Author's Note:
Hi everyone, thanks so much for clicking! If you haven't already, make sure to read parts 1 through 8 or you'll be completely lost!
I always appreciate comments, so let me know your thoughts!
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I opened the door as quietly as I could, careful not to wake Atlar. There was a human soldier on the other side and I smiled at him innocently. He didn't stop me, but I noticed him following a short distance behind me. I ignored him, figuring he had his orders to protect. Whether he was protection for me or from me was anyone's guess. Probably both.
Opening the front door, I stepped aside, motioning for the soldier to go first. The colour drained from his face and when he stood stubbornly still, I shrugged and continued on.
The street was bare, too early in the morning for any significant traffic. I crossed it easily and looked up at the small shop in front of me. It was creepier up close. The dark bricks were cracked and stained, and angry looking vines crawled up every square inch of the walls. The light no longer reflected in the window, and the small awning gave the entrance a shrouded appearance. If I hadn't seen the old woman inside I would have sworn the place was abandoned.
A small, faded sign caught my attention and I strained to read it.
'Madame Fate, your future is known.'
"I hope you're not planning to go in there," the guard who had, up until now, seemed too afraid to talk startled me with his words. I had nearly forgotten he was there.
"I am."
"People don't really do that. The old lady is...strange, eccentric," he corrected himself.
I paused, taking his well hidden warning at face value.
I tried listening for a heartbeat from inside, but my sense of hearing was still hard to control. I kept getting confused with my own heartbeat, and that of the soldier next to me. My sense of smell was better, but there were too many scents spilling from inside to pick out any one. There could have been an army in there and I wouldn't have known.
"Do you know a fortune teller who isn't?" I asked him after a long, tense silence.
He didn't answer, and considering the topic settled I took a step towards the door, projecting more confidence in that one movement than I felt in my entire body.
The soldier stepped forward as well, visibly hesitant. Somehow, I knew I needed to go in alone, and I whirled on him to tell him so.
"I don't care what stalking orders you were given, follow me anywhere else, but I go inside alone."
He stuttered, searching for a word to protest, so I continued.
"Do you know what I am?"
He blanched, his teeth clenched and his face as white as a sheet, but after a short moment, he nodded slowly.
I found his reaction amusing, but managed to keep the small smile from my face.
"Then you know I'll be fine on my own. Wait here if you want, I'll be right back. I promise."
He looked relieved as I turned back towards the door.
With a quick, steeling breath, I forced myself to knock on the dry wood of the door and then turned the knob decidedly. It resisted for a moment, squeaking in complaint, but popped open with a bit more pressure.
Inside, with the door closed behind me, I felt my breathing quicken with my nerves, my heart pounding a distracting beat in my chest.
A desk by the front door welcomed me, adorned with the typical business cards and aesthetically pleasing display, putting the rest of the room in stark contrast.
The walls were lined with shelves, supporting rows upon rows of trinkets, gems and statues, no surface space going unused. One object in particular drew my attention, presented in the very center of the largest shelf. It was small, but noticeable, its black, metallic colour reflecting the lights from the abundant candles. They were everywhere, each producing their own strong scent.
A large, round table in the middle of the room took up most of the space, but there was room enough for the chairs that surrounded it, and to walk around unhindered. Another round table, much smaller and taller than the first sat under the window, covered in a blood red cloth. Displayed there was a crystal ball, and I identified it immediately as the object I had seen glinting through the window.
A curtain at the back indicated another doorway, and I could just make out a set of stairs past them, straining to see through the gap where the curtains didn't quite meet.
My eyes darted all over the room trying to memorize every detail, and my nose itched with every new scent, but for all the overwhelming stimuli for those two senses, it was eerily quiet.
"Hello?" I called out, my own voice sounding strange in the silence.
As if on cue, the old lady burst out from behind the curtains, flipping them to the side with exaggerated flair. It startled me, but I kept the shock well hidden.
"Hello, Dearie," she sang cheerfully, gliding her short frame to sit behind the desk in front of me. "It's so nice to finally meet you. I've been expecting your visit for weeks now, shame on you to make an old lady wait."
I wanted to tell her how ridiculous that was, that it was only decided I would join Atlar yesterday, and the incident that drove our need to visit had only occurred a week ago, but I decided against it. She was a fortune teller after all.
"The soldier almost wouldn't let me come in here," I said instead, motioning lazily behind me.
She looked at me and smirked.
"Something tells me he wouldn't have been able to stop you."
"He said people don't like coming in here."
"Yes, well," she started, frowning. "People don't like to hear the truth. For example, that soldier out there only wants to know that he will fall in love. He doesn't want to hear that it will be with a fledgling vampire who will feed on him and ultimately kill him."
I took a deep breath, the sharp pang of guilt forcing the air from my lungs. How was she so casual when someone's life was at stake.
"Would telling him change his fate?"
"Maybe," she shrugged. "I see what path he's on, but I cannot see all the variations."
"Don't you think you should try?" I asked her, hoping she wasn't just intending to let the man outside die, even if it was still years away.
"You're young. You have a heart of gold," she stated melodiously and I couldn't tell if she was being sarcastic. "But if I tried to save everyone who came in here with an early death I'd drive myself insane. It's exhausting to know things that have nothing to do with me. It's exhausting carrying the weight of their lives. I decided a long time ago I wasn't going to do it anymore," she sighed and shook her head, clearly forcing out old memories. "I have no interest in the happenings of humans, or vampires, or werewolves for that matter. My goals are my own, and any visions I have of others are promptly ignored, save if they pertain to me in any way."
"Then why am I here?" I decided to ask, disagreeing with her sentiment on helping others. If you had the ability to save people from an early grave, why wouldn't you? I struggled to understand and resolved to tell the soldier of his fate anyway.
"You're here, for your part, because you need to be. For mine, because I need something from you."
"I don't have any money," I blurted, suddenly remembering the cards on the desk meant this was a business.
