Louis pov

We headed for the shophouse in a van after lunch. Sebastian told us the Lawrences were seen walking around the docks with a gaudy sword. With his men watching them like a hawk, there was no way we would run into them.

We alighted from the van. Our destination stuck out like a sore thumb amongst the vibrancy of the other shophouses. Harry was already distracted by the cake shop beside us. I locked my arm around his. If he had the chance, we would spend hours browsing the different shops. We did not have time for that right then.

I knocked on the solid wood doors. They swung open and we were greeted by a Japanese girl. She stood below my nose even with her chunky platform heels. She swiped her choppy blue fringe out of her eyes, ornamented with long matching blue lashes. Her hair was tied up into space buns that were adorn with fresh white blossoms. The girl instantly perked up, inviting us in.

"Come in! My name is Kimmi. I'm going to do a complimentary fortune reading for you." Kimmi pulled me to a stool and tied a string around my left wrist.

"Oh, I don't need-" I was distracted as my gaze wandered around the shophouse. The rest of the pack were perturbed as they walked in. Not only was it dimly lit, but the lighting was exclusively Disney villian lime green. Trinkets and potions lined the shelves. There was a wooden sign that said "Pixie Dust : where dreams come true". I guessed that was the name of the shop. Odd that they would not advertise it outside.

Kimmi plopped an orange in my right hand and held my left palm while taking notes in a book of foolscap paper. She scribbled furiously.

"Squeeze," Kimmi instructed.

"Alright." I clutched the orange more firmly.

"I said squeeze!" Kimmi scolded.

I held it with more might.

"I said squeeze!" She repeated with great assertion.

The orange burst in my hand. Juice squirted into my eye. I wiped it with my clean hand. There were orange bits on the shelf, on the floor, and on my shorts. Pulp and juice had sprayed everywhere.

"All done! Here's your fortune." Kimmi handed me a folded slip of paper. "That will be five dollars."

"What? I thought it was free?" I protested.

"The fortune is free. The orange is chargeable." Kimmi had a smug grin on her face.

A voice shook the room. "Kimmi! Are you scamming tourists again? I told you not to-" A wall spun around to reveal a woman with a hand on her hip and a mirthless grin. Her eyes were glowing red. Her black cloak draped over her shoulders. When she took a step forward, she almost seemed to float. Her expression changed when she saw all of us. "Oh, there are more of you than I thought."

The lady began to berate Kimmi as Kimmi defended herself. In the midst of their argument, I decided to peek at the fortune. My heart began to shudder violently. I dropped what was left of the orange onto the floor.

"Louis, are you okay?" Niall asked me, reaching for the fortune.

I crushed the slip of paper sharply. "Yes, I'm fine," I lied through my teeth. I was not fine. I shoved the crumpled piece of paper in my pocket. The fortune read: Someone will betray the pack.

Before, I might have pointed at Julius. He was an easy target for all my suspicions. At this point, it was harder to single out someone who would sabotage us. As much as he hated me, Zayn needed to be human as much as I did. Alex could possibly sell us out to his family but he does not even like them. I might have to keep him on a tight leash just in case.

The woman's shrill voice shook me at my core. "Did you cut your own bangs?" She scolded Kimmi. Kimmi huffed and stomped upstairs. I could tell she was upstairs because with each heavy step, the ceiling rattled like it would collapse.

The woman leaned over the counter and forced a weak smile. "Sorry you had to see that. I'm Lilac. What can I do for you folks?" Her metal rings tapped against the cold glass. The display held artifacts with names I could not pronounce that dated millenniums ago. Her hair draped over the counter.

"How true are her fortunes?" I asked.

"Well, yesterday she told me I'd have spaghetti for dinner soon," Lilac sighed, "and then she cooked spaghetti for me." That provided less relief than I had hoped.

Kimmi shouted through an intercom, "It came true, didn't it?"

