The Death Curse

Chapter 5: The Tale of Michelle

"So, do you have to be born a witch? And is that right? Do I call you a witch or is it warlock or wizard?" Julia leaned through the gap between the driver and passenger seats, resting her elbows on the backs.

"Witch is just fine. And no, you're not born a witch. The amount of magic you start with is hereditary though. Everyone is born with some level of it but the more magic in one's family history the easier it is for them to pick it up," Rhys answered, as he maneuvered his car out of the city. When I first saw the bright yellow monstrosity I had broken out laughing, which earned me a glare from Rhys. It was obviously an old taxi cab, the outline of where the lettering used to be was still visible along the sides. I didn't know how someone got a hold of an old taxi or why anyone would want to but seeing as I didn't have a car of my own to offer up instead, it was our only option to get to Seattle.

"So I could do magic?" Julia asked excitedly.

Rhys shrugged. "Maybe with enough practice you could do some basic spells. It depends on how much magic is in your lineage."

Julia frowned. "What about a history of Baptists?"

"That doesn't sound too promising," he chuckled. "But you never know. After this is done you should visit the shop and I can get you some reading material if you're interested."

"Maybe I will."

I rolled my eyes. Of course, Julia was already won over by Rhys and his magic. I had to admit that it was amazing but the more I thought about it the more I wasn't sure if the "wow" factor outweighed the potential danger. It opened the door to so many unknown possibilities that it was frightening. And so far my experience with magic hadn't been that positive.

"Hey, we saw one of the guys who came to your shop at the bar last night," I said, suddenly remembering. I had meant to mention it earlier but the spell and everything else had been distracting.

"Yeah," Julia confirmed from the back. "Big dude and all beat and bruised."

Rhys's eyes flickered to me in concern. "What happened?"

"He apologized for hitting me with the crowbar and said it wouldn't happen again."

Rhys's brows raised.

"Oh, and that you're still on the hook so you better watch out," I added.

"Well that was nice of him but he shouldn't have bothered you." Rhys glared at the road.

"Did you beat him up?" Julia asked. "No offense but that guy was like twice your size."

Rhys's grip on the steering wheel tightened. "Don't worry about it. You won't be seeing him again."

Julia opened her mouth to probe further but I shook my head. He clearly didn't want to talk about it and we didn't need to know. No sense in getting involved in his business since we probably wouldn't see him again after today.

We made it to Seattle a bit before four. The autumn sun was already dipped low in the sky and gave the houses in the Laurelhurst neighborhood an eerie glow. We slowly made it through the car lined streets as Rhys scanned the houses. They were set a bit back from the street and many had nicely manicured bushes and shrubs in front of them.

"How are you going to figure out which house is her's?" Julia's head was on a swivel, trying to pinpoint the witchiest house on the block. "That could be it," she said pointing.

It was a red brick house, with a rounded door that I had to admit did give off a mystical aura.

"Close," Rhys said. "It's the next one." He inclined his head to a blue two-story house with a bright red door and a hedge lining its yard.