Page 20 of The Mist of Stars
“What gods?” Aislin asks as she approaches the counter that consists of a glass display case that showcases statues, gemstones, herbs, and all sorts of other curiosities.
The woman rests her arms on top of the counter. “Do you not know your own history, witch?”
Aislin wavers. “Not really. I’m a keeper, too, so …” She shrugs.
“Really? I’ve never heard of that happening before,” the woman says. “I’ve heard of fey, wolves, even vampires having witch powers, but never a keeper. That’s interesting.” She studies Aislin closely. “How long have you borne the moon mark, my dear?”
The moon mark is the witch’s mark.
“A few years,” Aislin tells her as she assesses a row of shelves behind the counter. “I actually came here to get supplies for a cause-and-effect spell. Do you have all the supplies for that?”
“A cause-and-effect spell, huh?” For some reason, her gaze drifts to me.
“This is my friend,” Aislin explains. “She’s not a witch.”
The woman continues to stare at me in a way that makes me squirm.
“Your eyes are a unique color,” she tells me as she wanders to one of the shelves. “The goddess of stars has the same color.Or so the legend says. Goddess of stars, eyes like stars, and the power to see the inner eye.”
I swallow hard. “I thought foreseers were the ones who had the inner eye.”
She laughs dryly as she collects a wooden box off a shelf. “Is that what you’ve been taught?”
“Is that not correct?” Do I believe her?
She returns and sets the box down on the counter. It has a golden lock with a star-shaped pattern engraved on it.
“Why does it have stars on the lock?” I inquire as casually as possible. Really, I’m thinking about the star dreams I keep having.
“The stars are a map of our future and our past,” the woman explains as she retrieves a lock from her pocket. “I’m Amelia, by the way.” She slips the key into the lock. “And I’m a witch, if you haven’t already figured that out.”
“We assumed as much.” Aislin watches as Amelia opens the box. Whatever is inside glows and reflects on Amelia’s face.
“This is stardust. It’s the main ingredient in the cause-and-effect spell.”
“It’s pretty.” Aislin extends her hand toward the box, as if she will touch the stardust.
Amelia slams the lid shut. “Whatever you do, don’t touch it. If you do, you’ll get sucked away into the night sky.”
“What?” Aislin and I say simultaneously.
“It’s very powerful,” she explains as she wanders over to another shelf and collects a ceramic bowl from it. “I’ll get the rest of the ingredients and give you more details. Give me a few.” She ducks back through the beaded curtain.
“Are you sure you want to do this spell?” I whisper to Aislin. “It sounds dangerous.”
Aislin tucks a lock of her short brown hair behind her ear as she eyes the box. “It’ll be fine. I’ll be careful, and I’ll wear gloves.”
I want to protest more, but when Aislin makes up her mind about something, it’s hard to talk her out of it.
To distract myself from the restlessness working its way through my body, I roam around the store, looking at all the objects. One in particular snags my attention—a crystal ball filled with lavender ribbons that are dancing in a sparking sea of glass. It almost appears to be glowing, an orb of light illuminating around it.
I’ve seen crystal balls before, but my father hasn’t ever let me touch one—foreseers are weird about that. After what happened at school today, I’m curious what will happen if I touch one. It could be risky if I somehow got pulled into a vision again, but I don’t have the foreseer’s mark.
“I wouldn’t touch that if I were you.”
I startle at the sound of a voice that’s way too close. When I glance to my right with my hand pressed against my chest, I find a guy around my age, with blond hair, looking at me with what can only be described as an impish smirk on his face.
“Where the heck did you come from?” I ask. I didn’t see or hear anyone enter the store, and there’s a bell on the door, so I should have.