Triumph of Chaos (Red Magic) (28 page)

Tiny chimes rang above us as we filed in, and the smell of incense filled my nose.

Brad coughed. “We don’t have to use that stuff to do magic, right?”

I rolled my eyes. “Haven’t you done just fine without it so far?”

“But it might help. We’re here to learn, remember.” Izzy sounded exactly like a schoolteacher on a field trip, and I fought back a laugh.

“Where do we start?” Ben tucked his hands in his pockets and rocked forward on his toes.

I shrugged, eager to be alone in the shop. “Why don’t we just look around? I need a knife, and maybe you guys will find something you want too.”

Izzy drifted off first, and then Ben turned to a display of miniature fountains that lined the front window. Brad looked at me. I prepared myself for more accusations, but they didn’t come.

“Why are you here?”

Like I would tell you.
“Izzy invited me.”

He eyed me sharply. “So Izzy wanting you to is enough to make you do something you don’t want? I find that hard to believe.”

I tried to look innocent. “I’ve never been here before. I was curious.”

“What about the tools?”

“Like I said, not something I usually use when I do magic.” I looked around at the shop. From outside, it seemed tiny, but it stretched back through two doorways, and I got the feeling the shop was much larger than it seemed. “But I’m interested to see what they have.”

“Is this about Hecate?”

I glared at him. “What could I possibly do here that would have anything to do with her?”

Brad didn’t answer, and finally he looked away. “So the world isn’t ending yet?”

“I told you, I’m not discussing my choices with you.”

“But you aren’t going to do anything right now.”

I nodded. “You’re safe for today.”

He didn’t laugh, but he must have gotten fed up with me, because he moved away, leaving me standing at the front of the shop alone.

A woman appeared from the doorway on the left. “May I help you?”

I jumped, startled. “We’re just looking.”

She looked around the empty room. “We?”

“My friends already wandered through there.” I gestured vaguely at the doors, and she nodded.

“Anything in particular I can help you find?”

I shook my head. “Just here to browse.”

She cocked her head to one side as if she was listening to something. Her hair was streaked with gray, and it was cut in a cute pixie. Her dress, if that’s what it was, was lavender; it hung off her body as if there weren’t armholes or seams or anything, but she looked strangely comfortable. A clear crystal dangled from a copper wire around her neck. “You’re looking for ingredients for a specific spell,” she finally declared. Her voice was calm, but I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.

“Maybe.” I didn’t know I was until I spoke, but I felt a thrill of recognition at the word. “Yes. For a spell to summon Hecate.”

The lavender woman clicked her tongue. “That’s a powerful force to work with.”

“I know.”

She studied my face and nodded slowly. “I believe you do.”

I hesitated, wondering if Izzy or the twins were about to burst into the conversation and start arguing with me, but the shop was silent except for the trickle of running water from the fountains. I was alone with the intuitive Witch. “Can you help me with that spell?”

She sighed and fingered her crystal. “Tell me what kind of magic you practice.”

I hadn’t been expecting that. I shifted my feet. “Why?”

“I live by the Rede, and usually, I don’t ask questions. This is a business, after all. But Hecate magic can turn dark fast, and it’s hard to control. I just want to get a sense of you.”

“What path do you follow?” I hoped my question would distract her.

“I follow the path of the earth.”

“So you’re a Green Witch?”

Her nose crinkled as she smiled. “You might say that. I tend to call myself a garden Witch.”

Puzzled, I stared at her. “You don’t know about color magic?”

Her eyes brightened. “Of course! Pink is for love, and yellow is for energy. Blue brings clarity, and purple is for psychic awareness.”

I shook my head. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“What kind of color magic did you mean?”

“The paths!” Her expression was blank, so I rattled off, “Green, White, Black, Blue, Yellow, and Red. The six magical paths.”

The lavender woman shook her head. “I’ve never heard magic described that way.”

Her words reminded me of the man in Athens, and I paused. “Where did you learn magic?”

“My mother taught me. I try to live in her tradition.”

“So you never went to school?”

“Of course I went to school! I got my MBA at State.” She stood a little taller, as if she was trying to impress me.

I shook my head. “But what about magical school?”

She snorted. “Like those kids in the wizard books?”

I rolled my eyes. “Something like that. Except real.”

Her eyes widened. “There are real magic schools?”

I nodded. “I attended one for most of my life.”

“And that’s where you learned about the different paths of magic?”

Sort of.
I nodded again, and she studied my face. After a moment, she smiled.

“Thank you for reminding me that I will never know everything.” Her words would have been sarcastic coming from anyone else, but she sounded utterly sincere. She turned toward the left doorway. “About that spell?”

I looked at her in surprise. “You’ll help me?”

“I sense that it is not your intent to do harm.”

I shook my head fiercely. “I’m trying to undo some harm that I’ve caused.”

She nodded again. “I think I have some oil that would be good for summoning Hecate energy.”

“Summoning her energy?” I echoed dumbly as I followed the woman down a dimly lit hallway.

She chuckled. “Of course! You don’t think that magic can ever actually summon the gods themselves? The most we can hope is for their energetic guidance.”

If only that were true!
My first impulse was to correct her, but I forced myself to stay silent. The brand of magic this woman was describing was puzzling, but I didn’t want to stand there discussing dogma. I wanted to move forward with my plan, and she might be able to help me. I wasn’t going to risk that with an argument, so I just nodded.

