Cursed (17 page)

Sasha held back about the blue sparks. He obviously wasn’t open to the idea of magic. When he was, she’d tell him then.

“So what’s your next step?”

Sasha told him about the Fifth Street store.

“How’s that going to help?”

“Let’s for a minute assume it’s a curse,” she said. Evan rolled his eyes. Sasha put up a hand to ward off his skepticism. “Let’s just give it chance ok? When we’ve exhausted that idea we’ll move on the next theory, ok?”

Evan stared at her, skepticism written in every muscle. He put up his hands in a motion of defeat and shrugged his shoulders.

“Fine,” he said. “We’ll dismiss this magic crap and move on to the real threat.”

After finishing their drinks, they waved goodbye to Teebow and walked to Evan’s car. He put her bike in the trunk.

“You’re not working today?”

He shook his head. “Not until Sunday.”

Evan put the key in the ignition but didn’t start the car. He stared at the windshield but didn’t seem to see anything.

“Is everything alright?” Sasha asked.

Evan turned to her, one of his hands reached for her cheek. He stroked the skin in a circular motion with his thumb and tucked a stray hair behind her ear.

“I don’t want to let a moment go by without doing this,” he said reaching for her with a passion she’d only dreamed about. He slipped his hand behind her neck and pulled her mouth down to his. His lips pressed against hers with such urgency it took Sasha’s breath away.

She felt herself melt at the light touch of his warm lips. She was unable to contain her eagerness and opened her mouth to his and wound a hand into the hair at the nape of his neck. His lips were soft and seeking. She felt a swell of happiness in her chest. She hadn’t been wrong about him and he’d come back to her. She felt herself smile.

She pressed closer to him, the gear shift jabbing her in the ribs. He slipped a hand around her waist, his fingers brushing the bare skin on her side. She shivered at his touch and sighed. This was everything she’d been daydreaming about..

Evan pulled away quizzically until he saw the grin on her face. He leaned toward her again and rested his forehead on hers.

“I wasn’t wrong about you,” he whispered. “You need me as much as I need you.”

Sasha slipped a hand into his and squeezed. She was too overcome with emotion to speak. Evan sat back in his seat and put the car in gear. They held hands as he drove.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

As Sasha stood outside the crystal mumbo jumbo shop she wished Cady were with her. This was one of the first times she ached for her company. She missed her snarky laugh and quick wit even if the wicked comments were sometimes about her. It was all for fun wasn’t it?

Cady was super smart and courageous. Nothing could scare her. She would have marched into the shop, demanded to see the faux magician and gotten answers.

Now Evan and Sasha were standing outside the store peering in. It was a cross between a junky tourist trap and antique store. Its black sign had glowing stars around the name Cast Your Spell. Since most people knew nothing about real magic, the shop seemed geared toward the Harry Potter crowd. There was a bubbling cauldron spewing dry ice smoke in the display window. Crystals hung on nylon wire from the ceiling and glittered in the sun

Through the front door Sasha could see a floor basket overflowing with black capes and a counter vase with glowing sticks presumably fake wands.

Sasha glanced with a bemused expression at Evan. She feared she wasn’t going to find a legitimate spell caster who could explain what was going on with her.

“I’m surprised there isn’t a Disney logo on the sign,” she said sarcastically.

“I warned you,” Evan said. He backtracked when he saw the hurt expression on her face. “Maybe it’s all for show.”

A bell chimed when they walked into the shop. One wall was lined with book shelves containing volumes of new age philosophy and recipe books pitching how to hold a magical dinner party. Sasha withdrew one thin volume called Spelling One. Its thin onion sheet pages contained spells that looked like poems. Since she wasn’t familiar with real spells she didn’t know if they were authentic.

A young man came out of a curtained alcove at the back of the store. He was tall and skinny with a mop of black hair and pale skin. His dark eyes were coal black and fringed with inky lashes. His facial features were sharp and angular as the bones protruded prominently from his skin. His clothes were nondescript baggy black jeans and a black T-shirt.

Sasha was surprised. Despite the phony appearance of the store, this guy looked like a genuine badass magician or at least what she thought a magician should be.

 When he extended a hand, Sasha was surprised at the roughness of his palm as if he worked with his hands.

“Sasha,” he said astounding her that he knew her name. Evan tightened his grip on her upper arm as she dropped the guy’s hand as if it were scalding.

“How--,” she said.

“Don’t worry. It wasn’t me. Gus said you’d be coming.”

Confused Sasha took a step backward. “Gus?” she said trying to keep her voice steady even though her hands were trembling.

“He owns the store,” the guy said.

“How--,” he cut her off again.

“That you’ll have to ask Gus. I’m Trick, short for Patrick. Why don’t you look around the store before I take you upstairs?”

Sasha drew Evan to her as they stepped away from Patrick and whispered in his ear.

“I have a bad feeling,” she said.

“Can you excuse us for a minute?” Evan asked the guy. Once alone Evan spoke into her ear in a low voice. “Is it because he’s more Halloween trick or treat than a Patrick?”

Sasha suppressed a smile. “Sort of,” she smothered a giggle.

They walked over to a corner that contained antique lamp shades. Some were Tiffany lamp knock offs, while others were covered in a yellowed aging silk. Sasha froze when she saw hanging on the wall stained glass pendants like the one around her neck.

“Evan look,” she said pointing to the necklaces. He glanced over at the jewelry but there was no recognition on his face. She hadn’t told him about the conversation she’d had with her mother about the pendant. “It’s like the one my mother gave me.”

She pulled the necklace from beneath her shirt. Evan picked it up gently and the colors flared bright as if charged with electricity. The blue glowed as glittering as the blue sparks and Sasha felt blinded by the brightness. Evan dropped the necklace as if it had burned him.

