“I can’t right now,” Izzy declined. “Go enjoy your family and the festivities. Tell them I was honored to help.”
“The honor is all ours,” he started to step away then stopped. “Take care on your journey. We’ve already begun passing along the word of your great deeds. My kind will welcome you no matter where you are.”
“Journey? I’m not planning to go anywhere,” Izzy studied him with a puzzled grin. “Off with you now! You’ve got a party to get to!”
“Of course not, I must be mistaken.” The gnome saluted his respect then strolled away, his shoulders hunched.
Izzy stood back up and turned toward the house.
The road to your destiny is shorter when traveled with friends.
Izzy ignored the comment. She had no plans to go anywhere.
Cass was the first to see her when she stepped back inside, “Where have you been?”
“Talking with the gnomes,” Izzy told her. “What did I miss?”
Agnes called out from the main room. “Ladies! I need you all to gather for a moment. I have something to say.”
The seven women gathered, their numbers had vastly dwindled over the last month. Lilly, Wren, Agnes, Millicent, Cass, Isadora and Rowan were all that remained of their group.
“I have some announcements to make,” Agnes sent a chorus of chimes into the room with the flick of her wrist. At the noise, the women quieted and turned their attention toward Agnes.
“Everyone knows we as a coven have had taken severe losses recently. In addition to losing more than half of our sisters-in-arms, we no longer have our circle. I fear the time has come to regroup. I am leaving.”
Whispers undercut the silence as she paused. “Hear me out!” Agnes shouted. “Sadly, I am not the only one who has decided to seek out new experiences. Wren and Rowan approached me earlier this evening. They are moving to a new coven, a bit farther north.”
Everyone began talking at once. “Please ladies!”
Millicent turned to Izzy, “Are you staying? Cass?”
Up until that moment, neither had considered leaving. Agnes’ announcement was a shock. Izzy thought of what the gnomes and sylphs had alluded to.
“I…I don’t know,” Izzy turned confused eyes to Agnes.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t want to say anything until I knew for sure,” Agnes’ eyes pleaded with her for understanding. “I just heard this morning. They want me at the Council. It’s a chance for me to really do something. Make a difference…”
Izzy realized in that moment all that Agnes had given up for her. She pushed aside her own turbulent emotions and she smiled in encouragement, “Agnes! I couldn’t be more thrilled for you! You are going to kill it!”
“Let’s hope not,” Agnes couldn’t disguise the look of relief that came over her. “I’ve had enough of killing for the moment. Thank you very much.”
Laughter rang through the air. Some sounded forced, others in joy – but it was a start.
“To new beginnings!” Izzy shouted.
“Hear! Hear!” Cass seconded.
The two friends shared a look.
“What do you think?” Cass whispered. Izzy wondered if she really saw the sparkle of hope in Cass’ expression or if she willed it there.
“Later,” Izzy promised. “Let’s talk about this later.”
“Deal.”
◆◆◆
Cass and Izzy stood at the counter of their store, both leaning against the glass. Neither looked at each other, both deep in thought.
It was the day after the party. They had just locked the front doors after another long successful work day. Each of them managing to avoid discussing the elephant in the room.
Izzy broke the silence first. “You really think we should do it?”
Cass didn’t ask to what she was referring. “Let’s logic it out.” She extended her index finger, “One, we have a ton of online sales.”
Izzy nodded.
“Second,” Cass’ middle finger joined the first. “In truth, the storefront and all the little expenses that come with it are eating away at our bottom line. We’d probably make more money if we just advertised more and got rid of this.”
“But,” Izzy interrupted. “That doesn’t necessarily mean we should go anywhere. Getting rid of the store shouldn’t mean leaving everything we know.”
“But it’s not,” Cass argued. “I’m not even from here.”
Izzy blew out a breath. “Okay, assuming we leave. where would we go?”
“Where do you want to go?” Cass asked.
“I’ve never thought about it. I should have,” Izzy was beginning to realize. “I let myself settle.”
Cass extended her third finger, “Last point, you have a destiny. You’re supposed to restore the pages to the book. And I don’t think the rest of the pages are in our podunk little Georgia town.”
Izzy didn’t like to think about her destiny. The pressure felt too overwhelming for her small shoulders. With the thought of her shoulders, the mark began to itch. For once, she didn’t ignore the sign.
“Okay, let’s do this. I’m open to suggestions. Where do you want to go?”
“I’ve been missing home for a while now,” Cass confessed. “We can go there to start. We don’t have to make deep roots. We can explore, see the world.”
Izzy nodded. “I like the thought of going somewhere we know first. Getting our feet wet. I’d like to table world exploration for the moment.”
Cass laughed. “And you know Mama would let us use whatever we needed to make our products.” The idea was gaining steam in her head. “We could rent a house, see how it goes.”
“New Orleans?” Izzy shuddered as she tried to think about it rationally. “There’s more voodoo than real witchcraft in that town.”
“Voodoo is real witchcraft,” Cass stated primly. “You just have too much of Agnes in you. Sometimes using the black craft is required.”
Izzy didn’t know what to think. She had been raised since a child with the notion that there was never a good reason to turn to the darker arts. Yet, she knew Cass grew up with a mixture of the two magics being standard in her home.
“We can try it…” Izzy hedged. “I don’t know how well I’ll fit in there though.”
“You’ll do fine,” Cass stated certainly.
Izzy laughed. “We’ll see. We should make a list. There’s a ton of work to be done for us to do this. Break the store down, how much longer do we have on our lease?”
“Less than a month,” Cass answered back automatically.
Izzy wondered just how long Cass had been thinking about this. She had the answer just a bit too readily it seemed.
Cass interrupted Izzy’s thought. “But first off, we need to set something straight.”
“What?” Izzy asked, confused by Cass’ tone.
“It’s N’awlins. Not New Orleans.”
“N’awlins?”
“Yes,” Cass nodded. “If you say it otherwise, you’ll stick out like a sore thumb.”
Izzy and Cass exchanged a long solemn look then broke out into gales of laughter.
Izzy saw a gnome jumping up and down just outside the store’s main door. Seeing him made her think, “Cass?”
“Yeah?”
“Are there…more Others? Do you know?”
Cass cast her glance to Izzy. “Why do you ask?”
Before meeting gnomes and sylphs, Izzy had been like any other human. Assuming Others were fantasy, something made up by Hollywood for entertainment. But watching the gnome jumping for her attention made her wonder.
“You want to go to Lousiana. I’m wondering if I might need to prepare myself.”
Cass sighed. “Probably. Mama used to talk to herself a lot when I was younger. I just assumed that was what she was doing.” She raised her shoulders, shrugging.
“That’s what I was afraid of.”
“Don’t worry, we’ll be fine.”
They would be, Izzy decided. She would ma
ke certain of it.
About The Author
S. E. Jackson
S.E. lives with her husband, son and a myriad of animals just outside of Atlanta. Her days are filled with canine-feline negotiations, juggling work and family, and occasionally creating a story. She loves to hear from her readers!
Marked: Thoth's Legacy ~ Book One Page 22