Devil
Woman by Cliff Richard
I've had
nothing but bad luck
Since I saw the cat at my door
So I came into you sweet lady
Answering your mystical call
Crystal ball at the table
Showing the future, the past
Same cat with them evil eyes
And I knew it was a spell she cast
She's
just a devil woman
With evil on her mind
Beware the devil woman
She's gonna get you
She's just a devil woman
With evil on her mind
Beware the devil woman
She's gonna get you from behind
Give me the ring
on your finger
Let me see the lines on your hand
I can see me a tall dark stranger
Giving you what you hadn't planned
I drank the portion she offered me
I found myself on the floor
Then I looked into those big green eyes
And I wondered what I came there for
She's
just a devil woman
With evil on her mind
Beware the devil woman
She's gonna get you
She's just a devil woman
With evil on her mind
Beware the devil woman
She's gonna get you from behind
If you're out on
a moonlight night
Be careful of them neighbourhood strays
Of a lady with long black hair
Tryin' to win you with her feminine ways
Crystal ball on the table
Showing the future, the past
Same cat with them evil eyes
You'd better get out of their fast
She's
just a devil woman
With evil on her mind
Beware the devil woman
She's gonna get you
She's just a devil woman
With evil on her mind
Beware the devil woman
She's gonna get you ....
Chapter 1
The cat was there on the front steps again, staring
at him with impossibly wide, glittering emerald eyes.
David turned the key in the lock to his brick
townhouse and shifted the strap of his valise on his shoulder. He looked
down at the animal, briefly wondering where it lived when it wasn't
burning holes into his soul. The creature with it's ash gray coat and
statuesque stare had appeared on his property two weeks before on a windy
day and had returned every morning and every evening since.
As always he passed by the cat and began his daily
walk down the street and dismissed the animal from his mind. He passed by
identical versions of his home without noticing the subtle personalization
each resident had made, his mind only on the train stop he was to arrive
at in precisely three and a half minutes. Whimsical house numbers, potted
plants and staring cats didn't matter in his narrow little world.
David Richard Hart was as unremarkable a man as you
could find. At thirty-five he was still single, a successful junior
accountant at a large accounting firm in the city he lived in, and lived
his life as though he had to account for every minute. He had been raised
by an accountant, and the only distinctions between his father and himself
were that he was unmarried, ate a healthier diet and was still living.
He was not an unpleasant person to look upon. He
stood just shy of six feet high, had thick, chestnut brown hair that was
fastidiously trimmed, warm brown eyes and was clean shaven. He kept
physically fit, a habit he had maintained after his father died of a heart
attack. He always wore tailored suits and ties to the office and his shoes
were brightly polished. He occasionally would turn heads as he made his
way through the throngs at the train platforms.
David reached his train promptly and on time, riding
it into the heart of the city. He disembarked, bought his daily paper at
the newsstand and arrived at his desk with precisely five minutes to spare
before beginning his day's work.
This morning, as usual, strains of country music
flowed into his cubicle from his neighbor. Charles "Call me
Charlie" Meyers popped his head around the partition with his usual
toothy grin and chirped, "Mornin'! I've got donuts, want one?"
David shook his head, shuffling through his morning
project. "No thanks."
"I'll corrupt you yet!" was the cheerful
response.
Charles "Charlie" Meyers was a minor
irritant in David's life. He was slightly younger than David, married with
a child and a half, and two dogs. His love of country music and his family
cluttered his workspace. David considered himself fortunate that the only
part of Charles' chaotic life that spilled past the partitions was the
music, though he would have preferred to work in silence. Charles, like
David's mother, seemed determined to shake up David's world and dedicated
to finding David a wife.
Pulling another file from his nearly empty inbox,
David sighed. His mother had gone to her grave bemoaning his single
status. She'd spent most of the latter years of her life introducing him
to "nice young ladies". To humor her he'd dated several of them
until it was polite to fade from their company. Only one had been of any
real interest to him, but she had left him saying she wanted something
more exciting in her life.
Charles re-appeared around the side of the cubicle.
"By the way, bud, don't forget that lunch is on me today. I know this
great place, I know you'll love it."
"Sure," David replied, distracted. He'd acquiesced to Charles'
demand to take him to lunch after several weeks of inquiries. He preferred
to eat alone at his own choice of lunch spots, but had decided it was the
best way to silence his neighbor's insistence.
The morning sped by as David's inbox emptied and his
outbox filled, awaiting the intern in charge of collecting files. At his
mid-morning break David read his newspaper at his desk. He left his
cubicle only to re-fill his water bottle.
A minute before noon Charles pounced on him.
"Ready to go?"
David waited until his computer clock switched over
and then stood. "Yeah. Let's go."
Charles chattered at him about children, dogs and
vacation plans as they made their way out of the building onto the busy
city street. Both men traveled the crowded walkway with practiced
precision, avoiding other pedestrians without a thought. David noted when
they passed by his usual sandwich shop.
"How far is this place?" David cut in while
Charles was taking a breath in the midst of a diatribe about gas prices.
"Not far. It's just up Midway Lane."
David winced. The walk itself would take a full
quarter of their lunch hour. Depending on the service at the place, they'd
have to bolt their food, or be late getting back to the office. Charles
was frequently tardy.
