Love and Other Wicked Things

Two

She truly didn't think things could get any better than that until, through sheer coincidence, she stumbled onto one of the narrower backstreets. The building that had caught her attention was at the very end, so secluded that the light barely reached it. It appeared to be even older than the house that Plant Girl lived in, and, if she wasn't mistaken, it stood at a bit of an angle, leaning onto the building next to it like a weary elder might lean on a friend. The large shop window was so dusty that she could see nothing but the reflection of her own eyes blinking curiously back at her. On the door, there was a small wooden sign that read Obscura Oddities. 

Looking at it from the outside, nothing gave the impression it was open. Still, guided by a sudden instinct, Valerie walked up to the door and gave it an experimental push. The jingling of a bell drowned out her soft sound of surprise as she all but stumbled into the shop, jumping when the door fell shut behind her with a loud bang. 

For a few long seconds, all Valerie could do was wait until her eyes adjusted to the half-light, a blend of different herbs tickling her nose. Finally, some of the darker shadows revealed themselves as shelves. The floorboards creaked under her boots as she neared one of them to investigate the objects on display. Candles. Not of the scented Yankee Candle variety, but ones that looked like they belonged in fancy candelabras or scattered around a pentagram. They came in all sizes, colors, and shapes—one of them, Valerie noted as she squinted, was suspiciously phallic. Interesting. 

On the next shelf, there was a row of incense burners and matches, along with a few sticks of cedar, which Valerie could now recognize in the overwhelming mix of scents. There were other things she knew—cauldrons in all sizes, rune stones, different tarot decks, dried herbs, crystals—and some things she had no name for.As she trailed her fingers along the spines of books with titles like The Garden Witch's Guide to Botany and Contacting the Dead: A Practical Handbook to Necromancy, she felt a pleasant shiver running down her spine. There was an unmistakable energy in the air, a static crackle that made the hair on the back of her neck stand up: magic, so strong it was almost tangible. 

Valerie had never felt anything like it. In a trance, she wandered between the shelves, so caught up in seeing and touching and feeling that she startled violently when a voice sounded somewhere to her left."Can I help you with anything?" 

"Holy sh—" Pressing a hand to her chest, Valerie spun around to see who had spoken. "Where the hell did you come from?" 

The person turned out to be around her age, sitting behind the register a few feet away with their chin propped in one hand, curls of dark-blue hair flopping onto their face. At Valerie's question, they cocked their head with a puzzled frown. "I've been here the entire time."

"Then why didn't you say anything?" 

"I didn't want to disturb you while you were browsing." With a sheepish shrug, they lifted the small gaming console that was sitting on the counter in front of them. "And, uh . . . Animal Crossing." 

The sight of the Nintendo was so unexpectedly mundane against the backdrop of peculiar items that Valerie couldn't help the laugh that escaped her. Walking over to the counter, she stretched out a hand. "I'm Valerie. I use she/her pronouns." 

"Quinn. I use they and them." 

Valerie's eyes widened when she remembered the name that had been scrawled on the covers of the sketchbooks sitting in the other half of her dorm room. "Wait, Quinn Jiang?" 

Quinn blinked once. "Yes?" 

"No way. We're roommates for this year! You're also majoring in art, right?" 

With a nod, Quinn raised their hands so that Valerie could see that the pads of their fingers were stained black with charcoal. "I am." 

"Guess we'll be seeing a lot of each other then, huh?" 

"Looks like it." Tugging the sleeves of their black sweater down over their knuckles, Quinn offered her a smile. "So, is there anything specific you were looking for here?" 

Valerie glanced around again, shaking her head. With bundles of herbs hanging from the low ceiling and jars of magical ingredients (some of them labeled careful: poisonous!), the shop seemed like a dream that might disappear if she so much as blinked. "No. I wasn't really expecting . . . anything like this." She looked back at Quinn. "It's so cool that you work here." 

"It is." Quinn's eyes lit up as they glanced around the room. "I started here a few months ago, and I really love it. We have so many interesting people coming in every day." 

"Do a lot of witches live here?" 

"Not in Oakriver itself. This shop is the only one of its kind in the region, so most of them come from nearby towns." Even though there was no one else around, Quinn lowered their voice and leaned a little closer. "There are three large family covens in this area that practice, but I only know because they shop here sometimes. They're very careful to not let the townspeople here know about magic. You probably should be too." 

"Why, are they still hunting witches around here?" Valerie joked. 

"Well, not actively. But . . ." Quinn rubbed at their neck, glancing around again as if they were worried some eavesdropper might materialize from between the shelves. "From what I've gathered, there was an incident that led to the Council of the Three—the three big witch families that live here—swearing an oath not to reveal their abilities to the town. I think there's some kind of punishment if you do, but I don't know too much about that." 

In one of the little bottles on the counter—a sample of a beauty potion, naturally—Valerie could see her own wide-eyed reflection. The Council of the Three sounded like something straight out of Hocus Pocus. She was instantly intrigued. Gesturing at their surroundings, she asked, "But then why have a shop like this one? Doesn't this make it a bit obvious?" 

"No. Because not everyone can find it," said Quinn. "The owner of this shop put a spell on the building. Unless it is directly pointed out, only those who have abilities or are at least drawn to magic will notice it."

"Oh! So, you also practice magic?" 

"No. I suppose I must have a small affinity for it, but nothing full-fledged. No, you know—" they paused to give a vague wave of their hands "—actual magic." 

Valerie, being her own only point of reference, wasn't sure what actual magic looked like, but she figured now was too early for any probing questions. Switching gears, she asked instead, "And you still have enough customers?" 

"We also have an online shop." Quinn chuckled. "A lot of my job is just packaging orders and bringing them down to the post office." 

"I see. So advertising, say, tarot readings wouldn't be a smart idea? Hypothetically?" 

Quinn quirked an eyebrow. "Hypothetically?" 

"Uh-huh." 

"Would you listen if I said it's best to be as subtle as possible about it in this town?" 

Valerie scratched at her neck, her mind flashing back to her flyers hanging all over campus. "Depends. Is this ominous council going to put a hit out on me if I'm not?" 

Quinn scrunched up their nose as if they honestly weren't sure. "I don't know. I'm from a town an hour away from here, and I've only been staying here since July. I . . . don't think so?" 

"Huh. Then I guess I'll take my chances. Being subtle isn't really my strong suit." 

Quinn looked like they didn't know whether to be amused or concerned. "Oh dear. I have a feeling you're going to stir things up around here." 

"I have a feeling you might be right about that." Pointing at one of the shelves, Valerie said, "So, about those crystal balls . . ."