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As the weak morning sun broke through the branches of Central Park, Theta sat in Miss Addie’s Morris chair beneath an old quilt while a parade of curious cats meowed and rubbed their noses against her legs. One curled up in her lap, and she happily scratched under its chin while it closed its eyes in bliss.
“How did you know to come for me?” Miss Addie asked. Her hands had only just stopped shaking. Her sister, Lillian, brought out a silver tray with a tea service comprised of mismatched china cups.
“This is gonna sound crackers, but a ghost told me to come. Mr. Bennington’s ghost. He said you were in trouble.”
“Oh, dear Reginald!” Miss Addie said joyfully, as if she were speaking of a favorite old friend.
“He said something about how you were the guardian of the Bennington. The, uh, the old witch, he called you.”
“I don’t think the old was necessary,” Lillian tutted.
“But we are, dear sister. We are,” Miss Addie said.
“Nevertheless,” Lillian sniffed. She poured the tea into three cups and handed one to Theta. “The Bennington was built for safety, you see. There has always been a Diviner in residence. Someone to be sure it would remain safe from evil spirits. Before Reginald died, he entrusted that duty to Addie.”
“I think I woulda passed on that little gift,” Theta said. “How come Mr. Bennington didn’t seem scary?”
“Not all spirits mean harm, you know,” Miss Lillian said. “Some want to help. Or they need help.”
“I’m guessing this Elijah isn’t one of those, though,” Theta said. “Who is he?”
Miss Addie’s face went sad. Her eyes seemed fixed on a point in time long passed. “He was my everything, my greatest love. And one day he was taken from me, cut down in the prime of his youth.”
“Gee. I’m sorry,” Theta said. She tried to imagine losing Memphis. It hurt so much she didn’t want to even think about it. She grimaced as she sipped her tea. “What kind of tea is this?”
“Dandelion! It will ease your dreams. It will help you come into your power.”
“I… I don’t have any power,” Theta said quickly.
“Yes, you do. I can always tell. I could tell about your friend who came to see me, the boy with the boater hat, and his green-eyed friend. And I could tell about your Miss O’Neill.”
“My sister has always been gifted,” Miss Lillian said. She squeezed Addie’s hand. “And I have been her protector.”
“You have great power,” Addie said to Theta. “You mustn’t be afraid of it, child.”
Ha, Theta thought. You don’t know what I can do. Then you’d be afraid, too.
“Tell me, do you have family near?” Miss Addie asked.
“I’m an orphan,” Theta said.
“You’re wrong.” The old woman blinked up at the ceiling, her fingers waving in the air. “You do have family. I see it in your aura. They’re… they’re all around you.”
“Sorry, Miss Addie. But if I got family, they’ve done a good job of hiding it for the past seventeen years.”
Miss Addie picked up Theta’s cup. She read the tea leaves, frowning.
Theta got nervous. “What is it now? You see something bad?”
“Some ghost does wait for you. This is a bad ghost. You must not let it win.”
“Okay. Now you’re scaring me.”
“We’ll read the signs. Come along, Archibald,” Lillian said. She pushed herself out of the chair and grabbed one of the cats and a curved knife. The cat squirmed in her arms, meowing his displeasure.
Theta jumped up. “Wait! What are you gonna do with that cat?”
“He’ll need to be sacrificed, of course. To read the signs.”
