Total pages in book: 153
Estimated words: 141492 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 707(@200wpm)___ 566(@250wpm)___ 472(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 141492 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 707(@200wpm)___ 566(@250wpm)___ 472(@300wpm)
“And possibly the direction where they might be located,” Lojos added.
“I would be happy to give each of you a reading. It is little enough to do in return for what you provided for my family,” Safia said. She glanced up at Petru, seeking comfort.
Her unease didn’t show at all, but she needed his support. The last thing she wanted to do was provide a negative reading for any of the Carpathians who had risked their lives for her family.
“Before you start,” Aura said, settling into one of the comfortable chairs in the family room across from the small table where Safia would lay out the cards. “I need to make a confession. It is something I never told Safia but should have. You will need this information, Benedek. At least I think it will be pertinent to your journey.”
“You believe my lifemate is guarding the last gate.” Benedek made it a statement. “Or that she is the demon slayer.”
Aura nodded. “I do.”
Petru had to agree. “We set out on this journey with Sandu. Siv found his lifemate and I found mine. Each has been a demon slayer or the guardian of the gate or both. It stands to reason that your lifemate would be at the gate.”
Aura took a breath. “Safia is also a gatekeeper. I didn’t tell her because I knew she was Petru’s lifemate and would have to train harder than any other to be the demon slayer. If I felt I couldn’t handle the gate myself, I would have asked for her help, or if the society members seeking the tarot cards came, I would tell her about them, but she didn’t need distractions. I’m sorry, Safia, so much was put on your shoulders already, and you didn’t need to worry about being attacked from so many fronts.”
“I’m not sure I understand,” Safia said.
“The holder of the tarot cards guards the gates. Each gate can only be opened by a specific alignment of the tarot cards. Only one of the four decks can make the alignment, and it must match the proper gate. That was Adalasia’s ancestor’s idea when she asked to make the cards and was given permission by your ancestors, Safia. I guarded the gate with you and fought off vampires.”
Instantly, there was a stirring of protest from the Carpathians. Aura smiled at them. “Believe me, none of us left behind guarding those gates wanted any confrontation with vampires. We only did it out of necessity. Fortunately, we were able to share information, or I would have been in trouble. I wasn’t given very much in-depth history on our people.”
Petru kept his opinion to himself on the way Aura’s parents had left her alone without giving her the education she needed. It wouldn’t have been that difficult to share with her by simply transferring the information mind to mind, but her mother had clearly been more in the shadow world than in the real one with her daughter.
“There were a few times the gatekeepers traveled to visit one another, so I do know the way to the last gate,” Aura continued. “It is necessary, Benedek, that you don’t discount this society of humans that are after the tarot cards. They may be human, but they date back centuries and are quite violent. They hunt us, just like vampire hunters, and they’re relentless. Lilith wants to control the beast. These humans want him. And he wants out. If he escapes, we don’t have a single hunter, ancient or not, who can take him down alone. It would be a catastrophe if he escapes.”
There was a small silence while Safia went to the table she had been using for years to read the tarot cards. Petru stood behind her, hands on her shoulders to steady her. Even the familiar setting hadn’t helped calm her churning stomach. Safia was certain she was going to find the cards foretelling misfortune for one or more of the Carpathians, and she didn’t want to deliver bad news to any of them.
“Tora guards the fourth gate,” Aura continued. “Like me, she’s Carpathian. I think Justice has been weakening all four gates with the idea he will force one open. All gatekeepers have reported weak spots in the wood that shouldn’t be there. Tora guards the gate with the demon slayer and wielder of the tarot cards.” She hesitated, looking troubled. “We’ve always managed to find a way to stay in touch. I haven’t heard from Tora in the past month, but then I’ve been busy with what’s gone on here. It’s just that there’s been no messages from her to any of us. I asked the others, and they haven’t heard from her.”
That sounded ominous to Petru. Tora was a Carpathian woman, and if she was like the other women guarding one of the four gates, she was without aid from other Carpathians. Anything could have happened to her. Aura’s revelation only added to the urgency Benedek and Nicu were feeling.