Unnerved because she hadn’t
seen Shana all day, she dismissed Patty, locked up for the day, and walked
around the corner to Shana’s mystical store. She opened the front door, causing
the pretty bells to tinkle, and called out for Shana, but there was no answer.
She looked around the cheerful store with its large collection of perfumes and
bottles. There was always incense burning and soft music playing. Shana’s store
calmed her whenever she was stressed out. Like today.
She passed through the
colorful rows of beads hanging from the doorway to the back room, and entered a room so dark that she had to squint in order to make out Shana’s still form
sitting slumped over a table with cards strewn all across its shiny surface.
“Shana! What’s wrong?”
exclaimed Linda, running over to see if she was okay.
Lifting her head bit by
bit, Shana answered, “I saw death and destruction. I had dealt out my Tarot cards
over and over again, and each time I drew the same card: the image of a half
man and half animal creature. I’ve never dealt that card before. It symbolizes
a demon in the form of a vampire or werewolf…or…or something even worse. All my
past premonitions have always come true. How could this premonition be true?”
“Maybe this has to do with
the owner of End House. He could be an evil person and the card could somehow be referring to
him. Are you too afraid to come with us on Friday?”
“I have to attend this party; I have no
choice. This is the town where I live, and I have to find out what everyone is trying to
hide.”
“Everyone has choices. And
who is hiding something?”
“Don’t you think that it’s
strange that the older residents don’t come out at all during the day?” asked
Shana, her voice rising in strength.
“And the older residents
like Shirley Griffin and Hank
Roberts haven’t been invited to the party,” agreed Linda.
“Did you know that Shirley
and Hank are in their seventies?”
She added, “They look much
younger but act much older.”
“We’ll attend this sorry
attempt for a party and find out what is going on. But we have to make sure that we stick close together.”
They walked home together,
listening to the noises of the night, watching for any shadows that didn’t
quite belong in their quiet little town.
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