“What do we have to do?” he asked out of the blue.
Everyone turned and looked at him, with the exception of Laura who gave her response as she walked away. “We need to make this room dark enough”.
CHAPTER FIVE
The previously bright room suddenly donned the darkest shadow. Curtains were drawn and light dimed, while colored candles retrieved from Nora’s mother’s stuffs were lit around the entire living room. Daren watched on somewhat nervously while trying hard not to show it. Naomi on the other hand, seemed rather excited to be involved in the entire event, but Muzin still donned his gloomy look.
“I don’t think I like this at all”, he mentioned again, staring at his daughter while she ignorantly toyed with the cards.
Nora looked away from her father and began counting the cards to ascertain they were complete, before letting out her worry. “One is missing!”
Laura stopped setting candles on the dining table to look at her niece. “Which one?”
Nora shrugged and began retracing her steps. She walked back to the door and flicked on the lights, before spotting the card lying face down just some feet from the couch. Relieved, as was Laura, Nora knelt closer to pick it up, but found herself slumping to the ground immediately. Muzin raced over to meet his daughter, but stopped a feet from her as a rattling wind of rather aggressive nature threatened to hammer through the windows.
Electricity flickered all around the house, while the candle lights burned wilder and brighter to no end. Laura raced over and gently lifted Nora’s head so the girl could rest on her chest.
“We need to start now!” Laura yelled.
Muzin got to his feet and raced back to the table to finish the preparations. He set down the remaining candles and watched the fire burn brighter and more violently as though it was about to consume the entire room.
“Naomi!’ Lama yelled out of the blue, causing everyone to look in Naomi’s direction.
Naomi ducked just in time as a fiery looking ball of flame shaping out to be a skull hurried towards her.
“Save us! Save us! Save us!” the chilling voices alarmed while they ducked to the floor and watched the fires circle the room momentarily.
Nora coughed aloud, slowly dragged herself to an upright position and watched her family and friends cowering in fear to the floor. She laced the single card in her right hand back into the full deck, and everything within the room and around the house stabilized.
“I saw mom”, Nora whispered to her father. ‘I actually saw mom”.
Muzin locked gaze with his daughter and held her face in his hands. “Where?”
Nora got to her feet and hurried to the table set for her. She began laying out the cards in specific fashion which her father seemed rather puzzled by, while Laura smiled from the corners of her mouth.
“How did you learn to use the Celtic Cross?” Laura slowly turned her smile into frown.
Nora looked up and shrugged. “I learnt card reading online , but this called to me the most and I like it”.
Laura pulled at Muzin’s shirt and led him to the side so they could speak in private. Reluctant, yet interested in finding out what she intended to voice about, he followed her.
“What now?” he asked with a thick frown.
“Our family never uses that”, he replied. “I don’t know what it is about your daughter, but something doesn’t feel right about her technique”.
Muzin looked back at the girl who was done laying out her cards and smiling wildly as the lit candles illuminated her face.
“Well, you encouraged her into this and if what you’re saying about my wife being alive is true, I don’t care”, he shut her down and walked back to the table.
Nora hovered her hand over the cards and began flipping those she had laid down over, smiling to herself and staring into the faces of the cards, before reshuffling them and stacking them neatly atop one another again.
“So?” Daren asked, seemingly nervous as he looked at the others.
“So what?” Naomi asked.
He pointed at the empty seat before Nora and nudged his head, indicating who was going to sit in it or try to have their fortunes read.
“You guys are chickens”, Lama giggled and slid into the seat.
Laura exchanged a bewildered look with Muzin who looked like he was about passing out, but bit on his nails nervously to keep himself from doing so.
“Are you sure?” Nora asked her stepmother.
Lama tapped the edge of the table in affirmation, smiled and held out her hand immediately. She seemed pretty confident and the air within the room and around the table suddenly felt better.
“I need your hands”, Nora demanded, reaching out her pair over the table to receive the woman’s.
Upon holding her step mother’s hand in hers, Nora felt her heart thump aloud and suddenly slow its beating. Her breathe took on a relaxed form too and she slowly closed her eyes to feel every essence of the moment at hand. Lama’s cold fragile hands remained steady and without any nervous feeling in them, but Nora’s had suddenly begun exuding copious amount of sweat threatening to slide out from her stepmother’s.
“Relax your mind and focus all your inner energy”, Laura whispered, trying to guide her niece through the process.
The table began to shudder as the earth beneath them slowly began to tremble as well. Nora finally opened her eyes to the sight of a visibly shaken Lama who tried hard to hold her nerves as the candles around the table began to go off one at a time. They all watched four candles successfully blow out, leaving three to illuminate Nora’s table.
“Is that a good sign?” Daren asked in a concerned tone.
Naomi shot him a bizarre look and caused him to fall silent immediately. Nora felt the rush of excitement and a sting of worry trickle down her spine as
