When Silver got closer, she threw a wind ball at her the redhead, flipping her off her broom. She watched the witch free fall then slowly land on her feet. Silver cursed, “I should’ve hit her with a bolt of lightning, killing the bitch.” But it was too late, the witch was gone.
“Where have you been?” Aunt Grace asked when Silver entered the room with the newspaper.
“Flying around. I was attacked by a redheaded witch.”
“You were what!” Alivia shouted as she bolted out of her chair.
Silver turned her head revealing the scratch across her forehead. “She took off on her broom, I followed, but she got away.”
“Did you recognize her?” Alivia asked.
“No!”
“Well that was very dangerous going after her like that.” Aunt Grace announced sternly.
“Hit me and I’m going to hit you back.” Silver replied with her hands on her hips.
“Amen sister.” Alivia added.
“Well sit down and eat, I’ll get you some ice and ointment for that scratch.” Aunt Grace said.
“No need.” Alivia held out her hand and mumbled a few words as she ran a finger across the abrasion causing it to fade away.
“I forgot how exciting it is to be young and magical.” Aunt Grace said.
After breakfast, they sat down at the long table in the dining room and listened as Alivia read Mason Webber’s journal. A few times she’d stop, and they’d discuss a passage or mulled over a particular saying. When Alivia tired, Silver took over reading at the same tempo as her sister. The more she read the more Silver became convinced her grandfather was a madman. Nothing made sense, everything was written in cloaked rhymes or cryptic nonsense. Nothing directed them to the goblet or even where to begin to find it.
“Okay, I for one need a break. I really need to get back home to my life and ultimately my job.” Silver announced as she stood and stretched the tight muscles in her legs.
“You plan on going to work?” Alivia asked.
“Yes! What do you think I’m going to do, hang out here forever?”
“No! Of course not, but after the attack today, I figured, you’d at least wait until we can get a handle on this.” Alivia replied.
“A handle on what Liv? We have a nutty dead grandfather who refuses to help us. A journal full of riddles and an unknown person or persons out to get a goblet that may or may not exist. So, tell me sister dear, what are we supposed to get a handle on?”
“Well, my ass is calling in sick for a couple of days, at least this way I can figure out what our next step will be.” Alivia said in a matter of fact tone.
“Our, us, we, ugh, I don’t care about any of this shit. I’m sorry Aunt Grace, but I think we need to just turn the book over to the next assailant who comes to the door.”
“I think we need to find out a little more before admitting defeat, Silver. I understand your reluctance, but we need you, I need you.” Aunt Grace cried.
“Fine! But if we don’t come any closer to figuring out exactly what’s going on, I’m out. O.U.T, out!”
“That’s fair enough, give it a week.” Alivia said.
“No, Liv, three days. Three days and not an hour more.” Silver stated, and with a snap of her fingers she was gone.
Silver looked around her warm, cheerful apartment, and inhaled deeply, she exhaled slowly as she walked into her bedroom. She was glad to be home. She loved her little apartment, but most of all she loved her privacy.
Silver had created a spell to protect her place when she moved in. Just to be on the safe side she quickly reinforced the spell. Yesterday’s events weighed heavily on her mind, she found herself about to explode as tears ran down her cheeks.
She didn’t want any of this nonsense, she had a bad feeling about it all. She wished she could be selfish and cold hearted, then it wouldn’t be a problem leaving Liv and Aunt Grace to forge their own way through the murky waters they were now knee-deep in by themselves. Instead, whether she wanted it or not, she was now part of the goblet mystery.
Silver sat at the end of the bed, and with her eyes closed she prepared a spell to help unravel some of the mystery. Silver, powerful with incantations and spells, as Alivia’s gifts were with potions, herbs and brews, began her magic.
