Tarot Cards

Nine

"What is it?" Zachary's voice sounded again, but I gently pulled myself from his grasp.

"You might wanna step back." I said to him before I looked back up at the moon.

His face paled as he took one step backward, watching me with sheer curiosity. I had the strangest idea of turning the moon red. And just as quickly as the thought was born, the moon changed from bright white to an alarming crimson. Zachary gave an audible gasp beside me. I ignored him, completely invested in this newfound power I was tapping into. If I could use the moon as a signal, what if...oh, now that's just crazy...what if I could use the moon as a mirror?

And to my surprise, the moon answered my call. I closed my eyes and let the moon become my eyes. Through the moon, I looked over the French Quarter. It took me a moment to spot the cemetery that flashed into my head. The same wrought iron gates with the rows of mausoleums within them. Yes, this was the place. And dead-center of the cemetery I spotted Delphine and Desire running through the cemetery from nine black figures.

My eyes shot open and I gasped. The cemetery was more than fifteen blocks away. I wouldn't make it there in time on foot. I fished through my mind and quickly reached a solution. It was a stretch, but since everything else was working in my favor, why not give it a try?

I spun to Zachary who was stunned at what he'd just witnessed.

"I need you to take me to Lafayette Cemetery No. 1." I said.

"That's not close."

"I know. I'm gonna have to leave you, but I need you to bring my body."

Zachary's eyes widened, "What the hell do you mean by 'bring your body'?"

"It's too much to explain right now. And I don't know how it'll work but I need to try." I blurted.

"You're not making any sense."

"Just bring my body to that cemetery. That's all I can say right now." I ordered and closed my eyes. I don't know what I was doing, but I needed to try. If it worked the way I thought it would, then my will to be in the Lafayette cemetery with Delphine and Desire should be so.

It happened like my first night in New Orleans. The feeling of myself lifting and soaring through a sea of black and then my eyes opened and I was staring at the moonlit limestone of the mausoleums in Lafayette Cemetery. I gasped and looked down at myself, relieved to find my body intact.

It was the screaming that kicked me into a sprint through the narrow paths of the cemetery. I found Delphine and Desire circled by six ghostly figures. Six? When I used the moon as my eyes, I saw nine. Three were missing...

I didn't waste anymore time. I darted towards the figures surrounding the twins and imaged them all bursting into flames. I wasn't sure if it was my rage or the strong will for fire to consume these things, but fire erupted. Flames engulfed the six bodies and Delphine and Desire clung to each other in sheer horror. The bodies crumbled into mounds of ashes around the two girls and the fire vanished just as I stepped over it to reach them.

"Are you two okay?" I asked.

"Amara!" The twins sniffed through tear stained faces and hugged me.

"What happened to you two?" I asked.

"We we're looking for you. You just vanished with that guy. We followed you two to the bathroom and when we stepped through the door, we ended up here." Desire explained.

"No, I lost you both. I'd been looking for an hour before I got your message." I said.

"How did you get to us so fast?" Delphine asked.

"I-I can't explain it! I alerted the family! We just have to get out of here!" I exclaimed, tugging them towards the direction of the entrance.

"You ladies aren't going anywhere." A bell toned voice rang out through the mist that grew thick in just a few seconds.

I whirled around to nothing but mist before me. Delphine, Desire and I formed a triangle of protection with our backs turned towards each other; bracing ourselves for a fight that was sure to come.

"Delphine, is there a spell that can put a protective force field around us?" I asked shakily.

"Yes, the only problem is we'd need salt. And we don't have any." She squeaked.

I swear under my breath and keep high alert. My eyes scan frantically around the graveyard. I tell them there are three figures still lurking about and they nod in acknowledgement.

Which a flash too quick for any of us to see, a shadowed figure flitted across the yard to us. I screamed and held out my hands in front of me. It happened just as quickly as the shadow appeared-a bolt of light flew from my hands and incinerated the shadow into nothingness.

"Amara!" Desire screamed behind me as a shadow whipped a dark tendril around her waist and threw her across the yard.

"Desire!" Delphine and I both screamed.

I shot another bolt of light from my palms towards the inky shadow, but it dodged it in the nick of time and charged towards me. Another light shot from my hands toward the shadow and connected; also incinerating it into oblivion.

"Where's the last one?" Delphine panted beside me.

"I don't know." I said, gripping my cousin's hand tightly as we scanned our surroundings.

"Desi!" Delphine called out.

No answer.

"Desi, are you okay?" I called this time.

After a brief moment we heard a cough and groan come from the distance.

"I'm okay." Desire croaked.

"Jesus." Delphine exhaled with relief.

The two of us ran to Desire and helped her up from the old bush she landed in. There was a cut on her forehead and her legs and arms were scratched up from the rough branches of the bush.

"What the hell were those things?" I asked.

"Shadow Walkers. The most vile creatures to roam the French Quarter." Delphine spat.

"Those bitches owe me a new phone." Desire pulled out a shattered iPhone from her pocket and scowled.

There was a faint rustling and shift in the wind that caused us to jolt to a stop. Delphine, Desire and I scanned the graveyard again.

"Amara," Delphine's voice shook, "we got rid of the last two, but where's the last one?"

I looked at my cousin who was looking at the ground now. We stood in perfect moonlight and it took me half a second to realize that I was the only one with a shadow on the ground...a shadow that didn't reflect my silhouette at all. The arm of the shadow lifted and revealed the silhouette of a dagger poised to plunge into my chest. Before I had time to respond everything around me grew black.

I jerked when I felt the tingling in my limbs subside and my eyes flew open. Zachary's face came into view first and then a silver-washed room that I didn't recognize. I sat up to find Zachary and I weren't alone. There were two ghostly women standing just behind him. Their hair was shock-blonde and dated, like they'd walked off a silver screen from a black and white film. And then the tallest woman of the two spoke.

"Hello, Amara. Welcome to DiLioncourt manor."

I froze when I realized this voice was identical to the one from the graveyard.