Page 13 of Wolf's Forbidden Curse

Turning into the first shop on the block, anything to escape the memories that were beginning to creep up, I didn’t even stop to look at what the sign overhead read. The bell above the door rang out softly as I entered, and my eyes had to adjust to the sudden lack of sunlight. There were dark purple drapes hung over most of the windows and a few overly stuffed shelving units that were home to collections of leather-bound books.

Probably not the best place to go shoe shopping.

“Hello dear. I’ll be with you in one second!”

The voice startled me. There didn’t seem to be anyone in the room at the moment. “Uh—hello?”

A few seconds later, a curtain of beads was drawn to the side, and a short man with foggy glasses stepped out of the doorway behind the register. “Hi,” he said. “Welcome to my shop!”

“Oh—hi. Thanks.”

“Are you looking for something in particular, or did you just want to get out of the sun for a bit?” He smiled. “I understand completely if it’s the latter. I burn very easily and am always looking to escape this persistent good weather.”

I laughed. “If you don’t like the sun, you might’ve picked the wrong place to live.”

“Trust me, if I could move elsewhere, I would.” He didn’t offer any further explanation, and I thought it would be rude to ask. He came around the other side of the counter, and I got a good look at his outfit. He was wearing an odd combination of sophisticated and theatrical attire. His pants were clearly part of a suit and tailored to perfection, but his shirt was billowy—almost pirate-like—and bright green. He had cufflinks on that I would’ve guessed were actual silver, but he also had cheap little tassels hanging from his belt that clinked together when he walked. It was a very strange assortment, but somehow, it didn’t look as awkward on him as it would on someone else.

“So, is there anything I can help you with?”

“Uh—well—probably not. I do need to find a new pair of shoes, but that doesn’t really seem like something you sell here.”

“No, alas, I do not sell shoes.”

“Then maybe I’ll just browse if that’s okay.” I doubted I’d be able to find something for Al in a shop like this, but it was at least worth a try. I was already inside, and I didn’t want to be rude.

“You’re new in town, yes?”

“Er, yeah,” I said. His phrasing caught me off guard a little bit. He didn’t ask me if I was visiting, even though I figured this store was most likely frequented by tourists, given its location. How did he know I was here to stay and not just here for a long weekend?

“How do you like being in Solara Bay so far?”

“It’s—great.” I forced a smile. “Who could be unhappy in a place like this?”

The man shrugged, and I recalled his earlier comment.

“I guess someone who burns easily, that’s who.”

“Exactly,” he said with a smirk. I continued to look around without really looking, waiting until enough time had passed that it would be okay for me to leave. If this man kept up with the small talk, however, there would be no good time for me to walk out. I pretended to check the time on the clock above the door.

“Oh shoot, is that really how late it is?” I winced. “I should really get going. I have to be at work soon, and I’ve only had the job for a couple of days, so I desperately don’t want to get fired.”

“Ah, you don’t have to worry,” he said. “That clock is twenty minutes fast.”

Damnit.

“I can tell you’re itching to get out of here, though,” he added. “I won’t try to keep you. But if you did have a few minutes to spare, I was going to offer you a free palm reading. You can’t buy shoes here, but maybe I could discover where your perfect pair of shoes are to be found by looking at your skin.”

There was a time in my life when this sort of offer would’ve elicited a smirk and a snarky ‘no thank you,’ but I had become much more open-minded over the last few years. I didn’t necessarily think magic was real or anything like that, but I’d… seen some things. Things I couldn’t explain. Nowadays, palm readers or tarot card enthusiasts no longer made me laugh. I didn’t think all of them were legit, but I understood that they were trying to tap into something bigger than themselves. I could respect that—though I probably still wouldn’t pay for it.

“Free?” I asked. “As in actually free? Or are you going to do that thing where you start to read my palm, then you act like you discovered something dire in my future, but you charge me before you agree to tell me more?”

He smiled devilishly. “I see you encountered my kind before.”

“You mean people trying to lure me into a tourist trap? Yes. In fact, I have.”

“Well, how about this: since you were able to spot me right away as a trickster, I will give you a free reading—no catches. It’s not as if I have other customers banging down my door anyway.”

He meandered over to the table in the middle of the room and pulled a chair out for me. I checked the time on my phone and knew I wouldn’t be able to have this reading and get my shopping done, but I decided to stick around anyway. It was nice and cool in the room, and perhaps this man could give me some guidance, tell me at least whether or not I was on the right path. Or maybe he was a liar who would just waste my time. Either way, I was intrigued.

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