by Dave Ferraro
***
“You sure about this?” Rachel asked.
Shanna nodded. “More than sure. I have to do this.”
Amelia crossed her arms. “He will have us to contend with if he does anything shady.”
“I’m sure it won’t come to that,” Shanna said as the elevator doors opened and they stepped out into the lobby of Incantations once more, sounds of the fountain echoing through the large room.
Shanna circled the fountain quickly and gazed over at the cash registers, disappointed. A girl sat behind the desk, twirling her hair as she read a book. She glanced back at Amelia, who shrugged. Approaching the desk hesitantly, Shanna cleared her throat.
The girl looked up and set down her book, smiling up at her. “Can I help you?”
“Is Eric off today?” she asked awkwardly.
The girl shook her head. “No, he’s just shelving some books. Druid section, down four flights, to your left. Can’t miss it.”
“Thanks,” Shanna replied, relieved. She strode over to the stairwell that spiraled down into the bowels of the bookstore, with Amelia and Rachel at her back, sticking close. She watched the floors as they passed them, like scenes in a movie. Each seemed to attract a particular clientele. The first floor, which boasted demon heritage, had various demons flittering about, looking at books and studying at desks. The next floor was all about ancient folklore, and many of the patrons here were pale and good-looking. Definitely vampires.
“Creepy,” Rachel muttered, her fists tight at her sides. “All they need is a café where they serve blood and fresh-cut body parts.”
Amelia rolled her eyes. “This is a very peaceful establishment.”
“I’m sure.”
Shanna paused at the step that led to the fourth floor, hesitating before stepping onto the sunny floor, with bright lights and cheerful looking witches, tattoos swirling over their arms and cheeks, forming runes and ominous-looking vines.
Rachel let out a breath. “Fourth floor: blood rituals. How nice. Have I mentioned how quaint and charming this place is?”
Shanna glared at her and Rachel made a zipping motion over her lips as they took a left past an area labeled “Blood rituals of the fourteenth century.” When she caught sight of Eric, sorting a cart of books, she let out the breath she’d been holding and actually smiled as she approached him, something that seemed to unnerve him as he saw her coming.
“Hello, Ladies,” he greeted, licking his lips. “Can I, uh, help you with something?”
“You most certainly can,” Shanna said. She hesitated. “Sorry for blowing a gasket the other day. I was out of line. I’m kind of dealing with something…”
“Say no more,” Eric said, smiling and holding up his hands. “My powers can intimidate people. It’s completely understandable. Now, what do you need from me?”
Shanna returned his smile. “Thank you, Eric. It’s kind of personal.” She looked back at Amelia and Rachel. “But basically, I’m hoping you can poke around in my head. There’s something from my past, some details, that I need to retrieve. Things I’ve forgotten.”
He nodded slowly. “The thing about memories is that sometimes you think you knew something, but you never did. Memories have lots of holes and gray areas. If you never paid attention to certain details, they simply won’t be there.”
She frowned. “I think I paid attention. I’m most likely blocking it out. It was a…traumatic time.”
Eric watched her for a moment, then sighed. “Okay. I will help you, but it’s an act that will require complete silence and isolation. We can’t do it here.”
“Many of the others will be out tonight,” Shanna said, thinking. “And the mansion is large enough where we could be undisturbed for awhile at least.”
“Sounds good enough,” he agreed. “My shift is over at midnight.”
Shanna let out a sigh of relief. “Oh, thank you, Eric. You don’t know what this means to me.” She grabbed his hand and shook it, causing him to laugh.
“Anything for a beautiful girl,” he said, grinning.
“Oh, and we’re staying-“
“I already know,” he cut her off.
She raised an eyebrow, and he shrugged his shoulders.
