Page 16 of Possessed By Shadows
Chapter 4
Micah took so long choosing a bowl, that I found a pendant sort of thing I decided I wanted. I was planning to come back with my wallet, but when Micah asked, I pointed it out, and he bought it. It hadn’t been much, but I made a note so I could pay him back. The pendant came with a detailed booklet filled with drawings about how to wrap power around it. A way to ward off evil or something. I was into that. Even if it didn’t work. Hope came in small ways and the stone was pretty.
The walk home was quiet. Micah nestled against me; our hands gripped together. The streets were mostly absent of anyone, even the things I thought might have been ghosts. But I also felt a little less raw and emotional too. Maybe my emotions were enhancing my ability to see them? Or even drawing them out? I tried not to feed that worry.
It took less time to get back than it had to get to the strange shop. I wondered if I’d been drawn, but exhaustion dragged on me. I gripped the bag full of woodwork, carrying it for Micah so he could still text. He’d flashed the screen once or twice, so I knew he was talking to Sky. And that was okay.
“Is it okay if Sky stays with us tonight?” Micah asked.
Sky did a lot of flitting from place to place, though seemed to do less of it these days while she was dating my brother. Mostly she was with him, or us. And if he was being an asshole all the way around, I suspected she’d be with us. “Sure.”
We got to the gate and passed into the inner garden. The dark barely touched Micah’s little lawn space. Between the solar lights planted along the path, and the many strings of garden bulbs, the glow illuminated everything within twenty feet. Part of that had been my doing. Chasing away the shadows, even though they didn’t seem to alleviate the night noises that still happened often enough. The many little statues of gnomes and cats and even fairies perched in the tree made it feel less threatening. But I’d seen dark things here in the garden. Right now, it was absent of movement, and the shadows only touched the most distant corners.
The lights were on inside and I had a moment of anxiety that Lukas would still be here. But when Micah opened the door, it was Sky curled up on the futon with Jet. She was awake, her long hair pulled back into a braid, face make-up free, and dressed in an oversized T-shirt and pajama bottoms. She looked like she’d been crying. I totally felt that. Stupid Lukas.
I set the bag of stuff we bought on the table, slipped off the garden shoes and handed the sweater to Micah who hung it near the door. He made his way to our dresser area. I perched on the edge of the futon beside Sky.
“You okay?” I asked her.
“More worried about you,” she said.
“I’m a resilient bastard.”
She smiled at my teasing. “I wish you didn’t have to be.”
“Yeah, we need to work on that.” I held up the booklet. “These people are legit? Dion said you’d have an opinion.”
Sky’s eyes widened at the booklet. “They are. But they aren’t all friendly.”
“Dion seemed nice.” I was pretty good at reading people in general. A lot of that came from life at war, always observing even the smallest details. A person’s body language said a lot about their thought process. From that deadly stillness that meant calculated, to a fidgeting nervousness that often meant trouble caused by someone coerced.
“She is. But not all in the coven are. Are you going to take classes?”
“Maybe,” I said flipping through to the ones Dion had pointed out. Micah stepped out of his clothes and tugged on a pair of pajamas. All of our nightwear was filled with fun images like Disney characters or other cartoons. Micah had found the line by a small designer online, and requested them for the shop. I’d insisted on getting us all some for Christmas. It was a silly thing, grown-ups in cartoon PJs, but there was a sense of comfort about them that came from more than the soft cotton. It was a feeling of home and safety.
As far as I knew, Sky only wore hers when she was here with us. The pair Micah had chosen actually had Calvin and Hobbs on them, while Sky’s were Lilo and Stitch, and mine was a slew of drawn princesses in rainbow colors. I was still trying to figure out who they all were even after having the fabric for a few months.
Micah disappeared into the bathroom.
“Do you think these classes are worth it?” I pointed them out to Sky.
“Sure. All of the classes are.” She examined the booklet. “The teachers of these are good. Except SueLynn. She’s a great teacher but she’ll treat you like crap.”
“Why? If she doesn’t want to teach, then why teach?”
“She loves teaching, just not men.”
“That’s weird. Why is that?”
“She doesn’t believe men can have power. You’ll actually find that is a common belief in the wicca community. At least here in New Orleans. I’ve got some great friends online who don’t think men who have power are evil.” Sky did air quotes with her fingers as she said evil. “And that only women can really control power in a positive way.”
“That sucks. I certainly didn’t ask for whatever the fuck power I have. Does that make me evil? Unworthy of being able to control it?”
“That’s been my point too. And not all of them believe that. Dion doesn’t, and doesn’t allow people to discriminate on who can be in class or not, but that doesn’t mean SueLynn will be nice or even helpful.” Sky looked back at the booklet. “Most of us just stop taking classes with her.”
“Us? You’re a girl,” I reminded her. “Does she treat you bad?”
Sky smiled at me with a watery gaze. “I love you.”