Harbinger in the Mist (Arms of Serendipity) by Anabell Martin Page A

middle of the floor and plunked a red plastic shopping bag in the middle of it. The two other girls joined her on the floor.
    Confused, Lindsey stared at the bag. “Well… what are we doing?”
    “We are going to contact the other side,” Michelle said mischievously as she pulled several items from the bag: four squat candles which she placed in each corner of their makeshift table, an African necklace full of colorful beads, long animal teeth, and a gold talisman that hung in the very center, a yellow legal pad and ink pen, a cigarette lighter, and an assortment of dried weeds that were tied together with twine. She put the necklace around her own neck and lit the candles and the tip of the bundle. After she tapped down the flame, she passed the smouldering weeds to Maddie. Finally, she pulled out a weathered board from the bottom of the bag and placed it in the middle of the chest lid.
    The dark stained wood board was oval with a bevelled edge and about the size of a large serving platter. The alphabet was written around its circumference in chipped, gold paint. In the middle, the numbers zero through nine were painted in a straight line. The word “Yes” was painted above the numbers, the word “No” below.  Right above the yes, someone had written “CHRYCE PUHTEK WE” in white paint.
    Maddie clapped her hands excitedly. “I’m so glad that you didn’t throw it all out in the trash!”
    “Oh, Mom’s certainly not!”  When she saw the confused look on Lindsey’s face, she added, “You see, Mom is a little bit superstitious so she had a fit when we brought this stuff home, told me to take daddy’s axe to it and throw it away. I thought that was a bit dramatic so I stashed it in the garage instead. But I told her I had thrown it away, you know, to appease her. When she saw me putting it in the bag a little while ago, though, I thought she was going to have a coronary, said that I was not allowed to bring it back. So I guess you have your own wudu board now, Lindsey."
    “A what? That just looks like a homemade Ouija board.” Lindsey wasn’t sure that she wanted that thing in her home either. Seriously, in the movies these things never led to a good end.
    “Ouija boards are for parlour tricks, my dear. This is special. It’s an authentic Gullah wudu board. It’s similar to a Ouija, yes, but it’s much more powerful because it’s crafted by and used by a kimbanda. We found it at the Open Air Market down on the peninsula during Spring break. This Gullah lady had a table full of things like this. This board was the neatest thing, though. I got it for ten bucks. Ten freaking bucks. Anyway, she showed us how to use it but warned that we should be careful and always use a ‘root man.’ Mom nearly shit a brick when she saw it.”
    Lindsey looked at her like she was nuts. "I've never heard anything good about stuff like this. Isn't this bad luck or something?"
    Maddie laughed and Michelle rolled her eyes.
    “Good Lord, Lindsey. You watch too many movies. Now, ladies, let us gather around and talk to this spirit that’s tormenting you.” Michelle stuck her tongue out at Lindsey and then pointed at the African necklace. “I will be the kimbanda. That’s the diviner, the person who calls the spirit forth. Maddie, you shall be my protective root man. Keep that sage smudge stick close to the board. Lindsey, you just sit back and concentrate on calling forth the spirit that haunts this house... and you.”
    “Uh-huh. You expect me to believe that load of bull?” Lindsey tried to sound brave.
    “Oh, we shall see!” Maddie giggled as she took a small, heart-shaped, clear plastic planchette of out the plastic bag and placed it in the center of the board. She wadded the bag up and tossed it on the bed.
    Maddie held the smudge stick near the board as Michelle put the first two fingers on each of her hands on the planchette. Lindsey stared at them in disbelief.
    “Authentic Gullah, huh? They make that from