They arrived at a small Italian café with checkered
tablecloths on the tables and white flowers in assorted unmatching vases.
They were seated quickly behind a white picket fence held up by buckets
filled with cement where passersby stared at them as they ambled along.
Charles devoured half of the crisp breadsticks before their salads
arrived, describing the differences between cloth and disposable diapers.
Awaiting their plates of pasta, David let his eyes
drift around the crowded neighborhood. He didn't frequent this direction
on Midway Lane as it housed more new age and occult shops than any other
square block of the city. His vision was accosted by scenes of scantily
clad girls with piercings in every available fold of skin visible, with
promises of similar treatment to hidden locations. He could see into a
tattoo parlor where the last clear patch of pale skin on a gangly-looking
man was being covered by a flaming red skull. One narrow doorway was
covered with mural promising revelations of the past and future by Medium
Aurora.
Charles must have noticed where his attention had
been drawn, because he said, "Have you ever had a tarot reading
done?"
David turned back to him, startled. He was about to
respond in the negative, adding he had no desire to pay some charlatan to
play act precognition when their lunch arrived. Instead he shook his head
and prayed that Charles would leave it at that as they both settled down
to eat.
By the time that Charles had paid the bill, David
calculated they had just fifteen minutes to return to the office. He
started off at a brisk walk in that direction, but was halted by Charles
gesturing across the street. "Let's go check out the Medium."
David stared at him in disbelief. "We'll be
late."
Charles laughed and clapped him on the shoulder.
"You've never been late a day in your life, David. Live it up a bit.
They won't fire you if you get back a few minutes late."
David continued to protest as he was led by Charles'
firm grip on his arm across the street and up to the garish door.
"Come on, Davey," the younger man laughed, "It's just for a
laugh. Have her do a quick reading of your palm. Maybe she'll tell you
that you got that promotion you've been grinding away for over the last
two years!"
David winced at Charles' use of the nickname "Davey".
He'd never been "Davey". His father had forbidden the nickname
early on. He'd always been "David", and had expressed his
preference against the nickname to Charles when they'd met. Charles seemed
to enjoy using it anyhow, trying to get his coworker to "loosen
up".
Bells jangled in brass cacophony as the door opened
to Charles' touch. Behind the door a narrow set of red-painted stairs led
up to a gloomy landing. The walls were papered in rich blue and painted
with stars and moons. Mingled scents of incense and tea drifted from the
level above.
David sighed. "All right. If it will make you
happy," he surrendered and followed Charles up the creaking stairs.
Chapter 2
Reaching the top of the stairs, the two men had to
pause and let their eyes adjust to the dim light. The short landing opened
up into a cramped room draped in dark blue and purple velvet and brocade.
Over the doorless archway into the room a hand-painted sign read,
"Believers are Born, Skeptics are Made. Be Reborn.".
David looked at Charles, who grinned his tooth-filled
smile back. "Into the breach," the younger man chuckled and
gestured for David to precede him.
With a sigh, the upstanding young accountant entered
the room. A low-hanging crystal chandelier dangled over a small circular
table, which was, in turn, draped with a dark cloth. In the center of the
table was a bowl of clear water surrounded by a quartet of flickering
candles. Four cushioned stools were placed around the table, three crowded
together on the side of the door and one drawn up to the opposite side. To
the right a narrow table, draped in velvet, held a sort of altar of
candles, incense holders and figurines. To the left a short shelf held
several assorted matching teacups and saucers, with a trio of china
teapots arranged on the top shelf.
The two men stood uncertainly in the room, looking
around. A whisper of rustling cloth alerted them just before one of the
velvet drapes at the back of the room was swept aside and a woman joined
them. A breeze followed her, tickling the crystals in the chandelier and
enticing them to chime delicately.
"Good afternoon, good gentlemen," the woman
said in a gentle tone. She swept up to the table, nodding to them.
"Please, have a seat."
Charles nodded and nudged David towards one of the
stools. They took their places at the table and looked up at the woman
expectantly. David narrowed his eyes.
The woman was dressed in a long, dark broomstick
skirt and button up blouse. Over her shoulders was a loose shawl of silk,
trimmed with silver aluminum disks made to look like coins. Her thick,
wavy dark hair was pulled back by a sparkling kerchief and crystal
earrings dangled alongside her long neck from her ears. A trio of rings on
each hand decorated her slender fingers, and her wrists chimed with thin
silver bracelets.
David found her eyes fascinating. She had very
classical features and a Mediterranean skin tone, but her eyes were
stunningly bright china blue. He couldn't pull his gaze from her.
Charles didn't seem to notice his companion's
fixation, and was unconcerned by his silence. "We'd like you to do a
reading for my friend here. Do you do tarot?"
Medium Aurora smiled. David thought that the candles
had flared because the room seemed to brighten marginally. "No, I do
not. My specialties are tea leaves, palm reading and crystal gazing."
Charles glanced at the table. "Crystal? I don't
see one."
"I actually have a crystal in the bowl before
you. I have found my visions come clearer through water."
Charles chuckled. "Okay. That works for me. Okay
with you, Davey?"
David nodded wordlessly, not even reacting to the
annoying nickname.
