Youngblood’s Consignment Furniture
Episode 15
SONJA meets the BOYS
Next door to the rundown voodoo shack was a large 3-story building whose sign read “Youngblood’s Consignment Furniture.” In considerably better condition than Veronique’s cottage, it did have a rusty fence on the roof. Parked under a tree filled with a family of buzzards was the only car Sonja had seen so far in Spirit Hill. Not new, but well polished was a black Morris Minor sedan, leading Sonja to conclude that the owners were wealthy. Up until seeing this car, the only modes of travel she had seen in and around Spirit Hill were bicycles, scooters, skateboards and even motorcycles.
Sonja had always loved consignment stores. Back at home she knew where they were all located and frequently made the rounds. She had furnished most of her apartment with her finds, and some items were exquisite. So, expecting this store to be lots of fun, Sonja bounded up the three steps and entered.
The first room had kitchen items. As she passed through, she was greeted by a short, rather effeminate man with hair nearly to his knees. He wore a leopard fabric jacket and a ring on each of his fingers. “Hi there” he greeted. “Welcome to Youngblood’s. My name is Slocum. If I can be of assistance, just let me know.”
“I’m looking for the head of the Devil” replied Sonja. “I need it so that Igor will help me get home to San Francisco.” Slocum had never heard of San Francisco before, but he had had several dealings with the evil Igor. “Oh, my poor child, I feel for you having to deal with Igor. Why don’t you join me and my partner on the roof for a glass of wine before you search for the Devil’s Head?” Feeling totally comfortable with Slocum, Sonja chose to join them for a quick glass of wine even though she still had two items from the list to find and lots of stores left to visit. She also wanted to attend the Casting Demonstration at Center Court later on the All Hallows eve.
Slocum led her out onto the roof where Sonja immediately noticed the two crypts, and finally began to put it together. Slocum and Zoltan were vampires. Zoltan was one of those guys that you just liked instantly. He greeted her with a glass of wine and so handsome, wearing a fabulous silver and black floor length cape. The rooftop was amazing with its tables and chairs, and Persian rugs. It was obvious that this was “home” for the couple who had befriended her.
They chose to sit at a long picnic table with two benches to talk and drink their wine even though a large white tiger relaxed upon the tabletop. Sonja hesitated a little but Zoltan assured her that Tatiana the tiger would bring her no harm. A truly magnificent animal, Tatiana sat like a queen. Her only job was to protect Slocum and Zoltan from the tricks and traps of Igor.
“Gee,” thought Sonja, Igor has wreaked havoc on lots of the townspeople. She wondered what in his life had made him so vicious and cruel. She had no idea that her questions would soon be answered. Over the next hour, they shared wine and life stories. Thanking Zoltan and Slocum for their hospitality, Sonja drank the last sip of her wine and rose to begin her search through the sale items. Remember, she still had two items from Igor’s list that had to be located.
There were so many great things for sale at Youngblood’s that her eyes delighted with each new item she viewed. As she reentered the building from the roof, she saw a fabulous dollhouse which had been decorated to look like a haunted house. Wouldn’t any little witchlet be thrilled with that Sonja smiled. She was sure that any wizard would be thrilled to own the “eyeball” chair.
Aside from wonderful furniture pieces, the walls held plaques and paintings that would make any psychic house decorator ecstatic. There was not an inch of space unfilled. She even saw a checker set made of bats! Sonja stumbled over a huge basket filled with decorator pillows. Each pillow was covered with materials displaying monster faces, haunted houses, and even lightening bolts.
Zoltan and Slocum had not missed a trick in choosing items to attract shoppers. On the second floor was a gorgeous pipe organ, of course, playing by itself! It filled the building with such rich sounds that Sonja decided Youngblood’s was the best store in Spirit Hill. She could not imagine any other store as exciting as this. As she continued on the second floor, she viewed one fabulous item after another including a cuckoo clock that had ghosts appearing on the hour with the pendulum in the form of a hangman’s axe!
Witch candles, witch teapots, black cat dishes, a bone coffee table and even flying ghosts were among the eye teasing items that thrilled her. Then she noticed it and yelled for Slocum. Outside the window of the second story was a masked man going down a ladder carrying a large bag of items which he had stolen. Slocum and Zoltan quickly ran to the outside to surprise the burglar as he stepped from the bottom rung of the ladder. They retrieved the bag of goods after Slocum’s spell banished the burglar from Spirit Hill for all time.
Zoltan told Sonja that he wished he could get her home for her reward but had to admit that his powers were not strong enough. He did give her a special gift of a gold necklace with a five pointed star. “There is a little witch in each of us”, he told her and smiled.
Sonja hugged them both and prepared to leave when they reminded her to visit Youngblood’s Cellar. Zoltan and Slocum were fans of a variety of china patterns and had opened the second shop to sell only china for witches, wizards and mystics. Sonja assured them that she would stop there next, and off she went.