Where Devils go to Party (Winterwood Witches #1)

Chapter 2: Abracablamo

"How are you feeling, sister Evelyn?" The preacher lowered his voice in solemn patience.

Oblivious of the unearthly black snakes slithering across the stage behind her, Evelyn blinked her eyes and put a hand to her chest. "It... it doesn't hurt."

"You see that, oh brother and sisters. The Lord's powers are eternal. You have nothing to fear. Your suffering is at an end. Can I get an Amen!"

""Amen!""

I watched as the black snakes slithered down and off the stage, headed for a door in the far side of the room. I assumed it was where the storerooms would be when the auto garage wasn't being used as a holy sanctum. Not allowing myself to lose sight of them, I waited until they had squirmed past the door guard and underneath the door before acting.

Reaching into my bag, I grabbed out a pack of dental floss and broke off a long strand before turning to Shauna. "Finger."

"Only because you love me." Shauna beamed, sticking up a finger.

Oh, grow up. Tying the floss around her finger, I concentrated and murmured a brief chant to myself. The pale streamer flowing from her eyes took on a sudden murky hue that would be hard to miss. Satisfied, I lowered the crystal and nodded.

"Okay, try to draw it out a bit. I need to look around."

"Aye aye, captain."

Returning Evelyn to her seat, the preacher once more took on his solemn mask of contemplation as his eyes roamed across the room. I could almost feel the glee as his eyes fell across the girl sitting next to me. A prize too good to pass up. With a flick of his wrist he stretched a hand towards Shauna and a light popped on above us. A subtle jolt passed through her as the preacher latched onto her unseen streamer.

"You there, young miss, our most precious sister. I sense a great distress surrounding you. The Lord tells me you are a soul in dire need of his healing. Sister, would you care to join me on stage?"

Shauna plastered an oversweet smile on her face before leaping out of her seat and bounding up the metal stairs in front of the stage. Several murmurs throughout the crowd seemed to express disapproval of her lack of solemnity and reverence, but it didn't faze the preacher. If anything, he looked rather confused. Probably because Shauna wasn't dressed like someone who would pay $900 a head for faith healing. When she approached him, he extended his hand towards her once more as if trying to process what he was seeing. Good luck.

"Dear sister, it is truly a gift. That force of life, despite all your pain. But fear not, you are among friends here. The Lord has shown me the extent of your suffering, you have nothing to hide from among us. Be at ease."

"Yeppers. I totally get you." Shauna beamed.

The preacher reacted like she slapped him and I could see him mouth to himself "Yeppers?" Quickly marshalling his features, he turned to face the audience and lowering his head, he gave a sorrow-filled look before speaking, "For you see, oh brothers and sisters, our young sister is braver than she appears. The good Lord has revealed to me a breadth of suffering that would make many lose faith. A pain so deep that all would fall to tears at the knowledge of it. Our dear sister has chosen to suffer in silence rather than burden others with her sorrow. If only we could all be so noble."

Simultaneous gasps, filled with pity and shock, sounded from the audience. They were really buying it up. Shauna looked the least like someone nobly suppressing their pain, and yet people were crying over her bravery. In fact, it looked like she was struggling not to snicker while the preacher did his best to control the situation. Unfortunately, every attempt he made to draw Shauna into the solemn atmosphere of his cathedral was met with increasingly flippant comments from Shauna.