in the crystal! The waves thrashed, roaring up the sides and washing back down.

  It was wild and lovely.

  Then something else entered the scene. Bonnie began to whimper. She shifted uncomfortably under the bedclothes, slowly at first, then wildly, until she was thrashing like the waves in the crystal.

  No!

  She wouldn’t do it. She wouldn’t remember.

  She cried out and sat straight up in her bed, trembling.

  Why had the Priestess done this to her? Why did she want her to remember?

  Bonnie hugged the blankets to her and moaned.

  She didn’t care what the Priestess said.

  She wouldn’t remember. Not now. Not ever.

  Chapter Ten

  “Look, it’s the gypsy princess!” The voice belonged to Felicity Chambers. She was standing across the hall from Bonnie’s locker.

  Bonnie frowned. She had an uncomfortable feeling that the “solid wall” of her group had crumbled in front of a story as exciting as her success in reading for Maria yesterday.

  “Not a princess, Felicity,” she answered. “Commoner blood, just like you.”

  It was Felicity’s turn to frown. But Tiffany Perkins, who was standing with her, laughed heartily. “No kidding, Bonnie. Can you really do tarot readings?”

  Feeling slightly wary, Bonnie crossed to the two girls. Tiffany was all right, actually. She was a neat girl in a lot of ways, and she and Bonnie had been sort-of friends for several years. If Tiffany hadn’t made it so clear that she was interested in Alan, Bonnie would have liked to become better friends with her.

  Felicity, on the other hand, was a pain, pure and simple. She seemed to find perverse delight in learning what bothered someone and then riding it into the ground with snide comments and supposedly casual remarks. Bonnie had always found her unpleasant and wondered what it was Tiffany saw in her.

  She chose her words carefully.

  “Well, I do have a pack of tarot cards, but anyone can do a reading, when you come right down to it.”

  “Not like the one you did for Maria yesterday,” said Felicity. “It gave me the creeps just hearing about it.”

  Tiffany nudged her friend. “Cool it, Felicity. You’ll never get Bonnie to do a reading for you that way.” She turned to Bonnie. “How about it. Would you do a reading for me?”

  Bonnie hesitated.

  “Come on, Bonnie,” said Felicity. “We’ve got time before first period. Show us what you can do.”

  Bonnie felt trapped. She really didn’t want to do a reading for Tiffany. But if she refused she would be considered a snob, and she knew Felicity would do all she could to make the label stick.

  She sighed. “All right. I’ll see what I can do.

  Tiffany smiled. “Great. Let’s go to the cafeteria. We can get a table in a corner and be alone.”

  #

  Rider-Waite High had an open cafeteria system that allowed students to gather for snacks and conversation when they were free during the day. It was fairly empty this early in the morning, however, and most of the kids who were there were absorbed in studying. The three girls found an isolated table and sat down, Tiffany and Felicity side by side, Bonnie opposite them.

  “Okay, first shuffle the cards,” said Bonnie, handing the deck to Tiffany. “But do it carefully. They’re very old. While you’re shuffling them, ask the question you want answered. Ask it seriously, or it won’t work.”

  “We’ll have to get you a crystal ball for your birthday,” said Felicity with a smirk as Bonnie was taking the cards back from Tiffany.

  Bonnie’s hand trembled, and she dropped the deck.

  Felicity rolled her eyes. “Geez, Bonnie. This fortune telling racket is making you nervous. Maybe you’d better switch to something less spooky.”

  Bonnie frowned and gathered up the cards. “I’m sorry, Tiffany. You’d better shuffle them again. Felicity, please be quiet this time.”

  “Well, ex-c-u-u-u-u-u-se me.”

  Bonnie ignored her. “Keep the deck this time,” she said to Tiffany. “I’ll want you to cut it a certain way when you’re done shuffling.”

  After Tiffany had cut the deck Bonnie laid out the cards. A few kids who had been studying got up and came over to the table. At first the audience made her nervous. But as she began to examine the cards, the spell of the deck overcame her, and she grew oblivious to the watchers.

