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“Not long. It’s a fairly basic one. If there’s poison to be revealed, this card will enlighten us.”
La Fortuna mages like Gun and Cam were born with the ability to channel tarot cards, but not the specific skills. Those they had to earn by mastering each card and, from what I understood, sometimes the process was harrowing. Mages died in their pursuit of certain magic. The more cards a mage masters, the more powerful they are. There was also depth versus breadth. A mage could possess the ability to activate all the cards but only one simple spell per card. Another mage might only be able to activate two cards but multiple advanced spells per card. I got the impression that Gunther and Camryn were somewhere in the middle of the mage spectrum.
“I hereby give this arrangement the all clear.”
“Thanks, Gun.” As much as I didn’t want to admit it, I felt better knowing the flowers were just flowers.
“Are you sure you want to keep them? If they serve as a reminder of your dangerous foe, I’d be more than happy to take them off your hands. After all, Dusty and I are the ones who put you in that situation in the first place.”
“I chose to put myself in that situation. You and your sister are off the hook. Besides, it’ll be nice to have a pop of color in this room, especially since I spend the most time in here.”
Gun appeared vaguely disappointed by my willingness to keep the arrangement. “Can we get back to talking about me now? You have a tiny bruise, but my ego is sporting a rather big one.”
CHAPTER 7
After breakfastI drove Gun home. The snow had taken a break overnight, but now it was back in full force. By the time I returned to the Castle, the roads were thick with snow. The fresh layer of salt I’d sprinkled had already disappeared beneath another coat of white powder.
Thunder boomed as I reached the front door. The unexpected sound made me jump.
“Thank goodness you’re home,” Nana Pratt said. “Can we come inside? Storms make me uncomfortable.”
I gestured for them to enter ahead of me, not that they needed to use the door. We hunkered down inside, feeling the house shake every so often as thunder rattled the Castle to its core.
“Maybe we should work on the radiators while I’m stuck inside,” I said. I was currently swaddled in multiple layers of clothing to keep myself at what should have been room temperature.
“I’d wait until the storm passes,” Ray advised. “It’s hard to concentrate.”
Nana Pratt peered outside. “Seems like it’s hard to do anything. I haven’t seen a single snowplow go by today.”
“It is highly unusual,” Ray commented. “The township is typically on top of this sort of thing.”
“I’ll tell you what’s highly unusual,” Nana Pratt huffed. “I die and suddenly there are weather events that never existed before.”
“Thundersnow is only a winter thunderstorm,” Ray told her. “It’s rare, but it isn’t a new phenomenon. According to my research, there are on average 6.3 such events per year.”
The elderly woman didn’t seem too impressed. “I guess that makes you an expert on just about everything now that you’re dead.”
“I was pretty smart when I was alive, too. I have more time now to indulge my curiosity. That’s the difference.”
Nana Pratt shifted her attention back to the outside world. “I still say there’s something not quite right about this. I don’t care what your statistics tell you, it feels unnatural.”
I didn’t disagree. I felt a charge in the atmosphere, and it had nothing to do with lightning. “Come away from the window. You’re stressing me out.” Nana Pratt seemed obsessed with the condition of the road that she could see but not travel.
“She’s stressing herself out,” Ray said. “Come on, Ingrid. Let’s find a good book to read.”
I glanced at the time on my phone. “I’d better call Otto and tell him I won’t make lunch today.” I felt bad having to cancel yet again, but it seemed unwise to leave the house under the circumstances.
Nana Pratt swiveled to face me. “You should never use the phone during a storm, dear.”
“It’s a risk I’m willing to take.” I called Otto’s number and was surprised to hear it ring three times. Usually, his housekeeper snatched it up on the first ring. I was equallysurprised to hear Otto’s voice on the other end. He rarely answered himself, and that included both the door and the phone.
“Good morning, Lorelei.”
“Where’s Heidi?” I asked.
“Well, hello to you, too.”
“Sorry. Good morning, Otto. I expected Heidi to answer.”
