Korova Avenue || ONC 2022

Chapter 2

Dominique whipped her head around and attempted to use her body as a shield. She was startled to see the boy in front of her. No one ever entered the shop. She internally cursed herself for leaving the door unlocked.

"What do you want?" Dominique tried to shake the disdain from her voice, but her words came out very uninviting.

"Um- I uh, wanted to buy a book?" Despite his small size and timid attitude, the boy sounded like he was at least fourteen. His dusty blond curls stopped just above his eyes, and he was about a head shorter than Dominique.

He looked up at her and she stifled a gasp. His eyes were brown, but they appeared to be glowing. A soft golden ring lined his irises.

"I don't work here, sorry." Dominique hoped that he would leave after seeing no one else to help him, but the boy just stepped closer to the bookshelf.

"So what's back there?"

Dominique forced a laugh, "Behind the bookshelf? Why would anything be back there?"

"Oh c'mon, I saw you open it, and then light started pouring in."

"You- you saw that?"

"Duh."

"No, no, no, no no." Dominique shook her head and stared at the boy with utter disgust. "Mortals aren't supposed to see inside. No."

"Mortals?"

"Forget it."

"Dominique, little raven, is everything ok?" The woman that Dominique had talked to earlier entered the room.

"No Mati," Dominique let a small whine escape her mouth, "He saw."

—

The lady and the girl went into the back, and Crow was left alone in the shop. He didn't want to get in trouble, but he was really curious about what was behind that bookshelf.

He reprimanded himself for such thoughts and sat down in the corner of the room.

After a few minutes the girl returned.

"Now that you know, I can't just leave you here."

"Know what?" Crow was confused. The only thing he saw was a light behind a secret door. It wasn't too interesting.

"You saw the portal, so now I have to keep you quiet."

Portal? What was going on?

"Um, what portal?"

She scowled and walked over to the shelf. "Come on."

The girl made a point of shielding the door from Crow as she took out a book. She pulled a small golden key from her pocket, and inserted it into the wall. The rim of the bookshelf immediately started to glow like before.

She swung open the door and motioned for Crow to follow. He walked through the doorway and felt a rush of cool air coursing through his body.

"Woah." Crow had been in many of the shops nearby, and none of them had a secret room. It looked almost exactly like the one they had just left, except the books looked older and the place was darker.

Crow turned and looked back at the door. He realized that the frame had been glowing, not the room, like he had originally thought.

He ran to the window and peered outside. Crow had never seen this street before. The sign read "Korova Avenue," but that couldn't be right. Korova Avenue was on the other side of the shop.

"Wh-wh-where are we?"

The girl scowled at him and closed the secret door.

"Let's get this straight," her voice was gruff and uninviting, "You shouldn't be here."

"Then why-" Crow started to question her, but she cut him off.

"Humans can't see the entrance to our world. I don't know why you're different, so I'm taking you to see my friend. You must forget everything you see here, understand?"

"Um, I guess so."

The girl stalked over to the shop's door and swung it open. She stepped onto the street, and Crow followed.

As soon as his face felt the fresh air, Crow's body started to tingle. He noticed the girl staring at him and gave her a look that said, "what are you looking at?"

"Your eyes..."

Crow whipped his head around to catch his reflection in the shop's window. Sure enough, his eyes were a striking gold color. He took a deep breath and concentrated on turning his eyes back. Slowly, they went back to a dull brown.

"How did you do that?" The girl's face was a mixture of puzzle and awe.

"I don't know," Crow shrugged, "I felt a bit different, and my eyes turned gold. Then, I brought myself back to normal somehow."

"Has this happened before?"

"No." It wasn't entirely a lie. One time, when Crow got very angry, he noticed a few more gold flakes than usual, but he assumed it was just the light.

"Alright, let's keep going, I guess." The girl took off down the street with Crow on her heels.

"So," Crow attempted to make conversation, "Are you from here?"

"Less questions, more walking."

Okay, so she didn't want to talk.

"Um, I'm Crow, by the way."

"Dominique," the girl said curtly.

—

Dominique spent the rest of the walk in silence, ignoring Crow's questions. She wasn't trying to be rude, but she didn't really care.

She only brought him into her world to keep their secret safe. Matina, the shop owner, thought it was best for Dominique to take him. Of course, Dominique had begged Mati to do it herself, but she refused. She said something about it being Dominique's destiny. Dominique thought it was all crap, but she went along anyway.

After a few minutes, Dominique stopped outside a building that appeared to be some sort of restaurant. She and Crow stepped inside. Dominique's eyes gazed at the bar, and searched around the many booths and tables that crowded the place.

She walked over to a booth and sat down. A waitress walked over to help the two of them.

"What can I getcha?"

"Is Auntie Rosa here?"

"Yeah, she's in the back. Who should I tell 'er is here?" The girl's accent was somewhat charming.

"Tell her it's Raven, and bring a couple waters while you're at it."

"Kay darlin', she'll be right out."

"Raven?" Crow asked.

"It's sort of a nickname."

"Ah."

They fell into silence as they waited for Dominique's friend.