The woman didn’t answer right away. She was too busy looking between Jewel and Anna. She held her face completely neutral, and Jewel couldn’t read a thing in the woman’s expression, though she was trying desperately to determine if this woman was friendorfoe.
“Ma’am,” Sly saidagain.
Finally, the woman turned her head away from Jewel and Anna and looked at him. “It’s only an hour until we close, and there are no more guided tours today, but you’re welcome to take the unguided or just browsearound.”
“That’ll be fine,” Sly answered as he pulled out his wallet. “Howmuch?”
“Five dollars aperson.”
“That doesn’t seem like much,” Zoffered.
“No, we try to keep the cost as low as possible. It’s important that as many people as possible get to experience such a dark time in our country’s history. We receive local, state, and even federal funding, which helps us keep thecostdown.”
Sly pulled out a twenty-dollar bill and handed it over. She plopped the money in a cash register and handed over four smallbrochures.
“You can start in that room.” She pointed to her left. “And follow the arrows from room to room. Mind the stairs when you climb them. They aren’t even. There are some that stick out further than others, so it’s easytotrip.”
She started to turn away but then looked back at Jewel. “I hope you find what you’re looking for,younglady.”
Jewel sat dumbfounded, unable to respond as the woman walked away. Anna stepped close to her and leaned even closer. “Was that weird, or was that weird?” shewhispered.
“Twilight zone,” Jewelagreed.
Z and Slynodded.
“Alright, Wheelers, we’ve obviously come to the right place. There’s definitely some witchy mojo in this building. Let’s get to it. We only have an hour, unless we want to come back tomorrow. And creepy lady really is putting a damper on that idea,”Zsaid.
Jewel and Anna led the way into the first room. Paintings covered the walls. They were a mixture of simple busts of historical figures to downright gruesome images of women being tortured. There were other things adorning the walls like a rope, tied in a noose, several voodoo dolls, and a large silver pentagram on the largest wall. A brick fireplace held a huge hanging metal caldron, which Jewel thought was a littleoverkill.
As they moved through the room, the magic seemed to dissipate somewhat. Jewel continued forward with Anna just behind her while the guys brought up the rear. As she moved through the next doorway and into another room, this one larger than the first, she shivered. The temperature felt as if it dropped a good tendegrees.
“Do you feel that?” She turned a little and whisperedtoAnna.
“It’s freezing all of a sudden,” Annamurmured.
“What are we whispering about?” Sly asked, alsowhispering.
“Are you cold?” Annaaskedhim.
Z came into the room, and the visible shiver that rippled through him answered her question. “So you do feel the colder temperature but not the icky magic. Right.” She shook her head and then moved about the room. This room was a library. Built-in shelves, laden with old books, covered each wall and extended to the ceiling, giving the room an illusion of extraheight.
“If we don’t find something in here, I’ll eat my broomstick,” Anna said as she and Jewel moved to shelves on opposite sides oftheroom.
“Z, you take that side, and Sly you take that side over there.” Anna directed as she began skimming the spines of the books with herfinger.
Jewel mirrored the girl’s actions with her own books. Starting at the bottom shelf, she began reading the titles on the spines and followed the words with her pointer finger. For some reason, she felt compelled to touch each one, as if the tome with relevant information would send her some kind of magical tactile sensation. Some of the volumes looked as if they’d crumble under the slightest bit of pressure, while others appeared to bebrandnew.
“Finding anything?” Anna asked from the other side oftheroom.
“Notyet.”
“I found some books,” Zchimedin.
“Jewel, the next time we are given warlock guards, let’s remember to request ones that don’t think they have a sense ofhumor.”
Jewel laughed. “I’m sure Volcan would be more than happy toaccommodateus.”
“One of these days, you two are going to appreciate the uniqueness that is Z and Sly,”saidZ.
