“Please, have a seat at the table.” Hedy gestured toward the tiny table she had in the center of the room.
“First, I must prepare the space. I must open a circle around the table, greet the four cardinal points and then close the circle with us inside. It will keep whatever might come through the board from getting loose. At least I hope it will.” Helen’s tight voice sounded unsure. So much for Hedy’s plan of bringing in an expert.
Helen opened up her black canvas tote bag and drew out the large mason jar of rock salt. She placed a spirit board on the table, along with a wooden planchette, and three red votive candles. Helen’s movements were brisk and efficient. She may have had her doubts, but the witch was going about it all with high energy.
“Hedy, have a seat at the table. I will open the circle and invoke the cardinal points. You should work on keeping your mind clear. Try not to think about Adelaide or your concerns. Think pleasant thoughts. We want the atmosphere to be charged with neutral or positive energy. Nothing negative.” Helen’s words were clipped as she twisted the lid off the mason jar.
With her eyes closed, Hedy tried thinking about spices she wanted to order for the shop - keeping her thoughts light and easy. As much as she tried to focus on cinnamon from Sri Lanka and the high price of saffron, her thoughts kept going back to the dream and the terror of being chased. Keeping light thoughts was a much harder task than she would have thought.
She squinted her eyes hard, willing away the images and she let her mind drift, away from spices. The face of Michael floated across her eyes. He had such nice curly hair - a beautiful, soft black. His eyes had a marvelous little crinkle at each corner and they were a brilliant shade of deep blue, with the slightest flecks of gold. The corners of his mouth seemed to be always ready to smile and even the slight stubble on his chin looked like it would be soft to the touch.
“Hedy…Hedy. Focus now.” Helen’s tight voice snatched the image of Michael from her vision and her eyes flicked open. She felt the warmth in her cheeks from blushing. Could the witch see it?
“I’m ready.” Hedy watched Helen sit across the table from her. There was a tight circle of salt on the floor around them. The three candles were lit and placed on three sides of the board.
“We will start with just me using the planchette. If we have trouble connecting with Adelaide, I may ask you to join me, but I find the signal is usually clearer if one person is connected to the board.” Helen’s fingers were already lightly touching the heart shaped planchette. Hedy wondered briefly if what Helen said was true or if it was because Helen liked being in charge. She pushed the thought quickly away; no negative thoughts were allowed.
“Dear Adelaide. We call you to help us. Our friend, Hedy, has questions and she needs your help. Adelaide, we call you to us, into this sacred space.”
Helen’s voice was still tight but now it had a ring of the theatrics that Hedy had remembered from the first meeting. Perhaps this was her witch stage voice.
“Hedy, speak your question. What do you wish to know?” Helen stage whispered to her, as if Adelaide couldn’t hear everything they said.
“Adelaide. Thank you for saving me from that nightmare. You pulled me from the dream. But what was chasing me? Who was in the dream asking me questions?” Hedy spoke in measured tones, pausing between each word slightly. She had no idea why she did this but it seemed appropriate. Perhaps it took longer to reach the spirit realm than just speaking into the air.
The planchette began to move, crawling across the board and finding a strange swiveling pattern across the edges, not landing on any one letter. After a moment, is slid down into the printed alphabet and paused.
“F…O…X” Helen read the letters aloud, her voice still playing to an audience of one.
“Yes, Adelaide, the fox. Who was the fox?” The planchette swirled again, zipping back and forth across the board. It came back to the letters.
“D…A…N…G…E…R” Helen read aloud again.
“Yes, Adelaide, I believe you. There is danger. But from who?”
“C…R…Y…S…T…A…L…” Helen’s voice was getting louder though her pitch was staying flat
“Is it someone named Crystal? Is that who infiltrated my dream? Adelaide, please!” Hedy’s own voice sounded desperate
The planchette began to zip around the board, zigging and zagging so quickly that Helen could hardly manage to hold on to it with her fingertips.
