Chapter Two

The rest of the day seemed to pass in a bit of a blur, and Yaddo barely had an opportunity to run to the nearby cafe and pick up a half sandwich and some chips for a brief lunch.  Based on past experience she knew there would be many slow days to come, and she did not want to miss out on this golden opportunity to earn a nest-egg for later.

As the day progressed, it became increasingly hot and humid as the typical New Orleans weather settled in.  Even though it was only March, it was close to ninety degrees Fahrenheit and Yaddo noticed there were less and less people walking and those who were seemed to be hurrying to find a shop or restaurant with air conditioning.  Yaddo started to feel as though she should call it quits, but she kept getting customers even as the sun was going down.

Finally enough was enough, and Yaddo blew out her candle, packed away the incense holder, and started clearing off her table.  Even with her back turned she was able to hear someone settling into one of the chairs, and without turning around she said, "I'm sorry, but I'm done for the day."

"Are you?" a male voice asked, with a cocky sort of attitude that immediately put Yaddo's teeth on edge.

With a hint of irritation in her voice, Yaddo replied, "Yes, it's getting too dark to read my cards, you'll have to come back and see me tomorrow."

"I won't be here tomorrow, and I need to know something right now," came the reply.

Yaddo straightened up and turned to face the man who was now causing her significant annoyance.  Sitting in the chair was a beautiful young man, probably in his twenties, with long black hair draped over his shoulders, and stunning green eyes in a perfect almond-shaped face.  His lips moved into the shape of a smile as he realized Yaddo was having difficulty making her thoughts form coherently enough to form a reply.  He was dressed in a loose black cotton shirt with the ties undone, and a pair of black jeans and black Doc Martens.  He was pale, and was sitting in an overly confident and lazy fashion in her folding chair, somehow making it look as though it were a large comfortable couch.  All Yaddo could do was blink at him, her mouth slightly open.

"My name is Karl," the unbelievably attractive man said, "I understand your skills surpass most of the others who ply the trade of divination.  This is why I prefer to sit here, rather than with one of those in the square who are offering their services into the night."

Yaddo found the poise to close her open mouth, then smiled at the compliment.  "Well, Karl," she said, "I suppose I'll have to make an exception then."

She decided to pull the candle and incense back out, and lit both.  She took her deck of cards and did her customary nine by nine shuffle.  Then she offered the deck to Karl, and he placed his fore-finger on the top of the deck, then took his hand away.  She shuffled again, nine by nine, and began her most elaborate spread to give this late-comer a reading that would hopefully be well rewarded.

As she went through the reading card by card, Karl said nothing, and simply sat back in his chair with an arrogance that was causing Yaddo to grow more irritated by the minute.  As she began to explain The Chariot card and its meaning, Karl leaned back even farther and closed his eyes as if he was about to take a nap.

"Why am I doing this for you?" Yaddo snapped, her patience gone.

Karl blinked his eyes open, as if she had woken him, and then peered at her.  "I'm not sure," he said.  "I don't really believe in Tarot anyway."

Yaddo said nothing at this, and began to put the cards back into her deck.  If not for this jerk, she could be well on her way home by now.  As she reached for a card, Karl put his hand out and closed his fingers around her wrist.  She jerked her arm back, and he let her go, seemingly apologetic.

"I just thought someone as pretty as you might like some company," Karl said, with widened eyes.

"There are better ways to get my attention," Yaddo said, glaring.  "Now if you don't mind, I'd like to go home."

"Ah, but I do mind," Karl replied, slipping back into the arrogant pose again.  "It would bother me greatly to know that I have so deeply offended you and not made amends."

Yaddo sighed in exasperation.  The whole thing had been a setup from the beginning.  Karl had purposely made her angry so that he could have a good excuse to ask her out.  She did not have much patience for this sort of routine, but she had a feeling that Karl was not going to just go away if she made a scene.

"So let me guess, you want to buy me a drink?"

Karl feigned surprise.  "How did you know?  You must truly be gifted."  Yaddo sighed at the obvious fortune teller reference.  "If you are willing I wish to bring you to the Pirate's Alley cafe, and there you may have whatever you desire."

Yaddo had to pause a moment, wondering how Karl knew she was a fan of Pirate's Alley Cafe.  She could not ever remember seeing him there.  Then there was the temptation of free Green Chartreuse to ponder.  She sighed again.

"Tell you what, I'll meet you there," she said, finally.

Karl smiled broadly, then said, "But how do I know you will stay true to your word?"

Yaddo was starting to find Karl's proper English endearing, especially after the typical poor grammar and mispronunciation of English words she had to endure from the locals.  She managed to produce a full smile, even though her irritation was trying to convince her to be as sarcastic as possible.

"I have to put my things in a safe place first," she said.  "I'm afraid you are just going to have to wait and find out whether I'm true or not."

