The Popular Witch
I opened up shop at the usual time and sat around for a few hours, continuing to read my book because no customers had come in, not even a person walking down the street. I left the door open because the weather was still nice enough to allow it and I liked people watching as strangers walked by, getting to see some interesting outfits and unique individuals. But no one seemed to be out and about.
“At least I’m open.” I sighed, leaning back in my chair with my book.
I had gotten fairly wrapped up in the story to the point that I was picturing myself as the heroine with Cian sort of making an appearance under the visage of the love interest. I should have been paying better attention to the door, but luckily the person that entered was one I trusted.
“What you reading?”
I just about flung the book over my head before I pulled it down against my chest, my heart racing as I looked over the counter at Cian’s smiling face.
“You have got to make more noise when you enter a room or something. I’m going to put a bell on you.” I remarked, standing up from my chair to come around the counter.
“You’d have to collar me first.” He let out a laugh before he realized what he said and we both were left standing there, staring at each other awkwardly.
“Aaanyway, I’m here for you to throw some bones and feed me.” Cian continued smiling, and I thought I saw something peculiar about his teeth.
“Right! Let me lock up for a bit and then we can do that,” I slid past him and over to the front door as I continued to talk, “Do you want to eat first?”
“Let’s read my bones first and then eat. That way we have something fun to talk about.” He replied.
I waved him into the back and showed him to a table set in the corner, surrounded by candles and wall tapestries.
“Normally, I let Sabrina do the readings, but that’s because one of us has to watch the register and I let her keep all the tips.” I chatted as I pulled a chair out for Cian and then went to get my bag of bones.
“So, how do we do this bone thing? Is it like fetch?” Cian asked loudly, not realizing I was right behind him.
I laughed, “Uh, no. Most aren’t even bones, though there are a few in there. It’s made up of a lot of little trinkets, each item having a meaning tied to it. You can ask it a question or you can just do a general reading. I cast them out on a mat and then read how they fall.”
I tried to be as informative as I could so he would understand the procedure and go into it relaxed.
“Very interesting. I totally believe in this stuff, I just don’t know a whole lot about it.” Cian informed me as I sat down opposite of him and laid out a mat with two concentric circles painted on it in gold, one inside the other.
“This area is what is directly affecting you,” I pointed at the inner circle, “Outside this circle indirectly affects you, but it could still be a factor. Everything outside that doesn’t matter.”
Cian watched and listened, waiting for me to make the magik happen. I told him to close his eyes and think of his question if he had one and say it out loud; or he could keep it to himself and let the energy guide the reading. He chose to keep the question to himself and when he had it in his mind, I took the felt lined cup with all my trinkets, shook it three times, and then cast them out onto the mat.
Several bounced and went right off the table, Cian watching them roll till they stopped. Quite a few had fallen outside the ‘no matter’ barrier, but there was in interesting assortment of items that were left in the directly affected area. I stared at them for a moment, noting their position and their proximity to one another before a picture started to paint itself in my mind; there was just no direct context.
“This heart represents love, affection, amorous encounters, but it is also very close to this magnifying glass, meaning that you are searching for one of those things, I just don’t have details of what or who, but that’s something that only you know.” The words flowed from my mouth perfectly, almost so much, that I didn’t catch what I was saying.
“These two chess pieces, the king and queen, man and woman, are very close together, signifying some sort of friendship, a partnership or something more. I actually watched these two pieces land elsewhere on the mat and bounce back to one another in the middle.” I pointed out, really looking at their position; they were face to face, but the body of the king was turned towards Cian and the body of the queen faced me.
Cian had been silent up until now, but he finally spoke with a question, “And what about these over here?”
He was pointing to a little huddle of items: a polished piece of garnet, a wooden bead shaped like a skull, a coffin charm, a bat made from agate, and a wolf’s head pendant. It took me a moment to really take each individual piece in and then I had to apply them to one another and interpret a message, but none of it was making sense to me.
“It’s weird. The garnet signifies blood, power, life force. The skull is death and the coffin is finality, a symbol of our mortality. Then there is the wolf and the bat which are two things that are generally at odds as far as their symbolism goes. Bats have a tendency to be associated with darkness and evil, while the wolf is seen as strength and loyalty. There’s a conflict here, but I’m just not sure what.” I tried to interpret what I was seeing for Cian as best I could, but there was something nagging at me to take a deeper look, I just didn’t know what to look for.
