people in small groups walking around giggling and pointing out the oddities to each other, and even some families, although I noticed that admittance to several of the more questionable attractions was limited to those over the age of twelve.
Czech, German, and French were the predominant languages heard, with a smattering of English here and there, giving truth to what Christian had said earlier about people traveling to the area from all over Europe for the All Hallow's Eve celebration.
I worked my way through the thickening crowd, heading for the booth with a sign painted with a big blue hand garnished with a gilt Mannaz, one of the rune symbols used in divination. Happily for me, the next-door booth—Tanya's tarot card booth—was vacant. Although I had no qualms about facing her again, I didn't particularly want to encourage another scene like the one we'd been through earlier. I figured Tanya must be off casting spells and grinding up warts for love potions, which suited me just fine.
Arielle was seated at a low table covered with the standard moon-and-stars cloth you see at a lot of occult shops, cupping a blond twenty-something's hands in hers as her fingers traced lines on the woman's palm.
'Your life line is very long and very strong. This is always a good sign,' she told the woman in German. She gave a shy smile to the man standing behind the woman's shoulder. 'You have only one marriage line.'
The blond woman tittered and turned to shoot coy looks from under her lashes to her companion.
'Your heart line joins your line of head, so in relationships, your head very much controls your heart.'
The woman dimpled at her, pleased. I waved at Arielle and got in line behind the couple. So far what I'd heard was pretty standard fare—generalizations and vague concepts that were meant to send the customer away with a warm, happy glow.
'You have only one infinitesimal line of fate. This means that fate will not play too much of a role in your life. This is good, you understand? It means you are in control of your life.'
'Oh, yes, very good,' the woman agreed, starting to get into the reading. 'I like to be in control.'
Her companion snorted in obvious agreement. She ignored him, peering into her palm as Arielle pointed out a bump. 'Your inner Mount of Mars indicates aggressiveness, but your outer Mount of Mars indicates self-control, so sometimes you find yourself wanting to push everyone out of your way, but you hold yourself in check.'
The woman was nodding at everything Arielle said, her brows drawn together as she watched Arielle point to her fingertips and describe how they indicated she was a creative, artistic person. Five minutes later, Arielle concluded that the woman would have two children, travel extensively, and have intermittent luck throughout her long life. The German woman, all smiles after the reading, handed over the reading fee, slipping Arielle an extra couple hundred koruna as a tip before heading off to have something on her boyfriend pierced (Nostrils? Nipples? My German wasn't up to anatomical piercing dialogue).
'Good evening, Joy,' Arielle greeted me in her softly accented English. 'How is your head feeling?'
'Much better. I'd like you to read the runes for me, but first…' I gnawed on my lower lip and looked around us. Since the fair had just opened, there weren't a lot of people lining up for readings yet, and we were fairly private at the end of the row of booths. 'I was wondering if you could tell me where Raphael might be.'
She gave me a conspiratorial wink. 'He is very handsome, yes?'
My cheeks started to pink up. I just hoped that in the washed-out light of the bulbs overhead, she wouldn't see me blushing like a virgin. 'Um… I guess. Do you know where he is?'
She gave one of those eloquent shrugs that only the French seem to know how to make. 'I do not. He generally checks in to see how I am doing before Dominic's show, when he watches the crowds in the main tent. Otherwise, he promenades the fair and keeps control of the people.'
'Ah. OK. I'll just keep my eyes peeled for him promenading.' I waved at a velvet cloth bag sitting at the end of the table. 'Would you do a reading for me?'
'With pleasure,' she answered, pulling out a casting cloth of garishly colored red and gold, 'although I am very new to it, and the readings are not very strong within me yet.'
'No problem. To tell you the truth, I'm just killing a bit of time until Roxy and Christian get tired of playing on the rack.'
She paused as she reached into the bag. 'The rack?'
'Nothing. Go ahead, I didn't mean to interrupt you.'
She scattered glossy black hematite stones painted with gold runes on the cloth, and asked me in her professional, chatty voice if I was familiar with rune stones, then suddenly caught herself and said in her normal voice, 'Oh, but Roxy said you read runes. Please forgive me, I didn't mean to insult.'
'You didn't in the least,' I assured her.
She put her professional face back on and started her patter back up, instructing me to think of a question or issue for which I sought an answer.
'When you have your question firmly fixed in your mind, please select five stones that call out to you.'
I looked at the stones scattered on the casting cloth. I'd never done a reading in that manner, but I figured it was good to learn new things, so I closed my eyes and picked out five stones.
'Very good,' she said, scooping up the remainder and slipping them into the bag, then placing the five chosen stones in a cross arrangement. 'I do the Cross of Thor spread for you now.'
I nodded. I prefer the nine-stone Odin's hammer layout myself, feeling that bigger is better, but I figured maybe the rule at the fair was to give the customer a quick, easily generalized reading and send them on their way.
'The first stone is Dagaz, and it is the rune for the present. Dagaz means daylight or the light of divinity. It is the rune of dawn or midday, and is symbolic of illumination.'
'Ah. Illumination.' I felt anything but illuminated by her vague interpretation of the stone, but before I could ask her what she thought the illumination indicated, she was on to the next stone.
She went through the rest of the reading in quick order, giving me predictions for the obstacles and assistance I'd find, as well as my past and future, all in relationship to my question. It was all very positive, very generic, and completely uninspired. When she was finished, I hesitated for a moment before glancing behind me to be sure no one was waiting for a reading, then turned back to Arielle.
'I hope you won't be offended by what I'm going to say, but I couldn't help noticing that you're using the standard interpretation of the runes.'
'Yes,' she acknowledged, her face a picture of misery. 'I'm sorry, but I am not very good at it. Claude, our palmist, used to read the runes as well. He was good, very good. He taught me to read palms, but I hadn't learned the runes when he left, and yet they are very popular, so…' She gave another little shrug.
'You're not bad at all,' I reassured her, not wishing to hurt her feelings. 'And I'm far from an expert on the subject, but the rune stone book I read said if you were going to do a reading for someone, you should make it personal. It said that anyone, even a computer, can give a standard interpretation, but the real power in a reading —this is the book talking, not me, because I don't really believe in stuff like… er… never mind—the book said the real power in a reading came from the person interpreting the reading.'
'Ah, yes, I see.' Arielle looked confused. 'What do you mean by personal? I do not ask the people I'm reading for to tell me their question, so I don't understand how I can make it personal.'
I thought for a minute. 'Well, the couple of times I've done readings, I've tried to look beyond the standard interpretations, using the stones' meanings as a sort of self-help tool. For instance, the first stone here, Dagaz— that's not just the stone of daylight and illumination, it's a stone indicating a breakthrough, a great change, an awakening, if you will. In its position of the present, it indicates that the person you're reading for is standing on a point of no return. The illumination part comes in because the light banishes the darkness, completely wiping it away with a brilliant light. Taken with the other stones'—I waved my hand over the cross—'I would suggest to the readee that they are starting a new chapter in their life, and although the pages are blank, they alone dictate what will be written on them. In other words, it's kind of positive reinforcement to take the bull by the horns and make the most out of their life.'
'That is very interesting. What do you make of this stone?' She tapped the stone indicating the forces acting against me, one whose definition she had particularly stumbled over.
'Mannaz reversed—not a good stone in this position, eh?' I grinned at her.
She gave me a feeble smile in return.
'OK, well, I'd read this rune as a warning against becoming too self-focused and oblivious to others' feelings. This stone says to me that pretty much everyone is lining up to take a swing at you. It says that the very passions
