Werelord Thal: A Renaissance Werewolf Tale

Chapter 7. Wheel of Fortune

"Is love your word for mating?" Thal asked as she lit an oil lamp.

"Love's more than mating. It's romance as the poets say. It's caring. It's devotion," Emerald explained while gently shuffling the cards. She set the deck between them on the rug.

"Cut the deck," she commanded.

"Aren't you going to show me the cards and how to play them?" Thal asked.

"This isn't like primero," she said and wagged a finger over the deck.

Intrigued, he cut the deck and she gathered the cards into a stack by her knee. She directed him to draw one off the top and turn it over.

The card had a picture of a craftsman carving a pentagram on a door. More pentagrams in circles ran down the edges.

"The eight of pentacles," Emerald said. "You can profit from your skills."

"The card tells you that?" Thal said skeptically.

"I know that because YOU turned over this card," she said a little reproachfully. Thal folded his arms and waited. She turned over the second card and placed it perpendicular to the first card. The card had swords on it along with a picture of a sleeping woman with shadowy swirls around her head.

Emerald took her time before saying anything until finally she asked, "Do you have bad dreams?"

He nodded but was more concerned by his visions when he was awake. Deciding to trust Emerald because he needed someone to talk to, he shared a few details about his waking vision earlier that day.

She was startled although she tried to hide it. Emerald was accustomed to people sharing uncomfortable and even unsavory personal details, but Thal's experience was disturbingly extraordinary.

"Draw another card," she said.

With her guidance he flipped a card and set it below the sword card. This picture showed a human skeleton in black clothes flanked by bare trees.

"The card of death," Emerald said with well practiced drama.

"I'm to die soon?" he asked.

"We all die, Thal, but this does not mean your doom is nigh. But something in your life has died. You're shifting to a new phase. You may have a new purpose," she explained.

Her interpretation dispelled some of his skepticism. He stared at the death card and suspected that he did have a new purpose in life.

Emerald studied him. His silence was informative. She drew another card and placed it perpendicular to the death card. Her light gasp yanked Thal from his thoughts.

"This is a powerful combination," she murmured.

The card showed a beautiful woman with wavy golden hair. White robes flowed around her body and she held a staff of crystals. Above her, berry-laden rowan boughs hung down from a sunburst-filled blue sky. She wore a crown of blue flowers.

Emerald said, "This is the High Priestess. You must have secret knowledge. Seeing the Priestess right after the death card means you've gone through great change and will in time understand more about it."

She spoke with confidence, and Thal wanted to be comforted by her apparent authority.

Emerald added, "The Priestess tells you that women will influence your life."

"Like my mother?" Thal said.

"Mothers influence all lives," Emerald said.

"Yes, but is she alive?" he asked.