Free Under the Moon's Shadow by T. L. Haddix

pawn shop.”
    A picture popped into Beth’s mind immediately of the eccentric young woman. “I remember you, Zora. What do you need?”
    “Um, I need to talk to you. It’s about all these rumors, the devil worshipping stuff that’s been going around?” Zora sounded nervous, her voice tight and high. “Can we meet?”
    Intrigued, Beth agreed. “Absolutely. When and where?”
    Zora suggested the Brown Bag. “Are you free this afternoon?”
    Beth checked her calendar. “As it happens, I am.” A meeting time set, she hung up and doodled on the calendar on her desk. She searched her memory for whatever facts she knew about Zora, and realized that she didn’t know a lot, just what she had heard around town.
    She turned to her computer and ran a search using a popular search engine. The woman’s name came up several times in relation to social networking sites, and by following those links, Beth was able to learn quite a bit about her mysterious caller, including her age, hometown, and religious preferences. Shaking her head at how willing people were to put their most intimate personal information out on the Internet for all the world to see, she pondered what she had learned. Some of the links on Zora’s various websites had been to groups practicing Wicca or Wiccan-like beliefs.
    A thrill of anticipation ran through Beth as she remembered the pictures Stacy Kirchner had shown her of the altars. She wondered if Zora would reveal another piece of the puzzle when they met.
     
    ~ * * * ~
     
    Rain was falling steadily by the time Beth made her way to the Brown Bag. She deliberately arrived a few minutes early and, after ordering a large hot chocolate, she took a corner booth facing the door and watched for Zora’s arrival.
    As she looked out over the park that formed the middle of the town square, she noted that several of the trees were starting to turn. An unseasonably cool snap had descended on the region, bringing the gloomy rain with it, and the first real hint of fall was in the air. Before long, all the trees would have their fall colors on, and the round of festivals and carnivals would be upon Olman County.
    It was a busy time for the paper and probably her favorite season, Beth thought, smiling to herself. Her smile slipped a little as she thought about Ethan and the break-in, but as she saw Zora dashing across the street, she put those concerns to the back of her mind. As the young woman came in, Beth raised her hand. Zora made her way over to the booth.
    “Hey. Would you like something to drink?”
    “No, I’m fine,” Zora told her, a little breathless. “Thanks.”
    Beth took in the woman’s eclectic attire, wispy black blouse and skirt. The outfit put her in mind of something her sister, Joely, would wear. The memory caused a pang of loneliness for Joely, who had just started her third year of college in Louisville.
    “I like your nail polish.” Beth said as she leaned in to look at the dark electric blue the woman had applied to her long nails, hoping the topic would help Zora relax. “I wish I could wear something like that at the paper, but I can’t. I also can’t seem to get my nails to grow out like yours. I keep breaking them off.”
    “They’re like a decoration, almost. I do different colors and designs for different days of the week, seasons, holidays. I have some really wicked spider web stickers that I use for Halloween.” Zora cleared her throat and pulled herself back into the moment, and to the purpose of the meeting. “I don’t know what you know about me.” Her wariness was apparent as she waited for Beth’s answer.
    “I know that you work for Vestra at the pawn shop, and that you purport to have some paranormal abilities.”
    Zora nodded. “I do have abilities. I’m clairvoyant. I can sense things, feel things that most people can’t. I know when really good things are going to happen, and when really bad things are going to happen.” She stopped and studied Beth