Free Love Reborn (A Dead Beautiful Novel) by Yvonne Woon Page A

It was upside down, and decorated with an elaborate illustration of a robed man holding a divining rod over a cup. The Magician it read.
    Theo glanced at each of us, trying to make out from our reactions what it read. But Anya barely blinked. “Good,” she said. “Without looking, place the card back into the deck and shuffle it.”
    The cards fluttered together.
    “Cut the deck three times.”
    After he was finished, Anya stacked them back together and sat up straight. “I’m going to lay out your cards in a lifeline. They will move from past to present to future. Okay?”
    “Got it.”
    Starting with the top of the deck, she placed the first card onto the table with a satisfying slap. To everyone’s surprise but Theo’s, it was the same card he had pressed to his forehead just moments before. It was even upside down. The Magician.
    “This card represents who you are,” she said. She traced the edge of it. “The Magician is very talented, but doesn’t make use of his skills. He has a difficult time making choices, and for that reason he often backs away from challenges instead of making a hard decision. He isn’t trustworthy.”
    Theo let out an uncomfortable laugh. “Are you calling me a coward?”
    Anya pursed her lips. “I’m not calling you anything,” she said. “I’m reading the deck.”
    She flipped the next card, revealing an image of a white fist holding a leafy torch. Ace of Wands , it read. “You were a young talent,” she said. “A prodigy. You had a brilliant start to your career. Everyone thought you were going to shine.”
    She turned over the next card. Two of Swords , upside down. It depicted a woman sitting on a beach, her eyes closed. She held a sword over either shoulder, each facing opposite directions. They looked strangely similar to Spades. “But you were deceived. You didn’t realize it at the time, but someone was playing a trick on you. They tried to use you for something else.”
    Theo seemed to hold his breath when he saw the next card. It was a dark image. At its center lay a man stuck with dozens of swords. Ten of Swords. “A death occurred. Perhaps it was an accident.”
    The color drained from Theo’s face.
    Anya frowned. “Or murder? The cards do not say.”
    Theo relaxed a little, as if the ambiguity relieved him. Anya flipped over the next card. It depicted an old man in a tattered cloak. He faced the distance, which looked gray and bleak. The Hermit. “You were cast out.”
    Theo averted his eyes. Anya continued, laying down a card with an image of a beautiful woman, her long hair flowing down her shoulders. The High Priestess. “You will meet a girl and fall in love.”
    Theo’s cheeks blushed ever so slightly, but he quickly laughed it off. “Right, well, she’s not my type,” he said, nodding to the woman on the card. “I hope the cards take that into account.”
    Anya didn’t respond. She laid out the last card. The Knight of Swords. A valiant man riding a horse, wielding his sword fearlessly in front of him. Anya passed her hand over the cards, her eyes darting down the line as she took them all in. “You have a choice ahead of you. You will leave your path and walk on another. You will have to choose to return or go back. The lives of those around you will be sealed with your decision.”
    Theo gazed at the cards without saying anything. Finally, he let out a laugh. “You’re some sort of witch.”
    Anya studied him with curiosity. “Thank you.”
    Theo looked to Dante. “His turn.”
    But before Dante could respond, through the curtains I saw something move. I pushed them back just in time to see the shadows on the street shift. Everything inside me tensed. Dante must have noticed because the scratching of his pencil stopped. “What do you see?” he whispered. I didn’t dare turn around lest I miss it. Dante turned off the lamp behind us, leaving us under the cover of darkness.
    I leaned closer, watching a shadow shift in the alley. The