a whole chapter excerpt from Shadows Like Ivy

Days passed, leaving Tessa feeling akin to seasick the longer they went without any sort of information. Each time she saw Dale, she'd try to ask her about her source of information, but Dale would simply let the requests roll off her back effortlessly. To say the least, it was driving Tessa insane.

Until finally, one stormy afternoon, Dale burst into Tessa's bedroom and said, "She's ready."

Tessa frowned, trying to wonder who 'she' was, but knew it was best not to ask questions she undoubtedly would be receiving answers to. So, she gave Dale a nod and got to her feet, following her out of their dorm altogether.

"Where is she?" Tessa asked as they navigated their way to the elevator.

"Waiting," Dale said simply, "in her room in Venus Hall."

Tessa nodded. She didn't care much for where this girl was staying, but if it was the only information Dale was going to give her, she'd take it. The elevator doors slid open with a resounding chime, halting her opportunities to seize more answers. She and Dale stepped inside and descended into the foyer of the Pantheon in silence.

"Do the boys know?" Tessa asked.

Dale nodded, and as they emerged into the foyer, she lifted an arm to point. Tessa followed her direction to see Kaden, Reese, and Mark waiting for them in the lobby. When they spotted Tessa and Dale, they got to their feet, faces strewn with varying degrees of concern.

"Hey," Kaden greeted, his voice low. Judging from the rain covering his coat, he'd just come in from the storm. The drops had lodged into his chestnut hair, curling it at the ends. Tessa had to resist the urge to run her hand through the locks, clenching her fists at her side. "I came as soon as I heard. Any updates?"

Tessa turned as if to let Dale answer his question but found that she hadn't stopped to wait for the boys. In fact, Dale was marching across the jovial lobby, right for the glass doors emblazoned with the words VENUS HALL. Mark was hurrying after her, and with a cautious look, Reese followed.

Tessa nodded after them. "We'll surely find out, won't we?"

Kaden didn't miss a beat and fell into step with Tessa as they two of them scurried after their friends. It was hard not to look inconspicuous, Tessa noticed, when everyone looked as if someone had died. People gave them sideways glances as they hurried through the glass doors into Venus Hall, but Tessa tried to let them go. After all, they had business to attend to.

As fate would have it, they wouldn't have much further to go. Tessa and Kaden found Reese and Mark flanking Dale outside the last door on the first floor of Venus. As they approached, Tessa saw that Dale was staring up at the number on the door—a rose-gold number 9—with feverish intensity. It wasn't until Tessa and Kaden slowed to a stop beside her, Mark, and Reese, that Dale snapped out of whatever fearful trance she'd been in and lifted a hand as if to knock.

The door swung open before she could, making everyone—except Dale—jump. The next thing they knew, they were staring at the doorwoman, a girl with long black hair, copper skin, and luminous violet eyes—the girl from the bonfire, Tessa recollected with a start. She'd seemed so ethereal then, and Tessa found that the image was maintained.

The girl's burgundy-tinted lips curled into a slow, feline smirk. "I see you got my summons."

"We need your help, Adhara" Dale said, meeting the girl's eyes. "Are you in or are you out?"

The girl—Adhara—raised a delicate dark brow. After a moment's hesitation, she stepped aside, opening the door wider. "Please, come in."

Dale stormed in, leaving Tessa, Mark, Reese, and Kaden to follow her. The boys went in after her, and Tessa brought up the rear, shooting Adhara a curious look as she passed her by. When she tore her gaze from Adhara's haunting eyes, she found herself in a strange, alternate version of her own room.

Adhara's room was a single, although it wouldn't have seemed that way from the sheer size of the place and the fact that it was filled with things from wall-to-wall. Tapestries boasting lavish designs and patterns hung from the walls, with some bolts of shimmery, shiny fabric drifting from the ceiling like aerial silks. The room itself was already dim, but with the darkness from the storm outside, it felt abnormally dark, save the light from approximately four hundred candles scattered atop tables and desks. A flurry of smells permeated the room, each more inviting than the next: jasmine, incense, cinnamon.

