The Opal Witch: Prophecy (Book Two)

Chapter Thirteen

Lux

The mall may have updated its paint and shops over the years, but it still smelled like baked cookies, candles, and too sweet perfume. Lux closed her eyes and inhaled, luxuriating in the scents of her pre-teen years, and for just one moment, life was simple again. But then she shook her head and started walking. That life was gone.

"I'll start at the New Age shop," she told Hanish. "You can hang out at the coffee shop. I think the person we're looking for is going to be less likely to approach me if I'm part of a couple. Kind of makes it harder to murder me."

Hanish grimaced. His Fae abilities included glamouring so he didn't require a spell to change his appearance, and Lux had to remind herself that the stocky brunette at her side was really the willowy Sylph. But the irritation pouring off him was one hundred percent Hanish.

"Fine. I don't imagine you'll find too many real witches in that place. People pay for a bunch of incense and paperweights and get nothing but a headache."

"I agree with you, but the type of witch our Bloodborn is looking for is going to be one who is naive about magic. Someone who was like Corinne. No real knowledge of what she is, only that something is different. If Memaw and Mama hadn't guided me, I would've started somewhere like this shop."

When he walked away without saying another word, Lux smiled. That was as good as an admission of agreement from the cranky old Fae.

     The New Age shop was just as Hanish described. Heavy on the incense and filled with large crystals. Some would actually function as decent spell stabilizers or mood enhancers, but most were nothing more than pretty manufactured rocks. The shelves were lined with books on cleansing Chakras and basic spells. One on making sachets caught her eye, and she wondered if there was anything of real use in its pages. She could use a little extra help with dreamless sleep.

But for all its mystical appearance, the shop lacked the same gravitas as shops like Amulets and Charms. Very little real existed beneath the sparkle and perfume, and it made Lux sad to think of all those who came in here hoping to find answers and discovering nothing but hoaxes.

She paused as the woman next to her clutched a book to her chest and wiped a tear from her cheek. Then again, who was she to judge where people found comfort. Perhaps there was a different sort of magic at play here. Belief in something was a powerful thing.

"Hello dear, I haven't seen you in here before."

The sales clerk was nothing like Lux expected. No long flowing skirts and peasant blouses like Fiona or head to toe black like Ruby. No, this woman looked like a corporate shark. Pin striped pencil skirt hitting just above the knees. Crisp, white blouse with a thin black ribbon tied in a bow around the neck. The bow didn't soften the look, rather its precise knotting and length only drew further attention to the woman's exacting ensemble.

"Oh, no. I'm new to town," Lux replied. She gestured around the store. "And new to all this."

The sales clerk's lips flattened, and the edges of her eyes pulled tight. Almost as if she'd learned to smile from a description of the action rather than ever seeing one in person.

"Well, I'm Jessie, and I'm so glad you've come into our store. When you say all of this, can you be a little more specific?" She spoke as though they had been best friends for years, but Lux didn't miss the derision worming its way through the words.

"Well, I'm a little embarrassed." She bit her lip and rose up on her toes so she could conspicuously look around the store. "But do you have books on magic? Like witchcraft?"

A speculative glint sparked in Jessie's cold, brown eyes. She drew Lux to a corner shelf, and tapped a thick book. "This is our beginners guide. Everything you could ever want to know including the different origins of magic. Wicca. Paganism. Faerie magic. Enochian magic. Satanism. Even a section about those who believe witches are descended from angels. It's very thorough."