Page 6 of Coven Relics
“This is quite a lot,” Bjorn said, looking around. “I had snippets, but I didn’t see everything. Back in my time, if you wanted something, you had to make it, kill it, or plunder it. Sometimes, you had to make dangerous voyages across the ocean for some things because we didn’t know how to make them. So, this is pretty amazing to have it in one place.”
“Loki gave me one of his black cards to pay for whatever you want. So, you just pick out what you want, give them the card, and they let you leave with it.”
“That’s a much kinder system than what we had.”
“You’re going to need clothes you like and are comfortable in. You’ll also need to pick out something totally inappropriate for this vampire rave. This will be my first time attending a party with a body and not as a bat. I, honestly, can’t wait. I never thought much about it before because there wasn’t really another option, but the twins got invited to some pretty amazing parties when they were at the Academy of the Profane.”
“Will there be mead?” Bjorn asked.
“Oh, there will be beer, hard liquor, and probably many drugs. If a vampire offers you drugs, just say no. Some vampires don’t like the taste, but tweaker vampires just love drinking the blood of stoned people because of the power boost and secondhand high.”
“Sometimes, being drunk helps me have a vision.”
Bjorn seemed to really want to help in the best way he could, and I got that. That was precisely the kind of man I wanted by Ravyn’s side. Still, I didn’t want him hurting himself to force a vision.
“Let’s just forget visions and cults tonight. The eclipse is still a few days away, and I taught Ravyn everything I know about locator spells. Anything I might not have known, she was taught by the best professors at the Academy of the Profane. I don’t know about Loki’s hacking skills, but Balthazar is pretty much fantastic at getting into anything with an internet connection.
“You only just met Gertrude today. Ravyn and I have been dealing with her for years. She’s terrible. All the employees here adore Ravyn. Gertrude has forced Ravyn to go through her for many decisions about her employees about things she shouldn’t. She’s been trying to turn the people here against Ravyn by declining their days off and vacation time, and no one else has a problem with how Ravyn runs the museum. Yeah, it’s totally shitty Valentine got that page, and I know Ravyn. He won’t get away with it. We can’t go back to the museum until Kaine is done, so we really just need to take tonight to celebrate Gertrude fucking up in a way she can’t take back. We’ll tackle Valentine and the cult when you and Ravyn drag your asses out of bed in the morning.”
“It feels like I should be doing something.”
“You are. You’re getting to know us and finding your place in this century. It’s not all fighting. The twins seem to be bringing in some cosmic drama lately, but sometimes, it’s pigging out on the couch and binge-watching television shows. Here is the Unseelie area of the market. The clothing stores are on the right, and the apothecaries are on the left. They expect people who aren’t Unseelie to buy their designers, but you’re probably going to get some massive stink eye going into the apothecary.”
Unseelie designers were amazing. After Reyson gave me my body back, I came to these shops when I needed an entire wardrobe. Ravyn had several pieces, and she just looked so damned beautiful in them. She also constantly commented on how comfortable they were. I’d never dressed in women’s clothing before, and I had never wanted to, but some of it seemed like they would be hard to breathe in, and random body parts might pop out and cause an embarrassing situation. Also, I still didn’t understand why women’s clothing didn’t have proper pockets.
I was curious about what the Unseelie would say to both of us when we set foot in their apothecary, but we needed to save that for last. If there was going to be a Viking showdown in the supernatural market that got us banned for life, we should probably wait until Bjorn had proper underwear.
It was like night and day when we stepped into the clothing store. The last time I was here, they were polite to me because I was spending a lot of money and keeping them in business. They took one look at Bjorn and he might as well have been an Unseelie celebrity. Yeah, he had this whole Viking supermodel thing going on, but there wasn’t really such a thing as an ugly supernatural. It was more than that. They were almost in awe of him.
“I’m sorry. I don’t mean to be rude. Iknowyou aren’t Unseelie, but I feel a kinship with you. Would you mind if I askedwhatyou are? You give off vibes like one of our elders, but you don’t look that old.”