It was the strangest room Tessa had ever seen.

As if she'd read Tessa's thoughts or felt or skepticism, Adhara drifted past her, shooting her a look. "Cozy, is it not?"

"Adhara," Dale said, snagging the girl's attention. "Focus, please?"

Adhara waved a manicured hand at Dale in dismissal. "Oh, Dale, relax! I know what you all are here for."

"You do?" Reese coughed.

Adhara turned to face the blond boy. "Of course." She grinned. "You're here for revenge."

Tessa raised an eyebrow at Adhara. "Well, not particularly—"

"Oh, I'm sure," Adhara said, cutting Tessa off. She sauntered across the room, her violet eyes raking the contents of an overflowing vanity. She found what she was looking for, an engraved wooden box, and carried it across the room to a large circular table that Tessa hadn't noticed at first glance. "You just want me to help you against someone else."

She slammed the box down as if to emphasize her point, leaning against it as she regarded Tessa. "All people are driven by revenge, Tessa. They just don't know it." She motioned to the velvet-cushioned seats surrounding the table. "Now, please, sit.'

Tessa tried to meet her friends' eyes—what was going on here—but to no avail. Reluctantly, she crossed to the table, sitting directly opposite of Adhara and between Reese and Mark.

"Adhara, please," Dale said, her golden eyes dark. "I need to know we have your help."

Adhara sighed as she opened up her wooden box. "Really, Dale, you should do a reading some time. The amount of darkness you're carrying around—" she motioned around the room, wrinkling up her nose, "—it's disconcerting."

Dale looked as if she was doing her best to not bash her head against the elaborately painted table. Frankly, Tessa was glad she didn't—if not for Dale's health, then for the beautiful designs. Painted a deep indigo, the table appeared to be a schema of celestial bodies. Silvery stars glittered across the table, and around twelve seats were twelve constellations: the zodiac. Within that ring were the eight phases of the moon, and within that ring was the sun. Emblazoned within the sun was the silhouette of a scale, evenly balanced.

"I'll help you with your revenge plot against Alex Deven," Adhara said, her words eliciting Tessa's attention, as well as everyone else's. "But you know I have a price."

Dale's expression darkened, and her eyes looked bleak. "I already did what you—"

"Not that," Adhara snapped. She glanced around the table, at the people watching her, and smiled thinly at Dale. "That's for your own good. I want something else for my services."

"Name your price," Kaden said, averting attention to him. His Rolex seemed to glint in the low light.

Adhara tossed her head back and laughed. "Put your checkbook away, Gray. I'm not interested in money."

"Then what are you interested in?" Mark asked, leaning in closer. Tessa frowned at him in confusion; she had a feeling he was not asking about Adhara's interests in payment.

As if to answer Mark's question, Adhara pulled out a burgundy velvet pouch from the box, as well as a handful of crystals in different shapes and sizes. She meticulously placed the crystals at different points on the table before her, in some elaborate design that Tessa couldn't make out. Finally, she tugged open the velvet pouch and removed its contents: a thick stack of cards painted similarly to the table she set them down upon.

"My price is a reading," Adhara said, setting the now-empty box on the ground beside her. She folded her arms before her, glancing at the people before her. "Who volunteers?"

"Oh, no," Dale muttered. "Not this."

"I need two volunteers," Adhara continued as if she hadn't heard Dale's groan. "So who will it be?"

"The cards, the cards, the cards will tell," Mark sang under his breath, although his sarcastic song didn't appear to match the look of admiration lacing his face.

Tessa shook her head to herself, drawing Adhara's gaze. "I'll do it."

"I knew you would," Adhara said, a thin smile coiling its way onto her face. Her eyes slid to Tessa's right, to Kaden sitting on Mark's other side. "Kaden. Care to join her?"