The lavender-draped woman reached for a small, dark bottle. “This is Hecate oil. I brew it myself under the waning moon.”

I took it from her. “What do I do with it?”

“Anoint your forehead or throw a few drops on your charcoal to create an incense.”

“Okay.” I eyed the bottle skeptically. Maybe the woman was right; I could never hope to contact a god just by using a little bit of perfume.

The woman folded her hands together in front of her chest in a prayer. “I hope you fix what you’re trying to.”

I mimicked her gesture. It was one I recognized from my mom’s Sunday morning yoga classes, and I felt a familiar prick of pain when I thought about her.
Soon, she’ll be back where she belongs.
I pushed the thought away and smiled at the woman. “Thanks.”

She left me alone, and I browsed around a bit. The shop had a bizarre arrangement of things: it was part garden store, part hippy boutique, and part Witchy paradise. I stopped to examine a display of multicolored stones. There was a neatly labeled card beside the arrangement, listing the names of the stones and their properties.

Impulsively, I reached for a small blue square flecked with gold. The card said it was lapis lazuli, and that it was a good stone to carry for personal happiness and strength. For some reason, the stone reminded me of Izzy, and I decided to buy it for her.

When I finally headed to the register to pay for the oil and the stone, Brad and Ben were already paying for their purchases.

“What’d you get?” I nodded my head at the purple bags they were holding.

Ben grinned and started to open his bag. “I got this little dude. Isn’t he cool?” He pulled a small stone dragon from the bag.

I nodded hesitantly. “What does it do?”

Ben glanced at the lavender woman, and she smiled, pointing to the dragon. “It’s a talisman. You can charge it with protective energies and then keep it with you.”

“Cool!” Ben said again. He tucked the dragon away. “Show her what you got, Brad.”

“Maybe later.” Brad sidled closer to the door. “I’ll meet you guys outside.”

Ben shrugged. “Thanks again!” he called over his shoulder to the shopkeeper. She waved as the door chimed behind him.

I handed her the oil, and then I pointed to the stone. “I’d like to get this too.”

“For your friend?”

I stared at her in surprise. “How did you know?”

Her smile was wide. “Just a feeling.”

I hadn’t looked at the price of the oil, and when she read my total to me, I stared at her in shock. Finally, I fished out my credit card and swiped it, trying not to look at the digits that flashed on the screen. After all this, I had to hope the oil would be worth the expense.

Izzy was sitting on the curb when I left the shop, but the twins were nowhere in sight.

“Where’d the boys go?”

She pointed to the restaurant. “They were both suddenly starving.”

I laughed and sat down next to her. “I got you something.”

Her face lit up. “Me too! Hold out your hand.”

“You first.”

She smiled. “Same time, how ‘bout that?”

I nodded and passed her the stone as she dropped something smooth and cool into my left hand. After a moment, we both started to laugh uncontrollably.

“What’s the joke?” Ben emerged from the sandwich shop carrying two large bags. Brad was close behind him.

I looked at Izzy, and we started to laugh harder. “Great minds think alike!” I finally choked out, holding the stone she’d given me.

The twins shook their heads, and Ben smiled gently. “You girls are cracked. Let’s go.”

Izzy and I were still giggling when we got into the car. It felt good to laugh; I’d almost forgotten what it was like to just be happy for a moment.

I turned the stone Izzy had given me over in my hands. We were sitting upstairs in my room, and things almost felt peaceful. After a burst of Izzy’s happy Blue cleaning magic, the musty smell was replaced with something that smelled like my grandmother’s laundry. It wasn’t perfect, but it was so much more bearable now.

“What is it?” The red stone was thin, and it looked more like a piece of glass than a rock. It was smooth and round, with a small hole drilled in the top, as if the stone was meant to be worn on a chain.

“Carnelian. It’s one of the stones people in ancient Egypt used to worship Isis, and the sign in the shop said it helps balance energy.” She smiled at me innocently. “If anyone needs help with balance, it’s you.”

“Are you calling me unstable?” I tried to joke with her, but my voice held an edge. She heard it and scooted away.

“No. It just seemed like it was meant for you.”

“So did the lapis. Like it was meant for you, I mean.”

She nodded and grinned. “Funny thing. Lapis is another stone that’s associated with Isis. I love it.”

“Happiness, strength, and balance. No wonder you’re always smiling. Your goddess was the first guru.” I tucked the carnelian into the front pocket of my jeans.
I’ll find a chain for it later.

Izzy beamed at me. “I’m glad you like her.”

I hesitated. “I talked to her in Greece.”

Izzy’s eyes grew wide. “Before or after Set?”

“Before. She was trying to convince me to do something.”

My friend sucked in her cheeks. “And did she?”

I shook my head. “No. But you’re right. She’s a really cool goddess.”

She nodded. “I’m lucky she raised me. I couldn’t ask for a better replacement mom.”

Something Set had told me crept back into my memory. “Izzy,” I began slowly, “you don’t think Isis would ever try to turn you into a god or anything, do you?”

She laughed. “That’s ridiculous! Gods and mortals don’t mix that way, not even gods and Witches.”

I nodded, but Set’s words had made me wonder. I didn’t want to discuss him with Izzy, though. We were almost having a normal day, and I didn’t want to spoil that by telling her why Set had kidnapped her in the first place.
Maybe I’ll tell her later
…
if there is a later to worry about.
“Never mind. It was a stupid question.”