Chapter Text
“If I read for the wrong person, or read the wrong thing, the swords fall,” Lilia explained, her face slightly obscured by the swords that was sticking out of the middle of the table.
“So we just need to read for the right person?” Agatha said. “It can’t be that difficult, right?”
“Well,” Lilia surveyed the sea of swords that had fallen to the floor, “It’s easier said than done.”
“You’ve read for me, Jen, Alice,” Agatha counted on her fingers. “And Teen.”
“That leaves Rio,” Jen followed, but Rio shook her head.
“I’d rather not.”
“Look, we’re not going to get through the trial if you don’t,” Jen told her. Rio looked back at Agatha, an expression of trepidation on her face.
“I’m sorry. Just go along with it,” Agatha muttered in her ear. Begrudgingly, Rio took a seat.
“Okay,” Lilia said. “The traveller.” She brandished a card from the deck and put it down on the table.
The idle chatter that had been filling the room stopped, as everyone stared at the card that had been revealed. For a few moments, everybody was still. The room felt colder, like the temperature had suddenly plunged. Nobody made a sound. The card that lay upturned in the centre of the table was Death. The white skull of the figure on the card gleamed up at them.
“Wow,” Agatha said, trying to break the silence, “I guess-” But, before she could finish, a sword came whistling past her face, embedding itself with a thump into the floor at her feet.
“Maybe I took the wrong card,” Lilia said slowly, her voice a mere whisper. “Should- Should I try again?”
“No,” Agatha said hurriedly, whisking Rio away from the table. “If the sword is anything to go by, Rio isn’t who you’re meant to read for.”
“But Rio is the only person left,” Jen exclaimed.
“No,” Lilia said, “She’s not.”
“You’ve read for everyone in the room,” Alice said, “Right?”
“No,” Teen said, catching on. “She hasn’t read for herself.”
“Of course,” Jen nodded.
“It’s her trial, after all,” Alice remarked, patting Lilia on the back.
“This is great,” Agatha said, grabbing the hourglass and waving it at them. “Well done on figuring that one out, but, like, could we please speed things up?”
“Okay,” Lilia sat down slowly, re-shuffling the pack of cards. “The traveler…I am… the queen of cups!” She set the card down on the table. There was a moment where everyone held their breath, but no sword dropped. There was a collective exhale as Alice and Jen embraced.
“Okay ladies,” Agatha murmured, raising an eyebrow, “We’re not done ye-” she trailed off, turning sharply round to face the hissing noise she had just heard from behind her. A snake weaved in between the objects on the shelves. Agatha gasped.
“What is it?” Rio said, moving to her side.
“The Salem Seven,” Agatha hissed. “I think they’re here.” Even as she was saying that, a rat scuttled across the floor.
“Three of Pentacles,” Lilia declared from behind them.
“Are you sure?” Rio said, but her question didn’t need an answer from Agatha, as the silhouette of an owl landed at the window, tapping softly.
“Damn it,” Agatha cursed, feeling her breath catch in her throat. The chase was up, and the stakes were higher than ever. They were now not only racing the clock, but also racing from the murderous hands of the Salem Seven.
“Stay calm,” Rio said, grabbing her shoulders. “We don’t want to make the others panic.”
“The Path Behind… the Knight of Wands,” Lilia placed the card down.
“You’re right,” Agatha murmured to Rio, moving back over to the table and trying to disguise the fear in her voice, “Hey guys, how’s it going?”
“Is everything okay?” Alice asked innocently. Agatha realised she had failed miserably at sounding calm.
“Uh, well…” she began, cut short by the sight of the snake again, weaving in between their legs, then back into the darkness of the corners of the room. She cursed under her breath.
“The Path Ahead… the High Priestess.”
“What is it?” Jen said, “What was that?” Agatha exhaled, taking a deep breath.
“The Salem Seven,” she declared, seeing the flash of a fox passing in the corner of her eye. “They’ve caught up with us.”
They all looked at her stunned. Lilia stopped her reading.
“What?”
“So, if we could please hurry up!” Agatha hissed, looking pointedly at Lilia. “If we can get out of here before they all arrive, then they’ll be destroyed along with the trial once we’ve left.”
“Quick!” Teen urged.
“Three of Swords,” she placed the next card. “Heartbreak, sorrow and grief.”
There was the click of an unlocking door: a door that had not been there before.
“That’s the way out!” Jen cried. “Come on!” She pulled the handle and the door flung open. It was rusted and dirty, covered in an overgrown maze of weeds and plants that surrounded the frame. Clumps of soil fell from above as it opened.
“Lilia,” Alice said. “Are you finished?”
“No,” Lilia said, without looking up, her voice sounding almost like she was in a trance, “I must finish this reading.”
“That would be nice, but I would also like to escape this situation alive,” Agatha shouted, as the window to the room smashed, sending shards of stained glass across the floor. The crow swooped in, landing menacingly on the bookcase, staring down at them with its beady, black eyes.
“Go,” Lilia said suddenly, looking up with piercing intensity. “Go on without me. This is my fate.”
“No!” Alice cried. “We can’t leave you. You’re part of our coven.”
“You must,” Lilia told her, solemnly. “You must leave me so I can save you.”
“Lilia….” Agatha started.
As much as she wanted to escape from the Salem Seven and away from imminent doom, she felt a twinge of sorrow at the thought of loosing Lilia. It was unlike her, but she hoped there was another way. A way for them all to get out, in one piece, without Lilia laying down her life to save them, but deep down she knew Lilia would ultimately have to make this sacrifice. The road wasn’t an easy path to walk- she had know that from the start- but progressing onwards in exchange for Lilia would still be difficult.
“It’s okay,” Lilia met Agatha’s eyes. Agatha could feel the desperation in her own, as she stared into the serenity of Lilia’s. This was Lilia’s decision and she was at peace with it. “I loved being a witch. I needed you, my coven. Thank you.”
“The door’s shutting!” Jen screamed, grabbing on to the slowly closing door and pulling with all her might. Alice joined her.
“The Windfall,” Lilia murmured. “The Tower Reversed. Disaster, destruction and sudden upheaval, but reversed.”
“Lilia,” Agatha said. “Are you sure?” Behind Lilia, the animals were gathering. The snake hissed, and the coyote yawned, cracking its neck. In a swirl of murky smoke, they turned into dark figures, weaving and twisting and turning their way across the room.
“Go!” Lilia shouted. Agatha nodded, bowing her head, and then Rio and Teen were pulling her towards the exit. Agatha heard Lilia amidst the commotion and shouting.
“The Final Destination…” she announced, and then the door slammed shut, and there was silence.
Nobody spoke. The only sound was their heavy breathing. They were stood on the other side of the door, in a dark and dingy room. The walls were crumbling and damp, almost soil-like, with vines and other vegetation winding around their surroundings. Teen sat down heavily on the floor, head in his hands. Agatha did not, and could not move. Rio still stood by the door, peering through the tiny window back into the tower room. The others hardly registered what she was doing, but Agatha knew. She was waiting. If Lilia’s final destination was the card that had been pulled before, when Rio had sat down to be read for, then, soon, she would be leaving. To collect the body of one of her fellow travellers of the road. One of her coven. That would hurt, for sure.