Page 83 of Changeling
“We were hoping you might have some other insights,” Jim went on, “but we really need to talk with Leven after he gets here too.”
“When the accidents first started…I did a reading.” Wade slipped a long deck of Tarot cards out of the purse at her feet. Pushing her sandwich aside, she pulled the top three cards off the deck and laid them on the table facing up. The last card caught Nathan’s attention.
A woman. Blue skin. Beautiful. With no sympathy on her face and a skull in her hand.
Death.
“I did the reading specifically about Evelyn, but don’t believe it’s as easy as you’re thinking.” She touched the first card with the tips of her fingers. “The Fool. That’s my Evie. Innocence. Naivety. Energy. But more than just him, this card represents the beginning of a journey.” She touched the second card. It was upside down. “The Hierophant. Reversed it means a distortion of the truth, that something about the journey is misleading. And of course…” Wade looked at the last card but did not touch it. “On rare occasions this card means just what it says, but usually theDeathcard represents change. That worries me more. I don’t know if this person or thing is a dark fae or not, but this journey ends with my brother and it is not going to go that far. Understand?”
There was cold determination in her voice, an assuredness that Nathan could completely relate to. His problem with this discovery though was that it also upped Leven’s suspicion as a suspect. If this ‘journey’ ended with him then maybe it was because the evidence would eventually point to him as the culprit. But how could that be possible when he was Wade’s brother? Wade was no fae.
They ate without talking much more about the case, at least not until Wade left for her shift. She said no one ever used the break room so they could stay and discuss things there for as long as they wanted. Just so long as they kept an eye on Leven once he got there. She didn’t like the kid wandering around the club unsupervised.
Before leaving them alone, however, she plopped herself completely unabashedly into Cam’s lap and kissed him as heatedly as if they were alone and had all night to tangle tongues—much more Wade’s style. Cam was grinning wide when she finally pulled away and just as unceremoniously hopped out of his lap.
“You a…waitress then? Bartender?” Nathan asked before she could slip away.
Wade smirked as she leaned against the open door. “Honey,” she said, “I’m the bouncer.”
Nathan gaped at first but was laughing by the time Wade left. “She was joking, right?”
“Didn’t you date her once? You should see her right hook,” Cam winked.
Nathan huffed, but he supposed he wasn’t all that surprised. Wade could spot shady characters long before they started any trouble.
They still had a problem though and none of them knew how to address it. That Tarot reading could have some real weightto it. Nathan couldn’t help wondering if Leven was the most important person they needed to protect…or the bad guy.
“We’regonnasetatrap for the kid?” Cam exclaimed, sounding offended and maybe a little scared. “But you don’t even know if he—”
“Calm down, Cam. This isn’t going to hurt him,” Sasha assured his friend with a gentle pat on the back.
“Unless he really is dark fae,” Nathan supplied.
Sasha pulled a small vial out from the pack he had brought along. It was liquid and dull grey in tone. He pulled the sandwich Wade had picked up for Leven closer to him.
“What is that?” Cam asked warily.
“Liquid iron,” Sasha explained as he poured a small drop onto Leven’s hoagie. “It’s not enough for him to even notice if he’s human. But if he’s some dark fae in disguise and the real Leven is…somewhere else, he’ll react as soon as he takes a bite.”
Cam squirmed in his seat, but didn’t protest again.
Leven arrived a little earlier than they expected, just when they were getting bored enough to start fidgeting. The kid dragged his feet all the way over the threshold and his eyes were downcast. It didn’t take a genius to figure out why the usual burst of energy and witty comments were lacking.
“Either you already heard about your friend,” Nathan said, “or you’re just thathappyto see us.”
Leven attempted a smile but was too crestfallen to pull it off. “You think we actually go over lines when we’re offstage?” he said as he sunk into the chair his sister had previously vacated. “The whole time at practice everyone was talking about how freaked they are. We were missing half the cast, people areso scared. I can’t believe Lars didn’t cancel but she figured it wouldn’t help any so why lose the time.” Leven sighed and stared at the wrapped up sandwich on the table in front of him. “I don’t want the show to stop, ya know, but there’s not gonna be much of a show to put on if we keep losing everybody. Andy was one of the decent human beings at Win-Thor. I’m running out of the few friends I got. Wade is crazed, by the way. Thanks for telling her about the newest death count,” he grumbled, flicking the sandwich with his finger.
Nathan looked at the kid sympathetically. “Did you really think we could keep it a secret?”
Leven sighed. “I just want this over with. Andy, when she talked to me today, she was really scared, I could tell, but…I didn’t think she’d be next. She just asked if I knew where Jennifer was.”
“I thought she was looking for that Lars person,” Nathan said.
“She was,” Leven nodded, “so she could go home. But she asked about Jenn first. I don’t know why. They don’t even like each other. This mess has everyone acting weird.”
Nathan, Jim, and Sasha exchanged knowing looks. There was a Jennifer Dougan on their suspect list.
“I don’t want to think about it anymore,” Leven said, finally reaching for his sandwich, “I’m starved.” The simple action of unwrapping the sandwich seemed to go in slow motion, prompting the rest of them to keep their attentions averted or at least casual.
