“
I can’t believe it; your chart is so similar to mine!” She wondered if he too had been dealing with strange occurrences like flying in Central Park, saving old ladies, and breaking up happy couples. Probably not, but she couldn’t help hoping she had finally found someone who could empathize. “The person I met for lunch, Dr. Virgil White, explained it all to me. Have you heard of him?”
Lawrence’s face registered recognition, but then immediately went blank. “No. Doesn’t ring a bell,” he replied.
“
That’s strange. Jill’s heard of him. She actually gave me one of his papers. I would have thought that you recognized the name.”
“
Well, Memphis, you thought wrong. I don’t write horoscopes,” he snapped.
Memphis stared down at her soup. She’d never seen him express any type of negative emotion; he was always so jolly. So he was human after all. She hid a smile.
“
I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to push.”
“
No, I apologize. I didn’t mean to bite your head off. I guess it’s just that I’m feeling the pressure from the Third Eye murders.”
“
I thought you were just writing about them, not trying to solve the case.”
He looked up at her. His blue eyes were piercing. “I just feel responsible for them somehow.”
“
You can’t be—not unless you’re the killer.” She laughed.
“
Yes, you’re right.” He laughed too, but it seemed forced.
“
Who gave you your chart? Your parents?” Memphis asked. She knew nothing about him, yet they had this important connection.
“
You really don’t remember me, do you?” he asked softly.
She had no idea what he meant. “Do you mean from the party?”
Or from last night?
Her cheeks burned.
“
No, Memphis, from the garden—the garden in the middle of the compound.”
“
What garden?” She stared at him. He seemed so familiar, but she thought that was because she
wanted
to know him.
Suddenly, the sunlight reflected off something around his neck.
“
What is that?” She reached over to touch the necklace and accidently brushed his throat. She tried to ignore the shock, but when she looked at him and their eyes met, it intensified. It was as if the air was electrified. They held each other’s gaze, and a wave of intimacy hit her.
She did know him. She looked down at the necklace; it held the same eye-shaped charm as the necklace in her box. Within the eye, she began to see a flash of pictures.
She saw herself as a little girl. Lawrence was there and they were playing some sort of game. He would leap into the air and she would follow. They were in a garden and there were other children: a very blonde boy who looked like a cherub and a wispy, dark-haired girl. The garden was very well tended; it was filled with aromatic flowers. She could actually smell them. Jasmine, she sighed.
Just then, a woman’s voice called out that it was time for dinner. Memphis recognized that voice; it was her mother. She turned to look at her, but the scene changed. She was suddenly falling. Another child was there—a boy. His screams drowned her own. She felt intense pain.
She dropped Lawrence’s necklace and held her head, trying to rub away the sensations.
“
Are you all right?” He reached for her hand.
She pulled away. She was afraid to touch him again, and afraid of everything she felt. “Who are you?” she asked.
He opened his mouth to answer, but she cut him off.
“
Luri,” she whispered. “You are Luri.”
“
Lawrence, actually, but you could never say it right when we were little, so Luri just stuck. I guess it’s fitting though, since I come from a family of gypsies.”
“
Really? You’re so lucky to know so much about your family—and I guess mine, too.”
She told him about her visions and what Virgil said about her chart.
“
I have psychic abilities because of this. I want to know—do you have them, too?” She mentally pleaded with him to tell her the truth.
“
I do have some supernatural abilities, but they aren’t as prominent as yours. I always thought that was because I was a Gypsy. My sister and I used to play in your garden when our parents met.”
“
Am I a Gypsy?”
He laughed. “No way; far from it. Your family was very powerful. My sister and I never wanted to leave whenever we came to the manor. She loved the food and your toys, and I loved—” He looked at her, but didn’t finish his sentence.
“
Manor? Oh yes, on the compound.”
“
Yes, Memphis, you’re a Quasar, the most enlightened and leaders of our people, The Wadjet. Your family was like royalty.”
“
Oh, my God. You knew this the whole time? Why didn’t you tell me? How did you find me?”
“
Whoa, so many questions. But I’m not the one to tell you.”
She got up to leave.
“
Wait.” He grabbed her arm to stop her.
“
Let go of me.”
“
No, I’m sorry. Let me explain.”
“
I said, let me go.” She stared at his hand on her arm, willing it to loosen its grip.
“
Ouch. What was that?”
She looked at her arm and then his hand. She was so shocked that she sat back down. “I have no clue. I don’t know what’s happening to me. I think I might actually have super powers. They must have something to do with where I was born, or when I was born, or who my parents are, but I have no idea. I need your help, Luri.”
He reached for her hand, but stopped to search her eyes for permission. She nodded her consent and he took her hand.
“
I’m sorry; I don’t remember much, but I never forgot you. A terrible fire killed my parents, and my aunt Claudia took care of me and my sister. I don’t even remember where the manor was. I think it was in Egypt, but for some reason that doesn’t feel right. It was like no other place I’ve ever been. It was paradise. I went into journalism just so I could travel the world and search for this place.”
“
So I’m Egyptian and you’re a Euro-Gypsy who was born in Egypt?” Memphis raised an eyebrow and looked at their reflection in a mirror on the other side of the room. She didn’t look Egyptian.
