Winnie Zeng Unleashes a Legend by Katie Zhao

Author:Katie Zhao [Zhao, Katie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Random House Children's Books
Published: 2022-04-26T00:00:00+00:00

* * *

I’d always loved going to the Suntreader, but this time was different. This was a new kind of anticipation—an expectation of the supernatural. David and I pedaled along mostly in silence, the spirits floating behind us.

As we turned a corner, there it was, nestled between Subway and Supercuts: the Suntreader, the town’s indie bookstore and, apparently, an access point to the spirit realm. It was a green building with a cart of books outside on the sidewalk. Lao Lao stopped and hovered in the air, pressing her fingers to her temples in concentration.

I couldn’t help but think the bookstore looked so…ordinary.

“You’d never guess anything supernatural was going on around here,” David said. Again, we were on the same wavelength. Again, I hated it.

I was thinking that I’d been meaning to pick up the last volumes of Fruits Basket anyway. Unless a spirit wrecked the Suntreader before I could get to that. But there probably weren’t any more evil and chaotic spirits around—at least not here, at this very moment. Right?

The closer we got to the Suntreader, the chillier the air around us seemed to get. It was the same kind of chill I’d gotten around the other spirits before. I gulped, suddenly feeling nervous.

When we headed into the store, I was greeted with the familiar, cozy smell of books. The store had been decorated with colorful leaves, pumpkins, and cinnamon-scented candles. From the ceiling, large, glowing yellow-orange bulbs hung down—hence the store’s name, the Suntreader.

There were a handful of people browsing the bookshelves, about the same number as usual. Mr. Stevens, the bald owner of the bookshop, was putting some books onto the shelves. There was no evil spirit in sight, nor anything that looked remotely supernatural.

“So what do we do now?” David asked, glancing toward the spirits with a clueless expression on his face.

“Ask the owner to take you to the eighty-eighth floor,” said Joe.

I stared at him as though he’d told us to fly to Jupiter. He might as well have. “There’s no such thing. This store only has three levels.”

“The eighty-eighth floor,” insisted the old spirit, scowling at me as though miffed I couldn’t follow basic directions. “I said what I said, lassie.”

I glanced toward David for help, but he just shrugged. Useless.

Lao Lao zipped around the store, but before I could attempt to follow her, Mr. Stevens turned and spotted me. He smiled and raised a hand in greeting. “Ah, Winnie. You’ve brought a friend today.” He nodded at David, his eyes skimming over the spirits—of course, he couldn’t see them. “Back for more manga?”

Back to visit your eighty-eighth floor that may or may not exist, actually. Oh, did I mention I have shaman powers now? Anyway, how are the wife and kids? Nope, definitely couldn’t say that.

I managed a smile. “Not today, actually. I’m, um, I need to go to the eighty-eighth floor.”

The smile froze on Mr. Stevens’s face, and embarrassment began to flood me. Great. Joe had led me astray, and now the store owner thought I’d lost my marbles.

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