Twisted Fate

Chapter 42

Astrid

Ms. Hattie slaps Nicolas on the back of the head and makes him clean out the extremely disorganized storage closet as punishment for "inviting that evil shit" into her shop. I'm wondering if I should tell her to find more chores for him because he'll be breaking her rules again. But the way she shakes her head, watching him as he sweeps the floor, I think she's well aware of his mischievous ways.

I hang out at the shop for most of the day, keeping Blair company as she does her work. Creating potions with ingredients that are difficult to find is a way of income in the witch world. Who knew she could make a living by mixing frog legs and rotting plants in a pot all day. Other covens pay high-dollar for her abundant supplies of weirdness.

She's too drowned out in her work to speak, and I'm out of paper to doodle on. I contemplate asking Nicole to take a walk downtown with me, but she's giggling like a little schoolgirl in the next room with the phone in her ear. I know that look well enough, not wanting to interrupt a dirty conversation between her and Michael.

I sigh and put my pen down, spending the next few hours reading spell books and helping Ms. Hattie with the guests. It's interesting to see the different faces who visit the gift shop. Some come for the thrill of getting lucky enough to see a ghost, and others visit because they're paying customers who need to find the right spell to make their crush fall in love with them. Ms. Hattie's voodoo tactics are endless and 100% effective.

"Keep looking. It's gotta be here somewhere." A group of teenage girls are whispering and hiding behind the back bookshelves, hoping no one can see them. But I noticed the minute they snuck inside. They smell of cotton candy perfume and mischief. Their eyes dart from every corner as they search for something off-limits to the guests. Call it an alpha's intuition.

"We're going to get in so much trouble."

"Shhh, lower your voice. We won't get in trouble as long as we don't get caught."

Ha! Too late for that.

"We should split up. Look everywhere and don't stop until you find the door. It's red, and the owner keeps it locked. The first person to find it should send a text in the group chat." This gets me interested in their plan.

The girls do as their leader says and search in all the wrong places. I know that room is across the hall from the study because I saw it earlier. I was equally curious to open it, but now that I think about it, it's probably just some old closet Ms. Hattie keeps locked up for safety reasons. I'm more interested to know what a group of teenagers could want to steal from that particular room. Perhaps another mind-control object.

I softly knock twice on the open door behind the counter. "Hey, Ms. Hattie?"

She drops the papers in her hand on the desk, peering from her shoulder. "Yes, darling?"

I nudge my head out towards the bookshelves. "Short girl with pink highlights looks a little out of place. She's trying to get into the room that's locked in the back."

Ms. Hattie stares at me as if I've grown a second head. She turns around slowly in her chair to face me. "Pardon?"

"The one with the red door across the hall from the study room," I clarify. Her eyes widen, and she stands to her feet faster than I can blink.

She steps closer, never breaking fierce eye contact. "You saw it?" Her voice below a whisper. The tension from her posture prickles my skin, and I shuffle on my feet nervously.

"Um yeah..."

Ms. Hattie and I have officially started a staring contest. It's gotten so intense that we don't hear a guest ringing the counter bell until they peek their head into the office. I step back, losing the contest.