4. Harper
T he shop had been busy that day. It was late summer, and the closer we got to fall, the busier Salem was. People from all over the world came to Salem for Halloween, and usually by October, the streets were packed.
I was doing my best to enjoy these last few weeks of relative peace and quiet before all mayhem broke loose.
“That cat’s still out there,” Luna observed as I wrapped up an amethyst ring for a customer.
I shrugged. “Probably hoping someone will feed it.”
Luna’s brow creased. She didn’t look convinced, but I wasn’t too worried about it.
Weird shit happened to me all the time. My grandmother said it was just part of being a Bishop.
We were descendants of one of the oldest Western bloodlines.
Of course weird shit was going to happen from time to time.
The universe worked in mysterious ways. I’d learned to just trust it.
If the cat was important, it would show me soon enough why it was here.
I didn’t need to go poking into things that hadn’t yet made themselves part of my business.
The bell rang again, and I glanced up to find a man darkening the doorway. I wouldn’t have paid him much mind, but an ominous chill rolled through the shop, and my gut twisted with anxiety at his appearance.
The cat was still on the curb, watching, though his ears were now flattened against his head. I couldn’t hear it, but I saw him hiss at the man as he entered.
“Welcome to Luna and Luci’s Crystals,” Luna said lightly, though I could tell by the crease in her brow she was getting bad vibes from this guy, too.
He was handsome; I’d give him that. Tall, well over six feet with chestnut hair styled in a pretentious coiffe. We didn’t often get men that exuded this level of ‘I’m a straight man’ at the shop. Ninety percent of our clientele were girls, gays, and theys. This dude looked like a fish out of water.
He was wearing brown suede boots, blue jeans, and a brown leather bomber jacket that looked worn but was probably more expensive than anything I owned.
His dark eyes fell on me, and I resisted the urge to shiver. Instead of balking, I tucked a strand of my bone-white hair behind my ear and met his gaze head-on.
“Can we help you?” I repeated Luna’s previous question, and a slow, predatory smile curled across his lips.
“I hope so,” he rumbled, stepping further into the shop, bringing his shitty energy with him. “I’m looking for Harper Bishop.”
I frowned. “That’s me,” I said, glancing out the window again at the cat that now had its paws pressed against the window. Its ears were still flat against its head, and it looked pissed… If a cat could possibly look pissed.
“Axel, Axel Ward,” the man introduced himself, extending a hand. I eyed his hand skeptically but didn’t take it. I could feel myself bristling, and I knew better than to question my intuition.
Witches used touch in various ways to cast magic. I wasn’t voluntarily touching some guy that gave me the ick.
“Is that supposed to mean something to me?” I asked, not bothering to hide the hostility in my voice.
His practiced smile faltered slightly, and anger flashed in his dark eyes. It was gone just as quickly as it came, and he painted his mask on like a professional bullshitter .
“I’m working with an associate to facilitate a project that we’re hoping will bring Salem back to its roots.
We’ve run into some opposition with the…
Wiccan community, and it’s come to my attention that as a Bishop, you may be able to help us smooth things over if you give our humble church your blessing. ”
My jaw dropped open, and Luna let out a shocked laugh, her eyes crinkling in the corners.
“Oh, this should be good.” She smirked, leaning back against one of the display cases to watch the drama unfold.
“A church? Like for Jesus and shit?” I barked, and Axel’s frown deepened.
Not that I had any problem with churches; we had a bunch in town and a relatively active Christian community. We were supportive of spirituality in general as long as people respected each other’s beliefs.
The issue was, if this man was trying to open a church here and had met any sort of backlash, I could already tell what kind of church this was going to be.
Considering Salem’s history, we were all a little hesitant to give too much power to any one form of doctrine. This guy’s overall vibe and the way he had said Wiccan was setting off all kinds of alarm bells.
“It is our hope that we can bring back the traditional values that this town was built upon and foster a sense of community from like-minded folk. Your endorsement would go a long way in helping us generate buzz. We have a very revolutionary priest spearheading the project. I would love to have you over to meet him so you could make an informed decision for yourself.”
His tone was polite but also somewhat condescending, and I narrowed my eyes at him.
“Pass,” I said, turning away to tidy up some wrapping paper off the counter.
Suddenly, he was gripping my arm and spinning me back to face him.
“Hey!” Luna snarled, and my mouth fell open at the fucking audacity.
I leveled him with one of the most intense glares I had given anyone in my life.
“Get your hand off me,” I said quietly, but he didn’t move. We stood there, staring at each other for a beat, when the door opened, and my two older brothers chose that moment to walk into the shop. They were identical in every sense of the word; the only difference was how they chose to dress.
Romulus looked like he’d walked out of a spread for a 90’s punk band, his black jeans and T-shirt covered in studs and safety pins.
Remus was more of a Levi’s and a white T kind of a guy, though they were both wearing black Doc Martens laced at the ankles.
Their dark brown hair looked almost black in Luna’s bright shop, and their mahogany eyes were tinted red with rage as they glared at the asshole that had touched me without my consent.
Axel turned, frowning at my brothers, both of whom took one look at his hand on my arm and bristled.
“Perfect timing.” I grinned, and Axel’s frown deepened.
“Douchebag, meet my brothers, Romulus and Remus. Rom and Rem, meet douchebag.”
Rom’s brown eyes flashed, and Rem gave Axel a smile that was more of a baring of teeth than anything.
“Nice to meet you, douchebag. Now, why don’t you take your fucking hand off my sister before I do it for you?” Rom snarled, and my grin widened as Axel jerked his hand away from me.
Luna glared at him, placing her hands on her hips.
“And while you’re at it, why don’t you get the fuck out of my shop?”