Free Muses on the Move by Clea Hantman

like them. I wanted to go pet him and maybe see if he knew my cousin Dion, but Pocky stopped me and said that he might be dangerous.
    We got some food and some coffee (yes, it was strong!) and found a table toward the back. The coffee shop was dusty and dark and smelled of old fruit and burning wood. Two girls sat behind us, whispering and sipping these creamy, delicious—looking drinks out of big, cloudy glasses. We were surprised to see an old fortune-teller was setting up her table next to us. We all noticed her rainbow dress and turban, even amidst all the color. Apparently modern-day fortune-tellers hadn’t changed all that much since ancient times.
    Era used to love going to the soothsayers back home, and she couldn’t resist now. She shyly asked the woman if she could read her future for her. The ancient woman agreed, “For five dollars.”
    “You girls must have the biggest allowances of all time,” Pocky said, eyeing the huge wad of bills Era pulled out of her purse. We hadn’t made much of an effort to hide the fact from Pocky or Claire that we had an unlimited supply of cash. We’d always chalked it up to having rich parents back in Europe.
    The soothsayer asked Era to sit down and then grabbed her hand and ran her fingers over Era’s palm. She closed her eyes and whispered a few nonsensical words, then opened them with a pop. We all listened intently to hear what she was saying.
    “You, my girl, are from a very far-off land. You are a lover of all things sweet…and beautiful. Hum. You will have a very boring life. Hum. Now, that is all I see—leave my table. Send over that girl who was sitting next to you.” She nodded toward me.
    Era got up, appearing very disappointed. That was worth five dollars? Even with an unlimited supply of money, it seemed like a rip-off. She’d been right about Era’s personality, but her future-seeing skills seemed to be lacking. Yet Polly still seemed compelled to go to the woman’s table and ask to see her future, too.
    The woman sighed with impatience and glanced at me, as if for some reason she was only interested in reading my palm and not Polly’s. She pulled out a small crystal ball and ran her hands over the globe furiously.
    “You, my dear, have a very romantic nature. You are also gentle, and you love animals. I see that you have an antelope you like to ride…. No…wait…it looks like a horse with a horn on its forehead, which doesn’t make any sense, but oh, well. I foresee that you will eat lunch tomorrow. Next? Send over the brunette.”
    Polly also headed back to the table, somehow looking both impressed and disappointed.
    “That woman may be chintzy with the future info, but she’s sure on target about you, Pol,” I pointed out.
    Era gave me a shove. “Thalia, she said for you to go over. We went—you have to go.”
    “But why? I mean…” But Era just kept pushing me out of my seat. “Fine, fine,” I said. I’m not against a good fortune-telling now and then, but this woman seemed like a fraud to me. Still, I got up and headed over to her table.
    As I approached, a strange smile crept across the woman’s face. I handed her my five. She didn’t take it. She just nodded for me to sit, and she pulled out her tarot cards. She shuffled quickly. All the time the smile stayed on her face. She only glanced up at me once. As she laid the cards out on the table, I noticed that she had the hands of a young woman more my age, but her face was wrinkled and craggy. It creeped me out. Her breath was awful stinky, too.
    “You, dear girl, have a young, very handsome, I might add, man waiting for you on the top of a snowy mountain. Hum. He yearns for you, and his heart is breaking at this very moment, wondering where you are. Hum. His heart’s fate is in your hands. Do whatever is in your powers, er, rather, power to get to him at once. Hum. That is all—now leave. Send the boy.”
    How could she know? I’d thought this witchy woman was a fake, but she