The Power Field

Chapter 22

The gloomy autumn day was slowly coming to an end. The twilight descending on the city willy-nilly forced the residents of the French Quarter to return to their homes, bolt the doors and close the windows tightly. Sometimes it was possible to get into trouble here even in the daytime. It doesn't matter if you're a vampire, a witch or a werewolf... No one and nothing will save you if you encounter a force that you cannot resist. Wandering the streets of the French Quarter, when the sun's rays, greedy for warmth, barely illuminate the way, seemed to the locals something beyond the concept of normality. No one knows what lies behind the friendly smiles, cozy souvenir shops and thick window curtains.

Eighteen-year-old Sicily Ferri worked tirelessly in one of these shops, which for ordinary people seemed to be nothing more than an ordinary shop with medicinal herbs and fortune-telling services on coffee grounds. A slender girl with bright green eyes reminded many of a thirteen-year-old teenager. Visitors often mistook her for a child, so from time to time Sicily had to explain to them how she ended up here at such an age. Over the past year, the young witch has become accustomed to such conversations.

She was only seventeen when one of the vampires killed her mother right on the doorstep of their own house, trying to suck all the blood out of her. Sicily was left an orphan. The only thing she managed to save was a small shop, which was founded about a hundred years ago by her ancestor, who once came from Europe. In fact, the shop was the only thing she inherited. For ordinary people, it was just an opportunity to get mediocre fortune-telling and a couple of aromatic herbs as a souvenir; for witches, and in rare cases for other representatives of the supernatural world, the shop was an important source of magical potions and rare outlandish herbs.

The store has been passed down from generation to generation since the founding of the city. Sicily remembered how, as a little girl, she hid here from Marcel's henchmen, and when she got older, she even witnessed her mother haggling with one of the most powerful witches in the world over a tiny bottle with some colorless liquid. Sicily even knew Hope Mikaelson, who, among many other children her age, was considered incredibly cool.

However, in New Orleans, it was almost impossible to be both a supernatural being and an enemy of the Mikaelsons. And if you dare to stand in their way, then be ready to pay for it with your life. That's why Sicily and her late mother didn't even try to resist them. On the contrary, many in the French quarter considered them both pocket witches of the Mikaelsons, which is why their reputation among the local covens was absolutely ruined. Of course, these witches weren't trying to hurt the Mikaelsons. They were just afraid and secretly hated them.

Such a precarious position of Sicily actually caused a lot of trouble. It is customary for witches to support each other after the death of their companions. But since Sicily's mother did not consider herself a member of any local coven, she naturally gained a reputation as an ally of the Mikaelsons. Because of this, none of the local witches even came to her funeral. Sicily would have been left alone with her grief if she had not been supported by Davina Claire. The witch not only helped the grieving daughter to calm her mother according to tradition, but also donated a round sum to her for a while until she got back on her feet.

A few months later, Sicily graduated from high school and finally took full charge of the souvenir shop inherited from her mother. Even before graduation, she worked part-time in it after classes, but only at the end of her studies was she able to equip her store the way she and her mother had wanted all their lives.

With the money donated by Davina, Sicily made repairs, and after that even managed to expand the range of goods and negotiate with new suppliers.

From that moment on, Sicily's life improved markedly. She worked all week, and studied on weekends and at night, preparing to go to college in a couple of years. She may not have enjoyed life, but she was quite happy with the way her fate was shaping up.