“That’s definitely very interesting.” Cian replied, looking rather uneasy in his chair.
“And there is a key here, linking the queen to the conflict. However, the king has a sword. He will protect her, but she might be the reason this conflict has come about in the first place. Directly or indirectly, I don’t know. Is any of this making sense to you?” I asked, finishing the reading.
He nodded slowly, his eyes diverted to the table, “Yes, it totally does. Kind of eerie to be honest, but it absolutely relates to my question.”
I thought about the reading as a whole and after a moment, I was sure I had figured it out. This was probably a reading involving Cian and Lizzie, the king and the queen. The conflict was their relationship, past and present. He still wasn’t over her…
“Lunch then?” I asked, ready to be away from the table.
I subtly dashed my hand across the top, scattering the pieces as Cian got up and walked towards the front room. I grabbed our lunch from the fridge, just chicken salad sandwiches and fruit, and then came out behind him, setting it on the counter so we could eat. We actually didn’t say much about the reading, it was mostly shop talk, and when we finished it had been about an hour since I locked up, so I opened things again and waited to see if Cian would try and escape or not.
“Mind if I hang around for a bit?” He asked, leaning against the front counter.
“Not at all. If the rest of the day is anything like this morning, you’ll be the only one in here.” I gladly obliged, popping around the counter again to open the blinds on the windows and let some light in and hopefully some customer interest.
I swear my words and thoughts had power, because Sabrina walked in the shop right then with a loud, “Honey, I’m home!”
“Brina? When did you get back?” I rushed her for a hug and she squeezed me in return.
“This morning. Mom came home at the butt crack of dawn and I decided to get out of there before she made me give the morning suppository to Rocko; he’s been having a little trouble—you know.” Sabrina rambled, not realizing that we had company.
“Oh, boy. Uh, Sabrina, this is my neighbor Cian, the one I told you helped me with the door?” I introduced them and Sabrina finally noticed the man up against the counter who gave her a slight, cheeky wave.
“OH! You’re Cian. Briar has told me so much about you.” Sabrina rushed over to him for a handshake before she went in for the hug.
“Has she now? What has she told you?” Cian was amused by this statement and it had me hoping and praying to whatever God was out there that Sabrina wouldn’t embarrass me.
“Well, for one, you’re very handy. And B, you’ve got amazing tattoos.” Sabrina winked before she circled the counter and set her bag down.
It could have been worse...
“Yeah? She like my tattoos?” Cian asked her as if I wasn’t standing in the room right behind them.
“Briar loves ink. And stretched ears, which I don’t get, but to each their own. Oh, and this whole thing you have going on here.” Sabrina outed me as she pointed at Cian’s face and then his body and then his hair.
I was mortified. I wanted to disappear right there and I actually thought about just backing out the front door and making a run for it down the sidewalk, but they’d catch me eventually.
“Okay, that’s enough of that.” I raced towards the counter and snatched Sabrina by the elbow before I asked, “Could you help me with something in the back?”
I forcibly pulled her behind the curtain into the back room and hissed, “What the hell are you doing?”
“What? I’m just subtly letting him know that you’re attracted to him.” Sabrina hissed in return, albeit a good bit louder.
I huffed back, “Nothing about that was subtle. Christ, Brina. You’re making me look desperate.”
“Well, are you not?” She questioned at a more audible level.
I shook my head, “No. I’m not. I’m perfectly fine where I’m at. But I need you to not say another word about Cian to Cian in regards to me. I’ve only just met the guy!”
“Okay, okay. I’ll take it down a notch, but if I see anything sparking between you, I will have to play matchmaker.” Sabrina warned me and I just glared at her.
I wagged my finger at her, “No, you won’t. You’ll stay in your lane and let me keep doing whatever it is I’m doing and we’ll see where it goes. Got it?”
