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Sadie scanned the shop—the wooden shelves, the glass cabinets, the baskets of small items, not sure where to begin. “Do you know what I can use to call on spirits?”
“Sure.” The woman pointed behind Sadie as another customer walked up to the counter. “Just go through those red curtains to the back room, and if you can’t find what you’re looking for, let me know.”
“Thanks.” Sadie took a wicker shopping basket, then walked past rows of bookshelves and tables cluttered with crystals and colorful stones. Several glass cabinets held mystical figurines, while others contained unique taxidermy. Her gaze stayed fastened on a deep auburn fox, its skull protruding from its open jaws, spine, and ribs breaking free of its torso. Flowers and vines bloomed from within its bones, the beauty of life and death entwined.
Sadie pushed back the red curtains and stepped into a small room where Charlie would’ve been performing the sign of the cross. But something about this place made her feel at home. Shelves of black and white candles lined one of the walls. Some in jars, others in plastic wrappers, all various sizes. Another shelf held an assortment of Ouija boards. And not like the ones she used to see in the game section at the store when she was younger—these looked to be the real thing, regardless if they could call on a spirit or not.
Another shelf filled with books hugged a corner, mostly black spines as if they had to be that color to draw a supernatural entity. She took out one of the tomes on the middle shelf about how the dead listened. As she flipped through a couple of pages she wasn’t impressed, but then her gaze fell to a paragraph about spirits searching for the broken-hearted or someone in sorrow. Her breath caught—that was her… She continued to pore over the words, turning pages. Some spirits were malevolent, manipulating and bending people to their will, which she knew. Sadie bit the inside of her cheek—she’d seen so many ghost movies that she’d lost count, and she needed to remind herself to keep her eyes wide open, not seeing only what she wanted to see.
There was an assortment of ways to call upon a spirit. But be warned, certain spirits will feed off fear. Some of the items that could be used were electronics, mirrors, music, incense sticks, candles, Ouija boards… Her gaze drifted to the planchettes and boards. Sadie’s fingers skimmed over the different surfaces, some showcasing beautiful dark and elaborate drawings, others simpler with only the alphabet. A few planchettes were without a board, single holes resting near each of their pointed tips. She picked one up, inspecting the smooth black surface and the wheeled casters beneath. It was meant to be written with instead of sliding across a board to point at letters.
Sadie smiled to herself—this was perfect. She thought about the figure below ground, how he’d stood so still until she’d pressed her hand to him. Why had he been like that? If this planchette worked, she could find out if River’s spirit was in the woods, if the writing matched his. And if not, she would see if someone was choosing to look like him, smell like him.
She scanned over the other objects in the room—pentagrams, crystal balls, and ornate handheld mirrors. Nothing good ever came from those in films, but she could say the same for the Ouija boards. Still, she passed over those items and tucked the book she’d been reading under her arm. Sets of dowsing rods were stuffed inside a red barrel, and she grabbed a pair, along with a few candles and three bundles of sage that she put into the small basket before making her way to the front counter.
A couple of customers lingered in parts of the store, but the counter was clear as she approached the woman.
“Sadie?” the woman asked after she set the basket on top of the counter.
Her eyes widened. “My guess is you’re a fortune teller?”
“Sometimes,” she answered coyly, typing in the price of the planchette. “Coral used to show me pictures of you and River when she would come in.” Her expression softened. “I’m sorry about River.”
Sadie gave a solemn nod, her chest tightening. “Kalina?”
“That’s me,” she said as she wrapped the planchette in brown paper. “Coral also told me you might show up here. Told me that you’ve been staying in the woods.”
“Have you ever been out there before? Felt anything?” Maybe she would know more than Sadie did and could possibly give her advice.
“When I was your age, I used to go out there to see if I could, but I never felt a presence.” She shrugged. “But that doesn’t mean you won’t be able to.”
She hoped so, to find out if River was really out there… Trapped…
Kalina paused on placing a candle inside a bag, her face lighting up. “Did you know River used to sell his pieces here when he was younger?”
Sadie blinked, surprised. “No, I didn’t.”
“This was actually the first place he started selling.” She pointed to a glass curio cabinet. “Right over there.”
Sadie’s heart swelled as she learned something new about her husband. She imagined a younger version of him placing his sculptures in the cabinet, not yet knowing how in demand they would one day be. “I didn’t know that.”
“He was such a charming boy.” Kalina furrowed her brow. “But sometimes, I felt a touch of darkness inside him. Yet his was different than the piece that most of us have. It’s the same thing I feel in you right now.”
Sadie stilled, a strange feeling washing over her. “What is it?”
“I never could put my finger on it, and I still can’t. Perhaps you’ll book an appointment for a tarot reading with me sometime?”
Sadie wanted to roll her eyes, wondering if Kalina was just trying to feed off her emotions to get money for a tarot reading. But Kalina was Coral’s friend, so she would keep her mouth shut about it and discuss something else. “How do you know if a dream is real or not?”
“Maybe we’re all in a dream right now, just part of someone else’s world,” Kalina said slowly.
“Sounds like a movie I’ve seen before.” Sadie’s lips curved up.
Kalina laughed and replaced the four candles with different ones, then added a pack of black tealight candles. “These work more consistently if you want to call on a spirit.”
A ding sounded as the door opened, and Skyler stepped in, his hands in his pockets as his eyes met hers. “Did you find anything good?” he asked, hovering near the door while picking up a jar of herbs.
“I suppose we’ll find out, won’t we?” Sadie smiled.
