Whispering Suits

Nat is frowning at me before I can even tell her about what happened at the bar. “I can't believe you would make a Faerie deal, Izzy” she says. I can tell that it took a lot of effort to say the wrong name, she's really mad. I gesture round to us. “I didn't have a choice. We couldn't go back outside with that thing out there, and anyway, mum made a deal with you didn't she. So, clearly not all Faerie deals are bad. I didn't agree to anything dangerous, I promise” I quip back. She sighs, I've got her there. “Fine” she says “now do you want to tell me what all this is for. If you've gone and made a deal for the sake of talking to me, I have to assume it's urgent. Why couldn't you come to the cafe?” Her voice is gentler now, I can tell she's worried about me. I check that the veil is working, and can see that the Faeries who had been paying attention to Nat before have all now lost interest and are looking elsewhere. I try not to think of the implications, to have magic strong enough to work on other Fae, he must be very powerful indeed. Too powerful to just be a bartender. I shake the thought away, and retrieve the box from my pocket. Nat almost recedes into the seat as she pulls away from it. “Why on earth do you have That here?!” She asks, her voice rising with concern. “Because I have questions about it, questions that you are going to answer. It's the least you owe me” I reply, my voice steady and a little cold. I realise for the first time that I'm angry with Nat. I know there is no logic to it, but I feel she could have done something. If she had been there that night, would mum have used these cards, would she have died protecting us. I don't know if it would have changed anything, but it might have. Nat sits and thinks for a moment. Then, she sits up and straightens herself out. “Okay, you're right. I always told your mum that one day we'd have to tell you about those cards, but I always thought she would be here for it. I suppose I should begin at, well, the beginning”. She takes a deep steadying breath, and then sets her gaze on me. Through her glamour, I can see her Selkie eyes glistening a deep ocean blue. “Tell me, did your mum ever tell you about how The Mother came into being, and how she created The Tarot?” Nat asks. I nod. “Yeah, but…she said it was just a kids story”. I reply, remembering the book mum used to read to me about a mystical being called The Mother who drew to life the Major and Minor Arcana using her own pure magic, and how those cards became the Faeries we could see. Nat shakes her head. “No, she said it was a Faerie story. And it is. It is the true story of how all Fae came to be, we all came from The Mother, she drew the first court kings on powerful cards and those cards became the heads of the four Minor Arcana suits. All the stories your mother told you, they were real”. It's hard to believe, but then I suppose most people would find it hard to believe that Faeries are real, and yet here I am sat on a bar surrounded by them. I nod, and Nat continues. “Well, the part the story won't have mentioned is that the 4 original kings, and their courts, used to live in the Realm of Faerie. An eternal place of magic and peace. It was The Mother's perfect paradise. But, as it was in their nature, the Kings wanted more. They each felt they deserved more power than their brothers. There was fighting, and the eternal land experienced death for the first time since its creation. The Mother banished the Kings, and their courts, to the mortal world. She sealed off all but one door, and vowed that she would never again allow a member of the courts into her domain. Not until they could repay the cost for the lives lost to their war. When we were banished, Fae lost the knowledge of how to craft The Tarot. The source of true magic”. “But…I've seen your Tarot cards.” I interrupt without thinking. Nat nods patiently. “Yes. Over many centuries my Kin have rediscovered this art. But, not fully. There are still many cards, mostly the Major Arcana, which my kind cannot make. We have lost the skill, the knowledge, necessary. The deck you hold…the deck your mother held, is truly unique for it is a Faerie deck with all 78 cards intact”. I shake my head. “Not all the cards…the one Mum used…well it's just a piece of card now”. Nat doesn't seem surprised at this revelation. “Oh...I'm sorry. I wondered. This deck was never made to be used by your mother. It makes sense the card would be unusable after being used by someone else.” she says, her voice soft now, like all the energy has left her. “Then who…” I start to ask, but I feel the deck tell me the answer as it vibrates under my hand. I ask the question I came here for. “Did she know?...Did Mum knows that the cards were meant for me?" Nat nods her head slowly, tears forming in her eyes. “Yes, she knew. But, you have to understand. She was given this deck before you were born, and told that her child would be the one to wield it. But she knew, that a deck this powerful…it would bring unwanted attention to you. And neither of us knew the cost it might take for the cards to be used. She only wanted to protect you. I…I should have been there to stop her. I'm so sorry”. I want to scream at her, how could she let mum do this. Why did she let mum hold onto the deck if it was so dangerous. But then, I feel a familiar tingling. I look over my shoulder towards the bar, and spot the bartender as he taps his wrist twice. Shit, has it already been an hour. I turn to Nat and grab her by the wrist. “Times up, we have to go. Now”. As we run out of the bar, I just about make out the barkeeps voice as he calls out “Come again soon!” And then, together, we escape into the night.