Page 7 of Haunted Hearts

“Stop that nonsense,” he growled, holding up his hand to cover his face.

Minerva purposely took a deep breath and released it slowly. “Believe me, there are some hostile vibrations in the air right now.” Her head turned and her eyes focused on the smashed herbs under his boot.

“I can think of a much better way to remove negativity,” he scowled, already wondering if he’d made a bad choice by not kicking the woman out of here by now. He brushed the ashes away and continued to wipe off the plate with his sleeve.

“You sound as if you’re upset, son. Why?”

“Did your cards tell you that or was it just obvious?” He walked over and placed the etched silver plate back atop the mantle, fixing it in precisely the right place.

“Why do you even care about that stupid plate?” asked his mother.

“It was a gift that the earl gave Father when he made him his head knight,” he explained. “I am hoping it’ll bring me good luck.” Blaze bent down and lit a fire on the hearth.

“Luck doesn’t just happen, it’s something we create,” she told him. “If you have ill luck, it is no one’s fault but your own.”

“Stop it.” He got up and spun around in anger, holding the iron poker out, pointing to her with it. The candle on the table blew out from the breeze coming in the window, and several of the Tarot cards fluttered to the floor.

“I see you’re still not accepting who and what you really are,” said his mother, bending over and picking up the cards.

“I wish you wouldn’t say things like that.”

“Why not?”

“Because, I’m not a warlock. I have no powers. Neither do you.” He turned and shoved the poker back into the holder on the hearth.

“We get our power from nature and things of the earth. I can show you how, son.”

“Nay. I don’t care about that. I am not like you. I take after Father.”

“Our only limitations in life are the ones we bestow upon ourselves. Now, stop speaking like this, because you’re only going to attract more challenges into your life.”

“I hope not, because enough bad things have been happening around here lately.”

“Well, whether something is bad or good is only an opinion. Just remember that.”

Blaze was getting tired of his mother spouting words of wisdom. “I don’t think Lord Bonnel’s family would agree with that, since they’ve lost two family members in the past five years.”

“No, of course they wouldn’t.” She pointed at three cards on the table. “Look at these cards, Blaze.”

“What about them?”

“The emperor card depicts you.” Curiosity got the best of him and he walked over to take a look.

“What’s that?” he asked, pointing to the nine of swords. It was a picture of a man in bed, covering his face. Nine swords pointed directly at him.

“That card shows you’re worried, anxious, and extremely concerned about something. Something that you don’t think will end well.”

“Oh, you mean because the last card is death?” asked Blaze, eyeing the card of a skeleton riding a horse, sorry now that he even looked at the card reading at all. “Why are you even showing me this? Just to make me see that life no longer has anything to offer?”

“Not at all. I’m showing you, because we can figure out how to fix your life, once we know what is causing the energy from flowing freely.”

“Hah! I’d like to see you fix that,” he spat, pointing at the card of death.

“The death card doesn’t always mean physical death,” she assured him. “Sometimes, it means the death of a habit, or a new change of life altogether.”

“I hope you’re right, Mother,” said Blaze, not liking any of this and having a bad feeling about it all. “I hope you’re right.”

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