Read Online All Your Wishes by Cat Adams - Free Book Online

to Florida,” Rahim answered, his tone one of absolute finality.
    Apparently the djinn don’t have a monopoly on arrogance.

 
    7
    It always takes longer to get ready for a trip than you think it will. Rahim wanted to leave as soon as possible, but that just wasn’t practical. His grandfather would provide most of what we needed, but there were a few specialty items Rahim needed to pick up, and that would have to wait until morning, when the stores would reopen. PharMart was open twenty-four hours, but they didn’t carry the really exotic stuff Rahim wanted.
    I probably could’ve imposed on Isaac, but I didn’t want to, and I wanted the extra time for my team’s investigations. I also definitely wanted to consult Dottie again and in person. Clairvoyants don’t have one-hundred-percent accuracy, but Dottie was damned good. Her visions had saved my bacon more than once. So, with ill grace, Rahim and Bubba went to the private airstrip where the Sparrowhawk was parked. Rahim’s plan was to change clothes and do as much pre-flight stuff as he could while I packed and took care of some last minute things here.
    We agreed to meet at the airstrip at ten o’clock. Take off would be at ten thirty.
    Time flies, whether or not you’re having fun. By the time I’d gone over everything one last time with Gordon and Warren, looked at the results of my staff’s research, and packed a bag, it was seven thirty.
    Dottie arrived then, and while the hot pink outfit she wore was cheery, her expression was grim. Giving me a nod in greeting, she moved slowly but steadily through the building until she reached the conference-room table. One of Dottie’s scrying tools is a holy water–filled crystal bowl with a silver rim. Another is a wadjeti , an ancient Egyptian set of scarabs.
    Today she used table salt and playing cards.
    Sitting next to me at the center seat of the conference-room table, she poured the salt in a steady, even flow until she’d made a perfect circle about the size of a garbage-can lid. Peeling the plastic from a brand-new pack of playing cards, she shuffled them a few times and began setting out a pyramid pattern, starting at the top.
    The first card represented me. The queen of hearts.
    Next row, two cards. The ace and queen of spades. I didn’t know what that meant until she spoke, her voice gone hollow the way it sometimes does when her power is riding her.
    â€œThe ace of spades is death or the dead. The queen is his tool. They stand between you and your goal, guarding the way against you.”
    She dealt the third level. Three cards: the jack of diamonds, the joker, and the king of hearts.
    â€œThe client thinks he is in control but the joker has the power. They threaten all that you hold dearest.”
    Fourth and last row: queen of clubs, ace of diamonds, jack of clubs, king of spades.
    â€œYour enemies know you. For every move there is a counter; for every ally an opponent. They are your match in most ways. Ultimately you can prevail, but only if you embrace your hidden strengths.”
    Dottie shook herself, shedding the remnants of her vision like a dog shakes off water. Her expression wasn’t panicked, but she definitely wasn’t happy.
    â€œDottie, are you all right?”
    â€œI’m fine.” She didn’t look fine. She looked exhausted and truly old. Usually she had a buoyancy that belied the walker and the calendar. Not now. Her skin was sagging, her expression deeply worried. “You need to go. But it is very, very dangerous.”
    *   *   *
    I was lucky. Traffic was lighter than usual, and I made it to the airstrip on time. Rahim’s jet was everything it had been advertised to be, and probably well worth the astronomical asking price, if you’re into that sort of thing. I’m not. I am better about flying than I used to be, thanks to therapy, but I still don’t enjoy the experience.