Tessa and Kaden locked eyes, some sort of mutual understanding passing between them. At last, Kaden nodded. "Sure."

Delighted, Adhara got to work at her reading. "Tarot is really such a therapeutic way of knowing your fate. Some people drive themselves insane with trying to change their futures when they don't even know them." She cut the deck into two uneven halves and shuffled each one eight times.

"So you're telling them their futures?" Reese asked wryly.

Without looking at him, Adhara said, "Yes, and if you're good, you might soon know yours too, Reese Hale. I believe love is on your mind, but for that reason, you won't let yourself claim it."

Tessa tore her attention away from Adhara's meticulous shuffling to look at Reese, who, with his wide blue eyes and gaping mouth, looked like a trout. She tried not to laugh, returning her attention to the tarot cards before her.

Adhara had finished setting up the cards, and there were now two stacks in front of Tessa. The smaller deck sat closer to Adhara, while the larger deck was sat closer to Tessa. Adhara's manicured hand hovered above the smaller deck, her eyes locked on Tessa.

"This is Major Arcana," Adhara explained, motioning to her deck. "I'll choose one card from here, and that will set the archetype for you and your reading, Tessa. Are you ready?"

Tessa raised a curious eyebrow but nodded tritely. Adhara, having received consent, drew the card on top of her deck, splaying it out before her. The painting on the card was of a woman with dark hair in an up-do, held by what looked like a silver infinity sign. The woman was holding a lion before her, its jaws open, but not out of malice.

"Strength," Adhara noted. "And it's right-side up. This represents strength, courage, and influence."

"I'm assuming that's good," Tessa said.

Adhara smiled at her, if not a little impishly. "Yes, it is. But don't be deceived." She motioned to the larger deck in front of Tessa. "The Minor Arcana will determine your true fate. This—" she motioned to the Strength card, "—only sets the tone."

Tessa set her hand on the Minor Arcana deck. With Adhara's instruction, she shuffled the deck eight more times, and then cut it, face-down, into three smaller decks. At Adhara's command, she turned over the top card on each of the decks. The first card featured two figures huddled at the bow of a small boat, with six golden swords behind them.

"The Six of Swords," Adhara named it. "It's upright, so it represents a reluctant or necessary transition. Since this first card represents the past, I can only imagine what this transition means."

Tessa turned over the second card. This one featured a woman holding her hand to her face, with nine swords behind her.

"The Nine of Swords," Adhara continued. Her face bunched up, as if she was considering it. "Upright as well."

"What does that mean?" Tessa asked, clearing her throat.

Adhara flicked her eyes up to scan Tessa's face, then averted it down to the cards. "Anxiety, fear, internal turmoil. It's supposed to represent your present."

A sliver of ice found its way into Tessa's heart, and she wondered if she was somehow emulating that woman on the cards. She exhaled, forcing the worry out, and flipped over the third card.

"The third card," Adhara explained, "represents the future."

The third card was of a man seated on a throne—a king. In one hand he held a scepter and in the other he held a flame. Tessa set it down atop the other cards, but as if on a breeze, it shifted, so instead of being upright or reversed, it was simply sideways.

"The King of Wands," Adhara said. She blew out a breath, as if regaining clarity. "Interesting. Very interesting."

Tessa motioned to move the card upright, but Adhara stopped her.

"Don't! The cards must be divined as they lie." She sat back down in her chair, violet eyes locked on the card as if trying to extricate the meaning. Thunder echoed through the room, and a shiver ran down Tessa's spine.

"So, what does the King of Wands mean?" Tessa asked.

Adhara pursed her lips. "Well, when it's upright, it represents being a natural-born leader. In your future, you may be victorious over a conflict, receiving clarity and honor."

"What about when it's reversed?"

Adhara sucked in a breath. "It means recklessness, impulsiveness...chaos. That victory may easily become a loss."

Tessa felt her heart stop and she looked back down at the card. "And if it's sideways?"