Aurora glanced at Charles. "Please do not use
that name, he dislikes it."
Both Charles and David jumped in their chairs,
startled. David blinked, but was drawn back into the world of the medium's
eyes. Charles settled back, eyes wide, to watch.
The woman held out her hands over the bowl to David.
"Good sir, please take my hands."
David obeyed. As he took hold of her fingers he noted
how comfortingly warm they were.
Medium Aurora lifted her head back, closing her eyes,
breathing deeply. Released from the spell of her eyes, David allowed his
gaze to drop past her lightly painted lips to her throat. He noticed she
was wearing a silver necklace from which hung a pendant of silver shaped
like a curled up, sleeping cat.
Aurora's eyes opened a moment later. She released
David's hands and dipped her gaze into the water. David followed her line
of vision and noted that there really was a crystal in the water, so
perfect that it had gone undetected.
The psychic studied the water and crystal silently
for several minutes. David felt his skepticism return and he wondered what
kind of circus act she would put on, if it involved haunting voices or
table tapping.
"Something is following you," Aurora
finally spoke quietly. There was nothing unearthly in her tone.
"Something is watching you. You are wanted for a task."
David frowned. He couldn't think of anyone following
him, but he knew full well his superior was keeping an eye on his
performance, and he was always wanted for some project or another. He kept
his silence.
Aurora glanced up at him with her startling eyes.
"You will refuse." She stared back down into the bowl. "It
will frighten you, but you will be unable to avoid it."
This didn't bode well. David tried to remind himself
that fortune telling was a sham. He grimaced in disbelief.
"You will be drawn in by bonds of blue, unable
to escape. In the end, your life will be irrevocably changed."
Charles nudged him. The other man was grinning.
David snorted quietly, crossing his arms and leaning
back marginally.
The psychic was silent for several heartbeats.
"Until you accept the task, you will find no rest."
David finally shook his head, rolling his eyes.
"All right, that's good." Aurora looked up, startled as he rose
to his feet. "Come on, Charles. We're going to be late."
Charles and Aurora also stood. Charles grinned at the
medium. "Sorry, ma'am. I guess that's all he'll sit for. What do I
owe you?"
A modest amount was requested and Charles paid in cash while David left
the room and started down the creaking stairs. His coworker jogged to
catch up with him as he yanked open the door to the street.
"Hey, hey, take it easy on the woodwork,"
Charles chuckled. He had to step double-time to keep up with David's brisk
pace. "Look, it was just for laughs, remember?"
David threw him a cold glance. "Right. I don't
seem very amused. It was nothing more than a waste of time."
Charles threw his gaze up to the sky. "Good
grief. All right, all right. It wasn't the most entertaining experience.
Sorry."
David
grunted and rushed the two back to their desks. As predicted, they were
several minutes late. Charles ducked into his cubicle without any further
comment, and David ignored the glances of his other coworkers, who had
been rather astonished by his delayed return.
Chapter 3
That evening David swept past the waiting cat,
carelessly swinging his valise as he pulled out his keys to open his door.
The cat jumped back, arched it's back and hissed at him. David glared at
the annoying beast and slammed his door shut in it's face.
Dropping his valise on his desk, David continued on
into his bedroom, loosening and removing his tie and hung it neatly on his
tie rack. He was still fuming over the trip to the psychic,
uncharacteristically. Ordinarily such experiences were filed away in his
mind to be forgotten, but something from that darkened room refused to
leave his thoughts.
Changing into a more casual outfit, David returned to
his living room-slash-study and turned on the television. He eyed the
stock numbers at the bottom of the screen briefly then turned to enter his
small kitchen. In minutes he had prepared his usual salad dinner and ate
at the kitchen breakfast bar while listening to the news.
Yet his mind wasn't on the stories about the war or
the latest scandals in the legislature. Despite every effort, his thoughts
kept drifting back to the psychic.
Frustrated with himself, David finished his salad,
washed his dishes and went to his desk. He pulled out the papers he had
brought home to work on, and let out a short yelp of dismay. The papers
were soaked and the ink was blurring.
Confused, David took the sopping documents to the
kitchen to lay them out on the counter and breakfast bar. At the bottom of
his bag he found his drink bottle, the one he normally kept at his office
for water. The cap had come open, allowing water to soak the contents of
his valise.
What had possessed him to put the bottle in his bag?
David tried to remember putting it in, but realized he'd still been so
upset about his lunchtime encounter that he'd likely just swept whatever
was at hand into the case. It was extremely unlike him to be so careless!
He stared helplessly at the ruined documents. Most
were replaceable but it meant another week to receive them and catch up
with the work he'd lost. Other projects would be delayed. What a disaster!
Leaving the papers to dry on the counter, David
returned to the living room and sat down on the sofa to watch the news. He
had only been seated for ten minutes before the lights flickered, faded
and then went out, along with the television and the hum of the
refrigerator. He waited a few moments before realizing the power was
really out.
Cursing quietly, David headed to the back of the
townhouse into the laundry room where the power control panel could be
found. He easily located the flashlight he kept for just such emergencies
next to the panel but when he flicked the power on, nothing happened. The
batteries were dead.
