The Secret of Isobel Key (13 page)

They sat down where they stood and dug into the pizza.

“
I'm sort of a pizza snob; we've got some amazing places in Boston. But this is amazing!”

Brian laughed, shoving another slice in his mouth. “I'll say. Best pizza in town.”

Lou licked her fingers and eyed the open box. “Did you want to save any of that?”

“Eat all you like. Can't have you going back to your friend and telling her I didn't take care of you.”

For a minute, Lou hesitated. “What do you mean?”

Brian handed her another slice of pizza. “I promised your friend I'd be good to you.”

Her heart turned over. “Why would you do that?”

He met her eyes, and Lou sucked in her breath. Maybe it was just the fire, but Brian's blue eyes glowed with intensity that made her shiver with anticipation. “Because I really like you.”

Lou froze, speechless. He did?

After a moment, Brian looked away and shrugged. “And Tammy doesn't seem like someone I want to cross. That's all.”

The fragile moment burst, and Lou silently cursed herself. He'd told her he liked her, and she'd just stared at him like an idiot.
Smooth one, Lou.
Annoyed with herself, she shoved the slice of pizza into her mouth and chewed silently. Just as she was working up the nerve to tell Brian that she really liked him, too, he stood up and brushed the sand off his pants.

“Want to take a walk before we head back?” He extended his hand to her.

Lou nodded and tipped her head back. “It's really beautiful out here tonight. I love that moon.” It was almost full, and it hung over their heads, reflected in the black water. She clasped Brian's hand and got to her feet. They started to walk slowly along the shoreline, wandering far from the kids and their fire.

The waves rolled along the shore, and the repetitive sound was vaguely hypnotic. Lou felt some of the earlier tension fade away, and she smiled up at Brian. “It's so peaceful. I could stay here forever.”

“I'm glad you like it. This is my favorite spot in Scotland.”

Tentatively, Lou reached for his hand, and after a beat, Brian pulled her close, draping his arm around her shoulder. The heat from his body made Lou's pulse race, and she snuggled in under his arm. “It's perfect. Thank you for bringing me here.”

Brian didn't answer, but he pulled her close. Lou wondered if he would try to kiss her, and she licked her lips nervously, but Brian just held her as they stared out at the water. Pressed against his warm chest, she listened to the rhythmic sound of the waves rolling in, and over it, she could hear the steady thump of Brian's heart.

Isobel returned from St. Andrews in a haze of grief and rage, and she proceeded to shut herself away from the world. Her carefully tended pottage garden began to grow wild, taking over the yard, and it was not long before her little home became an eyesore to travelers along the road.

She locked herself up in her tiny cottage, and she feverishly began to add to the book that she had started with her mother all those years ago. She wrote of charms to protect a woman from death while in the birthing bed, filling pages and pages with the methods she would have used to save her sister if she had been allowed to attend her.

Children who had never met the midwife, children who had only ever had their ills tended by the wise doctor, began to tell tales among themselves. They spoke of the ugly old witch who lived just beyond the town. Some of the braver boys even devised a contest where they would dare each other to pass through her garden and stand in front of the house for a full count of one hundred. Only one or two of the boldest boys was able to meet the challenge; the others all swore that the witch hexed them the minute they stepped onto her land.

Although their parents silenced them, reminding them not to speak ill of their elders, even the adults began to wonder about Isobel Key. Clearly she had gone mad, consumed by her grief, for what sane person would choose to live in such complete isolation? Whether or not she was a witch, as the children had begun to claim, the adults couldn't say. They knew that her skill as a healer was legendary, and where just a few years before they had been willing to attribute her talent to the gifts of angels, now they began to wonder if perhaps the devil was involved with Mistress Key.

Tammy shook Lou gently. “Wake up! I want to hear about your date!”

Lou sat up and rubbed her eyes. “What time is it?”

“Seven,” Tammy whispered, glancing at the two German travelers, snoring blissfully in their beds.