  “This is a good reading,” she said to Tiffany. “Cups are dominant. They’re the suit of the heart and usually they mean love and happiness.”

  Felicity snickered. “Bad news for you, Bonnie.”

  Bonnie didn’t even hear her. She was staring at the deck, absorbed in what she saw—the High Priestess. Bonnie felt herself losing touch with the world around her. She had locked eyes with the priestess and was unable to tear herself away. A tremor ran long her spine. The card was only a card.

  But those eyes… !

  Suddenly Bonnie felt as if she were falling out of herself and into the eyes of the High Priestess.

  #

  It was dark.

  The Priestess took her hand. “You must help us,” she said.

  Bonnie was terrified. “Where am I? Why have you brought me here?”

  The voice of the Priestess was soothing. “You are everywhere, and nowhere. But you are safe because you’re with me.”

  The Priestess was strong and gentle. Bonnie felt she could trust her. She began to relax.

  The Priestess smiled at her, and a soft light began to grow around them. They stood in a forest, an ancient forest, with huge trees that soared toward a distant sky. The Priestess took Bonnie’s hand and led her out of the forest into a glen. At the far side of the glen stood two pillars. Between the pillars stood a chair. The Priestess took her place in the chair. A hound trotted into the clearing and crouched at her feet, and an owl fluttered down to rest near her shoulder.

  “You will have to be brave,” said the priestess.

  Bonnie swallowed. Her throat felt dry as sandpaper. “Why?” she asked.

  “Because you are our only hope.”

  “I don’t understand. It seems like everything you say is a riddle.”

  The Priestess smiled softly. “That’s true.” Her eyes looked very sad.

  “Am I going crazy?”

  The priestess laughed, a merry sound that tinkled like crystal wind chimes in a summer breeze. But it was soon lost among the great trees, swallowed by the darkness. “No, you are not losing your mind.”

  “Why have you brought me here?”

  “To give you this.”

 
The Priestess held out her hands, placing them about a foot apart. A cloud began to form between them. It was lit by a soft glow from inside, and points of light danced across its surface, like lightning caught in a net. The Priestess stared intently at the cloud.

  In a moment it was gone. In its place a chain stretched between her hands. Suspended from the chain was a metal figure that Bonnie recognized as the ancient Egyptian symbol called an ankh.

  “Come to me,” said the priestess.

  Bonnie walked to her. Without being told to, she knelt. The Priestess placed the chain about her neck. “This will protect you from the worst,” she said. “But only if you are brave.”

  Bonnie looked at her with desperation.

  “Beware of his eyes,” continued the Priestess. “They are powerful. Very powerful.”

  “Tell me what you mean!” cried Bonnie. “What is this all about?”

  The Priestess sighed. A teardrop glistened at the corner of her eye. “I am not allowed. I am under—”

  “Bonnie! Bonnie!”

  Bonnie shook her head. Eileen was sitting next to her, shaking her arm. Bonnie looked up. The people around her were gazing at her fearfully. She could hear them murmuring. Felicity was scowling, Tiffany staring at her with concern.

  “What happened?”

  “You blacked out,” said Eileen.

  “You were doing the reading for me,” said Tiffany in a small voice. “You closed your eyes and began to talk. Then you just sort of trailed off. It was as if you had gone to sleep, except you were as stiff as a board. I called your name, and you didn’t answer. I was starting to get scared. Then Eileen came along and started shaking you.”

  Bonnie looked around. “Stop staring at me!” she shouted.

  “What is this? What’s going on here?”

  Mr. Monroe came pushing through the small crowd of students. As he did, Tiffany scooped the cards off the table and into her lap.

  “Bonnie doesn’t feel well,” said Eileen. “I thought she was going to faint. But she’s all right now.”

  “Okay, move back everyone.” Mr. Monroe made his way to the table. “Are you all right, Bonnie?”