The top card shows a woman seated on a throne, holding a chalice, but the woman gestures for Shrieky to put it back. She gives the deck a quick, careless shuffle, not taking her eyes off him the entire process, then fans the cards out for him with a practiced motion.

"You pick three cards, any three cards from this deck, and you put them —" She hesitates. "— with the pattern side up, so the picture's hidden." Her voice is not unkind. "We'll do one at a time. Past, then present, then future."