Mina didn’t answer until they were three blocks away, and by then she was out of breath. “Birds,” Mina huffed. “Doom. Frogs, snacks, I mean, snakes. The frogs and snakes—they came after me!” Mina tried to make sense, but her lack of breath and her own disbelief made it hard for her describe. How could she explain to Nan what she hardly believed herself?
“Well, in other news, that creepo gave me his number,” Nan commented dryly, while staring back in the direction of the pet store. “The glasses were cute, but he is totally not my type.”
Mina was taken aback at the calm way Nan spoke, how unaware she was of what had almost happened in the store. Nan shook her head and looked at Mina. “What were you saying again?”
Her mouth dropped open, and then she stuttered, “U-uh forget about it.” Nan grinned and grabbed Mina’s arm.
They walked arm in arm until Mina had settled down. She let Nan’s mindless chatter calm her nerves until she could focus on the matter at hand. “Please,” Mina prayed quietly to herself, “I need to find the Grimoire. I can’t do this alone.”
The search for the Grimoire was beginning to seem hopeless, and after the scare in the pet store and alley, she knew she probably wouldn’t live through one Grimm fairy tale. She had just about given up when she felt the tingling start, which usually accompanied magic of some sort. She felt all her limbs stiffen, but there was no clear and present danger in their path. Mina carefully looked up and down the block. Everything appeared normal, just a busy commercial street with regular people going about their day. The story wouldn’t do something so public, would it? She slowed her walk but only felt the tingling intensify.
Turning to warn Nan, she tripped over a welcome mat and kicked at it angrily. Then she noticed the two animals, a bull and stag, woven into the mat’s design. It looked very old. She glanced up at the building in fear. There wasn’t a marquee or name on the building front, just a precariously hung wooden sign printed with the same bull and stag.
Was this the Grimoire, or another of the Story’s games? She had come too far not to find out. Mina pulled on Nan’s arm tentatively and led her into the building, which was unlocked.
The quiet tinkle of a bell announced their entrance in a small dark store.
“Hello! Anyone here?” Mina called out when no one came to greet them.
“Maybe they aren’t open yet?”
“Nan, the door was unlocked.”
“Maybe the owner stepped out. I’ll step outside to see if there’s a number posted.”
Mina almost stopped her but realized it was probably for the best. If something dangerous was in here, she didn’t want Nan to get hurt. “Why don’t you go next door to Rosie’s Flowers and see if they know who works here?” she suggested.
As Nan stepped out, Mina had the distinct feeling that someone, or something, was watching her. Turning around in a circle, she took in the dark oak shelves, the paisley wallpaper, the dimmed and burned-out lights. A check-out table and old cash register stood off to one side and looked as if they hadn’t been used in ages. The place was dust-free but had the feeling of being empty for a long time, or at least empty of anything living.
A large chair stood to one corner, and Mina had begun to walk toward it when she heard the distant sound of children laughing.
“Hello? Who’s there?” She took a few hesitant steps in the direction she’d heard the noise. “You can come out—I’m looking for a book. Maybe you can help me?”
A glow began in the back of the store, and the sounds of children laughing intensified. Mina gulped, but followed the light as it grew brighter and seemed to pulse with its own rhythm against a back wall. When she finally reached the wall, the light disappeared, and she was encased in darkness. Letting her eyes adjust, Mina turned and was confronted with a pair of red angry eyes. Jumping back, she stumbled and knocked into something furry that slid across the floor from her weight. Mina screamed.
When nothing reached or lunged for her, she reached out her hands to touch the angry glass eyes she had seen earlier. They were part of a life-size giant bull, but it was either fake or dead. She wasn’t sure she wanted to know. Behind her stood another life-size animal, this one a very large stag, frozen on his hind legs.