Getting off of the window seat, you walk silently towards the hatch in the floor. You're about to start climbing down when you let your eyes gaze over to the broken mirrors. A scratched amulet is lying right beside it, covered in glass. Thinking about it, you realize that it must have been hidden behind the mirror. Brushing the glass off, you pick it up and notice that it's made of gold and the actual amulet has a red paw mark on it. Without knowing why, you slip it into your pocket. You flick the light off and start climbing silently down the stairs. You hit the bottom and push the ladder back up. Looking down the hallway, you see a tall window at the end, with the full moon and a noxious green sky shining through it. You start down the stairs, walking as quietly as you can. You turn around the landing and head down, stopping in another hallway.
Suddenly, you hear muffled footsteps, followed by a thump. You can't tell if it came from above you, below you, or... down the hallway. You push your hand into your pocket and pull the amulet out, holding it in front of you like a talisman that wards off evil spirits. In the end, you decide to head down the hallway to your right. You hear faint flute music coming from down the hallway. It gets fainter and fainter as you get closer to a door with a soft red glow emanating from the crack. Gripping the amulet tightly, you place your hand on the knob and fling open the door.
Your mouth falls open in shock. It is a square room, with another tall, paned window full of noxious green night sky. Paper starlights with red bulbs hang in every corner. At a table only about two inches high sits on the floor. There are two red and gold pillows on the floor. One is empty. One is occupied. Sitting on it is a woman of about twenty-two, wearing flowing red silk robes with dragons embroidered on them in gold. She has dark tan-colored skin and long, flowing brown hair. A string of red silk with small golden medallions is hanging across her face, tied around her head. On the table in front of her lies a small bottle filled with several burning incense candles and a battered looking deck of Tarot cards.
"Welcome." She says in a rich, deep voice. "Sit down, will you?" you continue to stare at her in shock. "Don't be afraid." She says sweetly, but you can tell by her voice she is getting angry. Gulping, you close the door and sit down, legs crossed on the pillow facing her. So many questions are running through your brain. "What... who... what are you doing here?" you finally manage to sputter out. With a small laugh, she waves her hand and says "My name is Madame Teresa. I saw you break and enter into my home without as much asking. What a rude boy you are." She says simply. Gulping, you go to get up. "I'll just be leaving now." You say. 'NO!" she shrieks. Lighting flashes in the window behind her.
You sit back down, visibly shaken. "Anyone who enters into my domain must stay for a reading." She says, indicating to the deck of Tarot cards. 'Now, you seem like a close minded and simple person, as you clearly have no care for others..." you blush, and silently wish for the ground to swallow you up. "...so I will just have to settle for a one-card reading. Pull one from the deck, please." She fans the cards out in front of you, with the backs covered with an intricate red and gold design. You hesitate. "Pick one." She says, voice going cold. She obviously has no time for your games. You quickly snatch one and place it, face down, on the table in front of you. She flips it up and rests her chin on her hand.
You have pulled The Moon. The card is of a small field, with a pool right at the bottom edge. A lobster is crawling out of the pool. A winding road leads between two gray towers, off into a distant set of black mountains. The sky is gray and a large moon with a sad face stares down at a dog and a wolf in front of either tower. Sighing, Teresa points to one of the animals. "That's represents you." She says, looking bored. "Now get out of my sight and I might let you off lightly."
You've had enough. "Look, lady." You say in an angry voice. "I'm sorry I broke into your house, but no one answered the door. Thank you for your full-of-shit "reading", but I think I'll just..." suddenly, she laughs: a cold, high, mocking sound. "Where are you going, love?" she asks.
You look up and horror and see her eyes have turned yellow and have slits, like a cat's or a serpent's. She laughs again and reaches over the table, grabbing your wrists. You try to pull away, but her grip is like a vise. "We have so much to do here..." she says in a hoarse voice. The veins in her arms suddenly stand out, pulsing with a liquid as green as the night sky in the window behind her. Her fingernails grow outward and become sharp black claws that she plunges into your veins. You scream in pain as the green liquid from her veins seeps into yours. You feel very warm, and your eyes sudden feel like they're burning. "The cards never lie..." she laughs again.