The young man yawned a bit as the day started. Checking into the hotel had been torture, especially at o'dark-thirty in the morning - as had waiting for the bus to come to take him to his new apartment complex downtown. Not that... it was much of a complex. Smaller than he was used to, the apartment was by no means cramped... but it would take some getting used to. As would France. He was only here by the grace and will of an obscure uncle he'd never heard of, or met, and for some reason that Uncle decided that Donovan should be living inside the city limits. Also for some reason, he decided that he should leave everything in America behind to a caretaker, and bring only what he absolutely wanted or needed. Don wasn't in the habit of taking things at face value, usually, but his business was flying well on its own wings, and he definitely agreed with the change of scenery.
Just... did the scenery have to change so damn EARLY in the morning? He yawned again, and pushed himself out of a bed that did not yet feel familiar, crossing to where he had set the solitary table left in here for him, and opening the box of his belongings that had been shoved onto that table the night prior. It wasn't much to unpack. His grandfather's creepy ol' book, a weird pocket-watch that didn't even work, most of his clothes - which had yet to be unpacked since he had no dresser, and several necessities like his grooming things, and some travel-size foodstuffs. He'd shuffled himself onto the plane in the afternoon, and hadn't had much warning. There wasn't much else to have. Of course, his wallet was close at hand, and his laptop was at the bottom of the clothing pile. He'd go out later today, and maybe get some furniture, groceries, and perhaps a bed that didn't creak when he slept in it. His jewelry kit was still there, all tucked into place. He'd have to make sure things worked after taking a plane flight.
Strangely enough, there was an item resting in the top of the box that he'd never seen before. Maybe he had shoved it into the clothing without really looking - he had been in a hurry. A box of Tarot Cards rested squarely on top of his jewelry kit, and drew his attention and curiosity. Maybe it had belonged to his grandfather. Better yet... maybe it had something to do with all those creepy symbols in that creepy book. No time like the present to explore the mysteries of his previous attic.
Moving the box to the floor, he sat on a pillow, cross-legged, and settled the book on the table, flipping it open to a random page. While he did that, he picked up the Tarot Cards, and started shuffling them in his palm. They felt kind of warm, but that could have been the temperature control during shipping. He flipped over onto another page as he was shuffling the cards, and noticed a strange sort of circle in the middle of the book. It had fancy letters around it, and some of the same sort of strange symbols around the edge. Mentally marking it off as something to investigate later, he started reading out-loud. Sometimes it helped him think and digest to hear words spoken. The words seemed strange, and slithered on his tongue as no words should have - but that might have just been his fatigue.
"Lady of Blood, Lady of the Darkest Night, come hither to me."
The cards were getting warmer, but he kept reading, almost as if compelled. While he was reading, he accidentally gave himself a paper-cut with the cards. He continued with a wince.
"By Bloodshed, I bind thee to me. Work thy dark magic upon this world."