Chapter 16
“ O w! You just scratched my nipple!”
Tris wiggled his brows while he stuffed his hands down my bra to weave the microphone into a secret spot.
He’d already pinned a peace symbol on my chest that contained the tiny camera.
I had no idea where he’d found that one, but I couldn’t argue his logic.
I mean, I was about to step inside a place filled with crystal-loving halfling hippies.
He’d also given me a mini recorder that would fit inside the pocket of my purse.
I had to admit that I kind of felt like an awesome spy.
“Tris,” I said again as he started pulling the back of my underwear to clip on the power pack.
“I told you to wear pants. Not a dress. You’re giving me nothing to work with here.” He got the pack hooked up and gave my ass a squeeze. Wylen was across the street, looking through the windows of a bookstore, so it felt like we were sneaking around.
And I kind of loved it.
Giggling, I wiggled out of his grip. “It’s too hot for pants. Plus, you’re going to mess up the equipment.”
“Only if you let me,” he teased.
“Well, maybe you’ll get lucky tonight.” But as soon as I said those words, Tris’s smile dropped. “What? What’s wrong? ”
“Nothing’s wrong, Sosie. Believe me, I want to come over tonight?—”
“But?”
He kicked at a pebble on the sidewalk and shoved his hands in his pockets. “But I’m not sure if I can.”
“Are you ready?” Wylen asked, completely interrupting the conversation and leaving me wondering if I’d done something wrong.
“No, Tris and I—” Tris gave me a little nudge in the direction of the shop.
“She’s ready. You don’t want to be late.”
I glared at him, and I didn’t care if Wylen saw. Tris was hiding something. Not even a day after we slept together, he was already acting cagy.
“We’ll be right here listening,” he continued as though he didn’t see my response. Handing Wylen a pair of headphones, he put on his own and opened his laptop. “Give me a test, Sosie.”
“Testing!” I shouted a little too loudly into the microphone. Both men flinched, satisfying my childish behavior.
“And the camera?”
I bent forward until my breasts were close to Tris. Why not give him a glimpse of what he would be missing out on tonight? Wylen swallowed a laugh, and Tris cleared his throat. “Looks good,” he mumbled.
“Wylen?” I asked. “How does Ashtabulah change a human exactly?” I’d been thinking about what we’d discussed for the past hour and felt like I needed to have this information before going inside.
“It’s different for each halfling,” he said, sounding a little surprised by the change in topic. “Some have memory issues. Others might see beyond what they know. I’ve even heard that the cognitive functions of some halflings get completely rewired.”
“Sosie?” Tris said with a bit of an attitude.
“Yes, Tris?”
“Focus. ”
I gave him another look. “I’m focused.”
“You should get going. The meeting starts in ten minutes.”
“Fine,” I grumbled, turning on my heel and walking toward the end of the block. As I disappeared around the corner and spotted the holistic shop on the next street over, I tested the microphone one last time. “We good?”
“All set. Be careful, Sosie.”
“Always,” I said back with a smile on my face. Tris couldn’t see it, but that was okay.
The sun was just starting to lower in the sky. Summer days were long in the city, but at least the surrounding buildings blocked some of the direct rays. With my sunglasses on, I walked in the shadows, enjoying the smell of fresh coffee and aromatherapy oils spilling out onto the street.
This area had been reestablished as a new-age, spiritual-healing, alternative-medicine type of block some years ago.
I hadn’t been here since the revitalization, and something about the place instantly calmed me.
Now that I knew about my heritage, I wondered if that was a part of the appeal.
Wylen’s eyes had lit up as he talked about the beauty of Ashtabulah and all of the wonderful natural surroundings that made up his home.
While I was stuck in the middle of the concrete jungle, this street just oozed peace and calmness and gave a nod to the natural healing processes the earth had to offer. I’d definitely have to come back.
Squeezing the flyer in my hand, I tucked my dark curls behind my ear and crossed the street to Divine Pathways: Holistic Healing, Crystals, and More.
Tucked between a café and a candle store in a long row of storefronts in an old, gray brick building, this little store had a small crowd waiting outside.
Ignoring most of the people, I peeked through the floor-to-ceiling front window to see a narrow room lined with shelves on both sides and stocked fully with everything I would imagine being in a holistic shop.
Oils, crystals, books, and candles. There appeared to be handmade jewelry next to tarot cards.
Calming music next to clothing. And even a section for pets near the front register.
Plus, plants…lots an d lots of green plants everywhere.
Despite it being a hodgepodge of collections, it all fit together perfectly.
At some point during my window shopping, the small line of people had disappeared.
A woman was speaking calmly to the last two of the group, turning them away and promising a discount on anything in the store tomorrow.
“Can I help you?” she suddenly turned and asked me.
Her long black hair flowed freely over her shoulders and the multilayered outfit she wore.
Porcelain skin that hinted at an Ushtey bloodline in her family glistened in the afternoon sun.
