Page 63 of A Shared Mind

“What time is it?”

Clay checked his watch. “Wow, time flies. It’s already eleven. We better get a move on.”

We headed down the sidewalk to Madame Stella’s shop. The light was on and when I opened the door, Stella’s receptionist was sitting at the desk, just as she’d been doing earlier that morning.

“Is she willing to see us? We’re a little early, but we’ll wait,” I asked.

The woman, whose name I never learned, stood. “Have a seat.”

We sat in the cheap plastic turquoise chairs, and I studied Clay’s expression as he took in the sight of all the things on the walls and in the glass cases surrounding the room. His curious gaze took in everything, and his lips moved as if he was talking to himself. It was quite comical.

The bell over the door tinkled, startling both of us. “Hey guys. You’re early.” EZ and the hounds walked into the shop and straight through to the brown door of the séance room. He and the hounds went inside without knocking.

Clay turned to me and smiled. “I guess it’s about to happen. Hold onto me and don’t let go, okay?”

“Never.”

I meant it with all my heart.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Clay

The receptionist walked out of the door Justin was solely focused on, giving us a smile. “They’re ready.”

She went back into the room, so I took Justin’s hand and we followed. The door closed behind us without anyone touching it. Whatever was about to happen was probably going to blow my mind, but I wouldn’t let anything happen to Justin.

“Welcome. I was instructed to reach out to you, Justin. Ezgart has informed you of your task, and I’m here to facilitate your communication with the other side. Please sit down.”

The lady dishing out the instructions was scary as hell. She looked like the receptionist, the color of their skin and hair being the only difference.

Justin and I sat next to each other, and then EZ and the white woman sat in the other two chairs at the table. The hounds were sitting on either side of EZ, his constant sentinels.

The lights dimmed and the woman placed her hands on the table. ““Everyone, close your eyes and join hands on top of the table to form a never-ending circle.”

I was already holding Justin’s hand, so we put them on the table as instructed. EZ grabbed my other hand while the white woman took his other one before taking the hand of Madame Stella.

“My spirit guide is here, along with some guests. Please come forward.”

I glanced around the room, but I didn’t see anyone, not that I knew what to look for, anyway.

A muffled sound echoed in the room, drawing my attention toward a wall where a piece of purple fabric dropped to the floor, revealing a large mirror. The yellow cloth and the green cloth on either side of the mirror dropped, showing two more large mirrors. They were all framed with gold and looked quite old.

“Welcome. I am Stella, your facilitator. Please come forward and introduce yourselves.” The medium was studying the mirrors, and I almost swallowed my fucking tongue when someone appeared within the frame. I quickly looked across the room to see if someone was standing there making a reflection or if there was a device projecting the image onto the mirror. There was nothing.

“I am Astral, the liaison between the human and spirit worlds. I am EZ’s handler. I’m here to adjudicate the case of Ramon Blanco.” My eyes had to be double their normal size, I was sure. When I turned to Justin, he looked like he was in shock.

A figure stepped into the mirror on the right. “Hey, gang. It’s me, Ramon.” There, staring at us from the glass, was the image I’d seen in the pictures Justin had shown me from his research. Ramon Blanco.

“Ho-ly shit,” Justin mumbled under his breath, just loud enough for me to hear it.

The third mirror filled with shadows, shapes that shifted in a way I couldn’t understand. No one spoke for a moment until EZ cleared his throat. “That’s the management team.”

“Thank you for coming. Astral, will you lead this rare meeting between the planes?” Madame Stella asked.

The being in the middle mirror grinned. Like EZ, he was very good looking. I had to wonder if he was projecting a human-like appearance so he didn’t freak us out. For that matter, did EZ do the same? Did they really have horns or wings or hooves they were hiding?

“Thank you, priestess. Justin Watkins, you were charged with determining if there was anything redeemable about Ramon Blanco that would sway the decision of his punishment, which would be destruction of his spirit. Did your investigation produce any positive results?”