Chapter 2 #2
“Of course. Now if you’ll excuse me, my social battery is running low. I need to go home and recharge.” Kaito swept his papers into a tote bag.
“I appreciate your help.”
“Anytime,” he said, and slipped out of the clubhouse unnoticed by the square-dancing enthusiasts.
“I have an idea,” Bernice said, as I rose to my feet. “Why not speak to Vanessa? I met her in the waiting room at Dr. Adam’s office last week, and she mentioned she’s some kind of seer. Maybe she can tell you why these oni are here.”
I hesitated. If I spoke to Vanessa, then I’d have to speak to Valerie.
The twin sisters were known as the “dueling seers” because of their highly competitive natures.
Upon receipt of their applications to the Neighborhood, Justine had asked them if they’d be happier on separate retirement islands.
They’d responded with such profound horror that Justine immediately dropped the suggestion.
They were twins, after all, and that bond transcended even the most competitive bones in their nearly identical bodies.
Still, it wasn’t a terrible idea.
“Thanks, Bernice. I think I’ll head over there now.” Which was perfect timing because the meeting had progressed to the song-choice portion of the event, and I expected the noise level to increase tenfold.
“Good luck,” Bernice said.
“Same to you.” I nodded toward Gerry McKinley, Buck’s brother, who was currently taking his guitar out of its case. “I hope you and Louise can get to a better place, so you don’t need to subject yourself to Gerry’s live version of ‘Jolene.’”
Bernice frowned. “‘Jolene’ is an amazing song.”
“Not the way he sings it.” I sailed out of the clubhouse before my eardrums suffered any permanent damage.
Vanessa and Valerie Pollock shared a two-bedroom condo in the Palmetto section of the Neighborhood.
They were twin seers who were descendants of a long line of temple oracles.
Given their abilities, they were banned from many community activities, especially games like bingo and raffles where Neighbors feared the twins might be able to identify the winning numbers in advance.
This made life extra challenging for the sisters, who were also fiercely competitive with each other, as well as everybody else in their orbit.
They kept their white hair cut short and sassy, like a sixties housewife.
For fraternal twins, they looked identical.
They also insisted on dressing in the same outfits in different colors, which aggravated other Neighbors to no end.
They seemed to enjoy confusing people, which was another reason they weren’t popular.
I’d bet good money they hadn’t been included in Gina’s cat’s birthday party, and that was hardly a sought-after invitation.
“Well, well,” one of the sisters greeted me at the door. “If it isn’t the director of security herself. To what do we owe this great honor?”
“Acting director of security,” I corrected her. “It’s only temporary until Justine hires Judd’s replacement.”
“Is that so?” She smiled as though her lips protected a secret—the Mona Lisa of Evermore.
“May I come in, Vanessa? I could use your insight.” I clocked her sister to my right, partially hidden behind a floral screen. “Yours too, Valerie, if you can spare the time.”
Valerie leaned forward so that her angular face was no longer concealed by the shadows. “How can you tell us apart so easily? I’ve had lovers with less success than you.”
“You part your hair in the middle. Vanessa’s part is slightly off center and to the left.”
The twins exchanged an impressed look. “I suppose that’s why you’re so good at your job,” Valerie said. “Attention to detail.”
“What brings you to see us, Maya?” Vanessa asked.
“There’s an issue that could use your attention to detail.”
Valerie emerged from behind the screen, holding a book. “In an official capacity, I presume?”
“Yes.”
“Which one of us are you really here to see?” Vanessa asked. “No need to be polite. We can take it.”
There was only one right answer to that question. “Both of you.”
“Aren’t you going to joke that we should’ve known you were coming?” Valerie asked.
“You’re seers. Your gifts don’t work that way.”
Valerie grinned at her sister. “She gets us.”
“She does,” Vanessa agreed.
“I’ve known a lot of seers.”
“A bold claim for such a young lady,” Valerie said. “You can’t be a day over thirty.”
“Thirty-five.”
She released a dramatic sigh. “Oh, sister. Do you remember life at thirty-five?”
“Not at all. It was far too long ago. I’m lucky I remember my own name at this point.”
“You still went by your old name then,” Valerie said. “You were never a Victor, though. Didn’t suit you.”
“I barely remember that name either.” Vanessa suppressed a smile. “Although I do remember how furious Mother was that I refused to choose a new name off her list. She’d been adamant that, as the woman who suffered through the birth of twins, she’d earned the right to select the new one.”
