78 Keys by Kristin Marra Read Free Book Online

into slaughtering Muslims, Jews, or even more dismaying, their own people. ‘Heretics,’ they called them. A whole section of France was wiped out, including old people and children. Jews and Muslims were not people, just vermin to be exterminated. The soldiers believed it was for Christ, and their murderous behavior would get them into heaven. In reality, the pope and his henchmen just wanted to acquire and consolidate more power.”
    As I related what I knew about the Crusades, I could feel my indignation blossom. Then I got to the story of the Children’s Crusade, a particularly evil part of the history, and my hands clamped as I stared at the forgotten tarot spread still on the table. I was bubbling with the desire to smash a medieval pope in the face. Then everything around me closed in. My head constricted and I squeezed my eyes shut. I felt forced through an exploding cannon. When I opened my eyes, I was staring into two horse nostrils.
    The nostrils didn’t move, didn’t snuffle. The nostrils were not breathing.
    “Where’s the High Priestess?” I asked.
    “She sent me instead. Have you imbibed in alcohol?” The Knight of Pentacles’s helmeted head leaned around the lifeless horse muzzle. “I would like to taste alcohol. Humans seem so charmed by it. But since I cannot taste, sometime I will ask you to describe it to me.”
    “How can you tell I’ve been drinking? Do I smell? You couldn’t smell a dead fish if it were rubbed on your upper lip.”
    “True, but you have red circles on your cheeks, and your eyes are not focused. I do not think you are ready for training in the Theater. The Lady did say you are not the most disciplined candidate to fight the Malignity.”
    “Look, I’ve just had a few sips. You try being forced through a psychic birth canal every time we meet, and I’ll bet you’d look drunk too.”
    “Oh, is it painful to make the transition? I wondered. Hmm, well, nothing to be done about it. Let us just view it as part of your training since you will have to do it many times before this is over.”
    “‘Before this is over.’ ‘The Malignity.’ Oh crap.”
    “I did not say ‘Oh crap.’”
    “Ya know, Pento, this is going to be an interesting relationship.”
    “Pento?”
    “Never mind. Just tell me what we do next.”
    “Certainly. That is why we are here. I am supposed to tell you the rules of engagement in this realm. We have constructed it for human purposes, but we cannot make it just like yours. We do not have perfect sensory information to do so.”
    “You’ve constructed all this?” I glanced around seeing the same plowed field, the odious water well I knew intimately, the tree, and the odd washed out blue sky.
    “It is a world you know well. The world you see on your cards. This is where you will witness the malign force. It is the arena we have agreed upon for this particular battle in the eternal war. It is the Theater.” He thrust out his chest and placed his fisted hands on his armor-protected waist.
    “Eternal war? But you folks don’t understand. I’m no fighter. I’ve never fought anybody, only manipulated lives. Changed the course of things, if you will.”
    “Which makes you perfect for the coming clash. Their champion wields the same weapons, but he is a determined adversary.”
    “He?”
    “You will meet him soon in your realm, but he has a woman for a shield. You may not recognize him at first, as he may not recognize you. But when you finally meet, you will both be armed with a cause.”
    “You do realize that none of this makes much sense to me. How do I know I’m not suffering from some acute psychotic episode here? Maybe you’re just a figment of my chemically imbalanced brain.”
    I looked into the unnaturally beaming sun and this time silently likened it to a bright flashlight, not a ball of burning gas hovering at the center of the solar system. The plowed dirt under my feet looked real, but when I bent to grab a handful, it felt