flowers. He reached high and opened the door, motioning me up the steep wooden steps to the shadows within.
The interior was cramped as they all were, but she'd made good use of the space. Along with bunches of herbs, lanterns hung from the ceiling crossbars. Their glass was tinted pink, lending a soft glow to everything. I dare say it made even me look less pale. The bed was neatly folded up against one wall and a shelf let down from another to serve as a temporary table. Ilka sat behind it, her watchful gaze on me. I was immediately struck by the startling similarity she bore to her predecessor, the same round, wizened face-if decidedly more wrinkled-the same short, wide figure. Most startling were the eyes. Her eyes were exactly the same as Eva's, the same dark, penetrating gaze. Had I not know better, I would have sworn that Eva herself sat before me.
'Welcome to you, Lord Strahd,' she said, not budging from her chair. As she must have been well past eighty, I assumed it was not meant as a slight and found a seat for myself. She looked frail, but her voice was yet strong, and the light in her eyes fierce.
'Thank you. I received your message about remembering Madam Eva's warning. Was there anything you can add to it?'
'You wish a reading?'
Suddenly I noticed the deck of tarokka cards in her hands. They had not been there an instant before. Very talented, she was, like her mentor. I nodded, and she gave the cards to me to shuffle. I made a thorough job of it, taking my time, admitting to myself that I was reluctant to see what message they had in store for me. They were her own deck and felt different from Eva's, just as heavy, but cold. The more I shuffled, the colder they got.
'Put one card in the center,' she said.
I did so. It was The Darklord.
Just as I feared. If I'd still possessed a beating heart, it would have lurched and begun pounding with dread anticipation. I looked to Ilka for a clue on what was to come, but not one of the many lines on her face shifted. Fighting the feeling of dread, I managed to carry out the rest of the pattern of shuffling and placing the top cards on their designated places.
Next came The Beast, The Necromancer, The Warrior, and The Mercenary cards. The reading was identical in every way to the one Eva had given me over seventy years ago.
When it comes to the Vistani and their skill at knowing the future, I do not believe in chance or coincidence. A chill from the cards worked its way up my hands, seeped into my chest and settled there. It was only by great force of will that I managed not to openly shiver.
'The Necromancer has come,' said Ilka, echoing my exact fear. 'I have had dark dreams of this for the last few nights. Dreams of fire and sword, of things of darkness stalking the land, killing, and the dead rising up to kill others in turn.'
Imprecise pictures from her inner mind such as anyone with a morbid imagination might have. I needed something more specific. 'Did your dreams tell you aught else?'
'Only that which the cards have shown you here.'
'What is to be done?' I had taken all the precautions I could think of for the moment, but was very much open to suggestions.
'Shuffle the cards. But the answer will be vague for so vague a question-and no, you cannot ask a new one.'
Deciding to swallow my annoyance at her presumptuous tone, I obeyed her. I turned over the card on top. It was blank.
'What is this?' I demanded. 'Why do you have such a card in this deck?'
She stared and shook her head; the sound of her heart's rapid beating seeming to fill every nook of the vardo. 'I-l do not understand. There should be no such card here at all.'
'You did not make this one?'
'No, Lord Strahd.' She pressed far back in her chair, as if trying to distance herself from the table. This was clearly a great surprise to her.
I wanted to back away as well, but settled for merely placing the remainder of the icy deck between us.
'There is magic afoot, then. This was meant as a message to me. What is its meaning?'
'There can be only one: that things beyond your present knowledge are taking shape that have a bearing on what you will face.'
'To help or to hinder me?'
She shrugged.
'Not too terribly useful, then.'
'It could also be a card of waiting. That certain things must come to pass before you can take action against your enemy.'
'Wait for how long?'
'The cards cannot reckon the time as we understand it. You ask what I cannot answer, Lord Strahd. Perhaps you already have the answers and you need not look to the cards at all.'
'Then let us hope I find them soon or else all of Barovia will suffer, including the Vistani.'
'Because of the war that's to come?'
'Indeed. You have reminded me of Eva's warning; was there nothing more?'
'You must study your enemy, and more importantly, you must not underestimate him.'
'Every good general knows and does that.'
'And you must trust in your friends.'
'I have none.'
'Yet they are there all the same. The animals of the wood, the wind and the rain, the very earth of Barovia itself.'
'And the Vistani?'
'We will help all we can, Lord Strahd-in our own way. But we are not sword-fighters.'
I was well aware of that.
'But we can watch all things for you, even the Necromancer.'
'Only from a safe distance. He is a danger to any who attract his notice. His powers are such that he can kill ordinary men without much effort or thought.'
'As I saw in the dreams. He tried to kill you with the fiery needles, but the mist carried you away.'
It was part of their magic to rely on dreams. Not nearly as efficient or controlled as my own practice of the Art, but no less powerful. I could trust in it even if I hadn't experienced the immediate proof of it last night.
'That is what happened. Any Vistani approaching him will not be so fortunate. Why was I not told of his coming by your people first?'
'None of our tribe were camped in that wood. The scouts said there was no game to be found there so they moved elsewhere. I saw him in my dreams, though, not clearly, for he has cloaked himself too well. I did not understand their import until the lady's message was brought to our camp along with the servant's gossip of a stranger to her house, then I knew the time of the Necromancer had finally come.'
'I would rather that he left, and quickly. Can your people take this Necromancer through the Mists and back to his own land?'
'No more than we could take you.'
Well, I had to ask.
'Will he find his own way back?'
'With the white card's influence in the reading the answer is both yes and no.'
'How can that be?'
She spread her hands, canting her head to one side. She did not know. Going to the Vistani to find out about the future could be a very frustrating experience, which is why I had always previously avoided it. I was coming to the conclusion I should leave now and let things look after themselves.
'There is perhaps one other way I might help you now,' she said. She collected the cards and put them away, then from her skirt pocket drew forth a small pouch. It was so heavily embroidered that the fabric beneath the decoration was hardly visible. She opened the loose knot on the drawstrings and reached in, taking out a carved wooden ring, placing it between us on the table. Next she brought out a crystal ball. It was as large as an apple and clear as mountain water, quite perfect. She set it upon the ring base.