“Why did you wake me up?” Lou knew she sounded whiny, but she didn't care. Her body felt like pulled taffy, and she groaned as she counted backwards. “I've only been asleep for five hours!”

“Really?” Tammy leaned forward eagerly. “So I guess it was a good date, huh?”

Realizing she wasn't going to be allowed to fall back asleep, Lou shrugged. “I don't know. We had pizza on the beach.”

“How romantic!” Tammy grinned at her friend. “And then what happened?”

Lou sighed, blushing. “Nothing, Tammy. We just talked for a long time.”

“Did he make any moves?”

Lou hesitated. “We cuddled a bit.”

Tammy's face fell. “That's all? How boring! That's so like you, to spend hours with a hot guy and have nothing to show for it.”

Lou glared at her. “So why did you wake me up if you knew I wouldn't have anything to tell you?”

“Because I hoped you'd loosen up. We're on vacation!”

Lou decided to drop it. “Why are you up so early, anyway?”

“I have to call the family back in Edinburgh. We're due back there in a few days, remember.”

Lou nodded. “I'd almost forgotten.”

Tammy laughed. “You've turned our vacation into a research trip. Why can't you just have some fun?”

Silently, Lou looked down at her hands. Tammy got up from the bed. “I have to go make that call. Want to meet up for lunch? I don't know how long I'll be.”

“Sure,” Lou agreed. “Since I'm up, I might as well go exploring. I'll see you at lunch.”

~

“This is Justice, and look how she's inverted, standing on her head? You are searching to right a terrible wrong… a wrong done far before your lifetime, unless the card lies.” Lou looked at the woman, afraid to speak. She had retraced her steps from last night to find the little shop she'd noticed, and so far, the tarot reading was sounding creepily true.

The woman didn't look up to gauge Lou's reaction. “Tsk, now, whatever it is shouldn't be keeping you from your rest!” As she spoke, she jabbed her finger at a terrifying card, a figure pinned to the ground by countless swords. As she stared at the card, her expression softened. “Lass, whatever it is, it is not worth hurting your own heart over. You will either bring justice or not, but you cannot lose yourself in the process.”

“What about this one?” Lou pointed to a lovely card, showing three golden chalices against a backdrop of royal blue. “This one doesn't seem too awful.”

The
woman smiled. “You're right, it's not too awful. It's the family card, and the way it's placed there? That means that the overall problem, this injustice you want to right, it's a family matter, making it closer to your heart than if it involved strangers.”

“But this has nothing to do with my family.” Lou blurted out before she could stop herself. “Could the card mean something else?”

The woman simply shrugged, unperturbed. “Maybe it's a family matter that has yet to be revealed to you, or maybe family is influencing you as you proceed, but make no mistake, something that worries you involves your family.”

Lou sat back in her chair, puzzled.

The woman looked at Lou kindly. “Sometimes the cards tell us things we aren't ready to know yet. Don't trouble yourself about it too much, but don't forget it, either.” She scooped up the cards and deftly began to shuffle them. “Now, would you like some tea, dear? It will clear your head.” Lou rose to follow the woman out of the dark back room into the well-lit shop. An electric kettle was already plugged in and whistling, and the woman bustled over to it, pouring the boiling water into a delicate pink china teapot. She hummed as she worked, adding loose herbs to the water.

“Tea will be ready in just a few moments, dear. While you wait, feel free to look around a bit.”

Lou nodded absentmindedly, her thoughts still consumed with the reading.

Her mind kept turning the mystery over and over while she walked slowly around the shop, smelling incense sticks, lifting up lovely carved boxes, staring into the eyes of different goddess figurines. The place had a peaceful feeling. Lou drew a deep breath, eyes closed, and felt herself re-center. When she opened her eyes, the woman who owned the shop was standing in front of her, a smile on her face.