Lawrence grinned at her disbelief. “I’m not sure where we were born, and my aunt said that she had no idea. She believed my parents joined some sort of cult, and the last time she saw my mother, she was pregnant with my sister and me.”
“
Oh, I’m so sorry. I didn’t know. By the way, is your hand all right?”
“
Yes, it is. Thank you for asking.” He looked down at his palm and then flipped her hand around to inspect hers.
“
We’re going to have three children.”
“
Pardon?”
He laughed at her confusion. “Sorry. Like I said, I come from a family of gypsies. I’ve always been able to use my sixth sense.”
“
You don’t think it’s because of your chart?”
“
That may have something to do with it, but my aunt explained that our family came from Egypt, but took part in the mass exodus. They went to India, Greece, and then Canada. There are three main subgroups and languages among gypsies: Domari, the Dom, of the Middle East and Eastern Europe; Lomarvren, the Lom, of Central Europe; and Romani, the Rom, of Western Europe. We claim Romani, but I suspect that there’s more to the story. Our family was always treated differently. You could say we were royalty, too—among gypsies at least.”
“
You have a Leo Ascendant in your chart, too.” She point to his chart. “That shows royal stature and loyalty, but you don’t have to look at the chart to see that.”
He rewarded her with a smile. “Was that a compliment?”
“
Maybe. Tell me more about your family. Why were you treated differently?”
“
Because we were masters of
dukkerin
; it means fortune-telling. This is a part of the family emblem.” He lifted his necklace. “My ancestors, the Tiresias, were prized for their remarkable psychic abilities and the gift to attract good fortune, but feared for their ability to destroy a life with a curse. We were all born with these innate gifts due to their relationship with the stars and nature.” He glanced at his chart. “My family really enjoyed bonding with the spirits of nature; they believed it strengthened their gift. But even among the gifted, there is one with the most power. I come from a long line of
chovihanis
.”
“
Chovihanis?”
“
They’re known as witches in the white man’s world.” He gave her a sardonic grin.
“
I see.” She thought he was white, but then she was African with eyes that seemed to change according to her mood.
“
And my grandmother was a
patrinyengri
—an herbalist. My aunt is now a patrinyengri and she teaches the craft my sister.”
“
What can you do?”
He picked up her hand and turned it to inspect her palm. “I can read your palm.”
“
Really? What do you see?”
“
I know that you’re attached to our natal charts, but palm reading is a simple chart of our lives. The left hand reveals the life we are born with, and the right hand is what we make of that life. Using the lines, mounts, divisions, and hand type, you can actually tell a person’s past, present, and future.”
“
All right, then prove it.”
“
Okay, well, like I said, in order to look into anybody’s future by palmistry, you need to look at the right hand. The left hand shows the characteristics the person was born with and the lines don’t change. Sometimes the lines on the right hand will change or even disappear altogether. These lines denote what you’ve made of your life so far, and show you what you will likely do in the future.”
Memphis gave him her right hand. His fingers were soft and cool against her palm. She wished that she had wiped her hands on her jeans before the reading. He made her nervous, and her palms sweat when she was nervous.
He didn’t notice, or he pretended that he hadn’t. “Both your head and heart lines are a good length and impression. This shows that you will be loyal to whomever you choose to love; you won’t allow yourself to be led astray. You love deeply, but once you see that the other person doesn’t feel the same way, you don’t stick around. This is shrewd.”
Memphis thought about Jonathan and feelings of disgust and regret flooded through her. Lawrence sensed her mood change and quickly moved on to discuss her life line.
“
You’re going to live a long and healthy life, and it looks like it will be filled with children. Your marriage line shows a deep love, and there are three branches leading away from it, showing that you will have three children. I see only one long and happy marriage. It actually looks like mine. See?”
He brought up his palm to show her; they had identical markings. She raised her palm to his for a high five, but instead their hands connected in a soft grasp. They held hands for more than a few seconds before letting go and looking at the table uncomfortably.
“
So,” Memphis said, attempting to break the ice, “what else can your Gypsy magick do?”
He grinned. “Well, I have a crystal ball at home.”
“
No way.”
“
Yes way. It was my mother’s.”
“
Oh.”
“
So is this all you have left from your childhood?” He picked up her chart.
“
No, I have a box of things back at the apartment. Actually, I’d like to show you something.”
She looked at him shyly. Mentioning her apartment made her uncomfortable; it reminded her of last night. It didn’t have the same effect on him. He gave her a wolfish grin. She almost reconsidered her invitation, but remembered her goal to find out who she really was and what in the world was happening to her.
Maybe he would be able to tell her something about the rock. Memphis felt a thrill go through her; she was learning so much about her past. She wasn’t left on the doorstep of a church; her family had loved her until they lost her at the age of six. She had a family.
Chapter 14
They didn’t notice that the door was unlocked until Memphis tried to insert her key into the lock and it pushed back with ease. The place was a mess.
“
Please tell me you just have an extremely messy roommate who came home while you were working.”
“
I wish. I think I’ve been robbed.”
“
Are you sure? Your television is still here and so is your sound system. Do you notice anything missing?”
The box! Memphis ran to her room—it had been trashed. Her mattress and bed frame were broken into pieces. The box lay smashed in the corner.
“
Oh no! They smashed my box. It had my initial on it. My foster parents gave it to me when I turned eighteen; it’s all I have from my past.”