Silver, walked over to the window and opened it wide allowing the cool air blow in. Wisps of her hair danced around her face making her smile. With her arms stretched wide she said aloud, “When I touch the book again tomorrow, there will be joy and no more sorrow, the words written will no longer be jumbled, it will correct itself, and allow us to protect ourselves. Let us find the pages needed, uncovering the key that will free us.”
She was confident in her spell. Getting a pad and pen out she began to jot down some notes. On the top of her list was a question that needed answering, it was just as important as the whereabouts of the goblet. She needed to know the who, what and where, concerning The Watch. There was only one person she could trust, one person she could call that might have the answers.
Axel, her godfather! She hadn’t spoken to Axel in over two years. Not because she didn’t want to, it was just her schedule was so busy and well she just hadn’t reached out to him. Axel was her mother’s oldest and dearest friend. He was the only person who helped the family through hard times when her father disappeared.
Silver used her cell phone to contact her godfather, she was surprised and grateful he hadn’t changed his number. Axel answered after the first few rings.
“Yeah, who is this?” Axel shouted in the phone sounding a bit annoyed.
“Hi, it’s Silver. Surprise!” She announced not sure if he’d remember her name or not.
“Silver, my girlie, how are you?” he laughed, his laugh so infectious Silver laughed along with him.
“I’m good, I’m sorry it took so long for me to call you. I pray all is well.”
“No, sweetheart I’m sorry I haven’t called you. I promised your mother I would look after you girls. How’s Alivia, still wild and stubborn?”
“Yes, unfortunately she is. She’s one of the reasons why I’m calling you. Trust me I hate calling under these circumstances, but I need your help.”
“Help, what’s wrong or should I ask, what has Alivia gotten the two of you into?”
“Can we meet? I really need to speak with you face to face.”
“Sure, there’s a quiet jazz spot call The Magus. You still live on the Upper East Side, right?”
“Yeah, but I’ve never heard of Club Magus.”
“It’s on East 76th street, our people own it. So, meet me in two hours, I have some loose ends to tie up there.”
“Okay sounds great. I’ll see you in two hours and thank you.” When Silver hung up, she debated on whether she should invite Alivia, but quickly tossed the idea out of head. This is something she needed to do herself. She planned to go to Aunt Grace’s tomorrow, so whatever she found out tonight, she will tell them tomorrow. No need to take Alivia on a wild goose chase, plus she needed some time away for Alivia’s chatter.
Silver slipped on a tight black short dress, with some black and silver pumps. It had been awhile since she’d been out to a club, but it was by choice. Not that she didn’t enjoy the club scene, she just grew tired of it. She combed her long jet-black hair, then brushed it until it glistened, when she finished, she placed it in a side ponytail, braided it before wrapping it with silver twine.
Looking in the mirror Silver liked what she saw. She waved her hand and within seconds she was standing at the corner of E. 76th street. She looked around to assure no one saw her arrival, then proceeded down the block to Club Magus.
Once inside, her eyes slowly adjusted to the dim lights. Music filled the room as a young woman whom she felt should be recording for a record label, belted out some soulful notes. When the hostess approached, she asked, “Are you alone or waiting for your party?”
“I’m not sure if he is here or not.” Silver replied as she scanned the
room.
“What’s his name, doll?” The pretty hostess asked.
“Axel.”
“I’ll escort you to his table.” She replied before leading the way.
Wow, thought Silver, he must come here a lot if he has his own table.
Axel was over six foot three with the body of a bouncer, his short haircut produced small salt and pepper curls. Axel was handsome and for a man his age, in good shape. When Silver approached Axel got up from his seat and placed her in a bear hug, when he finally released her, he looked down, as if examining her features. Silver could see the tears gathering in his dark green eyes.
“You look so much like your mother, especially around the eyes. I wish she could see you now.” He said, then as if shaking himself from the past to the present he said, “Silver, please have a seat. Do you drink?”
“Yes, I’ll have a cosmopolitan,” she answered as she sat back comfortably on the plush leather captain chair. She liked the club, it had a certain vibe to it.
