21

Instructions. That's what flashed on the screen of my pager. Instructions from the Mall to... move her?

I swallowed hard. Why did I have this strong feeling that this was about London's body? I had to find Sean fast. Who cared if the clique of retailers saw me with him?

Sean had told me to meet him by the vending machines under the North Wing escalators. When I arrived, Sean wasn't there. It was still pretty early. He might not have had a chance to make his way down. I looked around, anxious at the thought of someone possibly following me. It wasn't long before I decided that I wasn't going to spend any more time waiting.

As I made my way up the escalators towards Player Nexus, my thoughts drifted to the encounter that I had with Hector earlier that morning. He had said a lot of weird stuff, but if I was being honest, everything he said made sense to me. Evidently he saw my orcas at the fashion show. Much in the same way that I could see his stingrays. Then there was the mist. Was that something everyone could see? Or were Sean, Hector, and I the only people sensitive to it?

And why – I just realized this – why did the mist come in different colors? At the fashion show, the mist started out green. But the more I thought back, the more I realized that the mist changed from green to red right before Mercedes tried to sabotage my walk.

When London died, the mist was... purple.

And just now when Hector showed up, it was green.

Did the colors mean something? Like a mood ring that gauges the Mall's emotional state?

Aqua, Aqua, Aqua. I shook my head. You're thinking too much into this.

For the time being, I put aside this suspicion regarding the color of the mist. My thoughts shifted back to what Hector had said.

"When I saw you up on that stage, I almost couldn't believe it. There's two of us. And then the sacrifice happened. That's when I knew that it was really time."

Two of us. He had to be talking about our ghosts. His stingrays and my orcas. That part made sense to me. What didn't was when he said sacrifice. As shady as London was when she was alive, it made my guts swirl to think of her being a sacrifice to the Mall. My first instinct was to ask Sean if the Mall takes sacrifices, which was why I was on my way to Player Nexus.

As I hiked up the deactivated escalator, I wondered what role Bobby played in all of this. Could he see the ghosts and the mist too? If he could and I asked him about it, what if he just denied it all?

That was a headache for another time. I needed to focus on what was important. The things I needed to talk to Sean about included the message on my pager and what Hector said. Not to mention, one other thing that has been bothering me since it happened. That kiss. My feelings were all over the place when it came to that one.

I reached the top of the escalator and located the cluster of mall tenants that made up Player Nexus. A feeling passed over me as I crossed the threshold. Even though the open corridor was unoccupied and the mall music was drowned out and warbled at the lower levels, I felt a sense of safety and peace. The retail sorority's influence didn't reach this far. The Final Dungeon was Sean Mori's stomping rounds and Bobby Reyes held turf at Disco Haze.

It still bothered me that if I drifted to the edge of the walkway, I could see the top of the mysterious purple tent one floor below. I wondered how many people were gathered around it now. Not wanting to risk being seen, I didn't go to check.

I went inside The Final Dungeon and found my way to the back of the store where the checkout counter was. To my relief, Sean was occupying the counter. He was sitting on one of the leather bound stools with his back to me, but I recognized the way his dark hair spilled over the tops of his shoulders. No one was at the register, but there was a petite woman who looked to be in her mid-60's occupying the L part of the counter.

I recognized this woman, but I wasn't sure from where. Then I noticed the spread of tarot cards in front of her and my memory brought me back.

"Oh! Oh! Perfect. Exactly what I needed." The small woman hopped down from the stool and shuffled up to me.

Sean turned in his seat. "Aqua." The ghost of a smile followed his greeting. I wanted to return the smile, but I was temporarily distracted by the little silver-haired woman bouncing up and down in front of me.

"Lock of mer. Found it." She seemed to realize that she wasn't making any sense. The woman calmed down and cleared her throat. "Your hair, sweetie. May I have a little of it?"

She pulled out a pair of slim scissors from a small pocket inside her cardigan.

"S'alright," Sean said, nodding at the little woman. "This is Delilah. She runs Three of Cups."

That's where I knew her from. Three of Cups was the little shop that sold crystals, incense, and just about any esoteric creature comfort you could think of.