"Louis, ask her about the..." Aurora prompted.

"We are searching for a cursebreaker," I took the book out of my backpack, "for the predator's curse."

Lilac's jaw dropped. She brushed her hair out of her face into a messy bun. "Kimmi, I need you down here!" Lilac called out. With a booming voice like that, you could not help but wonder why they needed an intercom. "Predator's curse," Lilac said when Kimmi appeared. Kimmi gasped.

Lilac reached under the counter. I thought she was getting the cursebreaker for us but a thick barricade dropped in front of the door, effectively locking us in. For a building that looked like it was about to crumble, it sure held a lot of secrets. Harry held onto my arm. He was shaking. I was scared too but I held my composure.

"What's that for?" I demanded to know.

A sword was under my chin. Lilac held the hilt at the other end. "I can't have people sticking their noses in here. If you want to leave here alive, you'd follow my instructions carefully. All wolves, to the back." Lilac specified, "Only wolves."

The pack exchanged worried glances but decided to comply.

"Come back tomorrow," Lilac instructed the non-wolves.

"But we can't just leave our friends-" Niall objected.

The sword was now swung at him, barely grazing the hairs on his neck. "You will do as I say," Lilac barked, "or you can all get out of my shop!"

"We need her help," I told Niall. We were all out of options. Even Zayn did not argue with me on that.

Defeatedly, Niall waited for the barricade to lift so that they could exit. Julius held his hand In attempt to comfort his friend. Sebastian led them to the van. When they left, the shutters came down again.

In the back room, we sat at a round wooden table. The walls were minimalistic white in stark contrast with the exaggerated ornamentation in the shop.

"How did you find out about us?" Lilac asked, sitting with us.

I showed her the book. "We found the postal code and it brought us here."

"So, you know its powers..."

I assumed she meant the cursebreaker. I nodded.

"We will wait for Kimmi. Then, we can discuss further." Lilac leaned her elbows onto the table. "How was your journey?"

"You're awfully friendly for someone who just had a blade at my boyfriend's throat!" Harry sucked his teeth.

"Protocol," Lilac said. It did little to diffuse Harry. I put my hand on his lap to keep him from lunging across the table. The touch appeared to have grounded him.

Kimmi put a tea set on the table. The teacups were tiny, for tasting rather than a nice warm cuppa. Kimmi poured one for each of us.

"I'll pass on the tea, thank you," I said.

Kimmi left the cup in front of me. "For the ritual," she said with a gentle smile. Then, she sat next to Lilac. "Please, drink and we shall join hands," Kimmi instructed. She pulled out a traditional folding fan. Kimmi covered the lower parts of her face so that only her eyes were visible.

I watched as my pack drank the tea. I hesitated, blowing on the drink to buy myself some time. I pressed the porcelain to my lips. My friends downed the tea like shots. They set their empty cups on the table. They held hands. It looked like we were about to say our prayers, and it felt like we would need it.

I tried to discreetly pour my drink onto the floor. Even behind the fan, I could see the disapproval in Kimmi's eyes. Rather than saying anything, she continued to stare me down like a hawk. With my backpack under the table, I reached in and kept my hand on the gun.

Lilac stood up, fixated on a watch dangling in her hand from a chain. I watched as she mouthed, seemingly counting backwards. 3... 2... 1...

Alex was first to go. His head hit the table with an audible thud. He was a dead man. The rest followed suit, dropping like flies.

I stood up and backed away from the edge of the table. Lilac's sword would not extend past the table's circumference unless she climbed over it. Plus, it was a sword, not a throwing knife. I had the gun. I had the advantage.

"Eh, 5 out of 6 is not bad," Kimmi made a snide remark. She whipped the fan at me.

Before I could react, the wood had sliced into my throat. I was worried about the wrong girl with the wrong weapon.
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I created avatars of Lilac and Kimmi

I meant for Lilac to have darker skin but this is the darkest the app will go