“The devil’s come for ya, Sir!” There’s something Sebastian didn’t hear every day. A crazy old woman had lunged at him from an alley as he passed. The poor thing, bent with arthritis and grimy, was draped in filthy rags that were cinched at her waist by a piece of clothesline. Her hair was tucked up under a faded and soiled bandanna. The sight of her browned and missing teeth seemed to enhance the foulest breath Sebastian had ever encountered from a human being. This oracle of the streets grabbed his arm and held it tightly in her grip as she looked up into his face and said, “The devil’s come for ya, Sir!”
Thinking the woman was not quite right, Sebastian shook loose from her and continued walking up the avenue. Somehow the old crone was in front of him again with her open palm extended to receive some money. “Help a gypsy with food and shelter for the night, Sir?”
Sebastian reached into his pocket and gave the woman whatever coins he had. He smiled, wished her good luck and continued on his way. Once again, the old woman caught up to him. He noticed that her bony crooked fingers clutched him like a bird on a wire. “The devil’s come for ya, Sir. You’ve been kind to an old gypsy, so let me give you this.” She pressed a fetish into his right palm and closed his fist around it.
“What is this?” he asked as he opened his hand to see what she had given to him.
“It’s an amulet of protection against the devil, Sir. Keep it close to you at all times,” she whispered.
“But what is it?” Sebastian insisted.
“It’s a hamsa tied with a feather from a phoenix. It will warn you when the devil’s close by and it’ll give you strength.”
“Oh, a protection charm,” Sebastian said to show he understood such things.
“A fire alarm can only warn you about the fire, you must still fight the fire and escape on your own. Be vigilant, Sir.” The old woman disappeared into the twilight as quickly as she had come.
Sebastian held the gypsy’s gift in his hand and continued his walk to the streetcar. The devil has come for you, Sir. She had said that to him three times. He knew three to be the number of the Divine so he determined to take her message seriously. He also couldn’t stop thinking about his two encounters with Jacques St. Germain., three if the sighting at Two Sisters counted which it did. He didn’t even have to guess why Ursula couldn’t see him. St. Germain had said there must be something they need to discuss. On a side note there was the re-entry into his life CJ James who had saved him once already when he had nearly drowned in the pool at the New Orleans Athletic Club. Tomorrow would be their third meeting. This pattern of three plagued his imagination and plunged Sebastian into deep contemplation. In fact, he had been so lost in thought that he walked past the streetcar stop. He didn’t realize how far he had walked until he stood in front of the gates of Tulane University! From here he called a taxi to take him the rest of the way home.
His curiosity brought the gypsy’s fetish out of his pocket for a more careful examination. There was some sort of folded up piece of paper tucked inside the packet. This he carefully extracted and opened. It was a miniature playing card, like from a child’s deck of cards. Ace of Spades. If the devil was indeed coming for him, Sebastian was in for a fight. He refolded the card and slid it back into place by the time the driver parked in front of his house.
The first thing Sebastian noticed on exiting the taxi was the light in the entry hall. He had not turned on a light since it was full daylight when he left. He cautiously approached the house. He tried the door before inserting his key. Finding it locked, he used the key to let himself in. The receipt he had placed on the hall table for the donation was torn into confetti and scattered on the floor. He turned on lights as he explored the house from room to room. Nothing else seemed to be out of place or missing. When he ventured upstairs, his bedroom the lamp on his nightstand was lit, but the other lights were off. Suddenly Meatloaf was singing from somewhere: “If I kiss you like this, and you whisper like that, it was lost long ago, but it’s all coming back to me. If you want me like this, and if you need me like that, it was lost long ago, but it’s all coming back to me”—Sebastian collapsed to the floor unconscious.
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