I bent down a little for her. Working a spool of coils out from my messy bun, I said, "Oh. Sure."

"Thaaaank you!" Delilah chirped as she swiftly cut a few strands of my hair. When she turned away, I shot Sean a look as I stood upright. He gave a lighthearted shrug as if to say: Who knows? But she's harmless.

I came up behind Delilah, joining Sean at the countertop. As Sean was pulling up a barstool for me, Delilah asked if she could read my cards for me. I told her no, thank you.

"At least take a talisman. You seem like such a sweet girl and these are rough times."

Before I could decline that offer, Sean gently nudged me with his elbow and said, "You're going to want one. I've still got mine."

He lifted the bottom of his shirt to reveal a small satchel made from some unidentifiable animal hide hanging from his belt loop.

"Oh." I said, wondering how long Sean had been carrying that thing around. I looked back up at Delilah. "I guess it couldn't hurt."

Delilah had already set up some cardboard poster displays to hide her materials. She babbled on while she worked, openly criticizing the decisions of the security guards and the clique of retailers, whom she not-so-fondly referred to as jellyfish.

When Delilah paused so she could concentrate on crushing something inside a mortar, Sean caught me up on some of their gossip before I showed up.

"The shoppers who think I killed Harry Shuffle are sticking close to the jellyfish. It seems that group is serious about keeping order."

"Sweet fools. They better not work too hard. The Mall has its own way of keeping the peace." Delilah huffed with a shake of her head. "I've known several of the older tenants for years. They never liked me."

I could tell by the flash of her elbows from behind the makeshift wall that she was sewing the little pouch closed.

Sean sighed. "Not to mention, more people have gone to the side of the paranormal investigators–"

"You mean all the shoppers dressed in purple?"

"I've been calling them campers." Sean said with a nod. "But yeah, the same ones."

Delilah made a frustrated sound. "When I tried to cleanse the air around the entrance, security told me to go away. What they need to be worrying about is those campers trying to breach the crime scene."

I felt my eyebrows rise. "You know this for sure?"

Delilah closed her eyes briefly and gave an emphatic nod. "Course I'm sure. I was the one that caught them when security wasn't paying attention. Not for any lack of trying. They are exhausted, spread thin and scared. Anyway, the campers tried to butter me up by inviting me to their cause. As if I'd ever do something so silly. Well." She brought down the cardboard barrier and slid her gift over the counter towards me. "There you are."

The pouch holding the talisman together was slim and oblong, made of a dark suede material, and connected to a silver chain. As I gathered it closer to me, Delilah told me what was supposedly inside.

"Bit of volcanic sand, mockingbird down, a penny without a face, petrified ginkgo root, whisker of a sphinx.... You must never open it."

"Or let anyone else wear it," Sean whispered from behind. The warm skin of his inner arm brushed my shoulders as he took it upon himself to spread the talisman's chain and guide it over my head.

Some of Delilah's ingredients sounded farfetched, but I didn't challenge the shopkeeper. My fingers had already found their way around the talisman, gently shifting the contents inside.

"Thank you," I said with a smile. "I think I was expecting amethyst or something."

Delilah snorted and batted her hand. "Shiny stones and crystals are for tourists and children. This will actually protect you."

The chain was long enough for me to tuck everything inside my shirt. The talisman rested against my navel, its weight giving me comfort in the midst of all of this strangeness and uncertainty.

This will protect you.

Whatever was going on around here was bad enough that Delilah felt Sean and I needed protecting from it. It made my stomach tighten in dread, killing the sense of comfort I felt only moments earlier. Not that long ago, I would have doubted the shopkeeper's superstition, but after everything that had happened, I began to wish to extend this extra layer of protection to the ones I cared about – Bobby and Elliot.

With them in mind, I met Delilah's gaze and asked, "Will everyone get a talisman?"

The way she smiled at me and patted my arm made me feel too young, too naive.

"No," Delilah sighed, gathering her things. "I'm afraid it doesn't work like that."

+++

Hey Ghost Kids! Tell me what you thought of the chapter. I'd love to hear from you! If you've been keeping up with the story, thank you so much for reading this far.

~ Coco