“Here's tea for you, dear.” She handed Lou a white china cup, and Lou thanked her. “And if there are answers you would seek beyond the cards, well,” she reached for Lou's other hand. Surprised, Lou let her take it, and the woman turned it gently, studying the palm with a thoughtful expression. She let go of Lou and turned abruptly, reaching behind the counter. When she reemerged, she placed a polished, perfectly round crystal sphere into Lou's upturned hand. “Use this to scry. It's true crystal, it is, and the shape will help you to see better than a cut stone.”

“That's very kind of you, really, but I don't know what you're talking about.” Lou tried to hand the crystal sphere back to the woman, but she just sighed and held up her hands.

“You have the gift, dear, that I know. Whether you've called it to you before or not, I can't say. If you haven't, you may want to look over there for instructions.” She gestured to the wall behind her, filled floor to ceiling with a variety of books. “Nothing too fancy, I think. Just flip through whichever ones interest you. But please,” she held up her hand to silence Lou's protest, “please take this crystal. I have faith that it will serve you well.”

The bell over the door of the shop rang just then, and the woman turned from Lou to greet the new customers, a young couple who looked a bit spooked by the shop. The woman offered them both tea, which the man accepted, but the girl shook her head and giggled nervously. Lou drained her teacup, set it on the counter beside the pot, and considered leaving the crystal there, as well. But something stayed her hand, and Lou found herself wandering toward the wall of books, still clutching the crystal.

Scry, that's the word the woman had said, wasn't it? Lou wasn't sure what it meant, but she pulled a book at random off the shelf and checked the index. “Scry” wasn't there, but
“
scrying” was, and Lou flipped to the page that was listed. She read the description, including the historical blurb, which mentioned that Nostradamus and John Dee had both used scrying to help them prophesize. The book described various elemental scrying methods, but the method mentioned last was the one which interested Lou the most.

“For earth scrying”, she read, “the most famous method requires a crystal. Many people have heard of the crystal ball.” Lou glanced suspiciously at the crystal sphere in her hand, envisioning a ragtag gypsy caravan complete with a toothless old soothsayer, but she continued to read. “Cut crystal may also be used, but even the beginner can find success with a smooth, polished sphere.” The book went on to describe a method very similar to that of the other elements, including achieving a meditative state prior to staring at the crystal, and then simply remaining in that state for as long as is needed to cause visions to manifest. The book did not explain how to interpret the visions, but said, “such answers are up to the seeker to make of the knowledge what she will.”

Lou had to admit that she was feeling skeptical. She had shied away from things like divination as she had begun to explore the Wiccan faith, focusing instead on the deep connection with the natural world and the seasonal festivals of pre-Christian Europe. Those things didn't feel too strange, and she enjoyed the idea that she could walk barefoot in the grass and be blessed in that moment, but things like spells and divination felt too hocus-pocusy to her. She held the book in one hand and the crystal in the other for a long while, staring at both and thinking.

Without realizing she had made her choice, she turned toward the counter to purchase the book. The woman smiled at her encouragingly, murmured “Good choice” as she made the sale and wrapped both the book and the crystal in purple tissue paper. She tenderly placed the wrapped parcels inside a plain brown bag, and she handed it across the counter to Lou.

“Now, you come back and see me any time, if you have any more questions, or anything you don't understand.” Lou smiled and nodded, feeling more at ease than she had all morning, and left with the feeling that she was on the right path.

“Would you please tell me again why you're doing this?” Tammy was standing in the doorway of their dormitory in the hostel, leaning over the landing to make sure no one was coming.

“I told you, I'm not sure. I just feel like there's something I need to know, and I don't know how else to do it.” As Lou talked, she was sprinkling the table salt she had swiped from the dining room in a circle around her, moving clockwise. “I just think I can find out more about Isobel this way, that's all.”

Tammy frowned. “Look, Lou, I think it's kind of strange, but don't you think you better be careful? Isn't all this stuff sort of...evil?”

Lou sighed. “Tammy, this has nothing to do with anything evil. People have used scrying for centuries to help them answer tough questions or make predictions about the future. I'm just the next in a long line of information seekers.” Lou had finished sprinkling the salt, and she surveyed her handiwork. “Does that look like a circle to you?”