Page 13 of Dark Moon Secrets

I can’t do this, I thought back.

Don’t be weak. The answer brought tears, and I blinked to keep them from spilling.

“Dear, relax. We won’t hurt you. Maria will watch over you to be sure you know what to do,” said a younger woman.

A woman in her thirties rested her hand on my shoulder.

“Is she serious?” asked Caleb, softly leaning protectively toward me.

“It’s all right,” I answered, forcing myself to stand. “I just had a moment.”

“I’m glad you’re all right. I’m Pepper, and I’m sure we will see more of each other now.” Now what?

Of course, she was gone, and I was going to run after her, but another person came forward. All of them introduced themselves to me, their names rolling around in my head, etching into my memory.

Reverend Fields had asked me if I wanted to have an afternoon tea, but the thought of standing and talking to strangers made it easy to say no. It also wasn’t in Maria’s wishes for her funeral, but if I had, then maybe I would’ve had the chance to get some answers.

“Go rest,” added the last person. “I’m Petal, by the way, and I can see this entire event has left you wrung out. I had tried to tell them not to overwhelm you. Of course, they wouldn’t listen.”

I was going to say I’m not tired, but then exhaustion washed over me. I saw the woman a few years older than me, dressed in a summer dress with a thin, long shawl over her shoulders. She moved her hand deliberately, and the energy seemed to shimmer.

Fuck, now I was hallucinating.

“Rest is healing for you before your big trip to the Blue Mountains.”

What? How did she know? Did they all fucking know about the bookstore?

I went to move forward, but my legs wobbled, the strength draining from them. Caleb caught me.

“Now, I am taking you home, no matter what.”

I didn’t have the strength to argue. Mia came and helped, and they took me away from the grave. The questions conflicted in my head. What was I going to do? No matter how much I resisted running the bookstore, part of me knew it was something I had to do. I shivered. I was now actually scared of what might become of me if I didn’t.

CHAPTER 5

Tanjie

Rain pelted the windshield, making it difficult to see the green sign showing me the turnoff to the township of Katoomba. My stomach was a mess, wobbling as if it was made of Jell-O.

What the fuck was I doing driving with my few belongings jammed-packed into the car on my way to the bookstore?

It had taken me the last few days to get the courage to get in the car. Now midweek, I was finally on my way to see what Maria had in mind for me by leaving me this unexpected inheritance.

Katoomba may be one of the gems of the Blue Mountains where so many Sydney-siders escaped the bustle of city life, but I wasn’t entirely sure it was the place for me to continue my life, even if Maria had secretly thought it was.

I was no closer to finding out why that was the case either. Hours were spent with Mia and Caleb trying to figure out what her motivation might have been.

We couldn’t agree on anything, and the discussions soon turned to debates or ridiculous suggestions in an attempt to lighten the mood. One thing we could all agree on was that there were bound to be secrets within the bookstore. I didn’t tell the others, but I was determined to find out what they were.

Possible secrets filled my mind.

Maybe the bookstore had a secret treasure Maria had stolen on the black-market worth millions because she’d been a high-flying thief in her younger years. Those people at the funeral all had stakes in it.

Or maybe a Narnia-type wardrobe was there. Caleb said I wasn’t to enter unless he was with me. As if I’d wait for him to arrive. He was so annoyed when I told him that.

Then, my favorite secret was that maybe there was a book about life and death that would give me powers beyond what my human mind could comprehend.

I was starting to miss my friends.

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