“S…H…E….I…S…C…O…M…I…N…G…..L…Y…S…S…A….” The planchette flew from Helen’s hand and smashed against the wall, the corner of the heart shape breaking off into a large splinter. Something didn’t want them asking anymore questions.
Chapter Twelve
Thank you, Helen. You were a great help. At least I know what I am dealing with now.” Hedy watched Helen carefully step down the porch stairs, taking pains not to trip over the power cord that Darro had strung along for his circular saw. She would have to ask him to move it before someone tripped.
“My pleasure, Hedy. Sorry for leaving salt all over your carpet. Keep an eye out for any rogue poltergeists.” With a wave of her average looking arm, Helen was gone.
Hedy hardly had time to think about what she had learned about Lyssa, the day was all going so quickly. In between preparing for tomorrow’s Christmas market and helping the sharp uptick in customers, she was fielding questions about the special project she had commissioned from Darro and watching Raluca as she watched Hedy warily from the corner in the shop.
“Can I get you anything, Miss Vaduva?” Hedy asked again, sure the answer would still be no.
“Nothing that is available in your shop, I am afraid. What I require isn’t for sale.” She spoke with a weariness in her voice that surprised Hedy. Mel had the counter covered so Hedy came over to the woman’s table.
“Do you need me to fetch something? I can run to the market.” Hedy didn’t want to hover over her, so she sat down at the table.
“No, it isn’t like that. Moroi can’t go to the local grocer for what they need. Well, not really. Unless you count the grocer himself.” Raluca chuckled and her eyes looked like black pinpoints.
“I don’t understand. I thought Moroi didn’t drink…blood.” The conversation was taking a decidedly dark turn.
“Moroi do not require blood to survive, as strigoi do and as did my parents. There are those Moroi who do drink, for its euphoric effects. It is much like a drug’s effect for a mortal. I do not care to be enthralled to any substance, so I do not drink. But Moroi do still need something that humans possess. We lack our own source of energy, suflet…err spirit, yes, energy of the spirit. We need humans to provide it to us. I am in need of this.” Raluca looked at Hedy in a matter of fact way, expecting neither fear nor revulsion, but just understanding. It is what she received.
“How do you acquire the energy? Does it hurt the person?” A couple came into the shop wearing matching sweaters with large Christmas llamas on them, and both Raluca and Hedy waited until they were out of earshot.
“No, it doesn’t harm the human. They will be tired, yes, but they can replenish with rest and human contact. The transfer is rather simple, really. I only need to grasp the human with my hands and the energy leeches through the skin. The older I get, the more often I find I need the energy. When I was young, even into my second century, I could go weeks without any such feeding. But now, I find myself in need within a few days. Such is the price of age.” Raluca chuckled and shook her head at the couple in their sweaters. Americans were so ridiculous.
“I am your host and part of my job is to see that you have what you need.” Hedy reached her arm out toward Raluca and gave a sharp nod. The old woman studied her face, unsure how to accept the gesture.
“This will not affect my inspection results. You understand that?” Raluca saw Hedy’s expression harden.
“If you knew me, you would know that such a thought would be insulting.”
Raluca paused a few more mo
ments in contemplation before taking Hedy’s forearm within her own gnarled hands. Hedy’s skin was warm and smooth beneath her palms. Raluca closed her eyes and pressed against Hedy, lightly clasping her arm. She felt the energy immediately; this woman radiated spirit and Raluca marveled at how easily it flowed from her. She could feel it passing through her skin quickly, flowing into Raluca and filling her like a flash flood on parched earth. She instantly felt revived and rejuvenated. If she wasn’t careful, she could draw too much from her host, it was so free-flowing.
After several moments, Raluca released Hedy’s arm and opened her eyes. Hedy looked a bit peaked, her face pale and lacking its usual rosy color. She had her eyes closed and seemed to be collecting herself.
“Does it hurt in any way?” Raluca knew the answer but she wanted Hedy to acknowledge that she was fine.
