5. Katrina

CHAPTER 5

KATRINA

“THERE’S GLASS—ARE YOU SURE—”

I pressed my mouth to his and lowered my bare back down onto the floor, which was sticky and slick from the spilled drinks. Somehow, I was already naked, and next I looked, so was he. This man, basically a stranger, was on top of me, and his body felt like a dream. He pushed his tongue between my teeth and tasted every inch he could reach. I moaned softly and shifted my legs open, feeling an ache deep within my core. Slowly, he guided himself inside me and ? —

A boom. Metal on metal. Then a crash.

Those loud sounds brought me rudely out of my dream and back into the waking world. I opened my eyes and leapt out of bed like a cat. Years of living in not-so-safe areas, followed by a few nights spent literally on the street, had hardened me and always kept me on alert, even while sleeping. Except that morning, I didn’t need to be. Soon after being jolted awake, I realized the sounds I heard were from the garbage truck rumbling down the alley behind the bar. At the window, I watched the truck make its way to the end and then turn right. The apartment was once again quiet, and I sighed with relief.

No need to panic. Everything was fine, and I was safe.

It would take me some time to get used to that.

I glanced back at my unmade bed, still having a hard time believing this was all mine—at least for the time being—and pushed my bangs out of my face. A memory from the dream I was having flashed through my mind, and I immediately tried to shake off the feeling it left behind. A pulsing ache lingered at the base of my stomach, but once I started getting ready for the day, I became distracted by all the things I had to accomplish in the short amount of time before my shift started. I’d slept in much later than I meant to, and now I only had about an hour to spare.

First up—I needed to buy myself a better pair of shoes.

Spending that many hours on my feet had already taken its toll on my back, so I was on the hunt for a thrift store that might have a decent sneaker collection. After that, I needed to figure out where I could get a ‘food handler’s’ license for the state of North Carolina. Finally, if I had enough time, I was hoping to go shopping for something for Al. I was so bad at verbal thank yous that I often preferred to find a little gift instead. I didn’t know what Al liked, but I thought if I looked around long enough, something would jump out at me.

I threw on some shorts and a tank top and hurried down the steps of the apartment’s back entrance. There were a few tourists roaming the streets and a gaggle of children wearing bathing suits headed for the nearest beach. I couldn’t help but smile when I saw two younger girls bickering over who would get to sit in the pink chair and who would have to sit in the blue one.

“You always get the pink one! It’s not fair!”

“It is too fair,” said the taller girl. “We did rock, paper, scissors and I won.”

“But you cheated!”

“Did not!”

“Did too!” When the shorter one stuck her tongue out, it struck an unexpectedly emotional chord in me, and I looked away.

Turning into the first shop on the block, anything to escape the memories that were beginning to creep up, I didn’t even stop to look at what the sign overhead read. The bell above the door rang out softly as I entered, and my eyes had to adjust to the sudden lack of sunlight. There were dark purple drapes hung over most of the windows and a few overly stuffed shelving units that were home to collections of leather-bound books.

Probably not the best place to go shoe shopping.

“Hello dear. I’ll be with you in one second!”

The voice startled me. There didn’t seem to be anyone in the room at the moment. “Uh—hello?”

A few seconds later, a curtain of beads was drawn to the side, and a short man with foggy glasses stepped out of the doorway behind the register. “Hi,” he said. “Welcome to my shop!”

“Oh—hi. Thanks.”

“Are you looking for something in particular, or did you just want to get out of the sun for a bit?” He smiled. “I understand completely if it’s the latter. I burn very easily and am always looking to escape this persistent good weather.”

I laughed. “If you don’t like the sun, you might’ve picked the wrong place to live.”

“Trust me, if I could move elsewhere, I would.” He didn’t offer any further explanation, and I thought it would be rude to ask. He came around the other side of the counter, and I got a good look at his outfit. He was wearing an odd combination of sophisticated and theatrical attire. His pants were clearly part of a suit and tailored to perfection, but his shirt was billowy—almost pirate-like—and bright green. He had cufflinks on that I would’ve guessed were actual silver, but he also had cheap little tassels hanging from his belt that clinked together when he walked. It was a very strange assortment, but somehow, it didn’t look as awkward on him as it would on someone else.

