Part 6 (1/2)
At first, he couldn't move. He just sat there, frozen and paralyzed, as the seer went into her weird, trancelike oracle.
Then he tried to move, and couldn't. He just kept hearing her, like a broken record, ”You... evil... you'll hurt her... I see blood... smell blood... evil... Finn Douglas... you're the evil... it's your touch... she'll die...
evil, evil, evil, evil, evil...”
The words seemed to have a grip on him as powerful as the trance that seemed to have taken over the seer. He felt nothing but cold, and a seeping sense of raw terror.
He fought it.
And anger kicked in.
f.u.c.k this whole place. It was a setup. These people knew that he and Megan had been split up. They'd heard about Megan screaming in the dead of night, and they weren't about to believe it had been a dream, no-they were all just convinced that he was one real b.a.s.t.a.r.d, beating his wife.
With a rush of fury and determination, he wrenched his hand free and stood.
The woman immediately seemed to snap out of it-maybe because he almost knocked the table over. She jumped up as well.
Staring at him, her eyes rolled back into a normal position, she looked as if she was terrified herself.
”That's bulls.h.i.+t!” he swore.
”What?” Sara gave a good impression of being out of it.
”Look, I don't know what you've heard, or what you think, but I love my wife, and I'd shoot myself in the head before I hurt her.”
”I said that you'd hurt your wife?” She sounded truly baffled.
He fought to control his temper. They weren't going to get the best of him.
”You know what you said.”
”I don't, but... hey, whatever. Yes... of course, whatever I said... it's just a tale, a story, what might be... bulls.h.i.+t!” she said herself. She shook her head strenuously, looking from where he stood to the two inches to the door, as if she wished desperately that he weren't there, blocking it. ”Morwenna should give you a reading, not me... not me. I'm sorry. I suck, really, I'm new... I...
Let's go out, shall we?”He turned, nearly slamming open the door.
The scent of incense wafted over him again. There was an Enya CD playing. There was light, pouring in then from the work area.
The cold fell from his shoulders like a discarded cloak. He felt like a fool. He had been scared in that room, really scared. He was an adult male in his prime, in pretty d.a.m.ned good shape, and he'd been scared by the silly words of a little five-foot-two woman in a blue-lit closet.
He turned to her. ”Sorry-but you shouldn't do that to clients. No matter what you might have been told.”
She gazed at him, then carefully stepped a distance past him. ”You know, I'm new here. I don't know anything about you, or Megan, except that she and Morwenna are cousins. I told you, I'm sorry. I'm not... never mind. You should go to someone else.”
She was irritatingly believable, and he was appearing like a royal idiot. He gritted his teeth, determined to calm down, or else he'd have her thinking the whole Shakespearean thing-Methinks thou doth protest too much.
”I don't believe in readings,” he said flatly.
”Well, that's good. Good for you.”
The door opposite from them opened then. Megan stepped out, laughing at something her cousin had said.
”Perfect timing!” Morwenna said. She smiled deeply. ”So how was it, Finn?”
”Great. Just great,” Finn said. ”And thanks, thanks so much. We can see how busy you are, so we'll get out of your way for now.
Please, come tonight, we'll get to spend some time together during the breaks. Meg, you ready? I'm starving, too, you know. My palm has had too much of a workout.”
”Absolutely. Morwenna, thanks, and we'll see you all later,” Megan agreed. She looked relieved, her eyes thankful as they met Finn's. Great. He'd earned his wife's approval-for being told that he was evil and going to hurt her.
Kill her...
He'd die first. It was bulls.h.i.+t. All bulls.h.i.+t.
He caught Megan's hand, lifted his free one in a good-bye salute, and made his way through the milling customers in the shop to the door.
All the way, despite the warmth of his wife's hand, he felt as if he were touched by a blade of ice. And he knew...
The palm reader was watching him. Watching him all the way out of the store.
And beyond.
Chapter 3.
Finn held her hand comfortably at her side, and whistled.
”What's wrong?” she asked him.
Previous Top NextHe glanced down at her as if he were surprised by the question. ”Wrong? Nothing.”
She shook her head. ”You're too cheerful, you know.”
”Not at all.” He had one of the world's best smiles. Devastating.
”The reading went badly?”
”Megan, you know I don't believe in any of this stuff.”
”Well, not many people do believe completely in a reading of any kind. They're just fun.”
”I had fun. Barrels of it,” Finn said.
He was walking quickly. He was tall and long-legged. She wasn't short herself, but keeping up with him wasn't easy.
”Are we in a hurry?”
”What?”