Karl stood up and bowed, his face somewhat sorrowful.  "Until our next meeting," he said, and then with a flourish he stood up, smiled at her in a way that almost made her heart jump into her throat, and then walked away in the direction of Pirate's Alley.  Yaddo waited until he was no longer in sight before she began taking down her table and chairs.

Walking quickly along her preferred route which took her past many tourists but avoided some of the known problem areas in the Quarter, Yaddo brought her things back to the storage closet from whence they had come, and paused only to make sure the door was securely locked before she made her way from the river into Jackson Square.  Even though the light was fading a magician wearing baggy, shabby clothing was performing rope tricks while a cigarette hung from his mouth, and Yaddo stopped to watch him turn two ropes into one with a quick and seemingly effortless gesture.

She wished she could perform magic.  Not just tricks, not just her simple divinations, but real magic - the kind of magic seen in movies and read about in novels.  She remembered growing up in her house before her mother had passed away, hearing over and over again, "There is no such thing as magic, young lady, and it's time you started understanding how this world really works."  Her mother had been easily frustrated by Yaddo's obsession with magic.  The lure of magic had been what had brought her to New Orleans in the first place.  If only it was easier to survive in this city that offered whatever you might possibly want and took away everything that you needed.

Yaddo sighed.  She had seen and met many people since moving to New Orleans over five years ago.  Many of them had moved on to other cities.  Some had come back from those cities, unable to resist the call to the Big Easy.  Others had been swallowed up by drinking, drugs, or violence.  That was the part most people did not want to realize.  New Orleans would eat you alive, if you allowed it.

Wandering past the street magician, Yaddo nodded at the few tarot readers who continued to offer their services into the evening hours.  Their tables were dimly lit by scented candles, and the odor of sandalwood permeated the air.  A bit of a breeze was picking up along St. Peter's side of the square, causing the trees to sway and their leaves to rustle in a way that made it seem as though they were whispering to each other.  Darkness had settled on New Orleans, and the French Quarter was once again full of magic.

Groups of tourists were gathering at the front of St. Louis Cathedral, already anxiously awaiting their chance to sign up for one of the famous Vampire tours of New Orleans.  Inwardly Yaddo scoffed.  While she liked reading novels and seeing films about vampires, she had yet to see any evidence that such creatures existed.  However, in the city that was home to the famous Anne Rice, it was only to be expected that fans of vampires would be out at night, anxiously looking for some evidence that there was truth to her tales.  Perhaps there was, but so far Yaddo had not found it.

A few steps past the young man dressed in black and smiling with slightly pointed teeth while holding a "Vampire Tour" sign, and Yaddo was in Pirate's Alley once more, wondering what her favorite hangout would hold in store for her on this night.  It was an odd night, once which made Yaddo's hairs stand on her arms as though suddenly, anything was possible.  Anything at all.  At this thought she stopped, wondering its source, looking around anxiously.  She noticed the pigeon was no longer hanging from the glass spikes over the cathedral's side door.   Someone had painstakingly cleaned up all the blood as well.

Yaddo pinched herself, and started moving again, heading into the warm and dimly lit hole in the wall.  The Pirate's Alley Cafe had a few patrons sitting at the tables, and one older gentleman sitting at the bar.  Ginger was tending bar, and looked up at her and waved with a sharp bladed piece of cutlery that looked as if it belonged in a slasher film.  Yaddo blinked for a moment, then realized Ginger was just using it to cut orange slices.

"Took ya long enough to get here," Ginger said.  "What happened?  Last minute customer that wouldn't leave?"

"How did you know?" Yaddo answered Ginger's question with another.

"Oh, I dunno...some guy by the name of Karl came through here and told me to start a tab for you.  Then he took off, following after some people who came in here asking about the Vampire tour.  I pointed them all up to the front of the church.  You know, the usual schtick."

"He said to start a tab for me?"  Yaddo blinked.  She was starting to get the impression that this Karl was a tourist himself, and probably interested in more than just pleasant conversation with her.  She sighed.

"I guess I'll take advantage of it - give me a Green Chartreuse on the rocks please."

Ginger looked at her with her left eyebrow raised, then shook her head.  "I hope you know what you're doing - you remember what happened the last time you started off the night with that stuff don't you?"

The problem was, Yaddo did not remember.  Or at least, she didn't remember much, aside from losing most of her dinner on a sidewalk and a friendly neighbor helping her hold her keys steady enough to unlock her apartment door.  Everything else was a blur.

"That was just the one time," she said.  "And it was my 25th birthday and nobody wanted to celebrate it with me.  This time I'll take it easy, don't worry."  Ginger's eyebrow refused to drop, indicating how little she believed that statement.  Regardless, a small tumbler with ice and the neon-green liquer appeared in front of Yaddo just a few moments later.