“No, it doesn’t hurt. I feel…diminished. Smaller, if that makes sense. As if a candle is nearing the end of the wax. It makes me feel a bit shaky and…hungry.” Hedy opened her eyes slowly and she was astonished to see the change in Raluca; the old woman looked ten years’ younger easily, with flush in her cheeks and a shine in her eyes.
“You should eat something, and ask that young woman to give you an embrace. It will help. Thank you, Miss Leckermaul. I am grateful.” Raluca nodded toward Hedy and she smiled a bit as she said Hedy’s name. She wondered if the woman knew her name meant “sweet-toothed person” in German. She felt a twinge of guilt about her upcoming recommendation to close the waystation.
“I think I will go make myself some tea and eat a cookie. If you will excuse me.” Hedy rose slowly from the table and made her way to the counter. The sharp-eyed Mel noticed Hedy looked the worse for wear and she gave Raluca a wary look. The old woman smiled slightly in return.
Thanks to Hedy, Raluca would have enough energy to finish her work here before heading back to Brussels. She needed to interview the undine, for form sake, before finishing her report. She also would meet with the current traveler and perhaps she could help with this local matter on her way out. Yes, that should all be resolved before she left, likely on Sunday.
It would be good to get home. This place was damp and gray and Raluca did not care for the rotting scent of pine trees in this state, let alone just being in America in general. No sense of propriety or tradition here.
The young girl was giving Hedy an embrace, of her own volition, and she could see the energy flow between them. The pair practically radiated, though they had no idea. It was fortunate for both of them that Moroi were as scarce as they were, or they would be besieged with them. They would be very tempting morsels indeed and Raluca could see either of them being kept as an energy sclav, a captive donor. Her parents had kept three for Raluca in their home near Bucharest.
“All better,” she said though neither heard her. Now that she had Hedy’s energy, Raluca could feel Hedy’s presence across the room and she willed her to turn and look at her; Hedy looked across the room at Raluca and saw the old woman smile. The connection would fade soon enough. The doorbell tinkled again, more people were coming into the shop.
“These Americans and their sweets. Hmpf,” Raluca muttered under her breath.
✽✽✽
Just before she called her guests to dinner, Hedy took advantage of the quiet and lit the Christmas tree. It was dusk and the dark outside was tinged with the glow of the Christmas lights along the roof line, set with a timer to come on once the sun had dipped below the horizon. Hedy left the entry lights off for the moment so she could just enjoy the silver glow from the tree, pouring out from the branches and reflecting on the spiderwebs. The soft glow of the German pyramid candles kept the room from being too dark, and in the quiet of the hall, away from the lights in the shop, Hedy could just sit for a moment and savor the beauty of it all.
She was still tired from her exchange with Raluca and it felt good to sit. She was also exhausted from her nightmare and the fitful sleep that followed it. As peaceful as the entry was and as glad as she was to be there, in the moment, taking it all in, Hedy was tired to the bone and she worried that she wouldn’t have the energy to push through. She hadn’t even spared a thought about Lyssa until now.
“She is danger. Know that.” Hedy heard Adelaide’s voice soft against her ear and the little hairs on her neck prickled at the voice and the message.
“Lyssa is back? Adelaide, where is she?” Hedy was so tired. How could she fight off Lyssa again? And this time without Bren. Where was he?
“Hedy, danger in threes. Watch her.” Adelaide’s voice was drifting away from Hedy; she knew because the room was warming up around her.
“Adelaide, I can’t do this alone. I need help.” The words weren’t even out of her mouth and she knew no one would be answering. The room was warm again, with the scent of fresh pine and cinnamon, and warm candle glow meeting the silver glinting of the tree. The door chimed and Hedy rose tiredly from her seat, wanting to turn on the lights so the customers wouldn’t trip in any shadows.
“Welcome to The Gingerbread Hag. Please, come in.” Hedy smiled and gestured for the couple to enter the shop. She could smell the scent of her Hungarian goulash coming from the kitchen. She would need to see to Raluca and Yami before she could finish the night and the thought of an evening of chit-chat with Yami and stern glances from Raluca sounded a bit too much for Hedy at the moment.
