In the past month, Shilpy Chopra must have visited nearly a dozen Fortune tellers. Mme Jessica's inner sanctum was the first to make her nervous.
On the surface, the small shop appeared safe enough. With the shades drawn, the only light came from several candles placed around the room. Air, a few degrees too warm, blasted from a small heater in the corner, wrapping itself around her like an unwelcome blanket. Lengths of velvet and cotton decorated the space in blues and blacks. Each lay strategically against the walls, windows, and over a chest of drawers. It reminded Shilpy of some fairytale underwater lair.
The old woman greeting her wore a long-sleeved purple tunic, and over her ample chest rested several beads and necklaces with avant-garde symbols from the orient. She brushed a stray lock of brown hair from her powdered and wrinkled face. The movement drew Shilpy's eyes to a ring around her crooked, long finger, which was attached to an Indian wrist chain. Possibly a cheap knockoff uncovered from a Sydney market.
It looked as though each item of clothing and jewelry had probably been selected to effect an exotic and mysterious air. Being Indian-Australian, the references to Shilpy's native country didn't impress her. Shilpy wore a Led Zeppelin T-shirt and a pair of jeans. She'd never even worn a sari.
The room and clothing were consistent with every other mystic shop she'd visited in recent weeks, although this one was slightly more on the tacky side. Why then did she feel so on edge? Could it be the curse?
Mme Jessica raised her eyebrows and gazed arrogantly at the younger woman.
"I am Mme Jessica," she said by way of lofty introduction.
"Pleased to meet you. My name is Lakshmi Arturi," Shilpy lied.
Mme Jessica led her customer to a round table in the center of the room. It was shrouded with a royal-blue cloth, the same colour as the silks against the wall, but this material was embroidered with golden thread in the images of moons and stars. Decorating the table were an assortment of charms, a small well used candle burnt down to the nub and a deck of tarot cards.
Upon seeing the tarot cards, Shilpy lost interest in everything else in the room. The image of an impossibly beautiful, porcelain-skinned woman adorned the back of each card. She wore a black and blue dress, decorated with stars and the moon. The dress merged seamlessly with the image of the night sky behind her. Her arms and legs were spread wide like she was floating on top of a black pond or through space.
Shilpy tried not to gape at the image. Her stomach became rock hard, and it took all her willpower to settle into the offered chair instead of fleeing the room.
Every line on the face and dress of the woman from the image was intimately familiar. Shilpy had stared up at her ghostly features each night during her teenage years and prostrated herself in prayer the following morning. She was Nyx, goddess of night.
Mme Jessica's attention remained on the cards. Each danced back and forth through the deck beneath deft hands. Shilpy looked again at older woman. Her face wasn't familiar, so there was a chance that the image on the back of the cards was a coincidence. Because if it wasn't then Mme Jessica was a sister of Keres Ter Nyx, the cult that Shilpy had been hiding from for the last five years.
Shilpy pressed her lips together and tried to ignore the feeling that her heart was about to explode from her chest. She had to get out of here.
Mme Jessica eyed her customer up and down. "What is it you seek Ms. Arturi?"
Shilpy pushed the panic down into her stomach. "My boyfriend," she said, trying to keep her voice light while rushing to think on her feet. "I wish to know if he is the one." Lame, but the best she could come up with at such short notice.
"Tell me of this man you love," Mme Jessica said, smiling.
Shilpy looked away. "We've been together nearly a year. We just moved into the same flat. He treats me well-"
"But?"
"He's a mystery. There's so much he won't tell me. He has nightmares all the time, but he never tells me what they are about."
The statement was true, but giving them voice made her feel uncomfortable. It felt like a betrayal to give voice to these petty concern.
"You suspect this man has secrets. Do you keep secrets from him?"
Secrets? Yes, there are many secrets she kept from Dusk and the world. Things she believed had been left behind: the curse; the cult that raised her; and the sister she hadn't seen in five years.
Shilpy thought she'd left them all behind, but a month ago the dreams started again. They haunted her sleep every night. Like clock-work she woke screaming at 3:13 in the morning until it became unbearable. She started looking for help from the only people that might understand her condition. She never imagined it would lead her back to Keres Ter Nyx.
She swallowed her fear and placed both hands on her lap. I'm normal. No reason to be afraid.
