First Visions: Second Sight Book One

Chapter Eighteen

Jared stilled and asked, "What did you say?"

"Well, I don't know how serious you are yet, but I know it has to involve Kate for you to be in good spirits. When I talked to you a few days ago after your break-up with Nikki, you sounded positively dreadful. That's when I dealt the cards on your behalf. The Queen of Wands came up and although I didn't say so at the time, I knew it represented Kate. I'm sorry, but you know I never felt Nikki was the right one for you...."

He made a noncommittal grunt. His aunt and Nikki's family had only met a couple of times over the course of their relationship. When Nikki's father had brought up the subject of religion upon their first meeting, they had all looked at his aunt like she was a mad woman when she declared herself a Wiccan. His aunt was shrewd and picked up on their judgments. From that point on, joint family gatherings were awkward enough to lead to Nikki and Jared typically spending holidays apart. For the first time ever, he actually looked forward to introducing a girl to his sole living family member.

"It's fine, Aunt Lizzie. Anyway, what does the Queen of Wands mean?"

"It represents a woman who will become influential in your life. She's stubborn and strong-willed, but also chaste, intuitive and kind. The kindness of the Queen of Wands should never be mistaken for weakness, though. She sits on a throne constructed from rocks and carved into the shape of lions."

Jared almost laughed and resolved to pay more attention to his aunt's tarot card ramblings. Admittedly, most of the time he balanced his checkbook or read through his mail when she phoned about a reading. "Yes, I suppose that fits. The answer to your unspoken question is something did happen with Kate, but I'm not sure how to label it just yet. I'll keep you posted though."

His aunt grew quiet. "Jared, you know I only want you to be happy. Without you, I would've never been able to survive losing my sister. I hope...things work out for everyone."

"You sound doubtful? What aren't you telling me?"

"Jared, the Tower came out too," she said dramatically.

He normally didn't recall what each tarot card looked like, but he could visualize the Tower. If he remembered correctly, it featured a stone tower being struck by lightening and catching fire. Bodies were falling out of the tower and the figures were screaming. Oh fuck—that couldn't be good, he thought, gritting his teeth. "What's the interpretation?"

"Typically, the Tower is a representation of chaos, crisis and hard times. It's usually a warning of an upcoming catastrophe in the person's life," his aunt relayed with a hefty sigh.

"It's not always bad, right?"

Jared had to admit his aunt was getting into his head a little bit. If the reading held any merit, he hoped the card wasn't related to Cori. Although he was barely on speaking terms with Nikki, he still cared for her younger sister a great deal and didn't believe he could stomach anything atrocious happening to her.

"No," she admitted softly. "It may be nothing to worry about. Some interpret the Tower as simply meaning a change or a renewal, which could apply to your love life."

"Well, if the Queen of Wands also came up in the deck that would probably make the most sense," he reasoned.

"I hope so," she said and then added, "Jared, promise me you'll be careful. If anything...unfortunate does happen, please come to me. We have plenty of room up here and you've been promising a visit for months now. Don't let anything break you completely." Reluctantly, he made the promise to her and they soon ended the call.

His aunt's forewarning of doom was another reason he couldn't get to sleep. When Jared finally began to drift off, he was startled to hear his phone ring. He wondered if Kate was giving him a call after returning home from the wedding. A part of him was concerned she was having second thoughts about seeing him. It was difficult at times to get an accurate read on her due to her combativeness, which could be a barrier to knowing her true feelings. Yet their final kiss was scorching enough that he suspected neither of them would be too quick to put the brakes on anything developing between them.