บท 5: Chapter 5 - Death's Shroud
The morning brought a steady flow of traffic in and out of The Murky Cauldron which was fine with Tansy as it kept her mind on more mundane things and less on the magical things that surrounded the small coven lately. Wanda continued stocking the shelves in between dealing with customers, most of whom just looked for some cute fairy statue or stereotypical witch paraphernalia, most of which The Murky Cauldron didn’t carry. Tansy didn’t mind catering to a small portion of tourist-type merchandise, but she refused to mock her belief system for a few extra dollars. Are there serious seekers out there? Tansy sighed as she signed off on a request order.
Famallumi also arrived back at the Cauldron, his glamour fixed in place: long blond hair over normal ears framing a narrow face, looking like a middle-aged man, but still excited about everything he saw. The one thing the glamour couldn’t hide was his catlike blue eyes, so he avoided eye contact as much as possible, which was pretty easy, since his thin nose was always in a book. Of course, with the way contacts were used to change eye color and shape these days, they could easily explain his eyes away.
Jayden also arrived shortly after opening, deciding to skip her college classes so she could whine about Laci while swearing she understood it all at the same time. “She says she’s tired,” Jayden said with a sigh. “She’s tired of all the death surrounding her lately, and I get it. I really do, but that doesn’t mean I have to like it. I know she’s been through hell, but she had just begun getting into her powers, just beginning to understand what magic could really do. I don’t want to see her give up so quickly.”
Tansy scribbled down some more notes, nodding her head. “I get it.” She paused, resting her pencil down on the counter. “It was also the first thing the two of you shared since Laci came back into your life. I’m sure that has something to do with how you’re feeling, as well.”
Jayden blew out a breath before nodding her head. “It was,” she admitted. “I know we’ll have other things to share, but this…” she gestured around the store, “…this is a part of me, and I wanted it to be a part of her. I just don’t know how to make her see that.”
“Oh, honey, it’ll take time,” Wanda said, dusting off one of the statues on a shelf. “She’s been through a lot. We all have. Some will handle it differently, but that doesn’t mean they’re right or wrong.” She stopped, turning to face Jayden, a sympathetic smile on her face. “Just give her some space. Pain takes time to heal, but she will heal, and when she does, her family will be right here waiting.”
“Yes, we will,” Tansy agreed, smiling. “We may be a small coven, but we’re close. We’ll have her back when she’s ready to turn to us again, and I agree with Wanda; Laci will be back. She just needs time.”
Famallumi glanced up from the thick book he was studying. “Did Miss Buttercup go somewhere?” he asked, his brows pinched in confusion, head tilted to the side. “I know she moved out of the Warrior’s residence, but I assumed she just moved into her own domicile. Did she leave the city?”
The others glanced over at the elf, smiling, Jayden even laughing as she shook her head. “Laci moved in with Mom and me,” she told him. “We’re not talking about that. We’re talking about her leaving the coven.”
“Oh,” was all Famallumi said before turning his nose back to the book. Tansy didn’t even know what he was reading, but it had to be “Amazing” as he would say. She just chuckled, shaking her head as she turned back to her inventory.
Jayden stared down into her tea, returning to her brooding.
The bell over the door jingled as Melinda Tipton shoved her way into The Murky Cauldron, a paper bag in her hands. “Hello, my favorite downtown people,” her voice rang out, her bubbliness bringing a smile to Tansy’s lips. “We all cleaned up from that freak tornado that twirled through here last week. I swear that was the weirdest damn thing. I barely even remember seeing it come through. Just the damage it left behind.”
Tansy nodded as she took the bag from Melinda. “Yeah, we got some dust, and a few shelves collapsed, but that was about it.” She lifted the bag a little. “Did you bring us something fun from the bakery?”
“Hello, Melli,” Wanda greeted as she moved over and took the bag from Tansy’s hand. “Your visits always bring such delicious flavors.”
Tansy just shook her head as she watched the other woman walk away with the goodies from Melinda’s Bakery a few doors down, the bakery Melli owned. Tansy turned back to the other woman. “How about you? Any damage?” A few days ago, the demons who possessed Kayla and Wanda practically destroyed the downtown area. Famallumi used his powers as Lore Master Apprentice to hide the attack from the more normal people in the area. They never saw what truly happened, just the destruction left behind in the two-lane street afterward. The news called it a freak tornado, but some doubted the truth of that since there was no proof on any satellite. It was the afternoon they lost Alex, the breaking point for Kayla.
Melli leaned on the glass counter, smiling over at Tansy. “Marcus had his tires slashed, which seems weird for a tornado, but other than that, we escaped unscathed.”
Tansy gave the other woman a smile. “I’m glad to hear that.” Too bad we all didn’t get out of it as easily. “So, what’s new in the bakery world?”
Melinda leaned over the counter a little more, lowering her voice. “Nothing new in the bakery world, but…” She glanced around, making sure no one was listening. Jayden just cocked an eyebrow at her as she stared back. Melinda didn’t seem to care, recognizing the younger woman as a regular in the store. “However, not that I’m one to spread gossip or anything, mind you, but rumor has it Betty from Timely Treasures Antiques was seen coming out of the back room of Rick’s Trading Cards & Collectibles.” She pressed her lips together as she cocked her brows. “And from what the person saw, old Rick forgot to finish zipping up his pants.”
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