An Open Heart: Other Realm, Frost Family Series Book 4

Key 18

The woman made a sharp left, pulling the young boy at her side closer as they moved into the shadows of the alley. The boy let out a soft grunt of surprise, but otherwise stayed quiet. Moving down the alleyway, the woman paused for a moment. Her eyes took in the odd sight of the single door in the far wall. It was old, looking worn and weathered, a dark maple wood. The knob was a forest green shade and looked more like plants and moss had grown out of the wood of the tree to form a handle. The woman walked closer, hesitating as she read the sign above the door on the alleyway wall.

Vyne Enchantments and Medicines: Everything You Need from Hexes to Charms

By the left side of the door, close to the knob, was a small, white sign with scrolling, elegant black script.

"If looking for the Apothocary, please turn the dial to Green. If looking for the Enchanting Table specifically, please turn the dial to Red. If looking for the Main Shop, please turn the dial to Blue. If looking for the main Vyne residence, please be aware any uninvited trespassers will be subjected to the full fury of a witch...But if you are here on an invitation, please turn the dial to Black."

Blinking, the woman frowned, feeling a little uneasy, before lowering her hand down to the mentioned dial under the sign and by the knob. It was one large circle, with a golden brass knob shaped like a maple leaf in the middle. All around the outside of the dial was green-gold brass vines, swarming the entire mechanism so that it looked as if it wouldn't be able to turn at all.

Currently, the dial was on the Red option, the bright crimson color peeking out through a small carved out section of the dial. On top of the red color was the letters spelling red in stark white, contrasting against the darker color easily. Slowly, the woman turned the maple knob of the dial once to the left. The boy at her side watched in curious, quiet interest. The color moved to Green, so the woman quickly turned it twice to the right instead. Blue showed up now and the woman let out a soft breath of relief. She hadn't been sure what might have happened if she'd had it land on Black.

Placing her hand on the door handle, she found it was actually made of plants. The fuzzy, softness of the moss brushed along the palm of her hand. It seemed to be holding it's shape and strength through the sheer amount of thin vines that had been twisted and shaped into it...

Shaking her head, you're just delaying this, she pulled back on the handle. Blinking in the sudden brightness of the white light flooding out of the door, she let out a low gasp of shock.

"M-Mommy," the boy whispered, tightening his fingers around her right hand.

"Don't worry, honey," the woman assured her son quickly, smiling down at him. "We just have to visit this lady for...for some help," she explained quietly.

Ivy Vyne felt the shift in the air of her separate dimension that housed her home and shop, along with a few more special odds and ends places she kept to herself. Lifting her head from where she'd been carefully studying the measurement of bicorn horn dust to be put into her current potion, she sighed.

"Coming!" she called out to the newcomer, knowing they'd be able to hear her voice. Carefully placing down the jar with horn dust and putting back in the amount she'd poured out on the moonlight-bathed silver spoon, she let out another sigh. "Busy bee I am today," she murmured to herself.

Be careful, Ivy, Cithee's light, airy voice settled into Ivy's mind. The feeling I'm getting right now is...A Cursed One approches.

Raising a brow, Ivy glanced over to her left where her familiar, an aguane taking the shape of a miniature version of her true form, was sitting on a shelf. A girl of about twelve years of age with clear blue irises and large, round black pupils. Ivory-silver hair which draped around Cithee's body in heavy, twisting folds, glinting slightly, reflecting the lights in the room. A simple dress of pale green and blue hues with a gold-laced bodice covered her body. From the ends of the long dress and the way it pressed against Cithee's body, you could tell she didn't have a humanoid lower half.