CHAPTER 17
ARROW
“Hey, are you ready to go?” I ask Silver when she arrives at the gate to the academy. She doesn’t know this yet, but it's spelled and she can’t leave without one of us.
She gives me a beaming smile when she sees my bike. “Yes! Thank you for taking me. I need so many things, but I won’t take long. I didn’t realise you had a bike though,” she muses, looking down at her long dress, before shrugging. “It’s stretchy, it’ll be fine.”
“We have time, if you want to run to the house and change?”
She just waves it off. I can tell she's excited by the way she's trying to stop herself from jumping on. I hand her the helmet I’d already conjured for her, and swing my leg over the side, getting situated. I start the bike up, and flick my kickstand back with my heel.
Taking my hand, Silver climbs up behind me. Instantly, I know her riding in a dress was a bad idea—there’s hardly any barrier. I can feel the heat from her bare thighs against my lower back and I groan softly. Riding with a hard on is not fun.
“So where to first?” I ask through the mic in the helmet.Hopefully somewhere close so I can excuse myself to the bathroom.
“I have no idea, Jax. The only places I’ve been around here were a gas station and a drive-thru.” she says, sighing.
“Well, what do you need to get?”
She thinks for a moment. “I definitely need toiletries and a few pieces of clothing, maybe some snacks.”
“Okay, I know where to go. Hold on tight.”
She squeezes my abs, making them clench, and my dick twitch. This is not helping my current issue. I lift my foot, and let the throttle loose. I already disabled the ward before she arrived so we go flying through the gate. Her squealing in my ears brings a wide grin to my face. I slow down at the stop sign, before making a left turn to head into town. We have a local Walmart, and a Target. Target would probably be best for everything she needs, I’m guessing.
Since we’re making a trip to town, Wells asked me to grab some items of the magical variety. I drop Silver off at the door of Target, telling her I just need to make a quick stop. She gives me a wave and practically hops into the store.Okay, she’s adorable.I don’t trust her yet after what I heard that day in the Master’s chambers, but I’ll admit she’s growing on me. One thing I donotlike is the fact I cannot see any of her future. It’s like she's blocked somehow and I’ve never experienced that before. It's driving me a bit crazy.
I pull out of the parking lot and take a right, driving for another few minutes until I get to Matilda’s. It’s a local Wiccan shop, but the real witchcraft resides in the cellar underneath. I walk in and the scents of lavender, rosemary and candle wax overwhelm me. My eyes take a moment to adjust to the dim lighting, and I spot Matilda's familiar Sonya watching me from her perch above the counter.
“Ah, young Arrow. I thought I heard the bell ring,” Matilda says, coming out of the back room to give me a hug. I give her a quick squeeze, then back away—she has a tendency to get a bit grabby with the menfolk. “I have your order right here.” I raise my eyebrows at that, and she laughs. “Wellson gave me a call. He was worried you may forget something. He seems very excited for the upcoming All Hallow’s Eve.”
I roll my eyes and chuckle. “Yeah, should have known. It’s not like I haven't received three texts already.”
“He is tenacious, that one,” she agrees.
I glance around. I figure since I’m here, I should get a few things myself.
“Thanks Mat, can you hold it for another minute? I’m gonna do some shopping of my own.”
“Absolutely, hon. Just ring the bell when you're ready or if you need help,” she says, walking back to her office slash fortune-telling room.
Matilda is a green witch specializing in apothecary needs, but she also reads fortunes, tarot cards and palms for the tourists. Sonya used to do it but she angered Master, and well... she's now trapped in her cat body for the time being. I believe she has another four years left. I walk over to Sonya and give her a small pat on the head.
“What do you say girl, wanna do some shopping with me?” I ask the beautiful striped tabby. She flicks her tail to smack me in the face, before standing and stretching. Purring, she rubs her head on my hand. I pick her up and cradle her to my chest as we walk along the shelves.
In the corner of my eye, I spot a witch's costume made of black lace. Walking closer, I notice it’s more see-through than lace. I instantly imagine Silver wearing this on All Hallow’s Eve, and my dick perks up at the thought. I walk away from the tempting item and move toward the secret door hidden behind a large bookshelf.
“I’ll be down in the cellar, Mat,” I shout over my shoulder. Setting Sonya down, I open the door. The scent of earthy apples and more candle wax punches me in the face. I take a deep breath in, sighing. Smells like home. Well, what home used to smell like when my mother was still around. I pause for a moment to think of her, then move down the candlelit stairwell. I know Silver will be waiting for me to return soon, so I’ll make this quick.
I reach the bottom, entering an open room full of shelves with drawers.Now this is what I’m talking about!I move over to the corner where I know my ingredients will be, and pick up a few things to make a forgetting potion, or a ‘forget about it’ potion as Wells has named it recently. I grab a small vial of Lethe River Water, and a bunch of Valerian sprigs. I’ll need to get the mistletoe berries upstairs since they’re considered a Wiccan item.
I shut the drawer and take a quick look at the new spellbooks Mat has in store. ‘Witchcraft for beginners’ catches my eye and I grab it for Silver. She will never be a beginner with the amount of power she possesses, but this might help her learn some fun, easy spells. Not all magic is Satanic. My mother was a white witch. I may have some darkness within me—we all do, it’s part of the ascension process—but I lean toward the lighter side, like her. I reach around to check the time on my phone, careful not to drop the Lethe River Water since it has a horrible smell. Fifteen minutes, not bad. I could honestly spend hours here.
I head back up the stairs and over to the counter, where Matilda and Sonya are waiting. Mat has the lace dress laying there and doesn't say a word as she rings everything up. She hands me the bag and I give her my card to swipe.
As I turn to leave, Sonya hisses at me. That's odd.
“Ignore her—she's been all pissy the past week or so. Must be a storm rolling in or something,” Matilda says, giving me a wave. I wave back before walking out the door.