“Fiiiiine. You’re no fun, you know that? Live a little, Briar baby. For me? I love you and I want you to be happy and don’t even try to tell me that you are, because I know you’re not. Sure, you’re proud as hell about opening up the shop and getting things going, but other than that, you’re miserable. You barely leave the apartment! I’m just worried about you and want you to actually experience life.” Sabrina lectured me.
I knew she was right. Every word she said was one hundred percent accurate, but I couldn’t admit that, could I? I didn’t even really know why…
“It’s just everything all at once, you know? Will the shop be successful or will it fail? When do I know it’s time to go back to school and get the degree I want? Where do I find the time to write that book that I’ve been planning? To date? What is my purpose and where am I going?” I had a bit of a meltdown with my words, but tried to reel it back in because I was still working and Cian was just on the other side of the curtain.
Sabrina pointed at me before she replied,“Alright, we’re going to unpack all that later, but for right now, we are going to get back to work and put on our customer service face until it’s time to lock up and unload.”
I nodded in agreement, grabbed a few unopened boxes of incense from the overflow shelf and walked back out into the shop to find Cian standing by the counter still, but his jacket was on and his backpack was slung over his shoulder.
“So much for an off day. Got another last minute call for a job and I need to take it.” He informed me and I felt my mood sink just a bit lower.
“Are you just always on call or something?” I queried, wondering why he got so many emergency calls and had to rush out.
“Sort of. I’m part of a contractors guild, we call it, and we’ve created a network and clientele list, a lot of whom are low income living in poorer neighborhoods with shitty landlords who don’t give a damn about their tenants. There’s a hierarchy when it comes to taking these emergency calls, and I am usually first on the list. Unless I am working on a big, important job, I stop what I’m doing and make the trip. It just seems to be happening a lot while we are together.” He gave me the run down of his reason for the abrupt exits and it sort of made me feel better. I was wondering if he was just making up excuses to get away from me…
“That’s really very sweet of you to help.” I made sure to use the same word I had used the night before. Lizzie may not have thought he was sweet, but I sure did.
“I love the work because I love to help. Nothing better. But I’m going to get out of here and I’ll text you later?” It was more of a question than a statement from Cian.
“Okay.” I replied quietly, trying not to get all excited about the prospect.
“And it was really nice to meet you, Sabrina. Hopefully, we’ll be seeing more of each other.” Cian flashed that smile before he made his way to the door and left.
“Oh, he’s got it bad for you.” Sabrina breathed happily.
“Please, shut up.” I groaned, shuffling my feet in agitation as I walked from behind the counter, “Can you watch stuff for me for a second? I need to fix my necklace because I have been without it too long.”
It had just dawned on me for some reason. I had never fixed the necklace and was still carrying it around in my pocket, which felt dangerous. I wanted to get it fixed and back on my neck as soon as possible. Maybe it would make me feel better.
“I thought something looked off. What happened?” Sabrina asked, pointing to my chest.
“Snagged it on a display when I was cleaning up after the break-in. A link broke and I just need to add a new one and get it back on.” I explained.
“I know how much that necklace means to you and you can do whatever you want, boss lady. I am here to work even though I didn’t expect this place to be open.” Sabrina was here for me, just like she always was.
“Thank you, I love you, and I’ll be back as soon as I can. I’m just going to run upstairs and solder some bits together to fix it up and then I’ll be right back. If you need me, just call my phone.” I wiggled the phone at her before I slipped it in my pocket.
She seemed perfectly fine with that, so I made my leave and headed up to the flat, going straight to my little work station in a corner of the living room. It was a space where I worked on all my witchy concoctions, jewelry, and any other craft that tickled my fancy. I flicked on the desk light and took the necklace out of my pocket, laying it atop the worn wood.
“Just a little copper soldering should do the trick, I think.” I noted out loud, looking at where it had broken and why. A few things needed to be reinforced.
Why aren’t you wearing your necklace?
I turned over my shoulder to see Katastrophe watching me think from the arm of the sofa.
“It broke the other night, not even an hour before Jasper attacked me. I’m just now getting around to fixing it, which is luckily quite easy.” I replied, warming up my soldering iron.
You need to put it back on; it protects you. You need to know more about this necklace so you can properly wield it’s power, Briar. And one thing about it is that it can’t be stolen, but you can lose it. Walking around without it makes you more vulnerable, with it, you are unstoppable. You have a duty, a role to fulfill.
