Saving Angel (Book 1 Epta Borromean Realms)

Chapter 3

It was still early enough in the day to explore town, so Angel grabbed her satchel and decided to try to find a job. Her rent may have been paid, but she would still need money to eat and buy a new phone.

Wandering through the square, she found a small shop tucked into a corner. The front window boasted jars of herbs and bath bombs, but there was no other energy discernible from the street, which was unusual. Every other shop and cafe had a natural flow of energy emanating from within.

Intrigued by the lack of energy, Angel ventured in. A gentle ward washed over her body as she entered, a small bell signaling her arrival. The walls were a soft soothing blue, with shelves filled with jars of herbs, incense, salts, and ready made poultices.

Small crystal pendulums hung in the window, sparkling in the sunlight.

"Can I help you?"

Angel jumped when a woman suddenly appeared from the back of the shop. She was gorgeous with bright blue eyes and soft curls of brown and gray hair that fell around her shoulders. Angel couldn't resist staring.

"Are you ok there?" The woman asked, brushing her hair back from her forehead to reveal a tattoo of three moons, representing the virgin, maiden and crone.

"What?" Angel asked, staring and completely lost from any and all trains of thought. Why had I come in here?

"I asked if you needed anything?" She repeated.

"Oh! Yes...." 'What did I need again? Stop staring. Stop staring,' she repeated to herself over and over. "Um, do you have any sage bundles? Candles? Those sorts of things?" Angel finally asked, then smacked herself in the forehead.

'What the hell is wrong with me? I am in a shop filled with the scents of herbs, oils and candles. Of course she has those!'

This store was the only place in town, let alone the county, seling exactly what witches and warlocks needed for rituals and spells, poultices, and other remedies..

The gorgeous woman smiled, "I do. Are you cleansing your new house? or is this for personal cleansing?"

Angel stood with her mouth agape, dumbfounded for a second. "How did you know I have a new house?"

"My dear, this is a small town. Everyone talks. What's your name?" She asked while straightening up the crystals and pendulums she had brought out to display inside a glass cabinet.

"Um, Angel. My name is Angel."

The woman's hands paused for a moment before her gaze slowly lifted up to her. "Angel?" Her eyes scanned the young woman from top to bottom before she turned and walked into the back room. "Follow me," she called over her shoulder.

Angel took another look around the shop, and followed her nervously into the back room. The wards washed over her skin as she walked behind the curtains separating the two spaces. The sensations were akin to the ocean on a summer day licking across the skin. It was soothing, like a balm sliding over burnt skin, cooling the heat.

Shit. Who is this woman? She wondered to herself.

"Come, sit," the woman's voice pulled her out of her thoughts once again, and she followed to sit opposite the proprietress around a small table draped with a black, velour covering.

No sooner had her butt hit the chair, another pull of energy washed around her body. 'Goddess, this woman is powerful. Even the elders weren't capable of this level of energy among them collectively, and they were elders!'

Watching with a new appreciation in mind, the woman lay three cards out on the table face down. Angel observed quietly as she flipped the card furthest to her left to reveal a Queen of Wands.