The Sixth Spell by Michelle M. Pillow

Author:Michelle M. Pillow [Pillow, Michelle M.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: The Raven Books LLC

Chapter Eleven

After all the talk about séances and magic, Kari expected Warrick Theater to be some mystical place. Instead, she found an old building with art deco light fixtures and panels on the ceiling. The gold and burgundy sponge-painted walls reminded her of Connie’s home décor in the early nineties. The jewel tones had been popular with her grandmother’s crowd back then.

Kari looked around the lobby. She wondered if she should try to hide from view. The glass security doors automatically locked behind her, but she heard the occasional car driving down Main Street. She only hoped if she transported out of there, no one would see her from the road.

Kari’s hair had air-dried, and she saw the mess of brown curls in the window reflection. Her first instinct was to smooth them back and make herself “presentable.” Connie’s word, not hers. Kari didn’t touch her hair.

Lorna went behind a concessions stand and pulled out several boxes of candy. She lobbed one toward Vivien. “Fuel up.”

“Aye, aye, Captain,” Vivien answered with a small salute.

Heather caught a box against her chest and told Kari, “You’ll want the sugar.”

Kari caught a box Lorna tossed at her.

“Did you read the plaque outside about Julia?” Lorna asked.

Kari shook her head in denial.

“Kari was too busy keeping her head down.” Vivien paused to drop a couple of pieces of candy into her mouth. Chewing a little as she talked, she added, “Afraid she’d disappear off the sidewalk.”

“Sounds like one of those stories in those tabloid papers Julia liked to read,” Heather said. “The Disappearing Woman of Freewild Cove. Right next to alien abductions and the lady who married her iguana.”

Lorna hooked Kari’s arm and guided her toward the curtains next to the concessions. The thick velvet hung over the auditorium’s entryway. “Julia is a fascinating character. You ever watch those bootlegger movies?”

“Sure,” Kari answered. They passed through the curtains to the theater’s seating area. About a hundred chairs were divided by two aisles, which led to a black-painted stage and movie screen.

Lorna released Kari’s arm. “That’s Julia.”

Kari stiffened, looking around. She didn’t see a ghost. “Where?”

“No, I mean she’s like those movies. Julia ran a bootlegger ring. It’s how she made all her money.” Lorna motioned for her to keep walking. “She was also a pot farmer and burlesque dancer.”

“She’s my hero,” Vivien inserted. “That woman did not squander her time on Earth.”

“Julia also owned a bunch of properties here in town. She built this theater.” Lorna led the way down the aisle to the stage. “She was a big name in the Spiritualist movement. She used to host séances here, onstage. People would come from all over the country to watch her contact the dead. We found a book listing her séances, the results, how many chickens she was paid for each one, like an accountant’s ledger. Besides that, the book also taught us how to contact the dead. That’s what we’re going to show you today.”

Having seen a movie poster for a nineteen-seventies not-so-classic film outside, Kari guessed the theater now catered to a different audience.

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