The frustrated accountant threw up his hands in
disbelief, replaced the flashlight on it's shelf, and returned to the
kitchen. There he found candles and matches and was able to return to the
control panel. Looking at the breakers he came to the conclusion that it
wasn't his circuits, it had to be a neighborhood blackout.
Blowing out the candle, David climbed the stairs up
to the second level of his town home and entered one of his two
guestrooms. He never had guests anymore, but he maintained the room
against the possibility that some shirttail relative might show up to tour
the big city and need a place to stay. In the room he entered he kept a
transistor radio.
The batteries for the radio were still intact and he
tuned in to a local news station. The announcer confirmed his speculation,
the entire region had been knocked out somehow. Power crews were on the
job and hoped to have power restored by morning.
David turned off the radio and returned to the living
room. He lit a couple more candles and pulled a couple of business
magazines from a basket under his coffee table and began to read. So much
for his usual evening.
His cell phone served as his alarm clock the next
morning and he showered and shaved in cold water. He had to bypass his
usual power shake breakfast and spent several minutes trying to neatly
stack the now dry business papers into his valise. His watch beeped a
warning, letting him know he was three minutes late to leave his home.
He rushed out the door and down the stairs, then had
to return to his door to lock up. He barely noted the cat before he was
running down the street to the bus platform, to just watch it pull away
without him. He spun around and shouted in frustration, drawing a dozen
startled stares.
He arrived at his desk twenty minutes late, a bit
disheveled from having run into the decorative planter beside the elevator
doors below in his haste. He threw his valise down and realized he'd left
his water bottle at home. He sighed deeply and reached over to turn on his
computer.
Nothing happened.
Sitting down, he tried again with no result. He stood
again, checked all the connections on his CPU and pressed the start button
one more time. Still nothing.
Emitting a frustrated growl he grabbed his desk phone
and slammed his finger on the speed dial for tech support. He was greeted
by their automatic answering recording and told he had a fifteen-minute
wait in the queue. He collapsed forward at his desk in complete surrender,
while a crooner sang about angels in his ear.
Charles popped around the partition. "What's up,
David?" he asked in a concerned tone.
David turned his head to look up at him. "My
computer's dead."
Charles looked over at the offending equipment.
"Bet it was the surge when they restored the power last night. My
surge protector tripped, so my unit's okay."
David glanced under his desk. The surge protector
power strip was, indeed shut down. Grumbling, he hung up the phone and
tapped the switch with his toe. Then he tried the computer again.
The CPU began to hum and the screen brightened. The
disk drive groaned and clattered as the computer booted up slowly.
Charles chuckled. "Not having a good day, are
you?"
David threw him an irritated glance. "You could
say that." He started pulling out the ruined documents from his
valise.
Noting the wrinkled papers, Charles seemed to grow a
sense of diplomacy and retreated back to his family and country music.
As soon as the computer was fully logged in, David
started his accounting program and found the file containing the documents
he had to replace. He'd be all morning at it, catching up with that and
the time he'd lost by being tardy. Well, he'd just work through his
morning break and cut into his lunch time.
Except the file wouldn't come up. A warning box
declaring that the data was corrupted flashed with annoying insistence on
the monitor.
David stared at the flickering colors, dumbfounded.
"All right," he murmured, then louder,
"ALL RIGHT!" He slammed his hands onto his desk and pushed back
from his computer. "I'll go back! Damn!"
Charles didn't seem to be interested enough to find
out what his neighbor's outburst was about.
Chapter 4
David trudged down the street towards Midway Lane,
hands in his pockets and his shoulders hunched. His dark scowl was
sufficient to part the other pedestrians away from him. He couldn't
believe he was going through with it.
His entire morning had been spent calling the tech
support line back, running through diagnostic tests over the phone, and
finally surrendering his entire CPU to a man who was easily ten years his
younger in the hopes they could restore the document from the hard disk.
If not, they would have to send to the corporate archives for the last
backup files, which would easily take another week. David had spent the
rest of his time grinding his teeth, doing what he could without his
computer, and dreaming up ways of silencing Charles' radio.
Arriving at the painted door of Medium Aurora's
business, David paused, taking a deep breath. It seemed to war against
everything he understood to return to the psychic, but he couldn't deny
that the previous evening and that morning had seemed filled with unlikely
misfortunes. Only Medium Aurora had seemed to anticipate them, unless it
was simply a lucky coincidence.
David stopped himself before he opened the door. Yes,
maybe that was really it. Coincidence. Sure, he'd been upset enough to not
pay attention to what he was doing when he packed the valise, and the
bottle had not been closed up properly. The power outage and proved to be
a rather nasty accident involving a heavy truck slamming into a power
relay station, which had put an unexpected load on unprepared power grids.
Trying to preserve the wrinkled documents had delayed his departure, and
no doubt the trains were running off time from what he was accustomed
because the dispatch clocks had needed to be reset. He'd forgotten the
surge protector under his desk and, well, documents fail now and again.
Coincidence!
He turned away from the door and took a step back
onto the sidewalk. A shout alerted him and he jumped backwards in
surprise. A man on a bicycle sped past, glancing at him and shouting at
him to watch where he was going.
David spun on one foot and opened the door.
The room at the top of the stairs was unchanged,
though the candles around the bowl had burned lower. Without waiting for
Aurora to appear he took his seat in the center stool and watched the back
curtain.
