Maya was practicing magic again, and Alice found Azura and Shakra attempting to show her how to enchant one of the love potions. The water in the vial turned pink, and Maya’s face nearly lit up the same shade.
“I did it!”
“Wow,” Alice leaned one shoulder against the doorway, feeling a stab of jealously. “You’re learning faster than I ever did.” It had only been two weeks, and already Maya was learning complicated love potions. Had Alice just been a slow learner?
“She has two teachers hovering over her,” Azura straightened up and smiled at her. “And you had one teacher and a deranged greek god set on destroying you while you learned magic.”
Alice grinned at her. “Ah, piece of cake.” She turned back to the break room, calling over her shoulder. “Speaking of cake, I’m getting a muffin from the back, anyone want anything?”
“No thanks,” Gabriel leaned both elbows against the desk. “Just make sure you don’t have the blueberry ones. The café we got those from is kind of shady.”
“What’s wrong with the blueberry muffins?”
“They’re not blueberries.”
Alice didn’t get a chance to ask him exactly what they were, because a couple of customers came in and started asking him about reversing the spell on a head-warming hat to make it cool instead.
She retreated to the back and carefully picked a bran muffin out of the box, not looking closely at the other muffins. Maybe it was time to move the shop again, there was a serious lack of decent bakeries in the area, even if it was chock full of magical trinket markets.
She heard the customers leave, apparently satisfied with their new hat. Azura and Shakra were now teaching Maya how to do a stronger love potion.
“Weave the blue and red together,” Azura was saying. “Make sure it’s a double braid and it’s tight. If it comes unraveled the entire spell will wear off.”
Alice smiled slightly, tipping the office chair back so she could look at the neon threads floating just out of reach. She remembered the first time she’d ever touched them, the electric thrill it had sent through her limbs, the tingling shock of contact with the magic. It had been a rush. The sudden knowledge that she could do something that others couldn’t.
Of course, now it was obvious that she wasn’t the only one who could touch magic. Maya was learning every bit as fast as Alice had, faster even. She was a little jealous that she hadn’t had Shakra to teach her as well. The woman had still been in tiger form at that point.
Of course, Maya was a fast learner, and eventually she’d be a powerful witch herself, but there was one thing she couldn’t do. Probably never would…
Alice called down one of the threads, a long light blue strand. She let it drift over her palm, feeling the faint tingle as the magic touched her skin. She could still feel that still small spot in her mind. The barrier that kept the magic out.
It brought a tangled rush of emotion back, just thinking about it. Bad memories. Memories of Ambrose forcing her to take the magic in to save Maya, who she’d been sure was dead. Memories of his hands gripping hers as he’d drained the magic out of her.
But before that, before he’d taken the magic out of her, that had felt good, hadn’t it? She couldn’t remember the exact feeling, but it had been something like she felt now. The warm sensation of the thread on her palm, only it had been inside her. And the one time she’d opened herself up completely to the magic, she had beat Athena and saved her and her friends. It wasn’t so bad. Plus, there had been a few minutes there when she had seen something bigger than herself.
I saw the network. She had to see it again.
Her eyes darted to the door of the shop, then the stairwell. Altair was still in the shower, she could hear the water running, and Maya was keeping both of the women busy. Gabriel was talking to another customer now…
Alice felt for that dark little spot in her mind. She found the barrier and nudged it experimentally. Fear made her timid, cautious. The last time she’d opened herself up was in the weaving competition with Athena, and before that, with Ambrose. Neither of those were good memories.
The barrier was down before she knew what was happening, it vanished like it had never been there at all. She watched, eyes wide with alarm as the thread dissolved into her palm.
“Oh shi…”she scrambled to sit up straight, and then froze.
Her palm was glowing, a dim light that pulsed in time with her heart. She took a deep, even breath, trying to calm herself down.
Now what?
Ambrose had taken the magic from her last time. It hadn’t occurred to her that she had no idea how to actually use it herself. It was trapped under her skin, how did she get it out?
Her alarm was slowly fading, because despite the fact that she was uncertain and knew she was behaving foolishly, the magic felt good. The power made the hair on her arms stand up, and she felt little electrical shocks run across the surface of her skin. It was on a much smaller level than it had been with Ambrose. It felt like something she could control.
She was aware of the potential of this particular thread. It threw up images of water. Rain, storms even, when it was mixed in with a bigger pattern. But it was small right now, and it wouldn’t do much. She stood up, wandering around the office, and an idea struck her when she spotted the little cactus that Gabrielle kept on the window sill.
She reached out and place one glowing finger in the soil. The barrier was back up again, but this time it was effortless to push past it. She felt the magic leave through her fingertips, and spread out into the cactus soil. The dirt turned damp and packed with water under her fingers.
