The undead or demons, Sandu, Adalasia reminded, never missing a beat as she carried on the conversation with Aria, following her out and down the hall to the brethren’s rooms, where Aria was showing off other quilts. If a portal is close and cracking open or the gate is thinning, demons might be slipping through.
Sandu and his brothers thought first in terms of the undead. Adalasia thought first in terms of demons. They had to come together and think about both threats all the time. He shared the thought with the guardians as he scanned Aria’s memories. There were small problems on the farm at first. Noxious smells unaccounted for. Two of the piglets horribly mutilated a few nights after the noxious smells. Two weeks later, the smells were back. Then it was a cow mutilated a few nights later.
This is no vampire at work. Benedek made his assessment.
No, it is not, Petru agreed.
Continue your conversation, Adalasia, and be cheerful and charismatic, like you can be. Ask her if she likes things like playing with tarot cards for fun. Keep it light. She is very spiritual, Sandu advised.
This isn’t my first time with a client.
Adalasia sounded snippy, and Sandu heard the echo of the brethren’s amusement at his expense.
“Aria, I love your beautiful silver.” Adalasia drifted across the sitting room Aria had taken them to, a room to share in the evening if they desired, with others staying at the farm. There, silver crosses hung above the doors and windows. Adalasia deliberately touched one, tracing the silver lines. It would show Aria she was in no way associated or tainted with the undead if any question came up later.
“Thank you,” Aria said.
“I noticed the crosses woven into some of the quilts. I have a quilt made from a friend living in Paris. She wove crosses into mine for me as well. I know it sounds silly, but I had nightmares quite often, and it made me feel protected. Francesca is very talented and spiritual. Her quilts give people comfort. She works with children at the hospital quite a bit to aid them in their recovery, and her special quilts seem to really help them if they have suffered trauma. I imagine yours would do so as well.”
Adalasia sounded sincere because she was. She believed Aria had a special gift. Her work with the quilts was not only beautiful, but she wove something of herself into each of them. She wanted her children to be happy and at peace when they slept. She wanted those who stayed at her bed-and-breakfast to be the same. She also wanted them to be safe. There were protections in the quilts. Adalasia felt them each time she touched them. Aria wasn’t aware she wove them in, but she had the ability, and she put them there each time she made a quilt.
Aria beamed at her. “I’ve never had anyone say such nice things to me.”
“I assure you, they are very true.” Adalasia sat down in one of the comfortable chairs and gave Aria her radiant smile. “Do you ever play around with tarot cards, just for fun? I indulge in reading the cards sometimes and would do so if it would amuse you.”
Aria glanced out the window. The sun had already set, and a gray veil covered the landscape, so the trees in the distance looked as if they were cast in a silvery mist, and the valley in between the mountains and farm was a ghostly graveyard of rocks and blades of swaying grasses. She shivered and crossed herself.
“I’ve never thought, like some of my friends, that tarot cards were the devil’s tongue.”
Adalasia gasped. “Your friends think that? My family would be horrified. These cards were drawn by my great-grandmother or great-great-grandmother for her daughter to play with and kept in the family. They’re an heirloom. We’re taught practically from birth to recognize evil in the world and fight against it. I didn’t mean to offend you, Aria. I love your home and the quilts so much. I wanted to give you something in return.”
“You didn’t offend me at all, Adalasia. I would love to get a reading,” Aria said firmly and seated herself across from Adalasia.
Adalasia removed the cards deftly from where they were hidden and shook them out into her hands. “What questions would you like answered, if any?”
Sandu doubted if Adalasia realized she had sent a little push toward the woman to answer the question as honestly as possible. He had added a subtle weave in as well, needing more specific information from Aria than he was getting.
“There have been strange things taking place on the farm lately, things we can’t explain,” Aria answered without hesitation. “Amato, my husband, is watchful over our animals. They’re our livelihood.”
While Aria was preoccupied with her conversation with Adalasia, Sandu and the guardians once more probed her memories, going deeper, looking for more details of events that had taken place on the farm.