Aurora appeared much as she had the day before and it
seemed to David that she was not surprised to see him. "Good
afternoon, David," she murmured as she took her place across from
him. "I'm glad you came back."
Responding uncomfortably, David noted that little
about her appearance had changed. The color of the skirt and blouse were
different, and instead of a shawl she had a jingling sash around her
waste. All of her jewelry was the same except the necklace. It was a
silver cat again, but a more whimsical shape of a cat hanging from the
cord like a fence rail. The cat's back was all he could see.
"Look," he said nervously, "I really
don't believe in all of this, but something has been happening. I need…
I need to know what you can tell me about it. I need to know more."
Aurora held out one manicured hand to him. "Of
course. I'll do everything I can do to help." Her marvelous eyes were
filled with sincere concern.
He took her hand as he had the day before. She held
it firmly as she prepared herself, and he felt her squeeze slightly before
she let go.
Silence fell and seemed to engulf the entire world,
not just that one small room. Gradually, David became aware of a deep hum,
as if from some distant machinery. The medium concentrated on her
submerged crystal.
"Something new has come into your life,"
she finally said. "Something that puzzles you." She looked up at
him. "Is this true?"
He was surprised that she requested confirmation.
"Well, there've been all these things happening…" he began.
She shook her head. "No, before you saw me.
Something unusual."
For a moment a pair of intensely green emeralds
flashed through his mind. "Yeah. Uh, yes. There's this cat. It's been
showing up on my porch for a few weeks ago."
She sat up, looking at him with keen interest.
"Describe it."
David shrugged. "It's kind of a steely gray,
medium length fur. Not really very big either. Roundish face. Oh, and
green eyes. Very green eyes."
Aurora nodded. "Where did it come from?"
"I haven't got a clue. It just started showing
up. Morning and night. I don't think it belongs to any of the neighbors,
and I'm pretty sure no one nearby is feeding it either."
"Has it said anything to you?"
David blinked. "Said anything? You mean like
meowed or anything? No… well, it hissed at me last night when I almost
hit it with my bag, but it hasn't made any other noises."
Aurora nodded and looked back down into the crystal.
"The cat must be the watcher. The one watching you."
She gazed silently for a while, then looked back at
him. "David, I told you before that you would refuse the task that is
asked of you. This is because you refuse to open yourself to
impossibilities. You experienced a series of events that might be
considered an impossibility. Was it enough to change your mind?"
"Well," he said slowly, not certain where
this line of questioning would lead, "I'm here, am I not? I normally
wouldn't come to a place like this on my own."
Aurora nodded. "It's promising, but may not be
enough. Are you ready to become a Believer again?"
"Again? Believer of what?"
She smiled softly, eyes sparkling in the candlelight.
"A Believer in Magic."
David laughed. "You've got to me kidding me.
Magic? I believe that there are clever people who can make things look
like magic, but real magic?" He shook his head. "I believe in
fact. Unless you could prove magic to me, I can't believe in it."
The psychic tilted her head. "What if it
couldn't be proven until you believed?"
He snorted in reply. "Rather self-defeating,
don't you think?"
Aurora smiled again, and gazed back into her crystal.
She let out a deep sigh. "Very well. Let me tell you more first, and
then we shall see what can be proved and what can't."
David shrugged and settled down. "All right.
What else is there?"
Without lifting her eyes again, she spoke. "For
reasons I cannot fathom, you have been chosen. There is a being of great
power that wishes you to face a series of tasks and if you prove yourself
capable, you will then be given a great honor. Should you fail, you will
be returned to your home and your current, uninspiring, existence."
David stared at her, stunned. "What?" he
demanded incredulously.
She lifted her eyes. "You've been chosen as a
suitor for the Fae Queen."
Chapter 5
David burst into laughter. "Fae Queen? As in
fairies?" He gasped between guffaws. "As in the little people
with butterfly wings? Oh, come on lady!"
Aurora watched him patiently. He continued to laugh,
unable to stop himself until he accidentally slipped off the stool and
landed on the floor. Blushing, but still chuckling, he picked himself up.
"Okay, okay, that's really it. I'm out of here.
I'm sorry, Mistress Medium, but I can't buy that. Fae Queen," he
ended with a snort and turned to the doorway.
"David Hart," the psychic said with a
warning tone. David whirled.
"How is it you know my name? David, okay, you
got that from Charles calling me Davey. How the heck did you know I didn't
like Davey? How do you know my last name?" he demanded.
She stood and stepped around the table. For the first
time he noted she was barefoot.
"When your friend called you Davey I saw you
wince." She said, locking her clear blue eyes with his. "But
after we held hands, I learned all I needed to of you. I know your name. I
know you are alone in this world."
She stopped just inches from him, looking up at him intensely.
"I know that you are firmly rooted in reality, as you have said.
Yet," she poked him in the chest with her right index finger, "I
also know that as much as you would deny it, the Fae Queen has set her
sights on you and whether you like it or not, you will face the
Trials."
David brushed her hand aside. "Right. Trials.
What kind of trials would these be?" he challenged in a mocking tone.
Aurora turned away from him brusquely, her hair
swinging into his face and her skirt and sash striking his pant legs.