“So, is there anything I can help you with?”

“Uh—well—probably not. I do need to find a new pair of shoes, but that doesn’t really seem like something you sell here.”

“No, alas, I do not sell shoes.”

“Then maybe I’ll just browse if that’s okay.” I doubted I’d be able to find something for Al in a shop like this, but it was at least worth a try. I was already inside, and I didn’t want to be rude.

“You’re new in town, yes?”

“Er, yeah,” I said. His phrasing caught me off guard a little bit. He didn’t ask me if I was visiting, even though I figured this store was most likely frequented by tourists, given its location. How did he know I was here to stay and not just here for a long weekend?

“How do you like being in Solara Bay so far?”

“It’s—great.” I forced a smile. “Who could be unhappy in a place like this?”

The man shrugged, and I recalled his earlier comment.

“I guess someone who burns easily, that’s who.”

“Exactly,” he said with a smirk. I continued to look around without really looking, waiting until enough time had passed that it would be okay for me to leave. If this man kept up with the small talk, however, there would be no good time for me to walk out. I pretended to check the time on the clock above the door.

“Oh shoot, is that really how late it is?” I winced. “I should really get going. I have to be at work soon, and I’ve only had the job for a couple of days, so I desperately don’t want to get fired.”

“Ah, you don’t have to worry,” he said. “That clock is twenty minutes fast.”

Damnit.

“I can tell you’re itching to get out of here, though,” he added. “I won’t try to keep you. But if you did have a few minutes to spare, I was going to offer you a free palm reading. You can’t buy shoes here, but maybe I could discover where your perfect pair of shoes are to be found by looking at your skin.”

There was a time in my life when this sort of offer would’ve elicited a smirk and a snarky ‘no thank you,’ but I had become much more open-minded over the last few years. I didn’t necessarily think magic was real or anything like that, but I’d… seen some things. Things I couldn’t explain. Nowadays, palm readers or tarot card enthusiasts no longer made me laugh. I didn’t think all of them were legit, but I understood that they were trying to tap into something bigger than themselves. I could respect that—though I probably still wouldn’t pay for it.

“Free?” I asked. “As in actually free? Or are you going to do that thing where you start to read my palm, then you act like you discovered something dire in my future, but you charge me before you agree to tell me more?”

He smiled devilishly. “I see you encountered my kind before.”

“You mean people trying to lure me into a tourist trap? Yes. In fact, I have.”

“Well, how about this: since you were able to spot me right away as a trickster, I will give you a free reading—no catches. It’s not as if I have other customers banging down my door anyway.”

He meandered over to the table in the middle of the room and pulled a chair out for me. I checked the time on my phone and knew I wouldn’t be able to have this reading and get my shopping done, but I decided to stick around anyway. It was nice and cool in the room, and perhaps this man could give me some guidance, tell me at least whether or not I was on the right path. Or maybe he was a liar who would just waste my time. Either way, I was intrigued.

I sat across from him and put my hands out in front of me, palms up.

“Let’s see what we have.” He took his glasses off and set them aside.

I noticed that when the light caught his eyes, they were a little milky around the irises. I wondered how well he could actually see without the help of his lenses. Then again, the glass on his eyewear looked like it badly needed to be cleaned, so they might not have aided him at all. Was this part of the gimmick? A fortune teller with terrible vision?

He picked up my right hand and stared down at the lines. “Hmm. Very interesting. You are an avid traveler. Have been all over the world.”

“I wouldn’t say I’ve been all over the world. I’ve seen some cool parts of it, though.”

He smirked. “Of course, you wouldn’t say that.” He winked. “Because I also see here that you’re a bit of a secret keeper. You play things close to the chest. Did you know that every lie you tell leaves a physical mark on the body?”

