The Keeper's Curse Read Free Page B

hurry.”
    By this
time the men had reached them. Emmy noticed they both had what
appeared to be a bow and a quiver of arrows slung over each of
their shoulders.
    One of
them turned to Emmy, scanning her up and down, his eyes falling on
her suitcase. Their faces were even more severe up
close.
    “ You live here, huh?” he said. “Ma’am, please, some
identification.”
    Her
mother sighed. “All right, fine,” she said, stuffing her hand in
her pocket. The men didn’t know her, but Emmy recognized that look
in her mother’s eye and prepared herself to run.
    “ Emmy, honey, I need to check in your suitcase,” she said in
deadpan voice. Annalise didn’t wait for a reply, kneeling over to
unzip it. Without warning, her mom flipped around and held out her
hand, palm open. A black cloud materialized in front of her, light
as bright as fire burning inside it like the one in the living
room.
    Emmy
backed away as her mother jerked her hand forward, and the cloud
slammed right into the two men, knocking them over like bowling
pins. Annalise grabbed her daughter’s hand and began to run towards
the oak doors. Emmy looked over her shoulder, seeing the two men
already up. And, just like her mother had done, they held out their
hands and shot the strange glowing clouds towards her mother and
her.
    Were her mother and the men controlling the clouds?
    Annalise
came to a halt, her eyes blazing, and focused on the roof where a
chandelier filled with candles hung. Without even raising her arm
this time, another cloud enfolded the chandelier, breaking it off
from its hook, and it flew directly towards the men. Not bothering
to look back to see if they were okay, Annalise clamped her hand
onto Emmy’s and ran.
    The two
of them pushed the doors open together, and Emmy gasped when the
sharp air cut into her lungs. It was much colder than Montréal,
wherever they were.
    Without
so much as a blink, Annalise picked Emmy up, placed her on her
back, and told her to hang on. Emmy wrapped her arms around her
mother’s neck and when she did, Annalise began to run again, as
fast as ever. Emmy’s weight should have slowed her down, but it was
like she wasn’t even there.
    They
definitely weren’t in Montréal any more. The building they had been
in, from what Emmy could tell, was surrounded by nothing but
forest. Annalise didn’t seem surprised at all by this, like she was
expecting it. She took the small flagstone path in front of them,
either side lined with glowing lampposts. They ran through an
endless slew of trees, deeper and deeper into the forest, away from
the only visible building. The trees were a blur as they shot by,
tall and roofed with snow.
    After a
few minutes her mother stopped, barely out of breath.
    “ You can get off now,” she said, and Emmy obeyed. She had to
pry her hands loose. Her entire body was frozen, still clad only in
her pyjamas.
    They were
standing in front of another structure that, once again, seemed to
be the only one in the vast forest. Unlike the grandiosity of the
last building, it appeared to be built by amateur hands. It had a
quaint look to it with a thatched roof and decorated with bells,
ribbons, and lights of the brightest colours. Painted across the
front were the words, “The Noir Beanery”. Emmy could smell coffee
and chocolate and hear rowdy laughter inside.
    She
followed her mother, who headed inside. Annalise opened the door,
causing a bell to ring, although no one could hear it. It was
packed. There weren’t nearly enough tables or chairs, with
customers sitting in the decrepit corners, socializing with their
friends with coffee and pastries in hand. Orange lanterns lined the
roof. The walls were covered in dark pretty shades of gossamer,
interrupted only by the two arched fireplaces on either side of the
room. The weirdest music Emmy had ever heard was playing in the
background.
    She
followed her mother through the crowd, occasionally bumping into
people who didn’t seem to notice.