Imprint (a novel) Book One- The Jade Dragon

The Jade Dragon

Present Day, Evanston, ILL

Rachel McKenna stood outside the Jade Dragon antique shop her face pinched in a scowl. The place was a dump. Tucked away in a forgotten corner of downtown the shop had seen better days. The bricks along the storefront had all but chipped and crumbled away. Patches of thick green moss spread throughout the exposed cracks like spider webs to further compromise the building's integrity. She brushed aside a thick lock of auburn hair, tucking it behind her left ear and reached into her back pocket with her free hand to produce a yellow post it and unfurled the jagged edges. Her smokey brown eyes scanned the handwritten message:

Rachel,

Ask for Sally Chen at this address:

The Jade Dragon at 941 Serenity Avenue

Look for the two stone lions out front- don't embarrass me.

-Josephine M.

Rachel noted the two stone lions out front and shoved the note back in her pocket. She managed to find the place with no problems, but now came the hard part, whether or not to stick it out. It wasn't the first time her mother had used her corporate connections to find her a place to work. But after her last job as a file clerk at a top law firm, which ended in embarrassment, this was most likely the last of such a handout. It wasn't too late to turn back, to just head home, forget the whole thing, and start scouring the Sunday ads again. A summer job at a run-down antique shop was hardly something that was going to pay the bills. She needed a job that paid, and paid well, but things didn't always work out like that. A growing pain she was still getting used to, and so she agreed to give it a try.

She headed up the dilapidated staircase past the two Chinese stone lions stationed out front and paused briefly to take in their craftsmanship. Both statues were intricately carved of a dark gray speckled marble, their mouths agape, locked in perpetual warning at all those who dared tread too close. Each Lion's signature mane set in a series of tiny ringlet curls over broad shoulders stopping just shy of a curved bushy tail. She admired their classic style and continued up the stairs.

The lettering on the Jade Dragon storefront was in disrepair. Painted in thick lime green paint that was all but stripped away. A tattered black and white sign dangled on a thin cord inside that was flipped over to "OPEN". The sound of barking dogs brought the quiet shop to life in a heartbeat as Rachel twisted the curved brass handle and walked inside. Bell chimes clanged overhead as the door swung open and she stepped over the threshold. The chimes echoed around the stuffy junk filled room, and Rachel covered her ears, pulling the door shut and waited.

A pair of Pomeranians emerged moments later barking and yelping from behind the front counter, their clawed feet scratching the unpolished wood floors. In the blink of an eye, they were at her feet. Rachel kept still, letting them catch her scent, as they sniffed at the bottom of her blue jeans.

An elderly Asian woman emerged from behind the front counter, hunched over in a dark blue tunic, with salt and pepper hair, a mahogany cane in her left hand. Bracelets clashed at the hollow of her wrists. The old woman strode toward the front door to greet her customer and reached for a pair of eyeglasses from a side pocket. Her papery hands, sprinkled with age spots, were shaking, as she placed them on the bridge of her nose. She squinted behind thick black frames, until her chestnut brown eyes adjusted, and greeted her new customer.

"May I help you young lady?" she asked in her old scratchy voice. Rachel stared at the tiny woman, amazed at her small stature. She was barely over five feet tall on a best guess.