Neither Gods Nor Devils ~ a WyrderWorld Short Story Collection

A Lost Pack - Part 2

The bell softly announces my appearance through the matt-black door, adorned with silver letters telling me I'm in the right place.

"Fortunes Told - Mr. E. Evans"

I imagine the bell would have echoed except the walls are lined with books and tapestries, which soften the sound, making the small space seem smaller. A large window with frosted glass fills the room with sunlight as diffused as the sound.

Suddenly, Mr E. is there, I'm not sure how I missed him but he's looking at me like he's weighing up which future version of this moment he saw will be the one that actually happens.

"Hi, you spoke to me at the bookshop..." I begin, and he nods slowly.

"And so you came to see me." He replies. "Which means we have work to do."

"Wait, I have questions!"

His eyebrow quirks at me.

"You don't remember everything you need?"

"I... No."

He looks puzzled, confused even, and steps closer, looking first in one eye, then in the other as if his reflection could tell him what went wrong. Because, from his expression, something clearly didn't go quite right. He begins muttering to himself, turns, rifling through the shelves.

"That should have worked. That should have been enough. Why was that not enough?"

"Enough for what?" I ask, interrupting. I still have questions and things are no clearer than they were.

"To break the curse." he replies, head buried between shelves, I expect clouds of dust but the place is spotless.

"What curse?"

"The curse of forgetting, of course. How else did you think you lost those memories?"

A puzzle piece. Though I'm not sure if it's an edge or a corner yet.

"How did you know? And why the hell would you meddle in someone else's curse uninvited?!"

I'm not ungrateful, but I now remember a little of the magic I once knew, and it's risky to poke unknown magic, so unless he knew who cast it... Or was the one that cast it... I edge closer to the door as he straightens up, clutching a small wooden box, and his eyebrow quirks at me again.

"I didn't cast it, if that's what you're thinking."

I pause. It was.

"But... I had a vision. Because of course I did."

As he speaks he pulls out a folding table, and two chairs.

"Specifically a ghost. A guardian spirit, with copper hair like yours and a sense of the feline about her. She showed me 4 cats playing, happy, one was coloured like your hair. Then a fifth appeared and they all split up. I heard the word lethe and then... An image of your bookshop."

He places the box on the table and pulls out a battered tarot deck. Begins shuffling.

"As payment for my gifts I have an obligation to help lost mythics when they come to my door. Your guardian ghost brought you. It looked like a curse so the uncrossing should have been enough, but it wasn't, was it?"

"No, Mr E."

"Please, call me Evan."

I can't help it.

"Evan Evans?"

"Yes, yes. I know. Now... Shuffle these."

The cards are almost velvet with age, the edges soft from wear. A flash of gilding glistens in the sunlight. It sparkles as I slide the cards over and over each other. The lights twinkling. Mesmerising.

"Tell me, pussycat, what is your name?"

I find myself answering without thinking.

"Gefyn."

That isn't what I thought I'd say, but it's true.

"Good. Good."

The light shimmers as the cards keep sliding, I cannot look away. I have never felt so vulnerable. Nor so at peace.

"And who cursed you?"

"No curse."

The words tumble from my lips and he snorts with surprise. I would if the light of the cards hadn't caught me in a trance.

"Huh. OK. What spell was cast on you?"

"A blessing of forgetting."

"Forgetting what?"

"Forgetting pain."

"What pain?"

"She left."

"Who left?"

"Our Dis."

"And who cast the spell?"

"I did."

My hands stop. Why would I do that? Even to forget pain, why forget the joy as well?

"Well then, now we have our course of action, and we didn't even need to pull cards." Evan says, leaning back. "But this one will have a price, I'm afraid, if you want to undo what you've chosen for yourself."