Sisters of Misery (7 page)

POWER

M
addie was already at Rebecca’s Closet when the girls filed into the shop, one after another, their faces a mixture of curiosity and disgust. She had foolishly hoped that they wouldn’t show up. The less interaction between Cordelia, Rebecca, and the Sisters of Misery, the better.

Kate ran her fingertip along the wooden shelving and then brought it up to her face, as if inspecting for dust. Maddie smiled, knowing that Kate Endicott had never dusted in her life, so it was probably something she’d seen in a movie and was doing for the other girls for effect.

Stopping next to the shelf filled with essential oils, Kate picked one up and said, “Ah, Oil of Abramelin, just what I wanted.”

Maddie gave her a curious look and was met by one of Kate’s signature blinding smiles. “Hey there, shopgirl, I need some help ASAP.” She banged her hand on the bell that sat on the counter.

Maddie rolled her eyes. “Kate, why are you here?” Maddie said weakly. She was afraid of what they would say or do. The girls were eyeing the store ravenously, looking for something to use against Cordelia at school.

“That’s no way to treat a paying customer. I think you need a lesson in customer service, young lady.”

Darcy squealed as she ran over to inspect a large oak barrel filled to the top with crystals and polished stones. She dug her hand deep into the pile of smooth stones and grabbed a handful, inspecting each one closely. “This is so cool!” she said excitedly. Kate shot her a look, and Darcy, as if on cue, dumped the contents back into the barrel and sheepishly joined the group.

“Welcome to Rebecca’s Closet,” Rebecca said cheerfully, coming up behind Maddie. “Are you friends of Maddie’s and Cordelia’s?” she asked innocently.

Kate seemed to be the designated spokesperson for the group. “We’re friends of Maddie’s,” she said pointedly.

“Ah, but soon you’ll be the best of friends with my little girl as well. I can tell,” Rebecca said brightly as she continued unpacking a box filled with packs of tarot cards.

“How can you tell?” Kate asked with a feigned wide-eyed innocence. “I mean, are you a psychic or something?” Maddie seethed as she heard the other girls choke back their giggles. Rebecca seemed oblivious to Kate’s sarcasm, and Maddie was thankful for that.

“Well,” Rebecca said, choosing her words as she narrowed her eyes in thought, “we are all a little psychic. It just takes practice to harness those powers. We all have gifts. You just need to know how to use them.”

Rebecca’s answer was so earnest that it broke Maddie’s heart because she knew that the girls were just playing along.

“So can you tell people’s future?” Bridget asked excitedly.

Kate gave her a withering look. “Of course she can,” Kate said under her breath. “She’s a witch.”

If Rebecca heard Kate’s comment, she didn’t show it. Silently, Maddie prayed that the girls would just turn around and leave. She stared at the incense burning on the counter and willed it to set off the fire alarm, forcing everyone out onto the cobblestone street. Anything that would remove them all from this potentially explosive situation.

Rebecca eyed the girls for a moment and then reached underneath the oak counter. “I can’t tell things just by looking at you, but if I use tools like these,” she said pulling out a pack of tarot cards, a bag of rune stones, and a crystal pendulum, “they help me focus my energies and look into the future.”

Kate moved forward inquisitively and looked at the divination instruments laid out in front of her. Just then, Cordelia came bursting into the store, her arms filled with bags.

“Help!” she called over to Maddie cheerfully. Her enthusiasm died down suddenly when she saw Kate and the other girls. “Oh, hey,” Cordelia said offhandedly.

Kate beamed. “Your mom is going to tell our future. Isn’t that cool?”

Cordelia eyed Maddie and Rebecca as if they were traitors. “Yeah, cool,” she said. She turned to her mother. “How much are you charging her for a reading?”

Rebecca looked confused. “Oh, I wouldn’t think of charging your friends for a reading.”

Cordelia laughed sharply. “Friends?” She shot Kate a look. “Like I said, how much are you going to charge Kate?”

Rebecca flushed, suddenly realizing what Cordelia meant. “Well, I…oh…I don’t mind doing it just this once.”

Kate gave one of her phoniest smiles. “I’d love for you to give me a very complete reading. Is this enough?” She handed over a crisp one-hundred dollar bill as offhandedly as if it were a five.

Maddie’s stomach flip-flopped. How was it possible that she had never realized how condescending Kate could be?

“Rebecca, you don’t have to—” Maddie stammered.