She gave it a moment to chill, and let the ice melt a bit, mixing water and diluting the alcohol so it would be less harsh.  Then she took her first sip and let the minty flavor roll across her tongue.  The alcohol hit a moment later and made her shiver, but she made herself swallow it just the same.  Green Chartreuse was an old New Orleans drink, created by Franciscan monks with a blend of herbs and spices known only to themselves.  Not many people liked it, but Yaddo preferred it to the Absente brand legalized absynthe that was the specialty drink of this particular bar.  Licorice just never tasted good to her, and absynthe was flavored strongly of licorice.  Green Chartreuse, however, only tasted better the more she drank it.

The old man sitting at the bar opened a cigarette case and pulled out a clove cigarette.  He offered one to Yaddo, and she accepted, also accepting the offer of a light in the form of a plain silver Zippo a moment later.  She inhaled and let the clove flavor roll over her tongue, and then sipped her Green Chartreuse again.

"Strong drink for someone so young," the man said.  "Requires a refined taste, too."

"Yeah," Yaddo agreed, "I didn't really like it at first, but it sort of grows on you after a while."  The man chuckled, and turned his attention back to his drink.  Yaddo was grateful for the clove cigarette, but at the same time was also grateful that there was no expectation of additional attention from the man who had offered it.  Ginger was always willing to back her up if Yaddo needed it when she received unwanted attention from the male patrons of the Pirate's Alley Cafe, but she preferred to not have confrontations in the first place.

Some time passed and Ginger refilled her glass.  A second clove cigarette was offered by the gentleman and Yaddo accepted it, and then he took his leave of the bar.  As he headed toward Royal street a few more people started filling in, including some of the regulars who were also members of the staff who ran the Vampire and Haunted History nightly tours.  

Typically the tours ended here at the Pirate's Alley Cafe so it seemed to be a good place to set up.  There was a bookshelf in the bar always kept full of books about the tour, and even videos on VHS, so it seemed the owner of Pirate's Alley Cafe was in cahoots with the owner of Haunted History Tours.  Yaddo had heard the stories about Pirate's Alley hundreds of times over the past few years, and could probably recite some of them herself.  Even so, she just did not see herself as a tour guide, even though it looked like a lot of fun.  The guides were always wearing exquisite period costumes, and it seemed as though they got a lot of attention after their tours by their guests.

As Ginger refilled Yaddo's glass a third time, and the air was starting to look hazy, especially around the candle flames and lamps in the alley outside, Yaddo wondered what had happened to her benefactor.  She had been sitting in the bar for close to two hours, judging from the number of tours starting to file into Pirate's Alley for their final tale of murder for the evening.  Karl was nowhere to be seen, and Yaddo was feeling irritated yet again by his attitude.  Free drinks or not, she did not like getting stood up.  Yaddo stood up, wobbled a moment as the bar seemed to shift a moment, and closed her eyes while holding on to the bar to get her bearings.

When she opened her eyes, she immediately shut them again, cursing her weakness for the Chartreuse.  The bar's lighting had changed from basic candlelight to deep red flames dancing high in their candle holders.  Worse, the patrons were no longer there, and in their place were shadowy forms sitting at the tables or on the barstools.  All the forms were transparent, save one.

Yaddo risked opening her eyes once more, and she was back in the normal Pirate's Alley cafe.  Nothing had changed.  The same patrons were right where they had been sitting, although they were no longer transparent.  The one solid form had been sitting at the opposite end of the bar from where she had chosen to sit.  For a moment, she thought she saw Karl's face.  Now that her legs felt steady she made her way to where she thought he had been sitting, but it was only the young man who had been holding the Vampire Tour sign earlier.

"I'm leaving," Yaddo said to Ginger with exasperation.  "I'm not waiting here all night for my Romeo to come and sweep me off my feet.  Let me know if he doesn't pay for my drinks and I'll take care of it, okay?"

Ginger nodded.  "Be safe, okay?  You seem a little tipsy."

Yaddo took a mock pose of defensiveness, and replied, "Okay mom...I'll be good."  Ginger rolled her eyes, and Yaddo grinned as she jauntily headed out one of the doorways and made her way to the streetcar line.  It had been a strange night, but not entirely bad.  As she made her way to Canal Street Yaddo wondered about what she had seen - the Green Chartreuse had never done that to her before.  She tried to shrug it off as a momentary dizziness, but inside she knew there was something more to it.  In her mind she tried to place where she had seen the one solid form in the room full of transparent spectres at the Pirate's Alley Cafe, and after much thought she gasped.  That form had been sitting precisely where she had seen Karl's face just a moment later.

"Your mind is playing tricks on you, Yaddo de LaBonne," she said to herself.  With that she climbed the steps of the waiting streetcar and was on her way back home.