Enchantment Emporium полностью

Once again, Allie was listening to a dial tone. “I could start getting a complex about this,” she muttered, closing the phone.

Finding the monkey’s paw—for certain very small values of the word finding since the horrid thing would have taken work to avoid—convinced her she didn’t want to deal with the store until she’d had a shower, a meal, and a good night’s sleep. If Gran was keeping that powerful an artifact out in the open, there was no telling what she might have tucked in amongst the junk as a trap for the unwary. Or a not particularly funny joke. The differences could be subtle.

Flicking off the lights, Allie picked up her carry-on bag and headed for the door opposite the store entrance, eyes locked on the employees only sign. If I don’t see it, I don’t have to deal with it until tomorrow. The door led into a narrow hallway—yet another door opposite led out into a small courtyard of scruffy grass boxed in by buildings on all four sides, three scruffy shrubs in a circular bed defining exact center of the space. To her immediate left, a somewhat grubby two-piece bath, and about ten feet to the right, the bottom step of a long, narrow staircase.

A huge rectangular mirror covered almost half the wall between the door into the shop and the stairs. The glass alone had to be nearly six by four and the addition of the triple-molded pediment and carved frame easily added another foot each way. While her degree was actually in art history, working on the museum inventory had given her enough exposure to antique furniture that Allie was certain she was looking at an actual 1870’s Renaissance Victorian piece in walnut, still wearing its original finish. Even with the few flaws she could see, it was worth around five thousand dollars.

And then she noticed her reflection—black dress, black stockings, black shoes, little black purse, and black pillbox hat with a tiny net veil.

“Oh, wonderful.” A number of the oldest aunties kept magic mirrors but not on this scale and, as a rule, they didn’t leave them running. Stepping back, she folded her arms over her white cotton sweater. Her reflection pulled a tissue from her purse and blew her nose.

Finding meaning in any mirror most closely resembled playing a surreal game of charades.

“If it helps, the aunties say Gran’s not dead.”

Her reflection wavered and was suddenly in sweater, jeans, and sneakers standing in what looked like a casino.

“Not likely. Not after the last time.” Auntie Jane had traveled to Vegas to bail her out, and she had not been happy about it even though a dollar slot machine at the airport had paid for the trip.

Allie’s reflection wavered again, and she was naked. She could see Charlie’s charm glowing on her shoulder, but her breasts were a bit big.

“Cute,” she muttered and started up the stairs.

With any luck, Gran had left documentation lying around somewhere. Without an instruction manual and a way to turn it off, she was stuck sharing space with a large reflective surface exhibiting a juvenile sense of humor.

No surprise; she found charms surrounding the apartment door. Most of them were the standard Gale protections, keeping out those who entered with intent to harm, but a couple were strangely specific. One of them seemed to be denying entrance to crows, and three of them, strategically located, didn’t just cover the door but were part of a pattern that warded the entire apartment.

Gran had enemies?

Feeling stupid, Allie connected the dots. Of course Gran had enemies. If Gran wasn’t dead, there was a good chance she was on the run from something. If she was dead, that something had killed her.

Allie took a deep breath. A large part of her insisted that opening the door was a bad idea. The rest of her found the right key and slid it into the lock.

All of her paused.

If Gran was dead, there was a chance that Gran’s rotting, mutilated corpse could be on the other side of the door because if Gran was dead, there had to be a body. Okay, there didn’t have to be a body. Given what it would take to kill Gran, a body after the fact had to be considered optional. And it wasn’t as if she hadn’t dealt with bodies before; the family maintained a hands-on approach to death.

But, if Gran was dead, the thing that killed her could be waiting on the other side of the door.

Reminding herself that dealing with either a week-old corpse or a something mean enough to get through Gran’s charms would be preferable to dealing with Auntie Jane should she call for help before she’d even unpacked, Allie pushed the door open and stepped into an enormous room that was living room and dining room and kitchen combined. From where she was standing, she could see neither corpse nor thing, so she stepped further in and pulled the door closed behind her.