By Dusk by T. Thorn Coyle

Author:T. Thorn Coyle [Coyle, T. Thorn]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: PF Publishing

22

Shaggy

Shaggy stood on the sunny Hawthorne Street sidewalk, staring at a painted window sign that read “The Inner Eye” in a triangle, with one of those old-fashioned woodcut-looking eyes staring out at her. Behind the glass, crystals gleamed on colorful silks, statues of deities danced and posed, and a book display enticed people to come in and browse.

She wasn’t certain how she found herself in front of the esoteric shop, except that it was only a couple of blocks from the circus school and when she and Phoebe wrapped up their conversation, she had felt like taking a walk. Her sneakers had led her directly here, then stopped. She had some vague idea that Moss’s coven leader—or high priestess, or whatever you called it—owned the place. She also knew that some strange tugging at her solar plexus called her to go inside.

But she stood on the sidewalk as if her feet had grown roots. Oh, it wasn’t that Shaggy was afraid of woo-woo stuff. There was plenty of that on the festival circuit. As a matter of fact, it was hard to escape.

It was that Shaggy was afraid that something inside that shop was going to tell her a thing she might not be ready to hear.

“Damn. Just try, Shaggy. Open the door.”

As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she felt the weight of them, as if the cosmos had just spoken a message. Okay. Maybe she was a little bit afraid of the woo. She forced herself to turn toward the waiting door, and got her feet moving. One step. Two steps. Three. Hand on the knob. Pushing. The chime of bells and some kind of harp music. The scent of frankincense burning.

Her lips were wet. Licking them, she tasted the salt of tears. Was she crying? When had she started crying? Must be the pregnancy hormones. She never cried like this.

She swiped at her face as an attractive white woman with dark hair piled up in a messy bun walked toward her. She wore a flowing blue tunic top over black pants and low boots, and silver jewelry everywhere. The woman looked to be around forty-something, if Shaggy had to guess. Not far off in age from Bianca, at any rate.

“May I help you?” The woman’s voice was so kind, Shaggy felt herself tear up again. Where had all of this emotion come from?

“I… Yes. I mean, I don’t know.”

“Can I point you toward some books? Or crystals? Or would you like a cup of tea?”

“Do you do readings here?”

The woman smiled at her. “We do. And my next client just cancelled, so I’ve got a spot open right now. Do you have time?”

Shaggy nodded, not trusting her voice.

“All right then. Follow me and we’ll get set up.” The woman turned and began threading her way through display cases toward a configuration of bookcases and comfy-looking chairs. “I’m Brenda, by the way,” she said, turning her head.

“Shaggy.”

The woman stopped. “Shaggy? Moss’s friend?”

Moss was talking about her? Shaggy felt her face flush with heat, though she didn’t know why she should feel embarrassed.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.