The Legend of the Eight: The Gifted

12: A Threat For Eight

TWELVE: A THREAT FOR EIGHT
JANUARY 25

NICOLE BRADLEY

"BE SURE TO WORK ON your Impetius spells before Monday's demonstrative exams," Mr. Westville said in a thick Italian accent once class was over. As students around the room packed up their Enchantments notes for lunch, Nicole looked over at Kate. The girls had different plans.

The journal Kate stole from her mother was spelled to keep unwanted eyes out, meaning any secrets within it would go unseen unless they found a way to break the spell. Luckily, Kate knew of a place where they could find a counter charm—they'd exhausted any options they could find in the library. So she called for a car to pick them up after class and they snuck away unseen.

During the drive, Nicole made eye contact with the driver, Thom, through the rearview mirror though he never said a word. Kate said he'd been driving for the Diamond family for years, and his discretion was unparalleled. He wouldn't breathe a word of their trip to anyone.

"You should know," Kate murmured, too quietly for Thom to hear. "This shop where we're going is run by some pretty crooked wizards. It's sort of like black market magic dealing. It'll probably be best if you let me do all the talking."

Nicole nodded slowly. "If it means we leave with the spell, I won't say a word."

THOM DROPPED THE GIRLS ON the corner of Alchemy Alley and Pravus Street. One of those roads was lined with cute shops, boutiques, bars and cafes. The other was Pravus Street.

Tall building—some lit with candles, others boarded up and condemned—cast dark shadows down onto Pravus St. and while it was sometime in the early afternoon, the darkness tricked Nicole into believing it was night.

Kate linked her arm through Nicole's while they walked over broken cobblestone. Many of the shops they passed sported shattered windows, kicked in doors, and graffiti done over and over again.

"My parents tried for years to clean it up around here," Kate explained. "But there was only ever so much they could do."

"Maybe we should go back to school," Nicole said because the further they traveled down the street, the creepier it became.

"No way," said Kate as she shook her head. She tightened her arm around Nicole's as they walked. There was a stubbornness to her that Nicole was beginning to expect and minutes later, they were standing outside one of the only businesses actually still in operation.

"This is it," said Kate. "Madam Evreaux's Shadow Shop."

Nicole chewed her lip anxiously. In the store's front window was a display of feathers, shrunken skulls, and vials of dust, each a different color. The light outside the shop was faint, almost like it had burned out, and as nervous as she was to enter, Nicole was desperate to escape the January cold. So when Kate walked inside, Nicole hurried behind.

Inside the shop looked exactly how Nicole imagined it would—tall shelves of books lined the perimeter and tables of strange artifacts crowded the floor space. Behind the counter was an eclectic woman dressed in a strange outfit that combined mesh, leather, fishnet and fringe. Her hair was wild—dyed a mixture of orange and pink—and her eyes were surrounded by an amount of eyeliner that was overwhelming to say the least.

"Welcome to Madam Evreaux's Shadow Shop," the girl said in a bold accent. "What mischief are you looking to get into today?"

Nicole looked at Kate who was carefully snaking her way around tables and shelves up to the front. Then she folded her hands together and put them on the counter.