“Can I help you? Or are you happy to browse?” the elderly
woman behind the counter queried politely when Alyxa and Bast came in.
“Um...just looking, thanks,” Alyxa replied. The old woman
nodded and smiled. The shop was incredibly narrow, as though it had been
squished between two buildings as an afterthought by some enterprising young
architect bent on efficiency.
Floor to ceiling, the place was packed full of dusty books,
jars full of herbs and spices, and all manner of ingredients for ritual, spell,
charm or brew. Alyxa had never seen so much witchery in one place, not even in
Maye’s spellroom. Morpheus was running his fingers along the spines of a few
books.
“Morph-” Alyxa started, halting herself when she realised
‘Morpheus’ wasn’t the most common name in the world, “what are you doing?”
“Searching,” he replied stoically.
“For what?” Alyxa demanded impatiently, but he had wandered
down the aisle of shelves already.
“Where’s that accent from, dear?” the old lady asked.
Usually such a question, prying into her personal affairs, would have rankled
Alyxa, but it was posed so politely that she felt quite happy to reply.
“Oh, I’m English but I lived in France for a few years when
I was little.”
“How wonderful,” the old lady declared, “I visited Paris as
a girl. A long time ago.”
“Oh, neat,” Alyxa replied, trying to be polite.
“My family is from India, originally, most of us lived in
England, but some came down here. What brings you to Australia?”
-This old bat likes to talk,- Bast commented, jumping onto
the countertop.
“Only about interesting things, Cat Queen,” the old lady
replied without missing a beat.
Bast’s fur fluffed itself into a fury and she hissed.
“You...you can see her?” Alyxa asked softly.
“Of course, dear, can’t you?”
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