Destiny's Witch (BxB)

Chapter 13: Bound and Confused

Perry

My conversation with Alan left me feeling confused. Alan has always been, above all, annoyingly forthright. His honesty was always something for Porter and I to look up to.

It is how I know he is not telling the whole truth.

Alan's disapproval of my magical abilities is seeping through his pores. His explanation of his family history indicates a deeper issue with my magic than I am prepared to admit.

So, I am the dutiful Zion and head to the Rosewood Magic Shop to retrieve the ingredients my father asked for.

The Magic Shop has never been taken seriously within the community to non-believers. A woman named Katrina owns the shop with her sister, Esther. Esther left the shop in the care of her sister after their mother's death before heading out of Solstice Hills. I have personally never met her, but she has been described as a very frigid person.

The Magic Shop is one of the larger shops on Main Street, between an antique store and a small flower shop. Potted plants line the glass windows beside a huge board advertising a sale on crystals.

A table with multi-colored crystals greets me at the door. On the left side of the room, a cash register is nestled between multiple displays, including sage and pocket spell books claiming to bring fortune and love.

Behind the cash register, Violet Parris leans on the counter reading a copy of the Crucible. She waves me in as she puts the book face down on the counter.

Violet is a petite girl with dark skin and curly black hair. She wears a flowy peasant top and a pair of jeans. She is surprisingly simple compared to what I am used to.

Violet asks if I am interested in casting stones before she begins discussing their practical uses in divination. I listen patiently as she rambles on. Her diatribe ends with the realization I have been watching her fangirl over glorified rocks.

Violet finally asks what I want as I slide her the list. She reads the list carefully before smiling at me. A small tinge of nervous energy seeps from her before it disappears entirely.

I follow Violet as she guides me towards a row of four shelves. We enter the second row where she easily picks most of the ingredients, including allspice, barley, and olive leaf.

The last ingredient, vervain, is in a deeper area of the store. She guides me beyond the rows of shelves where a large circular table sits in front of a row of bookshelves filled with books. A ladder leads up to a loft where more books are kept. The loft gives off a dark energy I cannot describe without sound insane.

Violet takes me to a small cabinet near the back of the room and retrieves the vervain. I watch as a woman emerges from the door behind her wearing a pale red boho maxi dress with long, flowing sleeves and a pair of black knee-high boots.

The woman, Katrina, has long, flowing red hair that falls just below her shoulders. I feel of kind of familiarity strike me. Something about her fiery hair is familiar.

Katrina swipes the vervain from Violet as she tells Violet she will 'handle' me. Violet rolls her eyes as she disappears into the rows of shelves.

Katrina smiles as she tosses the vervain to me. "Vervain? A protection spell, perhaps?" She asks.

Her question is intrusive. I stare at her, trying to decide if she is trustworthy. Alan's voice cautions me not to disclose too much information to her.

"It's okay! You're safe with me. I know your mother and grandmother." Katrina says. "You don't have to be cautious with me."

"Are you reading my mind?" I ask.

Katrina laughs as she speaks. "I wish. I just know what fear looks like. Though, I don't often see it on members of your family...unless other members of your family are involved."

"Meaning?" I ask.

"I don't imagine it's important right now. Does your mother know you're attempting a spell? Magic can be dangerous for first timers. Unless you've already dipped your toes into spellcasting." Katrina says.

"You know my mother?"

"Of course. Who doesn't know your family's name? Both families." Katrina says. "It's in your aura. Your aura is so strong. It's like a well of power surrounding you. How are you doing it?"

"Doing what? I'm sorry, you're being really...weird."

"Weird? I've heard that before. I just mean your power is positively bursting from you, as if it's been bottled up, or bound. But Patricia Bennett would never..." Katrina stops as my eyes narrow on her. "With that amount of energy, you'll need something to safely channel it. I have just the thing."

My mind is moving too fast to keep up with Katrina. The gamut of emotions and thoughts are overwhelming as Katrina's words catch up to me. Alan explained the source of my enhanced strength and agility as a product of the ambient magic 'finding its crescendo' within me, as if it is some sort of rite of passage.

Katrina makes it sound as if my magic is being bound in some way, as if the magic is leaking. The concept is the first idea that makes sense. It would explain why I am unable to do magic fully, and why my powers failed me.

Her mention of my grandmother adds a wrinkle to my confusion I had not thought of.

"What if Katrina is wrong about what she would allow?" I ask.

Katrina returns with a vial of luminescent pink liquid. She hands me the tonic and a biodegradable bag for the ingredients. She tells me everything is on the house.

"Anything for a budding witch." She says.

I thank Katrina as I head for the door. I barely notice Violet bid me farewell before I leave the shop, stepping out onto the street. I breath in as much air as possible, trying to keep myself from hyperventilating.

"Did my parents bind my powers?"