Lilly agreed, “The weather has been beautiful. It’s only fitting the cold comes now.”
Claude took her hand in his as they walked, “It’s been a magickal time and it will be again. Winter is the time to go within and reflect, to fortify ourselves for new growth coming in the spring.”
Lilly blinked away tears, “Yes, however I wasn’t planning on reflecting through the winter by myself. My Aunt Pearl told me, ‘In times of hardship and disappointment, the universe is always unfolding the way it is supposed to. It is our resistance to what is happening and laying blame outside of ourselves that makes our lives difficult.’ “It’s hard to embrace that belief when I feel so sad and abandoned.”
“Your Aunt Pearl sounds like a wise woman,” Claude said as they approached the gate to Panthea’s Apartments.
“Yes, she was. I wish she was here to help me now. Her words are meaningful, yet don’t seem help me much without her strength behind them. I am grateful for the time I had with her. I wish I knew what happened to her. One day she was simply gone.”
Claude looked pensive, “Maybe we can find out what happened. I’m sure the two of us together could scry the astral plane and the physical plane. I want to help. I swear I know we can find her.”
Lilly gave him a hug, “I am glad I landed on your doorstep today. I’ve been lost the last few days. I needed a friend. You and your wife have come into my life at the perfect time.”
Claude stepped back, “Whoa, Regina is not my wife. Regina is my business partner. She came into Spell Caster’s Emporium in New York. Later, over drinks in the Village, she convinced me to open an occult shop with her. She had the funds, lots of magickal knowledge and the will. I had the psychic ability and muscle to get it all happening.
At one time, I thought there might be more between us. In the long run, I knew I couldn’t pursue it. I’m not attracted to her in a romantic way. She has some serious baggage around her family. It seems they have a lot of money and the power they once wielded through the magickal realms is gone. Regina is determined to discover and reclaim the power her family once took for granted. From what she says, no one else in her family is interested.
Lilly gave him a puzzled look. “I didn’t want to get intimately involved with someone so focused on the past,” Claude explained. “She was disappointed when I told her I didn’t want a romantic relationship. She is cool with our situation now. We are roommates and business partners, nothing more.”
Lilly nodded her head, “I didn’t sense a romantic vibe between the two of you, I assumed you were an old married couple.”
“Well, we are not. I am hoping you and I can be close friends,” Claude said as he put his arm around her. “I meant what I said, Lilly, I swear I will help you discover what has become of your Aunt.”
Lilly smiled grateful for his offer of assistance. “Goodnight, Claude” she whispered as she slipped from his embrace and stepped through the gate.
Regina sat in her bed, the cushioned red leather head board supporting her back. She heard Claude’s footsteps on the stairway and released a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding. He was back quickly, which meant Lilly had not invited him into her apartment. When he passed her open door she called out to him, “Claude, wait a minute. I want to talk to you.”
“Yea, about what?” He asked, stepping into the door frame of her room.
“Our new friend. Do you like her?”
“Yea, what’s not to like? She has an appealing innocence and vulnerability in contrast to the depth and magic in her eyes. I’d say, she is very interesting and definitely worth getting to know.”
Regina’s mouth puckered, “Did you sense power in her?”
Claude shrugged his shoulders. “Powerful lifetimes showed up in her reading. That is all I’m going to say about it” he said and walked down the hall to his bedroom.
The next morning business at Raven Moon picked up as the Mardi Gras daze lifted from the inhabitants of New Orleans. Claude was managing the store while Regina guided a young guy with a fuzzy beard to the red velvet tent for a Tarot reading.
“Would you like me to record your tarot session,” she asked smiling at the nervous young man. “You can listen to it again and gain more insight.”
The young man responded with a vigorous “Yeah!” Regina slid her hand to the shelf underneath the table and grabbed a blank tape.
Her blood red fingernail clicked on the button when she opened the recorder sitting next to her on the table. “Oh,” escaped her lips when the machine popped open. There was a tape in the machine, wound to the end. A small smile lifted the corners of her mouth as she slipped the tape into her pocket.
After an interminable hour, Regina handed the young man his recorded tarot reading and directed him to Claude at the checkout counter. She pulled the velvet flap closed, grabbed the braided cord, and tied it into a tight knot. Her hand wrapped around the tape in her pocket. In one swift move, she had the tape rewinding. When the rewind motion stopped, Regina hit the play button, turned the volume low and leaned close to hear the voices on the tape.
“Your talents spring from an ancient Fae bloodline strengthened by lifetimes of esoteric study and ritual. You have followed the path of the priesthood many times. The ways of magic are not new to you.”
Regina tapped her fingernails on the table as her mind absorbed the information, ‘So Lilly LaCouer, her new best friend, held Faery magic in the