I did it! She’d taken in magic by herself and learned how to use it. Alice couldn’t help feeling ecstatic. Her muscles were practically humming with energy now. It was like the magic had given her a shot of energy.
Later in the day Alice was watching Shakra fixing the spells on the Mexican blankets they’d bought, making them less likely to attempt to smother their customers. She’d just got the hang of the pattern Shakra showed her, and was grabbing one of the blankets, when the door swung open wildly and a woman staggered in.
She was a witch in a tall black hat, her dark hair puffing up wildly from under the brim. She had a thin, pale face and her eyes were wide and shocked looking. She staggered to a halt just inside the shop, clutching at the front of her drab grey robes. She was muttering to herself,
“Just touched it once. Wasn’t nothing…just once…where is he?” the woman darted a look over her shoulder, mouth hanging open wide.
Alice half stood up out of her chair, feeling a bit alarmed. Did the woman need help? She looked frightened and lost, and Alice glanced out the glass door panel behind her, half expecting to see someone chasing her. Maybe a god or something…
“Just once…” the woman mumbled. “Just one time…”
Shakra put a hand on Alice’s shoulder and said in a low voice, “Don’t worry. No one’s actually chasing her or anything. She’s got aftershock madness.”
“Aftershock…” Alice stared at the woman, feeling a mix of repulsion and fascination. She’d suffered from aftershock before, the effect of touching too much magic. “You mean…you can go…”
Shakra nodded, dropping her voice to a whisper so the woman wouldn’t overhear them. “Sometimes it’s too much for people to handle.”
Alice whispered back, “I thought you only went mad if you touched the network. Like, the entire network of threads at one time?”
“Sometimes, if you don’t have enough magic…”
The woman stopped in the middle of the shop. When she turned, still clutching at the front of her robe, her wide eyes snapped to Alice’s face. They were light blue and glassy, and Alice felt a chill. Was this what could have happened to her? Could she have ended up mad? She could still remember the crush of emotions that had weighed her down after touching all the magic. The magic had shown her all of the terrible thing she could have done, or had the potential to do. She’d gone into hysterics after that.
Apparently this woman’s hysterics had never stopped.
“Just once…” the woman mumbled, and then turned around when Azura came gliding out of the backroom. “Once,” she said to the grey haired witch in a conversational tone.
“Oh hello,” Azura’s stern features softened. Her smile looked a little sad. “Can I help you?”
“Looking…” the witch paused, reaching up to poke at her hat tentatively.
“Are you looking for a hat?”
Alice felt a surge of guilt. She should have asked the poor witch what she was looking for. The fact was, the woman didn’t look capable of shopping, she should probably be a in a padded room somewhere instead.
“Hat.” The woman nodded. “Hat.”
Alice bit her fingernails, watching Azura show the witch the box of head warming hats on the shelf. The witch seized one of the hats and clutched it to her chest, gurgling in delight.
Azura turned, as if she was about to guide the witch to the cash register, but Alice shook her head and gestured to her. The witch could have the hat. The poor woman didn’t look like she had a penny anyways.
The witch looked delighted when Azura told her the hat was hers, and she staggered out the door burbling gleefully. The bell rang as the door swung shut behind her, and Azura smiled at Alice.
“That was very nice of you.”
Alice shrugged helplessly. “I just felt so bad for her.” That was only part of the truth, the other part she didn’t tell Azura was that the woman scared her. She didn’t want to deal with her directly and look into those wide, shell-shocked eyes. It was too close a reminder of what could have happened. The thing that Alice could have been, if everything had turned out differently.
The thought made her pulse race, and she glanced out the window. The witch had vanished into the crowd, but Alice caught sight of a few other women in pointed hats, and a very hairy man dragging his son past the shop windows. A werewolf.
“I think…I think we should move the shop.” She put one palm on the desk and propelled herself backwards. The rolling office chair squeaked in protest. “We’ve been here for awhile, sales have been good. A change of pace is in order.”
“Sounds fine,” Shakra said. “Where are the other three though? Before we leave them behind.”
“Maya and Gabriel had a row.” Alice rolled her eyes. “Gabriel took her out for lunch to suck up, and Altair is…” she paused, realizing that she wasn’t actually sure where Altair was. “I imagine he’s out hunting the market.” She narrowed her eyes at the desk top, wondering what he was up to. Images of dangerous black market meetings popped into her head immediately, and she felt bad as soon as she’d thought of it. She should trust him. After all, he’d risked his life for her more than once now.
Yes, but once a thief…
She pushed the thought aside. “They’ll all be back soon, and then we’ll move.”
