Free Chronicles of Darkness: Shadows and Dust by Andrea F. Thomas, Taylor Fierce Page A

coughing spree.
             Kyrian
blushed at the old woman's reprimand. "I beg your pardon, Madame, it
wasn't my intention to..."
             The old woman
waved one of her bony hands. "Bah, nonsense! You are looking for someone.
Am I right... Kyrian?"
             He paled
noticeably at the use of his name by a complete stranger. "H-How do you
know my name?"
             The old woman
smiled and winked mysteriously. "Ah, Madame Zynora knows everything. You
are searching for your sister, Skylar, is that her name?"
             Kyrian was
too amazed to answer, so he just nodded, dumbly.
             "Don't
worry. You two will be together again, before the day is over." The old
fortune-teller assured him.
             The whole
situation scared the young hunter. How could the old woman know all that?
"Um, yes... uh... thank you very much, kind lady... I'll leave now... it
was a pleasure..."
             Faster than
it should have been possible for a crone, Madame Zynora leapt from her chair
and grabbed his arm with her narrow, wrinkled hands. "You will sit down,
boy. I want to tell your fortune, by the cards."
             Kyrian
cleared his throat. "Thank you, but that really isn't necessary.
I..."
             The old woman
increased the strength of her grip, then pushed the young man to sit on a large
pillow. "I insist. I tell the fortunes by the cards for everyone that
enters the tent of Madame Zynora."
             Finally,
Kyrian relented. 'What does it matter? I'm going to listen what this old,
crazy lady has to tell me, before she tries to break my arm.'
             Madame Zynora
sat down on her chair, shuffled a deck of colorful, well-worn cards, took two
out of it and put them down in front of Kyrian, the picture covered. She
pointed to the left card. "This one will show you an encounter in your
near future."
             Kyrian turned
the card around. It showed the Queen of Cups.
             The old woman
coughed so hard, the hunter feared she would injure her lung, at any moment.
She raised both arms, calling out, dramatically, "Beware, my boy! Beware
the Queen of Cups! She will seal your fate!"
             He drew his
brows together. "Why? What will happen?"
             "Turn
the other card and you shall see." Madame Zynora explained.
             Terror struck
Kyrian and his hand trembled, as he reached for the card. Slowly, he turned it
around. His heart skipped a beat or two. Wide-eyed, he sat there, staring at
the picture. Death.
             Kyrian leapt
from his pillow, and slowly he retreated to the tent's exit. Refusing to
believe what he had seen, he shook his head, his heart beating wildly, his
hands cold and wet. "No, no, there is no truth in what you said. That
cannot happen!"
             Madame Zynora
watched him with unreadable, dark eyes and repeated, "Beware, Kyrian
Leosol! Beware the Queen of Cups!"
             The young man
stumbled out of the tent, trying to clear his mind and to get himself under
control again. Blinking, he looked at the sun and took deep breaths. Slowly the
horror faded and he continued searching for his sister.
     
     
     
    *****
     
     
             At the same
time, Skylar was forcing her way through the crowd in front of Notre-Dame .
"I'm never going to find him like this. There are far too many people
here. Kyrian! Kyrian!" She jumped and stretched up on her tip-toes, hoping
to somehow catch a glimpse of her brother.
             Beside her, a
man, in a red-white checkered costume, stalked along on stilts. 'I need
something like this. Then, I could overview the whole plaza. Hmm, I need to
find a place that's higher than anything else.' Her eyes gazed around and
stopped at a wooden pole, where a lot of colorful pennants and garlands, on a
rope, stretched across the whole area.
             Skylar
grinned. "That's exactly what I've been looking for. Now