38. Owen

Chapter thirty-eight

Owen

I 'd found an early flight to St. Louis and barely had enough time to get to the airport. The stupid flight cost too damned much, but that was the reality of buying a ticket last minute. I managed to get to the airport and through security in time to catch the final boarding call.

Only moments after I boarded the plane, it took off. Thank goodness. I didn't have the energy to think about all I was losing by returning home. I knew it was stupid that I'd gotten so attached, not to mention how much I'd gotten caught up in all the magic shit. Not that it'd ever impact me again. I was leaving to get out of that world. Get away before the hateful powers that be used my presence to hurt Damian.

Now I was on the flight, I was sure I'd done the right thing. I cared about Damian, and our short time together did nothing to negate how amazing he was or how strongly my heart felt toward him .

I closed my eyes and sighed, drawing the attention of the man next to me. "Is everything okay?" he asked, and I opened my eyes, smiling at him.

"Yeah, just, you know, lots of life changes happening all at once."

The man regarded me a moment, then smiled. "Oh, sometimes life comes at you fast. Other times, it's slow and plodding. Why don't I read your cards?" he said.

I chuckled. "Tarot cards?" I asked, and he winked before nodding. "Um, okay, I guess."

I figured, why the hell not? It's not like I hadn't just left a city of witches and dark forces threatening to kidnap me, not to mention what they were doing to Damian's friend Molly. Or for that matter the damn wizard I was sure I'd fallen in love with.

The guy certainly looked the part. He was dark, brooding, and wore clothes like he was trying to be steampunk or something. White shirt, black bow tie, black vest, long black coat, black pants. He even wore a freaking black top hat and a cane. No idea how he got that through security.

He winked as he pulled a box of cards out of his bag, lowered the seat tray, and began shuffling.

He chatted about the type of deck he was using, saying it was an original design and telling the story of the woman who'd painted the cards, giving me a history lesson. At one point, I lost interest and waited while he shuffled and spread the cards out in front of him. "Here, lower your tray, then pick one of the cards and flip it onto its back, revealing which card is yours."

I stared at the cards, hesitating, then chose one at random. I tugged the card out and was about to turn it over when I realized two cards had stuck together. I rubbed them together until they separated, then showed the guy what had happened.

"Now, that's strange," he said as he examined the cards. "How did that one get in there?" he asked, pointing at a decorative card under the more traditional one. "Might as well turn them both over."

I flipped over the one with the unicorn on the back first and then the other one. Of course, now I was convinced the man had planted them. They were both the same card—the Wheel of Fortune.

"Well, I'll be," he said, examining the cards. "You know, I…I haven't had that deck in years. I gave the unicorn deck away in the late nineties. I have no idea how that got in there, but let's look at the cards. Do you know what the Wheel of Fortune means?" he asked, and I shook my head. I didn't want to tell him that until recently, I thought it was all a bunch of bull.

"Where one journey ends, another begins. See the snake? The viper is a dark entity, representing all that's evil, but the wheel turns, good or bad. The unicorn on this card and Anubis on this one both represent the good. Bad or good, things will always change. I'm guessing your life is changing. Is it not?" he asked and I nodded, and before I could stop it a fat tear ran down my face .

"I… Yeah, even if I'm not ready for it."

He patted my hand and collected the Wheel of Fortune from my tray. "You hold onto that card, the one with the unicorn. I loved that deck, and I'm guessing this is a message to find and replace those in my collection. For you, it is a great symbol. Who knows, that card could be a good omen."

"Maybe," I said as I tucked the card into my coat pocket. We spent most of the flight talking about my time back in Seattle and the law firm I'd worked at. I told him everything about myself without going into detail about my brief relationship being with a wizard and my job working for witches.

"Life is short, young man. You have to take advantage of love when it presents itself. Don't be afraid to embrace it, even when it comes at you fast," he said just as the plane began its descent into St. Louis.

I was surprised how fast the flight had gone. I was afraid the time would drag, considering I'd just left a life I'd been so happy with a few hours ago. The man wished me luck, and when he winked, a real light twinkled in his eye. I almost felt nervous that I had sat with another magical person the entire time, but I knew he wasn't dangerous. Besides, he disappeared right after we landed, and I didn't see him again.

I came out of security to the baggage claim to find a somewhat wilted older couple holding a sign with my name. "Hi, I'm Owen," I said, and the couple smiled.

"We've been sent to pick you up. We're parked outside. I felt bad about such an elderly couple picking me up, but if they were witches, I had to assume they could take care of themselves. Luckily, my bag rolled around, so I grabbed it and followed them to their car and back to the town I'd left just months before with the hope of a new and brighter future.

Oh well, at least I'd connected with new and fascinating people before my life fell apart. That's something I'd remember for the rest of my life. Not that this life would give me much to look forward to.