They were back soon. Altair was first through the door, his dark skin glowing with the sun. His dirty blonde hair was caught up in a loose pony tail and Alice couldn’t help remembering the dream she’d had long ago, when he’d first pursued her. Every day in Mexico he grew more tanned and rough looking. He was turning into a pirate for real this time.
She resisted the urge to grab the collar of his t-shirt and haul him up the stairs to their bedroom, saying coolly instead, “Where were you?”
Altair gave her a roguish smile. “Hunting.”
She frowned. “Hunting what exactly?”
“Bargain hunting of course, what else?” He held up a plastic bag and shook it, making it rattle musically. “I found something else for your new shelf, or for the bedroom if you like. It’s a bead curtain that screams when anyone walks through it.”
Alice bit her lip, trying to imagine it. “That sounds like something you would like. It’s SO not going in our room though.”
“It’s gonna be hysterical,” Altair made for the back room, “I’m going to try it out.”
The bell chimed again, and this time it was Maya and Gabriel. Maya didn’t look cross this time, so Alice took that as a good sign. “I’m moving the shop,” she told them all, making sure Altair heard her before he was out of the room. “Brace yourselves.”
“We’re going already?” Gabriel looked surprised. “It’s only been two weeks.”
“Change of scenery,” Alice said shortly. She didn’t exactly want to explain why she had the sudden urge for new scenery, because of a crazy witch who’d wandered in. It sounded worse than it was.
Gabriel and Shakra exchanged a look, and the older woman shrugged her shoulders and leaned back in the chair behind the desk, propping her head in her hands. She smiled at Alice. “And where are we going, fearless leader? Somewhere less hot this time?”
“Hot is good,” Gabrielle complained.
“Hot is sunburns.” Maya poked the elf in the shoulder and he grimaced, looking down at his bright red skin.
“It’s just because I’m pale.”
“And you won’t put sunscreen on…”
“It’s oily.”
Alice marched into the backroom, mentally blocking out the sound of them. They’d been nit picking at one another all week. Perhaps it was time to go somewhere a bit cooler.
Azura was sitting at the desk in the back. “Sidney is nice this time of year,” she offered. “Not to hot, not to cold.”
“I would imagine Sydney is really hot.”
“Sidney, British Columbia,” Azura said. “Not Australia. I have a particular fondness for the little town. Chock full of bookstores and right by the ocean.”
“Sounds perfect,” Alice unlocked the cupboard and wrapped her fingers around the thick pattern of threads that ran from one side of the cupboard to the other, disappearing into the wood. The magic pulsed through her arm and sent warmth through her entire body.
She shut her eyes and let herself enjoy the sensation for a moment before saying in a loud, clear voice, “Sidney, British Columbia Canada, please.”
There was nothing for a second, and Alice thought that maybe the shop was going to be stubborn again. It had it’s rare moments when it would feel like the place was stomping its foot, or stubbornly pouting. Refusing to go where Alice wanted it to. But Threads must have been in an agreeable mood today, because the corners of the room started to melt like putty, and Alice shut her eyes quickly before it could start getting too surreal.
Even with her eyes shut she could still feel the distortion around her, and her stomach lurched. They’d done it hundreds of times now, but you never really got used to it. You always had to make sure you were sitting down and had your eyes shut, or the experience resembled a very bad trip.
She could feel everything snap back into place around her, and her head cleared up when she opened her eyes. There was the customary few seconds of dizziness, and she braced one hand on the cupboard.
“Still knocks me for a loop,” Azura said cheerfully, “and it’s been years.” She was mopping up a bit of tea that she’d spilt onto the desk.
“I don’t think I’ll ever get used to that,” Alice said. “The first time it nearly made me sick.”
When she walked into the front room it was to see Maya leaning forward, palms flat on the desk. Her face was white and she was moaning.
“Are you okay?” Alice rushed over to her, but Gabrielle put up one hand reassuringly. He looked a little cross, actually.
“She’s fine,” he said. “She insisted on keeping her eyes open.”
“I wanted to see the magic,” Maya groaned. “I wanted to see how it moved when the shop moved. Oh god, I’m so dizzy…”
“She’s obsessed with magic,” Gabrielle grumbled.
“Because I want to be a witch,” Maya said. “Like Alice.” She peered up at Alice through her dark hair and gave her a shaky smile. Her lips were slightly paler than normal. “Like you are.”
Alice patted her shoulder. “I don’t keep my eyes open, Maya. It makes me sick too. Same as you.”
“See?” Gabrielle said. He crossed his arms in front of his chest.
“I know.” Maya tried to straighten up, and Gabrielle reached out to study her. “I just want to learn everything about magic there is to know.” She swatted at his hand. “I’m okay, thanks. I’m fine.”