Adhara drummed her fingers atop the painted table. "If it's sideways, then either could come true. The die's been cast but has yet to land. The conflict itself must be resolved before the meaning can be divined."

"This is ridiculous!"

Dale's voice snagged Tessa out of her trance, and she looked up to see her roommate get to her feet. Her gold eyes glittered in the darkness like those of a lioness' and she was pacing like a cornered one.

"They're just cards, Adhara," Dale said. "Cards. Painted cards. They have no truth or meaning."

Adhara flicked her gaze over to Dale, but made no attempts to try and get her to sit down. "You know they do, Dale."

"No!" Dale said, stamping her foot as she came to a stop. "They're lies and tricks and deceits."

Adhara tilted her head. "Funny, that's not what you thought when they predicted your life."

Dale froze. "Don't."

"Too late," Adhara said, raising her hand from the Major Arcana deck. It took Tessa a moment to see that she'd drawn another archetype card, one of a young man tied upside down to a tree. Adhara had drawn it reversed, so he was right-side up on the card. "The Hanging Man. Reversed, it represents resistance, stalling, a lack of accountability for your actions."

"Adhara—" Dale warned, her golden eyes wide. But Adhara wouldn't stop. She drew another card from the Major Arcana deck, this one of a bizarre-looking wheel with a Sphinx on the top.

"The Wheel of Fortune, reversed. Bad luck, karma, facing your demons." Adhara flicked out the last card: a horseman of Death. "And this one you already know—"

"ENOUGH!" Dale shouted, making Tessa jump. She'd never seen Dale lose her cool like this, and frankly, it was frightening. With the lightning flashing behind Adhara's veiled windows and the candles illuminating her face, she looked ghostly—and capable.

Adhara pursed her lips, as if she was aware she'd struck a nerve but wasn't sure how to feel about it. "Do not disrespect the cards if they tell you your fate correctly each and every time."

Dale shook her head, taking a step back. "You can't make me."

Tessa got the feeling Dale wasn't talking about doing another reading.

"I don't have to," Adhara said, her voice low. "Face your demons, Dale. Or you'll be forced to repeat them."

"I didn't do it!" Dale took a shaky breath, her hands in her braided hair. "You know I didn't do it!"

"Did you?" Adhara asked, her voice lighter than air. "You need to prove it—"

"Adhara, enough!" Reese snapped.

"I'm not doing anything she hasn't known was coming," Adhara retorted, her words sharp. "Knowledge is power, but it can also be a burden."

Mark and Reese got up from their chairs to help Dale, but she pinned them in place with a forceful look. "I'm fine." She shot a venomous glare at Adhara. "I'm fine."

Adhara raised an eyebrow but said nothing as Dale slowly gravitated back to her seat. Outburst having been completed, she wouldn't meet Tessa's gaze. Or anyone's for that matter. Her eyes were settled on the three cards Adhara had drawn from the Major Arcana deck, the archetypes under which Dale was living her life.

"It appears as if divining is not, well, in the cards for today," Adhara mused, and swiftly gathered up the cards. Tessa glanced at Kaden to see how he was feeling, having been jilted of a reading, but found him stoic.

"Now," Adhara said, gathering everyone's attention. "I've looked into your situation and I've learned that Alex Deven sticks to a very meticulous training schedule each day. From the hours of 2-5 each afternoon, he is preoccupied at Olympia, doing whatever it is those sportsballers do. If you are looking for your chance to gather intel, that's your time to do it."

"How?" Tessa asked. "We can't just break into his room, can we?"

"You can't," Adhara affirmed, a smirk lacing her lips. "But someone else can."

She slapped down another card from the Major Arcana deck, this one of a woman with a cape surrounded by stars, wielding a wand in one hand and a sword in the other.

"The Magician," Adhara announced, lacing her hands together. "Power and manipulation."

"So...we need to hire a magician?" Mark said slowly.

"No," Adhara said. She looked each of the five in the eyes. "You need Kaya Blackwood."