Free What the Heart Knows by Shyla Colt Page A

crystal ball in the center, and a couple of velvet satchels that held what he could only assume were T arot cards.
    “Please have a seat, and tell me what I can do for you today.”
    “I’d like you to give us a reading. It was always my dream to have my future read by a true mystic.”
    Madeline paused to study them before she spoke again.
    “You’ve both experienced major tragedies in your life. Things most people wouldn’t understand.”
    He shifted his weight in his chair. Madeline seemed to look through them as if she knew everything there was to know about them.
    “Yes,” Juni said.
    “You , my dear , have a very special heart,” Madeline said.  The words made his jaw drop. How could she know that?
    “That’s one way to put it,” Juni said.
    “Hmm, it has a mind of its own some days , I think. You must take ownership of it soon.”
    Juni cast him a confused look and he shook his head.  He had no clue what she meant.
    “What do you mean?” Juni asked.
    “All will be revealed in time.  But right now, things are still hazy. There is a negative spirit that wishes you ill . I t is expending a lot of energy to keep me in the dark.  It’s been waiting silent and angry for some time.” 
      Madeline paused.  Her eyes took on a faraway glaze.  She seemed to listen to a voice they couldn’t hear. His stomach churned at the thought of Juni being in harm ’ s way. Why would she of all people be a target for something evil? Because the darkness is attracted to the light, just look at you. Within minutes of meeting her he’d acted completely out of character just to sample her goodness firsthand.
    “What can I do to protect myself?” Juni asked.
    “When this force reveals itself you must make it your business to find out everything about it you can.  I believe the motto is ‘know your enemy ’ ?” Madeline said.
    “I don’t understand . W hy me? What could I have possibly done?”
    “Your first mistake is thinking it’s something you can reason with. These entities aren’t human. They don’t think like you and I. Even human spirits become twisted versions of who they once were after a fashion. We aren’t meant to linger on this plane.”
    Oliver’s protective instincts went into hyper drive. If some force wanted to harm Juniper, it’d have to come through him first. He linked their hands and leaned forward in his chair. She was his anchor. Without h er, he’d be adrift again.
    “What can I do?” he asked.
    Madeline turned her attention to him and he swore he’d been hit by a ton of bricks .
“Oliver, you are a man haunted by his past. For a long time you clung to it as a lifeline to keep you rself from fading away. However, now I see you are ready to let go and move forward.” 
    Madeline nodded before she grabbed the black velvet pouch that s a t beside her.
    “I will consult the runes now to help guide you both in the right direction. I need you to be silent and contemplate the things I’ve told you.”
    They both nodded their agreement and watched as Madeline pulled a black piece of fabric from the bag and placed it on the table in front of her. She smoothed out the points of the fabric one by one until they faced North, South, East, and West.  He held his breath as she placed the white squares she referred to as runes onto the cloth one by one.  He wasn’t sold one hundred percent on the psychic spiel. Yet, with Juniper, anything seemed possible, and Madeline was compelling without trying. That was the clincher.
      When you knew something was true you didn’t go out of your way to prove yourself. She’d read the two of them like an open book from the moment they’d walked in, and if he were honest , h e’d felt something was amiss for a while now. He watched as she mixed the squares with her right hand. After a minute or so she raised her right palm about two inches above the squares , sweeping across them back and forth. She paused, hovering above one before she shook