Mme Jessica was still shuffling. She was taking a lot longer than she needed. The psychic was chatty and nosy in a passive-aggressive kind of way. Strange. Most of the psychics Shilpy met over the past few weeks were quick to show off their skills or talents. They didn't waste time on idle chit-chat. Was the older woman stalling?
Shilpy shrugged in answer to Mme Jessica's question, her eyes flicking back and forth around the room- eying the exits.
"I can see many things, young Lakshmi. I can see what will happen to you and this man you love, I can see if he stands the test of time, I can see if he will marry you, or father your children, I can see if he will stand over your grave or if you will stand over his, but I can also see that the question you asked isn't why you came here."
Shilpy swallowed but continued to play dumb. "I don't know that I believe in soul mates. I'm not perfect. No one is, but I see the way other women stare at him. I'm hoping you can use your sight and give me some assurance it will last."
Mme Jessica tittered. "I see many things, but I also hear things. My visions aren't my only source of information. The world of fortune-telling and psychics is smaller than you might think."
Every muscle in Shilpy's shoulders tensed up. She knows, of course, she knows.
"I'm not sure what you are talking-"
"I've heard that a young Indian woman has been calling on many of my colleagues. Some that she visited even possess legitimate power. This girl claims she has talents that allow her to see things. Although she regards these abilities as more of a curse than a gift. She asked each person she visited the same questions."
"Hmm," Shilpy said, in a strained voice. The smile on Mme Jessica's face was unnerving.
"She wanted to know if there is there a cure? Can the visions be controlled? How can she stop herself from going mad?"
Shilpy's hands balled into a tight fist beneath the table.
"I'm yet to meet this young woman," Mme Jessica continued airily, "but I have sisters who can answer her questions, and offer her what she seeks. My sisters and I need her."
"I hope you meet her one day," Shippy's voice was terse. "I assure you, I'm only interested in my boyfriend."
"Shilpy, I knew who you were the moment you walked through the door." Shilpy sighed at the mention of her real name, and Mme Jessica's smile grew a little wider. There was no need to reply. The two women locked eyes, and the silence built between them.
Mme Jessica seized the crystal ball at the same time Shilpy flipped the table towards her. The orb flew over Shilpy's head, while the table crashed into the ground scattering its former contents around the room. Mme Jessica was surprisingly spry for someone of her age. She leaped away from the table before it hit the ground. She took an additional step back balancing on the balls of her feet.
She could fight. Not good.
"I knew it," Mme Jessica said.
"I assume you've called for backup." All pretense gone, Shilpy lowered her center of balance waiting for the older woman to make a move.
"I assumed you'd grown up. Shilpy, it doesn't have to be this way. I wasn't lying when I said we wanted you back."
If Shilpy hadn't been so terrified, she might burst out laughing at the lie. It'd been five years since she escaped Keres ter Nyx, the daughters of Nyx. The same night she completed the Ritual of Seers, which revealed her psychic abilities to the cult. Except Shilpy's powers were greater than anyone imagined. Things went wrong and Angela Wick, the cult's leader, tried to kill her. She survived the struggle, and fled, leaving Angela lying half dead behind her.
"You don't need me back," She said, stepping over several trinkets and moving toward the door, Mme Jessica blocked her.
"Keres Ter Nyx are at war," the older woman replied.
Shilpy wetted her lips with her tongue. "That has nothing to do with me. I have a life now. A normal boring, safe, ordinary life."
They circled each other around the room. Mme Jessica's steps were slow and deliberate. Without warning, she advanced and threw a punch. Shilpy barely had time to avoid it. She was fast. Shilpy expected her to strike again, but Mme Jessica retreated and returned to circling the room.
"Your sisters are dying. Children are dying. Our opponents summon nightmares using dark magic."
"Magic?" Shilpy scoffed. In the four years since fleeing Keres Ter Nyx she'd forgotten how crazy they sounded. Although, while the words sounded crazy, there was a desperation in Mme Jessica's voice.
"I know how that sounds," Mme Jessica said. "It doesn't matter what you believe. Your mother and sisters are dying, and we need you."
"Angela Wick isn't my mother." Shilpy couldn't keep the venom from her voice. "She and her predecessors took me from my real Mother."
Mme Jessica shook her head. "Your real mother was unwell. We took you in when no one else would. We gave you a family. Adopted you into our sisterhood."
In one deft movement, Mme Jessica seized a ceremonial dagger, previously hidden behind some candles. The blade was slightly longer than a butcher's knife and made of bronze. Not the toughest of metals, but sharp enough to draw blood or kill if needed.