Valerie’s laughter was high-pitched and helpless, almost girlish. “I seem to recall she favored the name Verbena. Can you imagine?”
“I’ve heard worse,” I said.
“Sit down,” Vanessa instructed. “Tell us more about this important issue that requires our particular talents.”
The sisters sat side by side on the L-shaped sofa.
I tried to make myself comfortable on the end cushion of a settee, but the volume of decorative pillows made it impossible.
I leaned awkwardly against a dog-shaped pillow and launched into my pitch.
“Demonic harbingers called oni have made an appearance.”
Vanessa splayed a hand across her chest. “On Evermore?”
“Yes.” I shouldn’t have been surprised that they were clueless. Gossip wasn’t their currency. “The oni are said to be an omen of things to come. Have either of you had any premonitions about them? I’d like to know what these ‘things’ are so I can prepare to fight them.”
“Not I,” Vanessa said.
“Nor I.” Valerie set aside her book. “Tell us more about these demon spirits.”
“No detail is unimportant,” Vanessa added.
I told them everything I knew from Kaito, as well as my own research. Then I pulled the long, thin blue hair from my pocket. “I have a piece of evidence that might help you focus. It came from the creature’s beard.”
“Ooh.” Vanessa snatched the hair from my hand to examine it more closely. “It is blue. How fascinating.”
“Let me see, sister.” Valerie tried to wrench the hair from Vanessa’s tight fingers, which resulted in splitting the hair in two.
“Never mind,” Vanessa said. “It’s every bit as useful at this size.”
“Did this creature hurt anyone?” Valerie asked, studying the strand.
“No. They only put the fear of the gods into them. Like I said, they’re not here to attack anyone. They’re more like the darkening of the skies before a tornado. The opening act before a main event.”
“And you want us to tell you whether the tornado will be an F-1 or an F-5,” Vanessa said. “I can do that.”
“So can I,” Valerie said quickly, not to be outdone by her sister.
“My method is faster,” Vanessa said.
“Mine is more accurate,” Valerie shot back.
“Nonsense! My accuracy rate far exceeds yours. Everybody knows that.”
“It’s okay,” I interrupted, before they erupted into a full-scale argument. “I’d love to hear from both of you. Whatever you can tell me. Vanessa, if you’d like to start, that would great. I’m sure both perspectives will be helpful.”
Vanessa shot her sister a triumphant look. “Do you have a preference for my method? I can use tea leaves, but they take longer.”
“Whichever has been the most historically accurate method,” I told her.
Vanessa cleared her throat. “I should be able to get a vision from the hair alone.” She held up the strand and fixated on it to the point where she nearly looked cross-eyed.
Valerie smacked her sister’s leg. “You’re taking too long. Hurry up so I can have my turn.”
Vanessa’s eyes rolled to the back of her head, exposing the whites. I suddenly regretted not choosing the tea leaves.
“I see fragments,” Vanessa’s voice rumbled, low and ominous.
Valerie leaned forward. “Fragments of what? The hair? A puzzle? Something broken?”
“Pieces. Parts. Fractions,” Vanessa said, still enthralled.
“Those are but synonyms, sister dear. Of what?”
“Small but not insignificant. Even fragments can be weaponized.”
Valerie shook her sister’s shoulder. “You’re not making sense, sister.” She looked at me. “See? This is why I’m the better seer. Vanessa spews lemons and expects the listener to make the lemonade.”
“I’m sure you’re both equally skilled,” I said, not wanting to choose sides in a war I couldn’t win.
“Nonsense,” Valerie said. “You’re not as clever as I thought if that’s your takeaway.”
“Suppression breeds transformation, not destruction,” Vanessa intoned.
Valerie snapped her fingers in front of her sister’s white eyes. “Come back to us. You’re not helping, as usual. I don’t know why you bother. You should’ve become an actuary like I suggested last century.”
Vanessa’s pupils reappeared. She blinked twice and gazed at her sister, confusion rippling her brow. “What happened?”
“You rambled like the senile biddy you are.”
Vanessa gazed at me with a hopeful expression. “Did that help you at all, Maya?”
“I’m sure I’ll put the pieces together at some point, no pun intended. My brain is more of a tortoise than a hare.”
“She’s being polite,” Valerie said. “A toddler could’ve done better. Here. Let me try.”
“You’ll only confuse her with multiple messages,” Vanessa argued. “Let her leave with mine. She can come back in a week if nothing clicks.”
