The Witches on BellaRow Street

31. Lying, Tigers, and Elephants. Oh My!

The Spark. The Light. The Fire.
*:･ﾟ･ﾟ:*:･ﾟ･ﾟ:*:･ﾟ･ﾟ:*:･ﾟ･ﾟ:*:･ﾟ:*

They say if you want to shock someone, then mention the elephant in the room. Mention the one thing everybody is thinking, but too afraid to say out loud. Let it sizzle in the atmosphere until your temples begin to sweat. Let it breathe.

The problem: No one likes the fucking elephant in the room.

Not me, Junie, Fay, or Miss Voule.

Aunt BeeBee roams her eyes over us, casting an unwavering look at anyone who's concern about her latest idea. It's the alley moment all over again, except this time, she wants us to dabble in a different kind of magic.

Insert Etienne Le'Rue.

She's not your typical, 'I'll be there for you because I care' Witch. No, Miss Le'Rue likes to collect her checks upfront with interest, and then ask for a piece of your soul as collateral. Meaning if we don't keep up our end of the deal--she still wins.

Le'Rue is also an expert in Zetish magic.

And that's why we're looking at Aunt BeeBee as if she's lost her mind.

Faylayee leans forward, perplexed. "What?! That's a bad idea," she croaks, finally breaking the silence.

She right, however, we're in a sticky situation, and it's only a matter of time before the annoying Detective Cree traces everything back to us or worse, the photo-stalker exposes our pictures to the public. And I don't want to think about what the 'not so dead body in a coma,' aka the councilman, might say if he wakes up.

Mister Purr quirks a furry brow, then hops off of Faylayee's lap, and scurries away. Whatever he's thinking, I'm sure he'll tell us soon.

Junie shrugs. "Let's go." She watches as I hand back Miss Voule's cellphone, which sparks an idea. "But how are we going to get in? Where is she located? I mean, Le'Rue isn't someone you walk up to."

And by 'get in' she means entrance into the Zetish Underworld.

The rules have changed for Witches/Warlocks with soul magic. At first, Zetish locations weren't a mystery, but it's different now, and we think Le'Rue is at the center of it. For one, you need access to cross over to the other side. The thing is no one knows who has access, how to get it, what to do with it, or where to go.

However, when Aunt BeeBee clears her throat, forcing us to look at her as she peeps at Miss Voule, my heart sinks.

Miss Voule's eyes blare wide, intuitively reacting to Aunt BeeBee's non-verbal cues. "Oh, no. No ma'am! Find someone else."

"You have connects to the underworld--" adds Aunt BeeBee.

"Yes, and I still owe them a hundred favors."

"V, please..."

"Bee, there's levels, rules. It's risky, and they may kill you."

In the middle of their intense stare-off, Miss Voule phone rings, snapping us back to reality. At first, she glares at it, and after three odd seconds, she utters, "I have to take this. I'll be right back." She steps away and begins mumbling incoherent words through the phone, leaving the four of us on the sun porch.

I'm not sure of what kind of connections Miss Voule has, but Aunt BeeBee does. And now that I think about it, Aunt BeeBee knows facts about everything and everyone. When defeat our problem, I'll have to ask her about her past life, before we became a sisterhood--a circle.