“Yes. Exactly. You need some proper, sexy, footwear.” Mallory linked arms with me as we walked down Main Street. “You’re never going to land a decent guy if you’re always wearing running shoes.”
I shrugged. “First of all, these aren’t running shoes; they’re Converse. There’s a pair in every rock star’s closet across the world. Secondly, not all of us came to college to land a gu—Oh. My. God.” I stopped in my tracks, my mouth falling open. Since Mallory was still linked to my elbow, my momentum shift yanked her to a stop. She turned to stare at me in alarm.
“What?” she asked. “What is it?”
I had no idea. But I needed to find out. The shop two doors down was lit up like Times Square on New Year’s Eve. Something inside its walls radiated the most brilliant energy I had ever seen.
“Allie?” Mallory pressed. “What’s up?”
“Huh?” I shook myself from my fog. “Oh, uh, nothing. I thought I saw this guy. But I didn’t.” I dropped Mallory’s arm as I moved slowly toward the mesmerizing light. What in the world would have the power to do this?
Mallory scoffed when I reached the shop door. “Eww, antique shop. No way. We need clean, new clothes.”
She may have felt that way, but I had to go inside. I needed to see what the light was. “No worries,” I said. “I’ll meet up with you. This should only take a few minutes.”
She seemed unsure as she checked the time on her cell. No doubt she was wondering if she had enough time to go into the shop with me and the shop she wanted before we had to go home to get ready for the party. She must have decided she only had time for one stop because she chirped, “Okay, but hurry up!” With a wave, my roommate scampered away, leaving me in front of the glorious, radiating light.
A handwritten sign on the shop door read, “Back in ten minutes.” I tried the handle, and the door opened easily. The owner must have come back early and forgotten to take the sign down.
The overhead bell chimed as I walked through the door. Inside, I was overcome by beautiful energy. The vibrations pulsing inside this shop were so intense, I could barely see two feet in front of me. Whoa. Lock it down, Allie. With a slow breath, I re-grounded myself and closed down my sixth energy center, dimming the extra sight I had inside my head. My skin tingled as I waded through the vibrant buzz. Since this kind of pure power could only come from a living thing, I scanned the shop, looking for a person, or an animal, or maybe a really rare plant. But my eyes came to rest on a glass case holding a thick, white-blue crystal on a delicate silver chain. The stone was definitely the source of power—when I put my hands to the glass, the pulse nudged my palms, jumping as if it wanted me to pick it up. Interesting. I leaned in to get a closer look, and the energy twinkled and spun. It danced along the crystal, like glitter. It was mesmerizing. I had to have this thing. Right now.
“See something you like?” The soft, female voice spoke from behind the counter.
My focus snapped up, pulling me from my jewelry-induced trance. On the other side of the glass was a stocky woman with silver-grey hair pinned in a bun atop her head. As I studied her, my fingers inched unthinkingly toward the crystal. The possessive surge was illogical, and probably came off as creepy, so I pulled my hand back to my side. The woman looked between me and the necklace, and her eyes crinkled as if she understood. Maybe she did.
“Oh! You’re here. I’m sorry, I saw the sign, but I just let myself in,” I said.
“That’s quite all right, dear.” The woman smiled at me. With her kind eyes and silvery bun, she could have been someone’s sweet grandmother. “What can I do for you?”
“This necklace. I’d like to buy it.” I never splurged on things I didn’t need, but there was something about this necklace that made all budgeting sense fly straight out the window.
“Good choice. I just got that in last week. It’s very rare. Came with a traveler from Trondheim, Norway.” My heart thudded as the woman unlocked the case. This was laughable—who got this excited over a necklace?
“I’m asking forty dollars for it.” The woman laid the gem on a felt cloth atop the case. Relief poured through me that she wasn’t asking hundreds. My fingers inched forward—I needed to touch it.
Before my fingertips reached the crystal, a bell chimed from behind. The shopkeeper looked over my shoulder and raised her hand in greeting. “Mange takk,” she said as the mailman came forward to deliver a handful of envelopes. “I think there are some packages in the back, but I’ll send them with you tomorrow, if that’s all right.”
“Of course, ma’am. Have a nice day.” The mailman waved as he exited the store.
“Will you excuse me for a moment, dear? I’m going to take these envelopes to the back. You don’t mind keeping an eye on that necklace for me, do you?” The corners of the shopkeeper’s eyes crinkled as I shook my head. She ducked into a back room as I stared at the magnificent crystal in front of me. My fingertips hovered over the bluish gem, and with a surge of power, the stone vibrated. The pulsing I’d felt before amplified until the stone exuded a strength so powerful that it shook. Normally, I’d back the heck off from anything with above-average energetic charges, but this was unlike anything I’d ever experienced before. It was so raw, so pure . . . so familiar.
Without thinking, I reached down to clasp my fingers around the necklace. A bolt of blue light shot from the crystal, piercing my chest and sending a jolt of white-hot light up and down my spine. My body vibrated, matching the resonance of the gem, and for a moment, I felt invincible—like I could singlehandedly take on the entire world. But as quickly as it had come, the energy drained away, and I was left feeling exhausted, depleted, and weak.
That was when everything went black.
CHAPTER TWO
“ALLIE, I KNOW I said the red A-line would be your jam, but there’s also this V-neck sweater dress that would totally show off your—oh my God! Allie, are you okay?” Mallory’s panicked scream broke through the blackness. Heels clacked rapidly across the shop floor, each step pinging in my ear like the percussion section of a very enthusiastic middle school band. Why was Mallory running so loud? My roommate’s angular face swam into focus as I dragged my eyelids open. They felt so heavy. I lifted my hand to rub them, but my movements were slow. My arm felt so heavy, too. In fact, all of me felt heavy, like the earth’s gravity had sucked me down and pinned me in place. What was going on?