"I'm sure if I told you, you would not believe them. I think you
should just discover them for yourself, Mr. Hart," she snapped.
The accountant shrugged. "Fine. If they should
occur, I shall." He walked heavily out of the room and down the
stairs, banging the door shut harder than necessary behind him, annoyed at
the sound of the brass bells jangling in protest.
When he returned to his desk, he realized he'd wasted
his entire lunch hour and now had missed two meals. He felt very thirsty
but with his water bottle at home, he had no way to get a drink except for
the hall fountain he habitually avoided for hygienic reasons. A note on
his monitor advised him that the restoration of the files had failed and
he would have to contact the archives for the lost data. He did this with
resignation and suffered a headache for the rest of the afternoon.
When he arrived at his front door, an hour later than
usual since he decided to put in extra time to make up for his tardiness
and lack of production in the morning, he was tired enough to skip dinner
completely and retire immediately. He saw the cat sitting it's silent
vigil on his stairs and plodded past it into the entry. Then he paused.
Turning and looking back at the animal he ran the
events at Medium Aurora's shop through his mind again. He realized, if
nothing else, he had not laughed that hard for some time.
"So, puss, are you a fairy consort too? Keeping
an eye on me for the Fae Queen? Hard work, is it? How about you come in
for a cup of milk and we talk about it?" He chuckled at himself.
"Well it's about bloody time you invited me
in," the cat replied in a deep voice.
David froze, startled. The cat trotted past him with
it's tail held high.
Wordlessly, David closed the door and turned to face
the cat which was awaiting him patiently.
"I gotta see a psychiatrist, not a
psychic," David admonished himself.
The cat sat down. "Aurora is less expensive and
gets better results, I've found."
David dropped his valise.
"You are
speaking!"
The cat preened his whiskers with one paw. "Of
course I am. Do you expect a fae consort to be just another animal?"
"Oh, dear lord," David moaned, passing the
cat to collapse into an armchair.
The cat minced across the carpet to his feet.
"You can just call me Tristan. The title means little here."
David stared down at the creature, speechless. Then
his stomach rumbled.
"Sounds to me," Tristan said, turning and
padding towards the kitchen, "That we could both very much use
something to eat."
David remarked to himself that he really needed a
drink, which was impossible because he never kept alcohol in the house. He
roused himself, however, and followed the cat into the kitchen.
Tristan brazenly leaped onto the kitchen counter and
seated himself next to the sink. "So, I'll take that milk. You look a
bit peaked. I would suggest you dine on something more fortifying than
your usual plate of greens."
David nodded numbly, reaching for the refrigerator
door. He had pulled out the milk carton and had reached for a bowl before
he paused. "How did you know what I eat?"
Tristan flicked his tail tip. "I'm the watcher,
remember? I've watched you for several weeks, and you are one of the worse
creatures of habit I've ever seen. I could set a clock to you. You know
how sad that is?"
David dropped the bowl on the counter. "Look, I
don't need to be criticized by a cat!"
The cat put his paw on the edge of the bowl
expectantly. "Maybe you do. At least cats change their
routines."
David poured the milk and retorted, "You've been
on my stairs without fail, morning and night for weeks? How's that for
habit?"
Tristan's whiskers trembled as he sniffed the milk.
"But what do I do when you are at work? Asleep? I assure you, there's
nothing routine about the rest of my life!"
Putting the carton back in the refrigerator, David
stared at his meal choices. He had to reluctantly agree with the feline,
he needed more than salad for dinner. He had little to choose from, so
settled on cold cuts and made himself a sandwich.
Sitting down to the breakfast bar, he glanced over to
the cat. Questions began to float through his thoughts. "So are you
really a fae consort?"
Tristan paused in his lapping of the milk. "Of a
sort. My Lady was chosen by the Fae Queen as an attendant and I was
granted the gift of staying with her, in return for missions assigned to
me."
David paused. "The Fae Queen. Really."
Tristan had returned to drinking his milk, but his
tail twitched in such a way that David took it as a nod.
The accountant studied the cat seriously for several
moments. "Why would a Fae Queen choose me, of all people, to be a
suitor? What if I don't want to be a suitor."
"Her reasons are her own, don't ask me. No one
refuses the Fae Queen."
Chapter 6
David jerked upwards, suddenly awake and concerned
that he had overslept. He glanced down at his clock and was about to leap
out of bed when he remembered it was Saturday. The weekend had arrived.
Rather than rise like he normally might, David lay back down and stared up
at his bland white ceiling.
Last evening he had cut his interrogation of the cat,
Tristan, short. There was still a lot he wanted to know, but his
exhaustion from his frustrated day had finally caught up with him and he
had retired promptly, barely noting that he had completely missed that his
power had restored. He didn't even wash his dishes.
His sleep had been disturbed with images of zooming
trains, flickering candles and laughing cats. He hadn't had such a
troublesome night since his childhood. David realized that his night shirt
was soaked with sweat.
Before allowing him to retire, Tristan had imparted
more wisdom upon him before asking to be let out. "She's still
watching you, and I'm not her only agent. Anything you face over the next
several days may be part of the trials. Be aware of your choices. My best
advice, however, is don't over-think anything."