She would try her best, but tonight, her best might not be good enough.
Chapter Thirteen
The night before - Thursday
Yami had to find Lyssa, which was no easy thing. Lyssa’s method was to contact Yami, not the other way around, and Yami had no idea where Lyssa was holing up. She thought the first place she should look would be any abandoned houses, somewhere that Lyssa could stay and not risk exposure. Yami thought about the lot just next door, where the remnants of a fire were still visible, but the house itself was gone and the land was being prepped for new construction. Lyssa wouldn’t be there.
Being a city girl, she tried her ride sharing app, hailing a ride to take her to the grocery store on the other side of town.
“Heading to Safeway, yes?” The woman was pleasant enough, even if her car did have the faint odor of stale tobacco. She must have been a smoker.
“Yes I am. But I am really interested in abandoned houses; I like to photograph them. Do you know of any around town?”
“Hmmm, there aren’t too many. Property is valuable right now, with all the folks from Seattle looking to move out here. It’s the view of the mountain and a lower house price that draws ‘em.” The woman made little humming noises as she thought. “Oh, well, you saw the empty lot next to where I picked you up. That was burned down a couple of months ago, but they are already prepping to build again, mortgage company didn’t waste any time. There is one that’s close to Safeway, though. I’ll drive you by it and you can see it.”
The woman took a turn which caused her GPS to reroute her; the ride share app had already calculated her fastest route. There was a row of little houses, likely built in the early twentieth century, but lacking much of the craftsman charm of many of their neighbors. These looked the worse for wear, with peeling paint and sagging roofs. The driver pulled up in front of the one on the end of the row, a large orange sign plastered on its front door.
“It was seized; they were making meth in there. Whoever owns the paper on that one will have to rehab it down to the studs before they can sell. It’s been empty for the better part of a year. Did you want to take a picture?” The woman sounded rather bewildered with the question.
“No, this isn’t quite what I am looking for.” Yami could tell right away that Lyssa wasn’t here; her presence was easy for Yami to pick up on.
Having had her tour of the former meth house of Enumclaw, Yami was dropped off at the grocery store with no idea where to look next. It was getting dark and no doubt Hedy and the old woman were still chattering away.
“I can make use of the time while I fi
nd Lyssa,” Yami thought and she started walking away from the town, toward the pastures and farms of nearby Buckley.
About a mile away from the store, there was a highway that led drivers toward Buckley, but Yami wasn’t going that way. She veered off, finding her way into a small thicket of scrub brush and cattails. She squatted down to avoid being seen and removed all her clothes, leaving them in a neat pile, hidden from view.
Yami began her transformation, closing her eyes and drawing in the air around her. She could feel the bristles of fur piercing her skin and the strange sensation of her bones realigning into her true form. It didn’t hurt but it wasn’t pleasant; the change brought so many sensations all at once, it was overwhelming. She could suddenly smell everything, hear everything - how dull the human senses were in comparison. She was now encased in reddish fur and both of her long tails wrapped around her. As a kitsune, she would gain tails throughout her long years until she finally reached nine of them.
Yami shook her body and felt every hair move. She was fully in her true form and ready to continue on toward Buckley and the farms that were waiting.
Traveling much faster in fox form, Yami ran along the trails that crisscrossed the land between Enumclaw and Buckley. Full darkness had set in, but she could keenly see any obstacles before her. She reached the small goat farm, easily smelling their presence along the way. Standing up briefly on her hind legs, she used one paw to hold the latch up and another to pull it forward. The gate wasn’t even locked. She crept in and the small herd of goats began rustling and making noise. She glanced over at the house and no lights flickered on. Apparently, these part-time farmers weren’t home from their day jobs yet. No one would be coming to help the goats.
Yami was swift, dispatching each nanny goat with ease. Yami was larger than any natural fox, and she used her size to pin the animals down, looking calmly into their strange rectangular pupils. She saw panic and wild fear in them, so she did her best to make the end quick for them. Painless, it was not, but it was at least quick.
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