“Yeah, right. Then some people would be covered head to toe in these markers.”

“They are.”

I rolled my eyes.

“The marks aren’t visible to everyone,” he said, looking up at me for a moment. “But I can see them. All of them.” He ran his thumb softly along the edge where my hand met my wrist. “This is where I can usually see something about your family.”

I stiffened.

He laughed softly. “But I won’t go down that path if you don’t want me to. It’s obvious this is an area of your life where you carry a lot of stress. A lot of pain. There’s no need for me to delve into that until we get to know each other a little better.”

I said nothing. I had no intention of coming back to this shop and getting to know this man any better.

He smiled and reached for my left hand. “You don’t think you’ll be back, but they always come back.” Despite my dislike for him, I felt myself giving him the other palm instead of getting up out of my seat and storming out of there.

“And in this one, I see—” He drew back with a sudden jerk of his body, and I was snapped out of the sort of trance that I’d felt coming mere seconds ago.

“What?” I frowned. “What is it?”

“Oh dear…” He took a moment to once again study my palm, eyes more alert and wider than before. Then he closed the fingers of my left hand into a fist and patted it gently. “Sweetheart, you have been messing with things that you shouldn’t have. Didn’t anyone warn you of the dangers?”

“Wha—” I shook my head. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. I haven’t messed with anything.”

He clicked his tongue. “Then perhaps someone meddled in the unknown on your behalf, although someone would have to really hate you to do something like this. Do you have any mortal enemies? Foes? A betrayed lover seeking revenge?”

I snorted. “No! I—I’m a normal person. Normal people don’t have ‘mortal enemies.’ Do you have any idea how crazy you sound?”

The man stared at me for a moment before sitting back in his seat with a heavy sigh. “This reaction tells me that you haven’t experienced it yet. In some ways, that’s good. I caught you before it happened, so I can help you get through it.”

“Experienced what exactly?”

“The full moon.”

“The full moon?” Now, I was really starting to lose my patience. This guy was clearly a quack, drawing on classic ‘spooky’ lore to try and keep me engaged longer, or maybe because he was about to sell me a crystal that would help me ward off evil. “I’ve seen a full moon before. I realize that I look a little young for my age, but I’ve been around the earth a couple dozen times. I’ve seen my fair share of the moon in all its stages.”

“Yes, but this time, it will be different,” he said, standing up out of his chair. “And it’s happening tonight, in case you weren’t keeping track of the moon stages this month. I always do for this exact reason.”

“What are you talking about?” I asked again.

“It’s good to know what sort of things might be happening in town, what sort of creatures might be lurking about. I’ve never claimed to be a loyalist to the people of Solara Bay, but that doesn’t mean I want to see any of them torn to pieces either.”

“Torn to pieces?”

“I’ll explain everything,” he said as he started to walk away from the table. “Just wait right here. I have some things in the back that I need to get for you. They will help you make it through the night without too much trouble. Once I’m back, we’ll come up with a game plan. You’ll want to call your boss and let them know you won’t be able to go in for your shift tonight.”

“Wait, what—” but he had already disappeared behind the beads again.

I sat there dumbfounded for a moment, wondering what the hell just happened. Then, my confusion shifted into anger as I realized he was playing me for a fool. Despite the great show this man was putting on, I wasn’t in the mood to be swindled. I knew it would be harder to push back against his sales pitch once he returned with whatever items he wanted to sell me, so I got up from the table and left before he came back to the room. Outside on the sidewalk, I beelined back to the bar since my shift started in less than half an hour anyway. It wasn’t until I was safely inside the confines of the dark and musty bar that I started to breathe normally again.

As I wiped down the counter and chairs, waiting for Al to arrive and open the front door, I took a second to look at my left hand. It appeared unchanged to me. It was the same hand I’d been using my entire life. There were no marks there.

I laughed at myself. “Don’t let him get to you,” I whispered. “He’s just some guy running a seaside tourist attraction that has probably seen better days.” And with that reassurance, I was able to focus on the job at hand and dive into my work.