Watching the play of sunlight through the folds of
his curtains, David wondered how he could possibly over-think on any
matter. He wasn't the spontaneous sort, but he didn't believe he could be
flawed in that. It wasn't like he ground each issue down to the core
before acting.
After dwelling on the matter for several minutes,
David did rise and readied himself for the day. Dressed in casual slacks,
a polo shirt and dark brown loafers, he entered the kitchen and noticed
the mess he had left. Irritated, he washed the plate and utensils and
wiped down the counter before he began to prepare the fruit and yogurt
smoothie that was his usual breakfast.
As he drank his meal, he became aware of a quiet
scraping noise at the front door. Knowing there could be little else
causing the disturbance, he opened the door and Tristan trotted in like a
welcome guest.
"Good morning, David," the cat purred,
making his way to the kitchen. "It's nice to see you up and about.
You wouldn't happen to have more of that milk, would you? I noticed it
might be in danger of expiring soon, so I'd be happy to help you make good
use of what remains."
David raised one eyebrow. "No doubt." He
sighed and reached for the bowl he'd just cleaned, filling it with the
last of the milk from the carton. Tristan had jumped onto the counter
again, so David placed the bowl in front of the cat. "All right.
Drink up and enjoy."
Tristan purred as he lapped up the milk. David
watched him, wondering why the Fae Queen would like a cat lady-in-waiting.
He didn't imagine they would be of much use. As far as he knew,
ladies-in-waiting were like valets, meant to help the lady to dress and
groom her, as well as other errands and cleaning chores. A cat couldn't
dress a human!
The both finished their breakfasts silently. Tristan
spent a few additional minutes preening and cleaning his whiskers before
turning his emerald eyes to David. "Now, you have more questions, I'm
sure."
David wasn't sure where to start. He began with basic
background. "You're telling me that fairies really exist? Here? In
America?"
Tristan curled his tail around his paws, hunching
down to get more comfortable. "Yes, there are fae here in America.
Before you get it locked in your head, no, they are definitely not
miniature girls with butterfly wings! Well, maybe some from the Old World,
but this is the New World. The fae walk amongst mortals undetected most of
the time. There are ways to tell, especially if you are gifted with the
Sight."
David nodded, settling down on a barstool. "So,
is Medium Aurora a servant of the Fae Queen?"
The cat's tail twitched. "Yes and no. She serves
the Fae Queen's purpose at times."
"Is she really psychic? Does she really have
magic?" He was thinking of Aurora's unearthly eyes, wondering if she
was fae herself.
"A little. The Fae Queen gives her little nudges
as needed."
"Is she a fairy?"
Tristan sat up to scratch at his shoulder.
"No."
This was good news, as far as David was concerned. He
realized that he had really treated Aurora rudely, on a matter that she
had been proved right. He knew he owed her an apology.
"Does the Fae Queen have anything specific I
should be doing right now?" he asked the cat.
"No. Just go about your life as you wish. The
trials will find you," Tristan replied.
David smiled. He could handle that. "Good."
He looked at the clock over the sink. "I'm going out for a few hours.
Allow me to show you to the door."
Tristan yawned and stretched. "Actually, if you
don't mind, I'd like to just rest here. I was out all night."
David wasn't certain about leaving the animal by
itself in his home. "Well, I…"
The cat jumped down from the counter and ambled into
the living room. "It's not like I could get out, right? No opposable
thumbs for doors. Nor could I carry much. Just go. I'll be fine."
David shrugged and picked up his car keys from a hook
on the kitchen wall. He picked up a jacket from the front closet and
headed out the back door, locking it as he left.
He pulled the protective cover off of his hybrid, a
blue Honda that he only used on weekends. He pulled into the alley that
ran between the two long lines of townhouses, carefully navigated through
scattered children at play, and headed for the city core. Being Saturday,
traffic was very light. He would not drive downtown on a weekday.
David found a parking space around the corner from
Midway Lane and locked his car. He walked around to the painted door
leading to Aurora's shop, and pulled up short when he discovered a bright
red and white sign reading "Closed" hanging in the window. He
tried the door and discovered it was locked.
David stepped back from the building, gazing up its
brick face. There were windows above, so it was possible that there was
more than that single room where Aurora did her readings. He stepped back
up to the door and discovered an old doorbell button camouflaged in the
mural. Mentally crossing his fingers, he rang the bell.
He couldn't see very far inside, and the noises of
the street covered up any sound of movement. He waited for several moments
before the door suddenly popped open, the brass bells jingling a greeting.
Aurora looked out at him. "Well, Mr. Hart. What
brings you back here? I thought you were finished with me."
David didn't reply, only blinked. For some reason, he
had expected to see Aurora decked out as usual, in the gypsy-like skirt
and sparkling, jangling jewelry. He certainly didn't expect her to answer
the door in a powder blue baby-doll t-shirt, white denim jeans, tennis
shoes and gold stud earrings. Her long, wavy hair was tied back from her
face in a ponytail.
One dark eyebrow arched at his silence. "Cat got
your tongue, Mr. Hart?"
Chapter 7
David started, realizing he'd been caught staring
like a teenager. He cleared his throat to give himself time to organize
his thought. "Good morning, Ms., uh, Aurora. I hope I'm not
interrupting anything."
