Star Child

Chapter VIII: Curiosities

The hours ticked by like dust in the wind, fitting since the desert of ash had a slight breeze kicking up. In the distance, Nicolas could see a spot, which soon progressed into a smudge, which then transformed into a miniature town. Flapping overhead, Warren was a small black dot in the sky, a few meters in front of Nicolas. Once they approached the small square, Warren made a shrieking noise, dropped a feather, and flew away; this was where the Spin Sisters were.

The town, though small was probably overestimating the size, looked like a modernly saturated and bleak city block. The lights hanging across the broken, abysmal town were the only source of color; the gleamed a dismal yellow. Nicolas wasn't even sure how yellow lights could be dismal, but they were, and they were a hangin'.

The feather floated peacefully, just as it had when it led Nicolas to Theo's house. After a few minutes following the feather, it stopped at the only building that had a roof. The door, inscribed with blood, had the number '666' written on it, and a knocker that looked like a demon with a nose ring. Definitely a child-friendly home if there was any.

Just as he was about to knock (without using the knocker, mind you), the door opened inward and a young woman was instead hit square in the forehead. Stumbling backward, the girl landed on her ass, though it was more because of surprise than of being physically shoved down, as Nicolas is quite weak.

Fuck you, narrator, Nicolas thought in slight annoyance, while I type this last sentence with one hand as the other is flipping him off.

Helping the girl up, Nicolas apologized profusely, and helped her adjust herself, though it was obvious that she was becoming angrier. Backing off, she dusted herself off and seemed as though she was going to murder Nicolas, until she noticed the feather floating outside her door. Snatching it, she rushed passed Nicolas and into the building further.

Nicolas followed slightly, and noticed that most of the building was undecorated, though there was a sign that pointed up the stairs reading; "Spin Sisters' Spell Shop." The alliteration seemed unnecessary, though it was catchy.

Once up the creaky, dark stairwell, Nicolas walked into a large, library-like room. In the shelves however, neatly stacked lines of bottles, books, and other witch-like items seemed alive but stagnant. Various familiars, not all being recognizable animals, roamed the shelves and hopped across, while various witches, voodoo practitioners, and other magical entities browsed the aisles.

Weaving through and dodging both flying books and leaping lizards (how ironic), Nicolas finally found the girl at the back, next to who seemed to be her twin, examining the feather with a very large microscope. Nicolas apologized to a small saw-whet owl that he had accidentally bumped into while it was flying, but it seemed clingy, and stood on his shoulder.

Waiting behind a person in completely covering black robes, Nicolas looked intently. One of the sisters was checking out the feather, while the other was checking the person's cyanide-bottle and bear-trap; the obvious party-goers necessities.

Finally, when it was Nicolas' turn, the twins looked at him with curiosity and led him and the small owl into a back room behind the counter. The back room, functioning as a storage room, was small and terrifying, but Nicolas made sure to keep his expression neutral.

"What a pleasant meeting we had, Star Child," whispered the girl that Nicolas had punched, pushing her glasses up in a mockingly offended manner. The small owl shifted and clawed into Nicolas' neck, making him grunt softly.

"But now you look quite mangy and wild," spoke the other girl, taking the feather and looking at it without making eye contact with Nicolas. Nicolas noticed the difference in their eye color; the one with the glasses had blue eyes, while the one with a brimmed black hat had green. The blue-eyed one stared at Nicolas for a few minutes while the green-eyed one examined the feather intently. Then they exchanged a few words privately and turned back to Nicolas.