There Is An Occult Store Near The Seattle Underground Where You Must Never, Ever Go. And Here’s Why.
“Of course,” the man replied with a knowing wink. The act seemed somehow unnatural on his face, as if levity were an emotion he wasn’t quite comfortable expressing, though Tad barely noticed. His thought process was preoccupied with all of the money signs currently dancing around his head.
Tad led the man through a beaded doorway at the rear end of the shop. From here, they entered a small office that Tad quickly crossed to approach a large metal door set into the far wall.
Tad gripped the door’s ancient handle and thumbed the rusted locking mechanism, yanking on the door until it eventually began to slide open. The hinges let out a long metallic groan as he pulled the door ajar, revealing brick stairs leading into a dark abyss.
“Do you know much about Seattle’s history, Mister…”
“Blackstone. Nigel Blackstone.”
Sure it is, Tad thought. Did that name come complete with a cape and 10 yards of handkerchief or do you have to order those separately?
But what he said was, “Well, Mr. Blackstone… In 1889, 25 blocks of Seattle’s city center burned in a devastating fire. When rebuilding, the city counsel merely had the street raised to a higher level, leaving a network of underground tunnels.”
Tad struck a match to give his pause some theatrical flair as he lit the antique lantern hanging on the wall beside him and carefully removed it from its hook… This was all part of the show, a lucrative song-and-dance of which Tad was the master.
He held the lantern out before them, its flickering light barely penetrating the ominous darkness below as Tad said, “The item you seek is this way.”
Nigel Blackstone rolled his eyes and shoved past Tad as he started down the stairs. Tad shot out his hand, grabbing the man by his shoulder and halting him. There was a sense of urgency to his voice now; it was a nice touch.
“For the sake of liability, I am compelled to provide a warning to customers before allowing them to enter the chamber below.”
For maximum effect, Tad raised the lantern until it was at eye-level and continued, “Terrible things happened in the underground, Mr. Blackstone.”
Blackstone let out an amused scoff as he brushed Tad’s hand from his shoulder.
“A skeptic, huh?” As he asked this, Tad did his best not to sound offended but he was more than a little upset that his shtick didn’t seem to be working as intended.