Cordelia interrupted, “No, Maddie. Let her. I’m curious to see what’s in store for the infamous Kate Endicott.”

Rebecca tentatively took the bill, shifting her gaze from Maddie to Kate to Cordelia. “Come over here,” she said to Kate, leading the way to a table covered in black velvet.

The other girls crowded around as Kate took a seat directly across from Rebecca. Kate placed the apothecary bottle down on the table. When Rebecca saw what Kate had chosen, her eyes widened slightly, and she regarded Kate quizzically. Cordelia hopped up onto the oak counter, swinging her legs back and forth. The sound of feet banging on the counter filled the brick store like a hollow metronome.

“Where’s your crystal ball?” Kate asked. The other girls giggled, and Rebecca’s eyes clouded over as she realized that these girls were not serious about the reading. They were here to make fun of Rebecca, Cordelia, and this store. Maddie gave Rebecca a pleading look, hoping to impart that she had nothing to do with these girls coming to the store that afternoon.

Rebecca’s voice lost its friendly tone. “I don’t use one. I use other…tools.”

“Like from Home Depot?” Kate said, again with an innocent tone. The others snickered.

Rebecca raised one eyebrow, sat up very straight, and grabbed Kate’s hand suddenly.

“Ow,” Kate said, laughing. “Boy, this really is a hands-on reading.” Maddie wasn’t sure, but she thought she could almost detect hesitation in Kate’s voice.

Rebecca placed Kate’s manicured hand over a well-worn stack of tarot cards. She grabbed a bag of rune stones and dumped them onto the table, arranging them around Kate’s down-turned hand.

“Pick one,” Rebecca ordered. Her easygoing demeanor was now replaced with a more serious focus. Rebecca, like Tess, had the ability of seeing through people to their core. She obviously didn’t like what she saw when she looked at Kate. Her aunt’s beautiful face, typically characterized by a wide smile and relaxed expression, had hardened and drained of color.

Kate tried to look serious as she dug down through the pile and pulled out a card, but then she glanced at it and quickly shoved it to the bottom of the pack. She pulled another card, looked at it, and seemed pleased as she handed it to Rebecca.

Rebecca remained expressionless as she placed the card—the Queen of Pentacles—in the center of the rune stones and looked at each one closely. Then she instructed Kate to select four stones. Kate hesitantly pointed at four onyx stones with different, unusual shapes on them. Rebecca arranged the card in the center of the four stones. She pointed to the card and said, “This is you.” Kate reached to turn the card around, but Rebecca stopped her. “Don’t move the card,” she warned. “Part of the meaning is tied to the direction in which the card is pointing.”

Kate seemed pleased. “I’m a queen!” she said, turning to the other girls. “I always knew I was royalty.” She laughed as Rebecca regarded her with narrowed eyes. “What does the Queen of Pentacles mean?”

“Well,” Rebecca said hesitantly, her eyes fluttering up to meet Cordelia’s. Maddie knew that the card was reversed—or upside down—which almost always had a negative meaning. Typically, it would be the opposite of whatever positive fortune was held within the card. But Maddie wasn’t sure how much Rebecca would reveal to Kate. Usually, she didn’t like to share anything bad with her customers, and despite her obvious dislike of Kate, it appeared that she was going to remain professional. “The Queen loves beautiful things and has an artist’s eye. She enjoys material comforts and surrounds herself with people who give her what she wants. Her home is impeccably and lavishly decorated. Everything about her is beautifully and tastefully maintained: her clothes, her appearance, her jewelry. She gets what she wants and ultimately,” Rebecca paused, holding Kate’s gaze, “she gets what she deserves.”

Cordelia laughed. “Now, tell her what the reversed meaning is.”

Rebecca shot her daughter an angry look, but continued. “Well, the reverse meaning is that the Queen enjoys being surrounded by people who shield her from criticism. Often, she cannot see beyond her own wealth and material possessions. She uses her good fortune to display grandeur and opulence.”

Rebecca took a quick look at the bottom card of the deck before shuffling it back into its velvet pouch. Her face darkened. She moved the four stones around the card as she continued her reading.

“The stones you have selected are Isa, which represents ice; Hagal, hailstorms; Thurisaz, thorns; and Gebo, which means gift.”

“What do they mean?”

“Isa represents great strength and independence, but also a coldness which can give rise to conflict and arguments. Hagal means hail and is symbolic of uncontrolled and destructive forces, upheaval, and discord. Thur also represents strength, but it can only be found by observing the past and the future. If not, then it can represent negative change, contemplation, and conflict.”