Valerie whipped an arm sideways. “Does she seem like she has a week to play the waiting game? She said demonic spirits, Vanessa. Bad omens. She wouldn’t have come to us for guidance if the situation wasn’t urgent.”
The seer was on the money. My skin crawled at the thought of asking for help. I only did it because of my job, and the fact that the Neighbors’ safety might be at risk.
Huffing, Vanessa crossed her arms. “Fine. I’d like to hear you say anything of value. Go on then, sister. Relay your vision.”
Valerie glared. “I’m not a performing monkey.” She stood and crossed the room to retrieve an object from the coat closet. She returned with a picnic basket and set it on the coffee table between us.
“I’m not hungry, but thank you,” I said.
Valerie snickered. “You don’t want to snack on these, trust me.” She flipped up the lid and removed the contents.
Bones. They were bones.
“You keep these in a picnic basket?” I asked.
Valerie looked at me, wide-eyed. “Where else would I keep them?” She set them in a neat line across the table.
“Are tea leaves not an option for you?”
“Tea leaves have their place,” Valerie replied, “but I find their accuracy less than desirable. It’s like reading inkblots. My horse is your butterfly. It can render the whole experience meaningless.”
“What we do is not an exact science either,” Vanessa added. “More of an art form.”
“I know.” Like with any other professional, I’d had both good and bad experiences with seers.
“And now for the final component.” Valerie set her phone on the coffee table next to the bones and tapped the screen. I immediately recognized the sound of Enya’s “Only Time.”
“She needs relaxing background music,” Vanessa explained. “It helps her focus.”
Valerie was already intent on rearranging the bones, seemingly oblivious to us. Finally, she glanced up at me, grinning. “Well, well. You have a man in your life.”
“Do I?”
“That’s what the bones tell me.”
“Did the bones also tell you his name?”
“If you haven’t met him already, you will soon.” She chuckled to herself. “Buckle up. It’s going to be quite a ride for you, Maya.”
“No offense, but I find that hard to believe.”
“Believe it. This man will crack you like a walnut in the best possible way.” Valerie released a discontented sigh. “I’m jealous. I haven’t been cracked open in decades.”
“You’d break a hip, sister. Nobody wants that.”
“Then I’d get to spend more time with Dr. Adam. I’d have no complaints about that. He reminds me of my Hubert.” Valerie fanned herself.
Vanessa burst into a violent cackle. “Hubert looked nothing like Dr. Adam. He resembled a squashed raisin at the bottom of the box.”
“Same disposition,” Valerie said, scowling. “You should consider riding Dr. Adam, Maya. I bet he’s wilder than he seems.”
“I doubt that,” Vanessa countered. “He probably checks your blood pressure to make sure you’re not overexerting yourself during the act.”
I laughed at the image, despite myself. “You don’t see anything about oni or harbingers of doom?”
“I see darkness falling,” Valerie said, staring at the bones. “A shadow, but it seems localized. Nothing that would impact a large population.”
“Not even the island?”
“No, too small.”
“Okay, thanks.”
“It’s a good thing, isn’t it?” Vanessa asked. “Better a small patch of darkness than a whole blanket.”
“That’s a good way of looking at it,” I agreed. Unfortunately, I didn’t have the luxury of looking on the bright side, especially when lives were potentially at stake.
Valerie’s body stiffened. “Wait. I see more.” She moved a wishbone to the end of the line. “Strange.”
“Is it your reflection?” Vanessa asked.
Valerie gave her a sidelong glance. “You realize that’s an insult to both of us.” She turned back to the bones. “I see a plant that turns to ash and dust.”
“Maya isn’t here for a science lesson, sister.”
“I see a statue that crumbles,” Valerie continued.
“Nor an art lesson.”
“Maybe it’s history,” I said.
Valerie hushed us. “This isn’t a trivia game. Shut up and listen.” She refocused on the bones. “The number seven is prevalent. Seven items. Seven mounds of dust.”
“That’s lucky, isn’t it?” I asked. “The number seven?”
“It’s mystical, not necessarily lucky.”
“I could do with a bit of luck,” I told them.
“Very well, then,” Vanessa said. “Lucky number seven it is.”
Valerie inhaled deeply, breaking her concentration. “Should we be concerned, Maya?”
“I wouldn’t recommend venturing out alone until we’ve resolved the issue.”
“That’ll be easy for us,” Valerie said. “Good luck, Maya. I hope whatever this is, it isn’t as dangerous as it seems.”
From her lips to the ears of the gods. If only they were willing to listen.