Axel snapped his fingers and a waitress appeared. She smiled brightly, pushing her breast out until they looked as if they would spill out of her blouse. “How may I help you, boss man?” she sang sweetly, in a Minnie Mouse voice that Silver thought was either phony or very annoying.
“This is my godchild, she would like a cosmopolitan.”
“Boss, I didn’t know you had a godchild, and what a beauty she is.” Snapping her fingers, she presented Silver with her drink in a beautiful crystal glass.
When she walked away, Silver asked, “Boss?”
“Yes, me and two other warlocks own this place. It provides our people a safe place to go without fear of exposure.”
“What, no humans?” she asked fascinated at the idea.
“Only by invite by a witch or warlock, but they have to be cleared by the three of us.”
“Cool, now I wished I’d invited Alivia. But I promise to come back and bring her with me.”
“I’d love that. Since you mentioned Alivia, what has she gotten the two of you into?”
Silver told Axel everything from beginning to end, she then asked if he knew how to get in touch with The Watch. She could tell by the way his eyebrows went up and down at certain points of her story that he found it fascinating.
“What do you know about The Watch?” he asked.
“Nothing other than The Watch, watches everything and everyone.”
“No, The Watch, watches out for everyone in the circle. They keep the peace, provide law and order. They are the monarchs of the underworld. The Watch consist of three corners, Manhattan, Brooklyn the Bronx and Queens. It is supposed to be five, but that’s another story.”
Axel leaned towards Silver and whispered, “I’m not sure if you need to speak to the Brooklyn Watch or the Manhattan Watch. I’m not sure how to go about contacting them, they usually find individuals, not the other way around.”
Leaning back on the chair he smiled, “As for the goblet, I’ve heard tales when growing up but nothing concrete. Fairy tale stuff.”
“Well, we don’t have it. They need to know we don’t have it, so they’ll stop trying to kill us.”
“If, The Watch wanted you dead, trust me, you’d be dead. If they wanted to kill you, you would have been sentenced after a court hearing and executed. This is why I think something is missing here.”
Silver downed the last of her drink, the fact that they could kill her so easily made her stomach flip.
She snapped her finger for another drink. The waitress still taking order, simply turned to Silver nodded her head and her glass slowly began to refill. Yes, she liked Club Magus, it appeared to be a great place to unwind.
“Let me ask my partner Jasper, who just walked in if he knows of a way to contact The Watch.”
“Jasper, Jasper!” Axel called to the man who was looking at a book the hostess gave to him. Silver noticed the man walked with a limp, but his handicap took nothing away from his handsome features. He was older, if not the same age as Axel, however he was only around five-ten with gray hair. Both men shook hands and embraced. When Jasper’s eyes landed on Silver, she felt as if her clothes had fallen off. Axel introduced the two, yet Jasper’s glare never diminished.
“Your godchild, not child,” he clarified.
“Godchild and off limits!” Axel said with authority.
“No problem here.” Jasper laughed as he slid into the vacant seat next to Silver.
“I asked you to join us because I thought you may have the answer to my godchild’s question.”
“And what question would that be?” He smiled seductively.
“How to contact The Watch.”
Jasper lifted a brow. He looked from Silver to Axel then asked, “why on earth would a beautiful flower like you want to contact The Watch?”
“It’s personal,” Silver replied, not wanting him to know the details.
“Obviously,” he sighed then said, “truth be told I’ve never heard of anyone contacting them. But there is talk about an enforcer of The Watch that hangs out at Ruby’s. Some say he hangs out there around midnight for coffee. I’m not sure if he is indeed an enforcer for The Watch or just someone who is trying to make himself seem important.” Jasper said.
“Do you know the name of this guy?” Axel inquired.
“Jonathan, I think.” He hunched his shoulders and began to stare at Silver again.
Axel looked at his watch and said, “Okay, so hopefully he’ll show up tonight at Ruby’s, and we can get some answers.”