Oh, she had no idea. Bjorn had been pickling in a pocket dimension for a very long time. He was much older than any Unseelie elder, but he looked her age. I didn’t get the kinship thing. I knew Loki didn’t create the Unseelie because enough of them had defected from the Unseelie court that their god was a part of history lessons, even if the rest of their secrets were pretty closely guarded.
“I’m not kin with the Unseelie, and a different god created me, but I’ve shared a table with them in the past. I’m a seer. I sought them out once because I know you get visions of sort. They differ from mine, but I sought help from your people. They were kind and offered me a place with them, but I was needed elsewhere.”
“Once we get you situated with clothes, you justhaveto stop by my Máthair Chríona’s shop. It’s right across from this one. She’s well-respected in our community, and I think she would love to meet you. Everyone goes to her when they need an answer. She has a room in the back of her shop where she can drink the sacred tea for a vision, and she’s a master at the runes. So, if it’s not something you’re comfortable discussing, her teas are the best. Tell her Cassia sent you. She’s training me to take over her shop, but she wants me to work retail for a while, so I don’t blow my shit when the crazy people come in and don’t like an answer.”
Oh, holy shit. I’d never met a first-generation god creation before. So many people, no matter what race you were, had been trying to trace their family lines back to the originals, but no one had succeeded. Bjorn had to be extra blessed if this Unseelie sent him to her grandmother after showing him clothes for fifteen minutes. If I was even invited, she was probably as close to an Unseelie elder than I would ever get. I’d mostly been ignored so far, and I was okay with that.
Ravyn was right about Bjorn and Unseelie designers. Everything in this shop excited him, and he looked amazing in what he tried on. When I shopped here, I generally had to pick out what I wanted and get a key to the dressing room. Cassia was like Bjorn’s personal shopper, and it was kind of cool. I had a spending limit when I shopped. The museum paid well, but it hadn’t paidmeyet. Ravyn wouldn’t have minded if I fully stocked my closet, but I had a problem spending that much of her money. Loki had been around long enough that he probably didn’t give a shit about money.
Bjorn bought so many clothes they were going to have to ship most of them to Ravyn’s cottage. We were both carrying a ton of bags, but we couldn’t carry everything. Cassia pointed us towards her grandmother’s shop but couldn’t leave her job to introduce us.
We entered the apothecary, and honestly, I wouldn’t have dared set foot in here as a warlock if Bjorn wasn’t with me and seemed to have luck with the Unseelie. But I was also very curious about it. I’d been to witch apothecaries in two different centuries. This one had a lot of similarities, but many differences.
There was the sweet smell of incense burning, and the place was dimly lit. Back in my day, it was because we didn’t have electricity. I got why they did do that now. Ugly fluorescent lighting on sacred herbs and potion ingredients just cheapened your wares. Presentation was still important. You could have a better selection and more reasonable prices than your competitor, but if it didn’t look pretty when a new customer walked in, they might not stay and give you a chance.
They had similar things that we witches and warlocks did. I could see black candles, crystals, and an entire wall full of dried herbs. There was this wizened Unseelie woman sitting on a stool behind the counter. She didn’t talk or greet us. She just stared really hard at us. Should I say something?
“Cassia said—”
“Hush!” she said, snapping with her hand. “My granddaughter likes to adopt strays. But I can tell neither of you is a shifter who barely graduated high school she thinks can turn his life around with a little help. There’s something old and intriguing about the both of you—even you, warlock. Come sit. I need my runes to figure the both of you out.”
I didn’t think we had the option to say no here, and I was a little curious. So far, only Loki had figured out my secret. Bjorn and I took a seat across the counter. She pulled a bag of runes out and scattered them. She bent over to stare.
“We’re—” I started.
“Shut the fuck up,” she snapped. “I trust my runes over the words of men. If I like what they say, then you can stay in my shop. If not, I’ll kick you out and have another word with my granddaughter about the men she finds fascinating.”
