At the mention of this, the Hariman shifted in his seat and drew a little closer.
“Hmmm... Udova.” Ruby peeped at him from above the rim of her pince-nez. “You understand, dear Doctor?” Seeing from his expression that he obviously did not, she explained: “Udova is the widow, the old wise woman; faithful, knowledgeable, a good and reliable friend, yet a tenacious enemy. I wonder who that could describe? Any thoughts?”
Ruby gave Hariman one of her sweetest smiles. Not waiting for an answer from him, she continued with the reading:
“The third denotes the situation you find yourself in at the present moment. Aaaah, temper, temper, Doctor! The third card is Neprilika. Anger. For your own good you must learn to curb your emotions; it isn't good for the digestion. As a Doctor, you, more than anybody, should know this!”
Ruby permitted herself a slight smile at Hariman's expense; Hariman did not see the joke.
“Are you ready for card number four? This card tells us who or what is working behind the scenes, for you, or agin! Svechenik! The priest! Well... We all know that Reverend Phullaposi has been a good conduit for you don't we?”
Hariman curled his lip as a dog would, ready to bark.
Before he could do so, Ruby had carried on to the next card.
“Influences,” she announced grandiosely: “All those things seen and unseen which help or hamper our way... Sudac, the judge... Maybe He who judges us all will play his part in what we are seeing here?”
Hariman said nothing, he merely hissed between his teeth again in an impatient manner.
“The final card, Doctor Hariman. Please remember that a reading only tells us what will be if we do nothing to avert the natural course of events. We all have some choice in destiny, but it is up to us to make the right choices... Are you sure you want to see this last turn of fate?” Ruby's tone was deadly serious.
“I told you to read the cards. Now finish it, you bothersome old wart”.
Without even looking at the card, Ruby flipped it over. Hariman's eyes widened as he saw the image. The card showed a skeleton in the middle of a graveyard, grimly gripping a scythe; below was the word, 'smert'. Death.
“Are you satisfied now? No good can come of what you seek. You should know that your imminent demise is but a short while away if you continue on this stupid path of folly and destruction. Are you not afraid, Doctor Hariman?”
After the initial shock, Hariman composed himself, and then, amazingly, he started to giggle, his giggle turned into a laugh and his laugh turned into a howl of hysterics.
“Afraid?” he guffawed. “Afraid? Afraid of what? A rotund, mad old woman who performs parlour tricks for the amusement and astonishment of village idiots?” His booming laughter continued, unabated: “I have nothing to fear, except fear itself! Now keep out of my way, and when this is all over, I may see fit to ignore our little squabbles and let you keep some of your wits! These dismal little cards prove nothing!” He spat the words out with as much contempt as he could muster. “Do not cross me witch, or I shall crush you under my foot like the insignificant bug you are. Stick to your own business, and leave me to mine! For my anger is mighty! I have waited for this day, this hour, and this moment for far too long to be dissuaded by a modern day wannabe Wiccan. Clear my path and be gone!”
His eyes rolled, turning the colour of wild hot embers as he spoke. He stood up from the table, turned on his heel and made to leave the tent.
He had gripped the curtain and was about to storm out, when Ruby called to him.
“One more thing, Hariman,” she piped.
The Doctor paused, his back still to her.
“You have forgotten this...”
From her deck of cards, Ruby produced a card that was not in keeping with the rest, and offered it to Hariman. It was a plain, pink-coloured card, with some simple words printed in black on one side. It was, in fact, a card from the game of Monopoly.
“'Get Out of Jail Free'? What kind of joke is this?” asked Hariman, irritated.
Ruby smiled benignly at him.
“No joke, Doctor. It is a second chance. Something that your associates would never dream of handing out so freely, and with benevolence and love. Not many of us receive them. Now, go. Go in peace; take Nutter and Devizes with you, if you wish. For I warn you - if you try to pursue your original foul plot to its terrible conclusion, then it is not simply a tubby, wittering, sandal-wearing, mushroom-munching, tea-soaked old maid like me that you will have to contend with. Oh, no. Others, too, stand ready to stop you. And there will be more to come if we should fail. I impress on you, Doctor, the Forces of Good shall never surrender. We shall chase you wherever you are, from here to the Adriatic, from the Baltic to the Eastern steppes; we shall shut you out and seal you away with an iron will and an iron curtain.”
Ruby's face was stony serious and the air between them was heavy with malevolent intent.
They stood there staring each other, eye to eye.
Silence.
Hariman then quickly flashed Ruby his warmest reptilian smile, put his bony pale hand to his lips, blew her a kiss, and winked.
“Catch you later, blossom, ” he laughed.
Then he swiftly departed through the curtains.
Chapter 14
Reverend Phullaposi Becomes Bogged Down
It did not take the Reverend Phullaposi very long to find Dave Hinchy. The hapless Postman was idling by the hoopla stall, chomping his way through a huge candy floss, the colour of which clashed hideously with his hair (still a shocking hue of blue). The comedic value of this had not been