She smelled of patchouli and cinnamon and was staring at me with a smile that felt like something much more malevolent.
I stuck my hand out and held up the flyer. “I’m here for the meeting.”
“You are?” The sing-song way in which she said those words reminded me of the witch who was about to eat the children. Gently taking the paper from my grip, one side of her lips pulled up in a smirk. “Where did you get this?”
“A…a friend of mine passed it along. Thought I might need to speak to the other leaths .” I threw in the fae word, hoping it might be like some kind of secret password or something. I was also happy I’d made Wylen practice the pronunciation with me earlier today.
This time, the woman raised a single eyebrow. I’d always wanted to have that ability. “A friend, you say?”
“Yes, ma’am.” The woman was maybe my mother’s age, yet I didn’t know where that ma’am came from. I guess I was more nervous than I realized.
“Relax, Sosie. She’s not a threat.” Tris’s voice in my ear instantly soothed me. But then I heard a muffled conversation that put me on edge. “Wylen said your bloodline is far superior to hers, so you shouldn’t be fearful.”
Trying to cover my smile and ignore my brain asking me how Wylen could possibly know that, I looked up at the halfling in front of me.
“I recently learned who my real father is.” When she didn’t say anything and instead crossed her arms in anticipation, I continued.
“My mom never told me,” I continued, thinking that weaving truths amongst the lies was the way to go.
“And I have this friend who is…” I tried to find the right way to say this.
“Who is like me but has known his whole life.” Dropping my head to look appropriately bashful, I continued. “He thought this might help me cope.”
The woman held out her hands and wiggled her fingers in invitation. “Come on,” she encouraged.
Hesitating just a moment, I placed my palms in hers and almost expected to feel the warmth radiating from her like I had when Wylen touched me.
But nothing happened. At least nothing happened to me.
However, the woman’s eyes widened and her smile grew, and I swore I saw a flash of white dance across her face.
“You are one of us,” she announced in a whisper. “Welcome.”
Pulling my hands away, I smoothed out my dress and turned my body to make sure the camera could see all of her. “Thank you.”
She held open the door to the shop and ushered me inside. The click of the deadbolt startled me at first, but I was quickly drawn into the smells and vibes of the place that instantly calmed me.
“Here, fill this out.” She handed me one of those stick-on name tags and a marker. After I wrote down my name and pressed it on the opposite side of my chest away from the hidden camera, I watched her do the same. “Hello, Sosie,” she said.
“Hi….Sayorse?—”
“It’s pronounced Sercha ,” she said with a smile and a look that told me she’s had to explain her name a thousand times over.
“Hi, Saoirse,” I tried again.
“Come along.” Saoirse walked around the small counter area and held out her arms again. “We’re ready to get started.”
Leading the way, she moved gracefully around the displays as we headed toward the back of the store.
The smell of fresh dirt and chlorophyll filled my head with happy thoughts, and I marveled at the way Saoirse could keep all these plants alive without a lot of natural sunlight back here.
We passed through a set of narrow double doors that swung open into a greenhouse-like sunroom.
A number of metal chairs had been set up along the perimeter, all but two of them filled.
The old, skinny windows that lined the walls were dripping with beads of moisture that must be coming from the ridiculous number of plants hanging from the ceiling.
Miss Saoirse definitely had a green thumb.
“Everyone, this is Sosie,” Saoirse said with an air of authority. “Please welcome her.” She gestured for me to sit in one of the empty seats on the far side of the small room as she sat in the chair closest to the doors.
There were ten of us in total. Turning my body as I settled, I gave Tris and Wylen a look at the equally split group of men and women.
About six of the participants appeared to be similar in age to Saoirse, and the rest were a little younger, like me.
“Hi, everyone,” I said in response to their welcome.
“Let’s begin,” Saoirse said, holding out her arms to the side and waiting for those next to her to take hold.
Like a prayer at the dinner table, everyone grabbed hands and dropped their heads.
There was a young woman on my right and an older gentleman on my left.
Both smiled as they offered their hands, but when the man wrapped his fingers around mine, a jolt of electricity sparked between us.
Keeping his head bowed, he tilted it slightly to the side and gave me a wink.
What the hell was that?
I wanted so badly to ask Wylen, but there was no way to do it without sounding like a crazy person talking into her bra.
Saoirse started speaking in what I assumed was a fae language and with the incantations and tone of the words, I guessed it was some kind of prayer or blessing.
The words flowed through the air as though they belonged there.
Dancing around the halflings and flittering through the plants, the whole aura of the room seemed to shift as though we were now inside a private bubble of secrecy and tribalism.
A pulse of warmth moved from my right hand, through my body, and out of my left arm until it jumped to the man beside me.
I followed the movement of the energy around the room as it circled the entire space.
No one else seemed to be surprised by this, making me wonder if maybe I was just imagining things.
But then one of the plants hanging from the ceiling started to move.