“We?” Silver asked.
“I’m not letting you go alone to meet some enforcer, especially not one from The Watch and definitely not at Ruby’s.”
“Well it seems you have a family situation that has nothing to do with me. To be honest the last thing I need in my life is The Watch.” Jasper announced, as he stood. Jasper took Silver’s hand in his big paw like grip and kissed it, before saying, “please come back and visit us again, your beauty is always welcomed.”
“Thank you, I plan on coming back with my sister.” Silver smiled.
“Oh no not two beauties. You didn’t tell me your old ass had such beautiful godchildren.”
When he left the table Silver asked, “Are you sure you want to involve yourself in this mess?”
“I got involved the moment you called me and my duties to protect you came long before tonight.”
Time flew by, Silver danced, drank, and conversed with many of the patrons at the club, she was surprised at how much fun she was having, when Axel announced it was time to go. He held her hand before whisking them off to Ruby’s.
The little diner was on the less than appealing end of town. It looked dank and dangerous to Silver. She was grateful Axel insisted on joining her. There were several people loitering the streets, some looked like drug dealers’ others drug addicts, either way they looked like people she should avoid.
The neon sign flashed r and b dimly. The top half of the window was filthy, and the bottom held a red and white café curtain, which also looked as if it needed scrubbing.
When Silver walked through the doorway, she gasped, the place looked like something from an old black and white movie. The diner was retro, the furniture was old and faded. A smell of old grease overwhelmed her senses as she shook her head thinking, you’d have to be out of your mind to eat shit out of this joint...
Axel whispered, “Let me do all the talking.”
Silver had no intentions of objecting, she was more than happy to hand the reins over to Axel.
There were four men who sat in the diner, and a fat bald man behind the counter who wore an apron that no detergent could clean. He was giving instructions to a middle-aged woman who poured coffee into a beige coffee stained cup that no doubt used to be white.
The moment they entered the diner all eyes turned towards them. One man sniffed the air like a dog, deciding if they were friend or foe.
Axel went up to the man behind the counter and said, “I’m lo
oking for a guy name Jonathan.”
Silver noticed Axel’s voice appeared a tad bit deeper than before. She smiled and wondered why men thought such a thing really mattered. The man ignored Axel and continued his ineffective cleaning. When Axel moved in closer the man asked, in a loud voice obviously for all to hear, “Jonathan! Jonathan who?” as he wiped the counter with a rag that if anything added more dirt and germs instead of removing them.
“I don’t know his last name. Look this is very important!” Axel bellowed letting the man know he was not in a mood for any bullshit.
“Don’t get loud in my place mister.” The man blustered back at Axel.
Silver decided to lend a hand and said quietly, “We don’t know Jonathan’s full name or if he even comes in here, but we were told he does. I need his help. I need help from The Watch.”
Pretending to be an emotional wreck she cried, “I was told he could help me, so, please sir, if you know where I can find him…” Silver let her voice quiver then hung her head as if she was crying. She could see the man as well as the woman believed her story, for both revealed compassion in their eyes.
Silver jumped when a man at the far end of the diner stood up abruptly. He was tall and good-looking with dark red hair; his features were classic until she noticed the raised red scar along the side of his face. His handsomeness changed to menacing within seconds. His cold hazel eyes did nothing to calm the fear that gripped her.
He motioned them to his table announcing, “I’m Jonathan, come.”
Axel led the way taking long strides towards the man. Silver was no longer interested in speaking to Jonathan. Even with Axel she felt as if she had opened Pandora’s box and longed to go home and wake up, so she could laugh at the crazy dream she felt she was in.
“Sit!” the man instructed, “I don’t like strangers. I don’t like strangers who seek me out. I don’t like strangers who interrupt my coffee time.”
“We apologize, but this place is where we were told to find you,” Silver replied.
“What do you want from me?” Jonathan asked, as he took in Silver’s beauty.
A Witches Proposition Page 3