Wall of Thorns
an excerpt

He reaches into his breast pocket and hands over a business card.

I take it reluctantly, tilting a card a bit to let the light play off of the silver stars and moon embossed in the corner. "Luna's Oddities and Treasures," I read out loud. I offer Eric a blank stare. "What the heck is this?"

He seems unsurprised by my confusion. "Luna runs a small
shop on Mitchell Street; mostly odds and ends that appeal to those interested in the occult. She makes a little money on the side by reading palms and telling fortunes. Tarot, I believe it's called."

I burst out laughing. I can't help myself. I stop quickly; the sound of my own laughter is strange to me. How long has it been since I laughed out loud?

Eric seems less than amused. "Would you like to share the joke?" he demands, reminding me of my English professor.

I cough self-consciously, trying to hand the card back. "Sorry. It's just, um... Come on. A psychic? You're joking, right? That crap isn't real."

Poe holds up his hand towards me and gives Eric a hard stare as if to say "See, you're nuts". This is evidently a long-running argument between the two of them.

Eric ignores him, but refuses to take the card. After a moment I awkwardly place it on the table next to my plate. "I doubt she tells her customers anything useful," he says. "She tends to be deliberately vague, as most charlatans are. The only difference between her and the thousands of other 'psychics' is that her ability actually exists." He arches a brow when I look as if I'm about to argue. "Though I'm sure that sounds as impossible as, say, telepathy?"

Well, he's got me there.