Chapter 7
Witches are the magicians of the human world. Spell books are a crucial part of a magician—just as important as a person’s heart or a mermaid’s tail. If a magician’s spell book gets stolen, he will die. It’s a slow, painful death that can be avoided only if his book is recovered. A witch is a human with a stolen spell book. They are callous murderers.
I look at everyone’s expressions and they match mine exactly. I take another step into the store and look through the shelves of miscellaneous items, disgusted by the things I am seeing. There is a section for each of the known species and I wince when I see my species’ name. I walk toward the mermaid section holding my breath, praying not to see any hardy body parts.
Before I am able to see what lays on the shelf, I hear Keagan’s voice directly behind me. “Snow,” he says. I turn toward him and he holds a jar in the air. When I read the label, I widen my eyes. “They have everything here,” he says with a smile.
I grab the ogre’s tears from his hand and sigh in relief. I wasn’t sure how we were planning on conquering a cunning Ogre when we were almost defeated by an oblivious troll. Looking back now, I realize he wasn’t as ignorant as we initially assumed. He had a trap for perpetrators, so while he wasn’t the brightest creature, he was not dumb. I can’t even imagine how difficult capturing an ogre’s tear would have been. Why hadn’t the Headmaster just told us to come here? Surely he knew that such Human stores exist?
I grab the capsule of ogre tears and shove them into my pocket. I scan the aisles for a demon section, and once I spot it, I head in that direction. Keagan follows me closely and as we pass everyone else, they head in our direction. Kole, of course, is inches from me. “This is sick,” he mumbles.
“I know,” I whisper in reply. We each scan the shelves until Domino finally holds an airtight capsule above her head. It is full of black smoke and I know immediately that it is a demon’s essence. Domino slips it into her pocket.
“Do you think they sell a spell book here?” Laithe asks, golden eyes looking around the store curiously. Does he know how to hold a single form?
I hear a click from behind me and turn quickly. The old woman is holding a gun to us. I gasp and take a step back into Kole. Due to a vampire’s steel skin, a bullet won’t be able to harm him. “Who are you people? We only get locals in here,” She shouts, motioning to us with her gun. Kole takes a subtle step forward and positions himself in front of me. I want to push him away, but I know that I will die from a bullet. He won’t even bleed.
“We’re just picking up ingredients for a witch,” Laithe says calmly, holding up his hand. He is holding up what looks to be a mermaid tail and I feel my stomach turn. Does he have to brandish that under my nose? I should look for a Human heart in this house of horrors and return the favor.
“We only have three of them around here. What spell is she doing?” The old lady asks.
“A mermaid locator spell,” I say.
She puts down the gun and takes a step in our direction. I grasp the back of Kole’s shirt for the comfort his touch will offer. The muscles under his shirt are prominent. They tighten under my fingers and I look over his shoulder at the approaching woman. “What does Millie want with that?” She asks suspiciously.
“I don’t know,” I respond, stepping to the side of Kole. I hear the rain beating on the tin roof and it calms my nerves. “I don’t even know where she lives. She asked my neighbor to pick up the ingredients but his wife is sick. I’m just doing him a favor,” I say. I applaud myself for such an excellent improvisation.
“All right. Come up to the desk to pay for your tail,” the woman says, turning back in the direction of the desk. I realize too late that we don’t have the money. I turn around and stare at the two people behind me, still clutching Kole’s shirt. Wait, two?
“Domino?” I ask them, looking around. She is nowhere to be seen and I feel my heartbeat increase pace. “Where is she?” I whisper. I turn to head in the direction of the register. I need to come up with an excuse before we are asked to pay.
I near the counter and the woman opens a cabinet beneath, scanning the contents of a sheet of browning paper. “The tail is six coins,” she says, looking into my eyes. Her eyes veer to Laithe and she smiles. “I know you, don’t I?” She smiles and her laugh lines become apparent. “I can’t believe I didn’t recognize you before. You are the one that took down the great magician, am I right?”
I look at Laithe in shock and take a step away from him. “No, ma’am. That wasn’t me,” he says wearily. I assume he is revolted by the accusation.
“You sure, dear?” She asks.
“I wouldn’t go within a mile of one of those things,” he says convincingly.
“All right. Well, it will be six coins,” she repeats, looking at me.
“Uh,” I start, feeling inside my pockets for coins I know won’t be there. We don’t use money at the academy.
“Here, Snow,” I hear Domino say from behind me. She tosses six coins onto the counter with a wicked smile.
“Have a nice day,” the woman says with a bitter smile. I nod as we leave the comfort of the shop, yet remain under the outdoor awning. It protects us from the rain pouring from the sky. Laithe holds the unnecessarily purchased mermaid tail and I stare at the droplets of water as they beat on the pavement a few feet away. I can’t leave the dry area.
“Domino, how did you get six coins?” I ask, trying to buy myself time.
“Being a pixie is useful, sometimes,” she says. I grin and shake my head. For a twelve-year-old, she’s incredibly smart. Though, that doesn’t say much. It’s in a pixie’s nature to be cunning.
“So how are we going to get a spell book? There is no way we’ll be able to take on a witch,” Keagan says, pulling his eyepatch up and wiping away the sweat that beads down his forehead. The sight of his missing eye is gruesome and I feel immediate sympathy toward him.
“Guys,” Domino says, biting her bottom lip. She pulls a small, leather-bound book from under her shirt and my mouth drops. Laithe looks at her in shock and Keagan groans. “I think that woman was a witch.” I look back into the store and see her smiling at another customer.
“We need to go,” I say. Kole grabs an umbrella from alongside the building and opens it for me. I take it from his hand. It was likely left by the customer inside. I walk into the rain, using very little power to usher any drops away from my body.
The academy isn’t far. I’m happy about the close proximity, but at the same time, I dread going back. The world around me is dreary and filthy. The people all wear saddened faces and likely hate their lives, but out here we aren’t categorized. In the school we are lucky if we can see other species, let alone befriend them.
But somewhere in the depths of my mind, my instincts are telling me something is very wrong. I look at each of my newly acquired acquaintances and furrow my brow. I want to accuse one of them of treason against the academy, but who? And are my instinct correct?