Aurora leaned against the doorframe. "Not at the
moment."
Finding himself nervous, David shifted on his feet.
"I've come to apologize for my behavior yesterday. It was rude of
me."
She sized him up, as if making sure he was sincere.
Then she smiled. "I tell you what, Mr. Hart. You take me out for
lunch and I'll forgive you."
"Lunch?" he responded, startled. A moment's
thought later he added, "Certainly. My pleasure. Any
preferences?"
Her smile widened. "I'm sure you know of
interesting places to eat, Mr. Hart."
He offered his arm to her. "David. You can call
me David."
She nodded. "Let me go shut a couple things down
and grab my purse. I'll be right back." She dashed up the stairs into
the darkness above.
David watched her ascend and questioned himself about
why he'd accepted her brazen conciliation proposal. Fae Queen business
aside, he was not in the habit of being pushed into someone's company,
much less the company of the opposite sex. Unless his mother was involved.
With a beaded handbag swinging at the end of a gold
cord on her shoulder, Aurora returned and locked up the shop. She turned
and looked up at him expectantly. "Decide yet?"
He nodded and escorted to his car, where he helped
her into her seat. "Is Greek acceptable to you? There's a bistro I've
been to out on the Flats."
Aurora nodded enthusiastically. "Sounds fine. I
love Greek."
David drove them out of the heart of the city into
the open suburbs. The area was nicknamed the Flats for obvious reasons,
though development had turned the Flats into a forest of buildings. The
accountant was very familiar with the area.
He pulled in to a parking lot in a shopping area that
had been designed with a park-like atmosphere. Planted areas were
surrounded by winding paths and dotted with recirculating fountains and
streamlets. Park benches were placed at strategic spots where, after dark,
a play of light encouraged restful or romantic pauses.
After helping Aurora out of his car, David gave her
his arm and escorted her along the path to the small Bistro. A number of
other patrons were already seated in the wicker chairs on the wooden deck
surrounding the entrance, and a few more were scattered at the tables
inside. Soothing music played in the background to add to the calm
atmosphere.
A pretty young woman in multicolored skirts and
brilliant red blouse swept up with menus in hand, smiling. "Welcome
to Niko's Mediterranean Bistro. Would you prefer the patio or
inside?"
David glanced around. "Inside, thank you."
"Two in your party?"
"Yes, thank you."
"This way please." The girl led them to a
small table just at the edge of the windows looking out onto the patio.
David helped Aurora into her chair as the waitress set down their menus
and turned over their water glasses. "Today's lunch special is
Vegetable Putanesca, and our daily Ravioli is Five Cheese. Can I get you
anything to drink?"
David nodded, letting Aurora order her raspberry
Italian soda before ordering his iced tea, unsweetened with lemon. When
the hostess had left their table, Aurora leaned forward in her chair.
"This place seems really nice. Do you come here often?"
"I've been here a few times." He didn't
mention that Charles had dragged him to the place on a blind date for his
first visit.
She scanned the menu. "Good selection. This is
going to be tough."
"I can tell you it's all good. I prefer the
salads."
She settled on the Chicken Florentine while he
ordered a half Greek salad.
While they waited for their food, she gave him a
mischievous look and said, "So, are you a Believer now?"
David grimaced and sighed. "I'm… well, it's
hard not to be when you share dinner and breakfast with a talking
Tomcat."
She laughed lightly, and David noticed she wasn't
wearing a silver cat necklace.
"So, Tristan introduced himself to you, did
he?" She sipped at her Italian soda, humming with appreciation for
the fresh raspberry syrup.
"Yes. Admittedly, he waited for me to address
him first." The waitress passed by their table, placing a wooden
board holding a basket of soft breadsticks and a selection of spreads
between them.
"Did he answer your questions?" Something
told David she knew the answers, but was trying to draw conversation out
of him.
He decided to humor her. "Yes, and no. I still
don't know why the Fae Queen has any interest in me. I'm not exactly fairy
tale hero material."
Aurora's eyebrow arched. "You can certainly say
that. No offense, but you do come off relatively stiff."
David snorted. "Fine way to talk to a repeat
client."
"You never paid me."
He blushed. "Oh, sorry. I suppose I do owe you
for yesterday's consultation."
She waved her right hand dismissively. "Forget
it. This is actually all on Her Majesty. Except the initial visit. We'll
just leave it that your friend handled that."
David nodded, leaning back while his salad was
delivered. "That works for me."
She bent to her plate, sniffing it with pleasure.
"Scrumptious." She swirled up some linguini onto her fork.
They ate in silence for a few minutes, savoring their
meal. After a sip at his drink, David ventured, "So does the Fae
Queen call on your services often?"
Aurora shrugged. "Often enough. It's really a
pain sometimes, since she doesn't always tell me what she's after. This
time she did, however."
He blinked. "Did she give you any details? Like
these trials I'm supposed to face?"
The woman grinned broadly. "Hoping for a sneak
peak at what you have to face? Worried, David?"
He delicately spit out an olive pit. "I'd be a fool not to be."
Chapter 8
Millie
replied by cheerfully following David to his bedroom. He arranged the
papers and such again. The dog sniffed around some more, and barked once
in approval.
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