Aces Read Online Free Page A

wasn’t a question. “May we see her?”
    I turned my head and looked into the living room. Soelle was sitting on the floor amid a drift of our father’s old
National Geographics
.
    “What for?” she asked gruffly.
    “This won’t take very long,” Waldo assured me. “And it won’t hurt,” he added to Soelle, who didn’t look convinced. “Just have a seat here.” He gestured to the table in the dining room. Reluctantly Soelle came over and took a seat across from Waldo. His partner, Leah, stood in the doorway, one hand resting on her hip, fingers tapping against a bulge under her jacket.
    “Do you have a lot of friends, Soelle?”
    Soelle stared at him for a moment before answering. “No. I don’t need any.”
    “Not even an imaginary one? Someone only you can see? Do you have one of those?”
    “Yesss,” Soelle said slowly.
    “Is he or she in this room right now?”
    Soelle made an effort of looking all around her, then she shook her head.
    “She’s burning hot,” Leah mentioned in a strangely casual voice.
    Waldo took out a folded piece of paper, unfolded it, and put it down with a pen in front of Soelle. “Can you draw me a picture of him?”
    Soelle stared at the paper, then raised her eyes up to Waldo.
    “The Haxanpaxan doesn’t like to be drawn, does he?” he said.
    Soelle shook her head.
    “Have you ever played with tarot cards?”
    “You don’t
play
with tarot cards.”
    “I’ve never seen anyone shift like this before,” Leah said in a low, awe-filled voice. She raised one of her hands toward Soelle, fingers wavering slowly back and forth. “I’m surprised she’s even visible.”
    “
Leah
,” Waldo said curtly. He turned back to Soelle. “Have you ever
used
tarot cards before?”
    “Yes.”
    “A girl died,” I mentioned.
    “I didn’t kill her! She ran in front of a bus.”
    Waldo held up a calming hand. “It’s okay. We’re not here about that.”
    “Then why are you here?” Soelle snapped.
    “We just have one more question.” Waldo cleared his throat. “Have you ever played . . . Have you ever used a Ouija board?”
    “No,” she said emphatically.
    Waldo let out a deep breath. He wiped his brow and looked over his shoulder at his partner. She crossed her arms and leaned back against the wall. “Thank God for small favours,” she said.
    Waldo stood up and led me into the kitchen.
    “May I call you Tobias?”
    I nodded.
    “Tobias, your sister is . . .”
    “Please don’t say special.”
    “I was going to say dangerous.”
    “That’s awfully . . . frank.”
    Waldo frowned. “I’m afraid I don’t know any other way to be.”
    “It’s okay,” I told him. “It’s just unexpected. I’ve become sort of used to—”
    “Covering up for your sister?” Waldo finished. “Making excuses for her? We know, Tobias. We know all about it.”
    “What do you mean by that?”
    “Soelle is having an adverse effect on reality. She’s out of phase. She’s not supposed to be here. I’m sure you’ve noticed some unusual phenomena while in her presence. People and animals acting strangely, unusual weather, apports . . .”
    “Apports?”
    “Objects that appear seemingly out of thin air.”
    “What kinds of objects?”
    Waldo gestured vaguely.
    “Like playing cards?” I suggested.
    “Sure,” Waldo said. “Small objects usually.”
    “Soelle’s been finding playing cards—aces, specifically—around town. She’s become intent on finding them.”
    “Aces?” Leah said, coming up behind us.
    “Yes,” I said. “She found one under a bridge. Another in a tree—a tree that she was levitating over at the time.”
    “Levitation.” Leah’s gaze drifted away for a moment, then came back in force, boring into me. “Has she found them all?”
    “No. She’s found three of them so far.”
    Leah turned to Waldo and said, “We need to move quickly.”
    Waldo cleared his throat and turned to face me.
    “Tobias, we have a man in our employ. A