The Master of Misrule by Laura Powell Read Free Book Online Page B

summerhouse, inch by hopeless inch.
    And when her nearly rigid fingers traced the sign of the threshold, and the Arcanum coin emerged from her palm, she could no longer remember her own name, let alone Grace’s, or why, with the last spark of sense left in her, she felt compelled to jerk the coin into the freezing air.

T HE NEXT MORNING , C AT , Blaine and Toby met by the stump of the apple tree in Mercury Square. It was hard to reconcile their drab surroundings with the transformations they had witnessed three nights ago. For the apple tree that used to grow in the neglected garden was also Yggdrasil, a double of the tree on which the Hanged Man had been imprisoned, deep in the catacombs below Temple House. The chancers had used four aces to fell it, unleashing the forces of earth, air, fire and water, and toppling the power of the kings and queens.…
    Their victory already seemed long ago.
    To her surprise, Toby greeted Cat with a hug. Even more to her surprise, she found that she didn’t mind. Blaine got a hearty handshake. Afterward, they stood around feeling uncomfortable. This was not the kind of reunion anyone had expected. There was no good news to celebrate, no nostalgia to indulge in. And where was Flora?
    While they were waiting, Toby told them, again, about his encounter with Mia. He’d phoned Cat as soon as he left the Arcanum but his excited ramblings had been almost too much to take in. It was not a whole lot easier now.
    Spread on the bench in front of them was an article from London’s tabloid newspaper.
    A LOTTERY FOR LUCK?
CITY GRIPPED BY MYSTERIOUS
SCRATCHCARD CRAZE
    Londoners are baffled by a set of scratchcards distributed by an unknown organization, bearing only the words “The Triumph Lottery of Luck. Heads You Win, Tails You Lose.” Upon scratching off the silver coin embossed on the card, either a man’s head or a forked tail is revealed. No prizes are offered and no company details shown .
    But what appears to be a teaser for an ad campaign is fast gaining notoriety as a game of allegedly supernatural dimensions. The recipients of a “head” card are adamant that extraordinary good fortune has immediately followed their win, whereas those finding a “tail” claim to have suffered a series of bizarre mishaps .
    Dr. Craig Mills, 31, found a so-called triumph card in his supermarket trolley.Moments after scraping the coin to reveal a “head,” he decided to purchase a EuroLotto scratchcard—and found himself £75,000 richer. Meanwhile, beautician Jane Cornwell, 23, suffered a road accident, in which she broke both legs, not more than five minutes after finding a “tail.”
    Mere coincidence, one might say. But a growing number of people are reporting similar experiences. Since Boxing Day evening, when the cards first appeared, a number have already been featured on an Internet auction site, where—in spite of the risk of finding an ill-omened “tail”—they are attracting bids running into thousands of pounds from all over the world .
    One thing’s for sure. Someone, somewhere, has created an epic new urban legend .
    For Professor Pamela Coleman’s examination of mind suggestion, mass hysteria and the Gambler’s Fallacy, turn to page 7 .
    Full interviews with Ms. Cornwell and Dr. Mills, page 15 .
    “A Game of Triumphs marketing blitz.” Cat shook her head in disbelief. “This is insane.”
    “Yeah, right. One big mass-hysterical joke,” said Blaine sardonically.
    “But what does it
mean
?”
    The three of them had already talked this over at length without reaching any conclusion. They found it was easier to focus on the mysterious scratchcards than what might have gone wrong in the Game, and what it had cost them. A part of Cat still refused to believe in their failure. Toby kept banging on about how the Arcanum was “broken.” What did that mean anyway? Broken things could be mended. There must be a way of putting things right. There
must
.
    “I wonder where Flora’s