What the hell was this cat talking about? A duty? To what?
“What are you going on about?” I queried, my eyes focused on my work with the necklace.
You seem to know a little about your ancestry, but how much do you know? Are you aware of the One Daughter? Broomwood women only ever have a singular daughter, only a few instances where there was another child, but still a daughter none the less. The power in this stone is carried on through those daughters and those daughters carry a mantle to fulfill a role of protecting others, the most vulnerable, from those that lie in the dark, those that prey on the innocent. It’s the whole reason for Broomwood women’s terrible romantic track record in my opinion: they married and mated with men that could safely secure the bloodline, but not for love.
Katastrophe dumped a bunch of information on me: some things I knew, but not in their entirety, other things I was clueless about it.
“You make it sound like we were bred to be soldiers or something.” I scoffed, making the finishing touches to the now fixed necklace as I spoke.
I guess, in a way. Broomwood women are fierce, Briar. Fierce, fearless, and fiery. They carry a lot of power with them once they are officially keepers of the stone, and that power is not to be tested. You are meant to destroy anything that threatens the light. It’s a responsibility.
“Yeah, a responsibility I didn’t ask for. A responsibility that got my mother kidnapped and possibly killed. I’ll keep it safe because I love it and I know what it can do, but I’m not taking up a new career based solely on expectations involving something I never even knew about.” I snapped in irritation.
I didn’t ask for something like this and I sure as hell wasn’t going to just become some super hero because it was in my blood. I just wanted things to go back to the way they were only a few days prior.
You can try to deny it, Briar, but the cause has already found you, as you’ve seen. A possible vampire and his familiar are already after the necklace and your life is potentially in danger.
“What if I decide I don’t want the necklace anymore? I don’t want to sell it or anything, because it does mean everything to me, but if my life is in danger because of it, maybe it needs to go somewhere safe. What if I get a safety deposit box?” I tried to brainstorm a secure spot for the necklace until I could figure things out.
No. If this vampire were to find out where you hid it, all he’d have to do was hypnotize the bank manager to let him into the box registered under your name and then he’d have it. He can’t take it from you if you’re wearing it; you have to give it freely. But if it is lost, so to speak, and not on your body, he could have it with no problem. The only possible safe place for it would be with the Otherworld Order.
“The otherworld what now?” I asked, feeling like she was talking about something I should have been aware of.
The Otherworld Order...they really did keep too much from you. The Otherworld Order is a group of delegates from various magikal backgrounds that sort of surveys the world of the supernatural where it coincides with the mundane. There are smaller factions all across the globe that are affiliated with the Order as a way to create a vast network to keep the peace. They’d be the only ones who could keep the necklace protected, but they may not be willing to do so.
“Well, why the hell not? If they don’t want it to fall into the wrong hands, they should take it so it can’t.” I argued.
Because of your job, Briar; the whole keeper of the Blood Stone thing. Your family started the Order, but they gave up their seat at the top long ago to focus on fostering the lineage. The whole thing was built on your power. You are the one thing that could protect all things.
No. I didn’t want this. I had plans, dreams, ideas of expanding...I didn’t want to be some sorcerer crusader. I just wanted to be a regular old witch living in New York City with her cat, best friend, and the cultures. I didn’t sign up for all the extra work and it was a lot to consider.
“I have to think about all this before we go any further. But right now, I am technically still on the clock and need to get back down there and make sure Sabrina is doing okay.” I dismissed myself, effectively ending the conversation and went back down to the shop.
When I entered, Sabrina was behind the counter, right where she was supposed to be, and she was talking to a smartly dressed woman on the other side.
“Oh, here she is. Veronica Stone, this is Briar Broomwood.” Sabrina introduced me to the woman and we shook hands over the counter.
“Sabrina here was just telling me that this place is no longer an antique shop, of which I can see. I was actually here to see if I could acquire some pieces for an event I’m hosting tomorrow night, but I was clearly given the wrong information about this place.” Veronica began talking, launching right into the reason she had stopped by the shop, and it technically wasn’t for us.
