Total pages in book: 247
Estimated words: 248926 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1245(@200wpm)___ 996(@250wpm)___ 830(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 248926 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1245(@200wpm)___ 996(@250wpm)___ 830(@300wpm)
I eyed the vodka. “Do you think you should be drinking while reading cards?”
She set the bottle and glasses on the desk. “You tell me. Is reading cards like driving, Kazimir?”
Frowning, I walked away from the painting. “You are in quite a mood this evening.”
“There were two people with big hearts that came to this hotel with the singular purpose of saving a little boy’s life.” Baba twisted off the top of the bottle and then poured vodka into both glasses. “Now, they are dead.”
I went over to the chair across from the desk. “You had nothing to do with that.”
Without putting the top back on the bottle, she set it next to her and sat down in her chair. “I could have stopped it, but I knew what would happen if I did.”
I stiffened and didn’t lower into my chair. “What would have happened?”
“You would have been forced to take Paolo to Moscow. David would have found another couple in Russia. They would have come to your new house, and on that day, Lunita would have killed many more. Boris, Blue, as well as some of your men and Harlem Crew.” Baba picked up the glass full of vodka. “Also, your baby would have miscarried.”
Still standing, I gripped the edge of my chair.
“I let a nice couple die to save six men, four women, and an unborn child.” Baba took a large gulp of vodka, wiped her mouth, and put the glass down. “The only reason why I will be able to sleep tonight is because I know what your son will be, the people he will save, and all the change that will come from him.”
I widened my eyes. “What change?”
She went into her desk drawer and took out a glass ashtray. “Give me that joint, Kazimir.”
Frowning, I handed it to her. “So. . .I truly will have a son?”
“You will.”
Grinning, I sat down. “Will he take over the Brotherhood and rule with a mighty hand? Be a legend just like his father?”
“Take a drink from your glass and settle in.”
“Let us make this clear.” Not taking the glass, I leaned back in my chair. “I want all answers to everything tonight.”
“Shall I give you the meaning of life too as well as the exact location of God? Perhaps, I can tell you every detail when it comes to what happens when you die?”
I sneered.
“Now let me make something clear, young man.” She pointed the joint my way. “Your cards disappeared. New ones arrived.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means that the Universe is so exhausted with you that it is trying a new approach to get through to your hard head.”
“How do cards appear and disappear.”
She placed her hand under the desk. Then, she brought it back up, gripping a large deck of cards. Next, she put the cards on the desk.
I gazed at this new deck. The first card was solid blue with a large bright full moon on it.
“Pick them up, Kazimir.”
Intrigued, I did as she said. The cards warmed against my palm. “Are you sure these are for me?”
“Who else would they be for? I have never seen them in my life.” She placed the edge of the joint to one of the candle’s flame. Once the tip sparked, she brought it to her. “Before I do any reading, I say the person’s name to prepare myself. I have everyone’s cards in a particular box. Yours were gone and these sat in the place of the old ones as if they were there the whole time.”
“I am. . .partial to the moon.”
“Good. Let us see what the moon will tell you today.” Then, she inhaled the joint like it was her first breath of fresh air. The tip turned fiery red. She closed her eyes and didn’t exhale.
“But, how will you read these? They do not look like tarot cards.”
Finally, she exhaled smoke. “As you hold those cards, I want you to think about the questions that you want to ask me this evening. Do you already know them?”
“Yes.”
“What are the questions?”
“First, how can I heal Emily? Second, will we be victorious with Fela? And finally, will the boy. . .” Tension gathered in my shoulders.
“What?”
“How will the boy survive with us?”
She studied me. “Shuffle them.”
I did as she said. The cards easily slid between my fingers.
Meanwhile, Baba smoked the joint and took a few more sips of the vodka. The earthy smell of cannabis mingled with the scent of palo santo thickened the air.
I shuffled to my liking and set the cards on the desk. “Are we both just going to get intoxicated this evening?
Baba blew smoke to the side. It swirled around the skull candle closest to her. “We all must find a way to unwind, Kazimir.”
“And why is that? What do you see?”
She formed her lips into a straight line. Her eyes turned cool, without any hint of emotion. “I told you that the man that left Russia would not be the man that returned.”