“Well, I like the gift part,” Kate muttered, “I’m not too thrilled about the rest of them. God, that reading pretty much sucked.” She allowed herself to look disappointed for only a moment before brushing it away. She smiled, turning to the other girls. “Well, at least I know it said I was a queen and that I have a gift coming my way. That’s pretty cool, right?”

Cordelia jumped off the counter and took a closer look at the reading laid out on the table. “Actually, the gift stone is reversed, too.”

“Cordelia…” Rebecca interrupted. “I don’t…”

She continued. “It shows you bringing harm to your friendships and intense separation all due to your self-centered behavior. I think that’s a pretty accurate reading, Mom. Good job.”

Next, Rebecca dangled a crystal pendulum over the card and stones, watching intently which way the crystal swung. Maddie had never witnessed Rebecca doing such an intense reading before. It seemed to go beyond simply what Kate wanted to know. It seemed as though Rebecca was doing it for herself.

Suddenly, she dropped the crystal, and she grabbed Kate’s hand again, wrenching it toward her over the table as if she was looking for something hidden in the lines of her palm. She almost seemed confused, even flustered.

“Um, ow?” Kate said again, widening her eyes toward her friends.

Rebecca paid no attention to Kate’s remarks, instead furiously studying the lines in her hands. The longer and harder she stared into Kate’s upturned palm, the more distraught Rebecca seemed to get. It was as if she was witnessing something horrible unfolding in Kate’s future.

“What?” Kate said anxiously. She peered into her own hand as if there was some secret message inscribed there that she could also see if she only looked deep enough. Then, catching herself, she put on a bored expression and said in a haughty tone, “Well, what do you see?”

Rebecca looked up at Kate and released her hand, obviously holding back what she really wanted to say. “It’s actually quite close to your card and stone reading. Your palm tells me that you are very fortunate. Just beware that some things that you take for granted—that you feel are your due—can come back to haunt you.”

“Oh, wow,” Kate said in a mock serious tone. “Thank you so much, Mrs. LeClaire. I feel so enlightened now. This has been so educational.”

Rebecca didn’t look at Kate or the other girls as she packed up her divination tools. She grabbed the bottle marked Oil of Abramelin and held it out to Kate. “Are you sure
this
particular oil is what you want?”

Kate smiled, “Oh, yes. I read about it somewhere, and I just knew that this would be the place to find it.”

Rebecca held Kate’s gaze for a moment, her beautiful face expressionless. “Then I won’t charge you any extra for it. But be careful. These are not things that should be played around with. Maddie, I need Cordelia’s help out back. Can you watch the store for me?”

Maddie nodded as Rebecca and Cordelia hurried into the back room.

“Do you think that she could have guessed all of the crap about the Queen and material wealth and good taste and that I get everything I want by my Rolex, my diamond rings, my Kate Spade purse, or was it really all in the cards? Ooooohhh, so mysterious!” Kate said jokingly. “Plus, the only reason she said all that crap about me being a bitch and wreaking havoc or—what did she say?—having uncontrolled and destructive forces is because that’s exactly what Cordelia wanted her to say. Just to scare me. Look at me, I’m shaking,” she said, holding out her hands. The other girls laughed along with her. “God, what a racket they’ve got going here. Good thing for them that we’ve got so many gullible people in this town.”

“Kate,” Maddie said in an exasperated tone, “what else do you want? I mean, are you finished here?”

“Oh, no, Maddie darling,” Kate said. “I’m just getting started.” She burst out laughing as the other girls followed her out the door. “Don’t be late for the game tonight. Or else, you’ll be subjected to my destructive and uncontrollable wrath.”

Maddie went into the back room after the girls had left, curious to see what Rebecca really saw in the lines of Kate’s hands. Rebecca was speaking in hushed tones to Cordelia, but stopped abruptly when Maddie entered. Rebecca quickly made an excuse to leave, saying something about needing supplies as she hurried past Maddie.

Rebecca then stopped mid-stride, turned to the girls and said, “I don’t think you should be spending much time with that Kate girl. Her aura is very bad, very dark. Plus,” she hesitated for a moment as if choosing her words carefully, “her purchase this afternoon is disturbing. Anyone buying that particular oil…” her voice trailed off. “Have you ever heard of chaos magic?”