The Zeuorian Book 1 Prologue

Was he still watching her? Lexi lifted her eyes from the paperback she had in her hands and snuck a quick glance at the man dressed in black standing by the magazine stand. He held a copy of North American Hunter while pretending to read it, but his black soulless eyes were on her. Same as the other four times she caught him watching her since entering the grocery store.

What did he want with her? Was he a psycho that preyed on young girls? The thought sent a cold chill down her spine, making her shiver and lifting the fine hair on her slender arms.

An older woman wearing khaki pants and a blue vest with the store name printed on the breast pocket walked past her while she spoke into a walkie talkie, “I need you to clean up a mess in aisle number five.”  The man dressed in black placed the magazine on the rack when the woman headed toward him. He quickly left the aisle without giving Lexi a second glance. She loosened the death grip she had on the book and let out her breath in a gust.

Finally, he was gone.

She placed the paperback on the rack and searched for another one to read. Stephen King, Dean Kontz and James Herbert—all the horror authors she enjoyed reading were crammed in the framed metal holders, but none of them interested her since she’d already read them all.

A boy with braces around her age, fourteen years-old, came up beside her. He said with a lisp, “Why don’t you read this book. It’s my favorite.”

He held out a book for her to take. On the cover it had a drawing of a man and a dead teenage boy with a wood stake pierced through his chest. She scrunched up her face. Not another vampire story.  She wanted to push the book away, but reconsidered since it was the only one she hadn’t read.

“Thanks,” she said and tucked the book under her arm and meandered down the aisle, searching for something else that might interest her. The boy followed close behind. Her parents warned her to never talk to strangers, not even kids her own age, but he was cute and seemed cool. It wouldn’t kill her to hang out with him for a little bit in the store.

She moistened her lips, tasting the cherry flavor lip gloss. “So,” she said, tucking a strand of her strawberry blond hair behind her ear. “Do you want to play a game or something?”

The boy’s face lit up. “I know. I could show you a magic trick.” He grabbed a deck of cards from the stand, tore open the packaging and fanned out the cards. “Pick one and then I’ll guess what it is.”

She picked up the top card and focused on it.

“Is it the king of hearts?”

“No, it’s the four of clubs.” She showed him the card. “Maybe it’ll work if I guess what card you’re holding.”

“I doubt it.” The boy said with a hint of arrogance to his voice. “Only trained magicians can perform this trick.”

A devious smile spread across her lips. “We’ll see about that.” She snatched the deck from his hand and held it out for him. He pulled out a card and held it close to his chest so she couldn’t see it. She didn’t wait a second before blurting out, “It’s the queen of diamonds.”

“Yeah, it is.” He gaped at the card with his eyes widening. “But that was a lucky guess. Let’s see if you can do it a second time.” He grabbed another card.

“Seven of spades,” she sung out.

He blinked a couple of times. “Okay two out of three.” He grabbed another card. She guessed the card right again and then another and another until she went through twenty cards. “How can you do that?” he demanded.