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"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 started to stop her, but realized it was probably for the best If soet hurt "Why don’t you go next door, to Rosie’s flowers, and see if they knoorks here?" she suggested
As Nan stepped out, Mina had the distinct feeling that so around in a circle, she took in the dark oak shelves, the paisley wallpaper, the diister stood off to one side and looked as if it hadn’t been used in ages The place was dust-free, but had the feeling of being e
A large chair stood to one corner and Mina began 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 co for a book Maybe you can help an in the back of the store and the sounds of children laughing intensified Mina gulped, but followed the light as it grew brighter and seeainst 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 Ju furry that shifted fro 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-sized anis
The stag and bull were lifelike andnor the floor They’d been set about six feet apart in front of an intricately painted forest led as if challenging the bull Mina touched the soft fur of the stag and felt heat e swayed and slid a few inches to the right Pressing her head to the wall, she could see that the animals were attached to sliders on the wall Perhaps it was so a few steps back she looked at the two ani joined in battle The bull looked angry, but the stag bore another expression entirely; it fearful and determined at the same time This must have been a very talented taxidermist She first went over to the heavy black bull and pushed as hard as she could, half expecting it to cogled with the bull piece until she had moved it to the center of the wall
When she knew she had pushed it aspiece Unbelievably it slid with ease toward the bull, al, she realized it would be positioned dangerously in front of the bull’s horns The thoughthad nearly reached the bull in battle in the exact center of thewould have the advantage She turned and heard an audible click over her shoulder, followed by o
Mina only had a ed fro for her heart Leaping to the left, she dodged the heavy piece as it collided with the stone floor under the stag, breaking in half When the dust settled, a door appeared where the bull was ht There was nothing there but theoff her hands, she looked toward the stag and blinked in surprise It was gone, but there was no door what the stag had once been She supposed she had no choice but to try the door that appeared behind the defeated bull She opened it slowly, looking behind her shoulder for Nan, re herself that it was better if she weren’t involved The door led to a dead-end circular rooe stone blocks She looked around the walls for clues but found nothing but solid stone Wait!
Below her, there was so on her hands and knees, Mina did the best she could to wipe ahat looked to be hundreds of years of accumulated dust Whoever cleaned the shop upstairs hadn’t bothered with this place Her fingers could feel the distinct outline of so, scattering dust particles everywhere They were all over her clothes and hair,her sneeze, but it didn’t deter her
"So that’s where you went!" Mina spoke quietly as her fingers traced the outline of a fighting stag, glorious antlers in full array It looked as if it were a seal or cover for so Mina stood up and looked around the roo, she turned and stepped on the stone circle in an atteround shifted beneath her, causing her to drop to her knees
The stone circle was dropping froness Scraers into the cracks between another stone in the floor The stone circle stopped ave out and she slid back into the hole to land ungracefully on her backside Once properly seated again, the stone circle continued its descent, although slower, as if not to scare Mina further It didn’t help, she was still terrified Finally she heard a loud thu She could tell by a burst of air she’d descended to a larger rooh it took a few minutes for her eyes to adjust in the near-total darkness
Mina wasn’t sure how she’d get out of here, and thought about calling for help, but felt power gathering again, warning her that soht cast into the hole, Mina waited A small voice inside warned her to not step off of the stone circle What if it decided to float to the ceiling again, shutting her in the dark forever? What if she ran into the bull out there? There were too many "what if’s" to convince herself to not leave the stone tablet That was until her eyes alit on a clear glass coffin
Mina averted her eyes, afraid of what she ht see within It could have been the bones of a s tricks, Mina cast another glance to see that the glass coffin was not a coffin, but a glass chest Instead of holding remains of someone who passed away, it held a yellowed scroll Her heart began to thud with anticipation Was this it? Was that the Gri was surreal, misty and cloudy like a dream Mina had no choice but to step off the stone and approach the chest to open it Fortunately, it opened as soon as her fingers touched the lid, the scroll began to unwind of its own accord, and the yellowed paper seemed to resonate with a hum of power Upon the scroll ords written inwith beautifully crafted pictures
Staring in awe, the painted pictures began to , the sa fro a tentative hand up to touch the scroll, Mina recoiled as it shifted, and fell heavily to the bottoe leather-bound book