Chapter 189

Ava

I woke up the next morning to the sensation of the warm sun hitting my cheek, although I was still blinking away the remnants of a strange dream. As my consciousness slowly returned, I remembered the events of last night—the banging cabinet, my brief moment of fear.

Now, with the sun shining through the window, it all seemed so silly. I chuckled to myself, shaking my head at how easily I had let that old woman’s story get to me.

Chris stirred beside me at the sound of my voice, his eyes fluttering open. “Morning,” he mumbled, his voice thick and gravelly from sleep. “Something funny?”

I shook my head, stretching and laying my leg languidly over his body. “Nothing. Just laughing at myself for getting spooked last night.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Spooked?”

“I woke up in the middle of the night and heard the bathroom cabinet banging,” I explained. “I scared myself a little bit, although it was just the wind.”

Chris propped himself up on one elbow, looking a little more alert now. “If you were scared, why didn’t you tell me?”

I shrugged. “I didn’t want to disturb your sleep over nothing.”

Chris pursed his lips, but didn’t press the matter further. We got ready quickly, eager to get back on the road to Moonshine Manor. It should just be a quick drive now, as the manor was only a short distance out of town; if it weren’t for that damn fog last night, then we would have arrived just twenty or thirty minutes after we had to stop.

As we stepped outside, though, we were met with the same thick fog from the night before.

“Wow. I guess it didn’t clear up,” Chris muttered, squinting into the mist. I furrowed my brow, following his gaze; it was significantly easier to see now that the sun was up, but the fog was no thinner than last night.

“Strange,” I whispered.

We made our way to the parking lot, where our security team was gathered around the vehicles, looking concerned.

“What’s going on?” Chris asked as we approached.

Mike, the officer from last night, turned to us with a grimace. “Bad news. None of the cars will start.”

Chris frowned. “What? All three of them?”

Another officer nodded. “Yes, Alpha. We’ve tried everything, but they’re completely dead.”

“Great,” I muttered, feeling my shoulders slump. “Now what?”

Chris sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “We’ll have to call a mechanic. This is going to set us back. Maybe we should ask Fabian to come pick us up…”

“We shouldn’t bother him,” I replied. “He’s a busy man.”

Chris nodded. “You’re right. I want to start this visit on a good note, dammit…”

As we stood there, debating our next move, the motel’s cleaning person approached, pushing a cart of supplies.

“Car trouble?” she asked, eyeing our group.

I nodded. “It seems like all of our vehicles decided to die at once.”

The woman clicked her tongue. “Happens all the time around here. It’s like the ghosts don’t want people to leave.”

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes, exchanging a look with Chris. “Right. Ghosts,” I said quietly, thinking that it was likely this damn fog that was messing with the engines. The woman shrugged and continued on her way, leaving us to deal with our predicament.

After making some calls, we learned it would be a few hours before a mechanic could make it out to us. Chris turned to me with a sigh.

“Well, we might as well make the most of it. Want to check out the town? It’s within walking distance.”

I nodded, grateful for the distraction. “Sure, why not? It’ll kill some time.”

We informed our security team of our plans and set off toward the center of town. As we walked, I noticed an abundance of strange shops lining the streets.

“Look at all these curio shops,” I said, gesturing to yet another storefront filled with odd trinkets and ‘haunted’ artifacts. “They’re really leaning into this whole ghost thing, aren’t they?”

Chris chuckled. “Can you blame them? It probably brings in the tourists.”

We decided to step into one of the shops, a bell tinkling as we entered. The interior was cramped and dusty, filled to the brim with all manner of strange objects. Dolls with eerily lifelike eyes stared at us from shelves, while jars of wet specimens lined the walls.

“Creepy,” I muttered, picking up a small figurine that seemed to be made of bones.

Chris nodded, examining a collection of ‘cursed’ amulets. “Yeah, but kind of fascinating too, don’t you think?”

I had to admit, there was something intriguing about all these supposedly haunted items. Even if I didn’t really believe in any of it, the craftsmanship and creativity were impressive.

As we continued to browse, the shop owner approached us. He was an older man with wild, white hair and thick glasses that magnified his eyes to an almost comical degree.

“See anything you like?” he asked, his voice raspy.

I held up the bone figurine. “This is... interesting. What is it supposed to be?”

The man’s eyes lit up. “Ah, that’s a protection charm made from the bones of a black cat. Guaranteed to ward off evil spirits! The bones were ethically sourced, of course.”

I quickly set it back down, trying not to grimace at the thought. “Right. Thanks.”

We spent a bit more time exploring the shop before heading back out into the foggy street. As we walked, a sign caught my eye: ‘Madame Zara’s Fortunes’.

I nudged Chris, pointing at the sign. “Hey, want to get your fortune told?”

He raised an eyebrow. “Seriously? You made it out like you don’t believe in any of that stuff last night.”

“I don’t believe in ghosts,” I said. “But I never said anything about fortunes. I mean, I’m sure it’s a gimmick, but what else are we going to do while we wait for the mechanic?”

Chris hesitated for a moment before shrugging. “Alright, alright. Let’s go.”

We entered the fortune teller’s shop, the door creaking softly as we stepped inside. The interior was dimly lit, with heavy curtains blocking out what little natural light managed to penetrate the fog outside. The air was thick with the scent of incense, and soft, mystical music played in the background.

A woman emerged from behind a beaded curtain, dressed in flowing robes and adorned with numerous bangles and necklaces. “Welcome,” she said. “I am Madame Zara. Have you come to glimpse your future?”

I stepped forward. “Yes. We’d like our fortunes told, please.”

Madame Zara nodded solemnly. “Very well. Please, sit.”

We took our seats at a small table covered in a velvet cloth. In the center sat a crystal ball, because… why wouldn’t there be?

“Who would like to go first?” Madame Zara asked as she settled into her chair.

Chris gestured to me. “Ladies first.”

The fortune teller closed her eyes, waving her hands over the crystal ball. “I sense... great power within you. You are a leader, yes?”

I tried not to roll my eyes. Given the media attention Chris and I had received, it wasn’t exactly a wild guess. “You could say that,” I replied neutrally.

The fortune teller nodded, her eyes still closed. “You have faced many challenges, but there are more to come. I see... a great darkness on the horizon.”

Chris shifted in his seat beside me, and I could tell he was trying not to laugh.

“This darkness… thick, black, cloying…” Madame Zara continued, her voice growing more intense, “it threatens not just you, but all those you hold dear. But fear not, for you have the strength to overcome it.”

“That’s... good to know,” I said, glancing at Chris, whose eyebrow was quirked. It sounded an awful lot like the blight, but it was too vague to take seriously. “Anything else?”

The fortune teller’s eyes snapped open, fixing me with an intense stare. “There is one more thing. A message... from beyond.”

I raised an eyebrow, curious despite myself. “Oh? And what’s that?”

The fortune teller leaned forward, her voice dropping to a whisper. “Your father wants you to know that he’s proud of you, True Luna…”