Angela Wick had trained Shilpy in basic hand-to-hand: karate and a little bit of kung fu. Unarmed, she knew enough to hold her own in a scrap. She fared a lot better with a weapon and had a talent for fencing and swordsmanship. Sadly, the only weapon within reach was her half-empty handbag. Nevertheless she swung it around in a circle next to her body.
"Sister-"
"You aren't my sister. None of you are."
"What about Aaliyah? You were both born from the same woman." Shilpy faltered.
"Don't bring her into this."
Shilpy's eyes locked onto the blade and considered her options. Charging her opponent would probably lead to a stomach full of bronze. The door wasn't clear either. Attempting to make a dash for it would leave her back exposed. She had to do something otherwise Mme Jessica would wait her out. Shilpy had to assume that more sisters were on their way. If she still here when they arrived, it would be all over.
"Aaliyah misses you. She fights on the front lines. Will you abandon her too?"
Shilpy frowned trying to drown out all her chatter and distractions. Except, wait. What was that? Smoke. One of the candles had rolled along the floor and found a home next to the wall. A thin black wisp snaked it's way up into the air from the singed edge of the tablecloth. The flame was still small and by no means a threat to either woman, but it gave Shilpy an idea.
It didn't take long for Mme Jessica to also notice the smell. She wrinkled her nose and glanced from one side of the room to the other. Shilpy seized the moment of distraction and backed into the wall. She snatched one of the lit candles.
Mme Jessica followed with a hesitant step. Her eyes fixed onto the candle. "Aaliyah made her choice, and I made mine. I won't let you tear my life down and pull me away from the people I love. Not again." Shilpy brushed the candle underneath the velvet lining against the walls. Flames latch onto the drapes and begin moving slowly up towards the roof.
"You bitch!" The older woman leaped at Shilpy, who scrambled to the side, half expecting to be followed. But Mme Jessica pulled at the velvet drape, trying to avoid the flames creeping up the side. She cried out in triumph when it finally tumbled to the ground. Using her foot, she nudged the burning cloth toward the center of the room before anything else caught fire.
Her distraction bought Shilpy a precious few seconds. Reaching the door, she grasped the doorknob with both hands twisting it this way and that. It was jammed. Shilpy struggled with it again but managed to turn moments before Mme Jessica lunged at her with the bronze blade.
Shilpy ducked at the last minute narrowly avoiding having her throat slit. Mme Jessica's foot connected with Shilpy side, but the younger woman managed to roll out of the way. The psychic closed the distance again, but Shilpy swung her bag around trying to knock the blade from her hands.
The older woman avoided the blow without difficulty and spun on her feet before raising the blade.
It had been too long time since she'd trained for a fight, let alone been in one. The muscle memory from countless hours of training was still there, but it felt sluggish, slow.
Fortunately, what she lacked in recent training, she compensated with youth. Mme Jessica might be fast, but she was out of breath.
Mme Jessica feinted a swipe with the blade, but Shilpy easily avoided it by retreating half a step. Her back was to the wall again, but not in a good way. Smoke filled the room, sending Jessica into a coughing fit.
The older woman charged swinging the knife wildly with an overhead blow. Shilpy dodged out of the way, avoiding the blade as it sings through the air. She stabs again, but Shilpy blocked it with her handbag.
Shilpy swept Mme Jessica's legs out from under her, and the older woman toppled to the ground, landing heavily on the burning pile of material. The fire lacked any real heat, but it was hot enough to singe her clothes. Shilpy struck her across the jaw with her fist, and the dagger clattered away to the outside of the room. Shilpy gripped Mme Jessica by the hair and rammed her head into the floor. At last, her body went limp.
Shilpy rummaged through her clothes until she located the keys to the door. Less than a minute later, she dashed out of the shop and down the street with tears streaming down her face.
She reached the corner in time to see a van turn from the opposite end of the street. It screeched to a halt in front of Mme Jessica's shop. She slipped into a side street and took refuge in someone's backyard. She hunted through her bag until she found her phone.
Denise answered on the fourth ring.
"Hello,"
"Denise,"
"Hi Shilps, listen I'm at work. I can't-"
"Denise, they found me." There was a pause at the other end of the line. The silence went on so long, that for a moment Shilpy worried the phone had been disconnected.
"Where are you? I'll be right there."