“It actually used to be an antique shop, but it hasn’t been one in over fifteen years. I do know that my grandmother used to sell individual pieces from her collection from time to time, but there hasn’t been a storefront in quite a while.” I explained, curious of what she had to say in return.
Veronica clicked her tongue, “Well, that’s unfortunate. You wouldn’t happen to still have any of her pieces that I could look at? I’ll pay you double of what they’re worth, I just need some fillers for the auction.”
“Oh, is this charity work?” I asked with interest.
Veronica returned, “Technically, yes. I’m in charge of the E.L Cooper auction house in Manhattan and we’re hosting an auction event tomorrow night as a way to raise money for the National History Museum since there were so many government budget cuts. The more pieces we have, the more possible profits that can go towards the museum sciences.”
I thought for a second, considering things.
“There may be a few possible pieces I am willing to part with right now, but I am unsure if they are what you’d be looking for. Unfortunately, I am working at the moment, so I would have to let you take a look after closing.” I gave in, willing to help if it meant it went to a good cause.
“Excellent. I will come back, say, around six? You can show me what you have then and we can hopefully work something out. Take my card so you have my number just in case and here,” Veronica pulled a card from her wallet before fishing out a blood red envelope, “This is the details of the event tomorrow night. Even if we aren’t able to make a transaction, I would love for the two of you to attend as my guests.”
A big, fancy auction party sounded a bit much to me, but it also seemed like it might have been fun.
“You said tomorrow? It’s so gracious of you to offer, but I have prior plans that were made months ago and I won’t be able to make it.” Sabrina chimed in and there went any possibility of me going out for some fun, if I actually wanted to.
“Even if you can’t make it, Briar is still more than welcome and I’ll put a plus one on the list in case there’s someone else you’d like to bring. But I have to go; I have a few more stores to hit before I circle back this way. Hopefully, I’ll see you both later.” Veronica gave us a flashy smile set in artificially plumped lips before she practically sashayed out of the building.
“What do you have to do tomorrow night?” I asked Sabrina after the woman left, wondering what could possibly be more important that she would pass up this social gathering.
“You don’t remember? I was working on that fashion show with my friend Trent, FroYo in SoHo? All the pieces are sweets themed mixed with street fashion.” Sabrina refreshed my memory of something I had completely forgotten about.
“I just thought that was one of those things you do where you get involved and then move on to the next thing before it’s finished.” I didn’t sugar-coat my words because it was something that she did do frequently.
She seemed offended, but I knew it was only temporary as she shook her head, “Yeah, but not with this one. You know how serious I am about fashion.”
“True, true. And I am proud of you for sticking with this. Sorry, I forgot.” I apologized, feeling a little sheepish for not remembering something so important to my best friend.
“No, worries; I know you’ve had a lot on your plate. I would have invited you, but I know it isn’t your scene.” Sabrina seemed to accept my apology, but her words sort of hurt me.
Sure, I wasn’t a big fan of high fashion, but I would have gone with her if she asked me to support her.
“Well, if you’re not going to the auction, then maybe we can both go to the fashion show instead.” I suggested, but Sabrina didn’t seem to consider it an option.
“As much as I would love for you to be there, you need to go to that auction. It could be a great networking opportunity, rubbing elbows with the elite.” She pushed.
I wasn’t so sure about that, however, and made it known.
“I’m not going alone to something like that. I don’t fit in with that crowd and I have no idea what I’m doing when it comes to that sort of stuff; I need a wing-man. Hopefully, I can find something that Veronica is interested in and that way I made a connection there even if I don’t attend the event.”
Sabrina rolled her eyes at me, “I know you’re no socialite, Briar, and that’s why I love you, but think about it. I mean, if you had someone to go with you, would you go?”
I shrugged, “I suppose so. I don’t really have anything appropriate to wear either, but I could probably figure that out. But who would even go with me on such short notice? Nobody I know.”
“Let me handle that; you worry about schmoozing Veronica and finding something to wear.” Sabrina gave me homework before we both went back to working.
I reluctantly agreed, but I knew she wouldn’t find anyone to go with me and my Saturday night would be spent just like all the others: at home, in my pajamas, watching old movies and working on product ideas.
