the Death card was a silver skull over a shield and a black flag with a strange white flower on it.
“What kind of cards are these?” said Will.
“Tarot cards.” Madeleine chewed on her fingernail. All her nails were bitten to the quick and her cuticles were red. “I got them at The Winking Cat .”
“What are they for?”
“Divination. Predicting the future.” She spoke quickly now. “There are seventy-eight of them. They can guide your life. I don’t do anything without checking first with my cards.”
Will was starting to wish he hadn’t come. He had never met anyone like Madeleine before. What did the tarot cards have to do with The Griffin of Darkwood?
“You lay down what’s called a spread,” said Madeleine. “Five or seven cards at a time. You make a pattern. And then you turn them over and read the meaning.”
She grabbed Will’s arm, her fingers digging in sharply. Her words came in short bursts. “A card with The Griffin of Darkwood on it…it kept coming back…I told it to go away but it wouldn’t!"
“I don’t get it.” Will yanked his arm away.
“I put eleven cards on the table. It’s called the Celtic Cross. And when I turned the cards over, it was there. A card with a huge griffin on it and the words The Griffin of Darkwood! I’d never seen that card before.”
She’s scared out of her wits, thought Will.
“The card was so powerful. It engulfed every other card with its force. I thought I was going to faint. You can’t imagine it if you haven’t felt it yourself.”
Will swallowed. “What did you do?”
“I tried again. The griffin card kept coming back. Finally, I tore it up. I lit a candle and burned all the pieces when the moon was shining. Then I buried the ashes. I’m convinced the card was trying to give me a message. I’ve been so worried I haven’t been able to sleep.”
She took a big shuddering breath. “It ruined the cards for me. I didn’t even want to look at them for awhile. But that’s not all. Something else happened.”
“What?”
“On the same night that I burned the card, I asked my Ouija board for help. It spelled out a name. It was your name. Will Poppy. I didn’t know who you were.”
Will went cold with shock.
“Then I saw you at the bookstore, and I asked Favian who you were. Don’t you see? You were fated to come here. The Griffin of Darkwood has a message for you. It tried to tell me through my tarot cards.”
“I don’t know what you mean."
“It’s some kind of prophesy. We could ask the Ouija board. Right now. It won’t take long.”
“Forget it! I’m leaving.”
“Please.”
“No!”
“All right.” Madeleine didn’t say anything as they walked back through the shop to the front door.
“I’m going to keep looking in the books at the bookstore for The Griffin of Darkwood,” said Will. “Someone must know something about it.”
Madeleine shrugged. “I’ve finished reading most of those books. I’ve been going every day. There’s nothing in them about The Griffin of Darkwood. But you can suit yourself.”
With that, she shut the shop door firmly.
Feeling like he had escaped, Will sucked in gulps of the fresh cool air. He hurried back along Silk Alley toward the square and then up Black Penny Road. Something flew up the street and landed on the windowsill of Thom Fairweather’s flat. It was the tiny elf owl, Minnie, with a spider dangling from her beak.
Thom opened the window and the owl glided inside. He saw Will and shouted, “Bad news! I’ve burnt the cream puffs!” He shut the window and disappeared.
When Will got to the top of the hill, he stopped and stared at the ancient stone castle. The ruins of the huge keep loomed like a silent guard. The Griffin of Darkwood. It was somewhere close by, Will was convinced.
Chapter Twenty-Two
A Family Tree
In the morning, Will took all his books back to Ex Libris and exchanged them for new ones. Favian was slitting the tape on a huge cardboard box
“What kind of cards are these?” said Will.
“Tarot cards.” Madeleine chewed on her fingernail. All her nails were bitten to the quick and her cuticles were red. “I got them at The Winking Cat .”
“What are they for?”
“Divination. Predicting the future.” She spoke quickly now. “There are seventy-eight of them. They can guide your life. I don’t do anything without checking first with my cards.”
Will was starting to wish he hadn’t come. He had never met anyone like Madeleine before. What did the tarot cards have to do with The Griffin of Darkwood?
“You lay down what’s called a spread,” said Madeleine. “Five or seven cards at a time. You make a pattern. And then you turn them over and read the meaning.”
She grabbed Will’s arm, her fingers digging in sharply. Her words came in short bursts. “A card with The Griffin of Darkwood on it…it kept coming back…I told it to go away but it wouldn’t!"
“I don’t get it.” Will yanked his arm away.
“I put eleven cards on the table. It’s called the Celtic Cross. And when I turned the cards over, it was there. A card with a huge griffin on it and the words The Griffin of Darkwood! I’d never seen that card before.”
She’s scared out of her wits, thought Will.
“The card was so powerful. It engulfed every other card with its force. I thought I was going to faint. You can’t imagine it if you haven’t felt it yourself.”
Will swallowed. “What did you do?”
“I tried again. The griffin card kept coming back. Finally, I tore it up. I lit a candle and burned all the pieces when the moon was shining. Then I buried the ashes. I’m convinced the card was trying to give me a message. I’ve been so worried I haven’t been able to sleep.”
She took a big shuddering breath. “It ruined the cards for me. I didn’t even want to look at them for awhile. But that’s not all. Something else happened.”
“What?”
“On the same night that I burned the card, I asked my Ouija board for help. It spelled out a name. It was your name. Will Poppy. I didn’t know who you were.”
Will went cold with shock.
“Then I saw you at the bookstore, and I asked Favian who you were. Don’t you see? You were fated to come here. The Griffin of Darkwood has a message for you. It tried to tell me through my tarot cards.”
“I don’t know what you mean."
“It’s some kind of prophesy. We could ask the Ouija board. Right now. It won’t take long.”
“Forget it! I’m leaving.”
“Please.”
“No!”
“All right.” Madeleine didn’t say anything as they walked back through the shop to the front door.
“I’m going to keep looking in the books at the bookstore for The Griffin of Darkwood,” said Will. “Someone must know something about it.”
Madeleine shrugged. “I’ve finished reading most of those books. I’ve been going every day. There’s nothing in them about The Griffin of Darkwood. But you can suit yourself.”
With that, she shut the shop door firmly.
Feeling like he had escaped, Will sucked in gulps of the fresh cool air. He hurried back along Silk Alley toward the square and then up Black Penny Road. Something flew up the street and landed on the windowsill of Thom Fairweather’s flat. It was the tiny elf owl, Minnie, with a spider dangling from her beak.
Thom opened the window and the owl glided inside. He saw Will and shouted, “Bad news! I’ve burnt the cream puffs!” He shut the window and disappeared.
When Will got to the top of the hill, he stopped and stared at the ancient stone castle. The ruins of the huge keep loomed like a silent guard. The Griffin of Darkwood. It was somewhere close by, Will was convinced.
Chapter Twenty-Two
A Family Tree
In the morning, Will took all his books back to Ex Libris and exchanged them for new ones. Favian was slitting the tape on a huge cardboard box
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