“Are you hurt?” she asked concerned. She’d never seen the pendant do that.

“What just happened?” he asked his voice containing an angry edge.

“I don’t know,” she whispered loudly.

Evan glared at Patrick over her head. She glanced over her shoulder and saw Patrick staring at them from across the room, his eyes burning a hole in her back.

“Are you ready?” he called.

Sasha turned back to Evan. “Do you want to leave?”

Evan shook his head. “We aren’t going to let these guys scare us. Let’s get what we came for.”

They marched back to the service counter where Patrick waited. “Ready?” They nodded and Patrick picked up the phone. He said a couple of words into the hand set that Sasha couldn’t hear and hung up.

“I have to close up,” he said going to the front door and flipping the lock. He turned the open sign over to closed and pulled down the shade.

Patrick walked to the alcove curtain and motioned for them to follow. Evan grabbed Sasha’s hand and walked ahead of her. When they reached the curtain, he squeezed her hand and spoke softly so that Patrick couldn’t hear.

“If this gets too weird we’ll leave, ok?” He watched her from the corner of his eye as she nodded..

They walked into a dimly lit storeroom in the back of the shop. It had shelves rising to the ceiling stacked with cardboard boxes of merchandize. The room wasn’t large and at the rear there was a metal door.

The door led to a nondescript hallway and Patrick locked the door behind them as he motioned for them to move down the corridor. Evan stopped and waved Patrick to lead them up a wooden staircase.

“You first,” he said to Patrick who threw back his shoulders and marched up the stairs.

As they climbed the creaky stairs, Sasha worried that she’d made a mistake. She had a nagging feeling like she’d missed something. It was when her pendant lit up like a firecracker. It had to mean something but she was at a loss to explain the phenomena. It had never happened before and she was ignorant about magic. Her mother made sure of that.

Sasha didn’t want to let anxiety freeze her. She fought back her fear breathing deeply and ascended the stairs behind Evan. He was still holding her sweaty hand.

Patrick unlocked a wooden door at the top of the stairs and disappeared from sight. Evan hesitated before following.

“It’s ok Evan,” Sasha said. “I can keep us safe if we are in danger.”

She knew the blue sparks would appear. She was at least confident in that assumption because she had tested the theory. Evan had a question in his eyes. She didn’t say anything more and pushed him lightly to move forward.

They walked into a gloomy, smoky room that strangely didn’t smell like anything. An elderly man sat in a burgundy upholstered hardback chair in front of a table of gleaming candles. His hair and long beard were white and he was clothed in grey pants and a long flowing white shirt. There was nothing distinct about him except he was mumbling under his breath and didn’t stop when they came into the room. Patrick led them to a wooden bench normally seen in a park.

Sasha and Evan slowly lowered themselves to the hard wood. Evan collected Sasha’s hand and held it in his lap. He stroked her palm with his thumb and traced the lines. The feeling was electrifying and distracting. She smiled at Evan and pulled her hand away. She needed to focus on everything that was going to happen.

She opened her mouth to speak and Patrick put out a hand to silence her. He put a finger against his lips, the universal sign to be quiet. Sasha clenched her mouth shut obeying the request.

The old man finally stopped his strange muttering and looked at them. His gray eyes were surprisingly clear and the skin around his eyes was smooth despite his white hair and long white beard that gave him the appearance of being old. Sasha could not pick an age for this man. He white hair told her he was in his seventies. The smooth skin said he was still in his forties.

The man smiled and still no wrinkles appeared on his face. Maybe the guy was a fan of Botox. Sasha didn’t smile back. She didn’t know if this curious man was friend or foe.

“Thank you for coming Sasha,” the man said. “I am Gus.”

“How do you--,” he cut her off before she asked how he knew her name.

“It’s not important,” Gus said as if answering the question she never got to ask. “I am here to help you.”

Sasha eyed him quizzically. How was he going to help if he didn’t let her ask questions?

“How?” She finally asked after thinking for a minute.

“I can tell you how to break the curse,” Gus said. “A piece of hair please.”

Patrick walked over to her as she put her hands on her head to stop him from taking a hair.

“Why do you need my hair?”

“I need to know what kind of curse Vania cast on you,” Gus said.

“You seem to be all knowing, can’t you tell me already?”

Gus laughed heartily. The girth around his middle jiggled like a bowl of Jell-O.

“I am good,” he said. “That’s how I know Nefar has come for you.”

Sasha felt a chill run down her spine. Gus said Nefar’s name as if he were a friend of his rather than a dangerous killer. Was this a trap?

“Don’t worry,” he said. “I am no friend of Nefar’s.”

Suddenly it struck her. “You are reading my mind,” she said.

Gus smiled widely. He was trying to put her at ease but Sasha was still wary.

“Was I that obvious?”

“Yes,” she said. “You also haven’t told me anything that I don’t already know.”

Gus laughed again and picked up a green candle. “I will tell you more if you give me a piece of hair.”

Reluctantly Sasha pulled a strand from her skull. She handed it to Patrick who delivered it to Gus. The hair was placed in a pottery bowl and Gus poured a liquid on top from a narrow, orange glass bottle. He touched the candle to the surface of the bowl and there was a yellow flash and smoke. Gush waved the smoke in a circular motion as if he were trying to conjure up a smoke vision.

He waved a slim stick around as if it were a wand and mumbled something she couldn’t hear. Gus was surrounded by smoke for several minutes before he spoke.

“Unfortunately I have bad news,” he said. Sasha wasn’t surprised. She had been feeling the doom and gloom since she came into the shop. “It’s a killing curse.”

Sasha shook her head in denial but she believed Gus. She knew he was speaking the truth. It explained much.

“But why send Nefar after me?” she asked.