Chapter 3 Amulets and Trinkets and Dead Things
AMULETS AND TRINKETS AND DEAD THINGS
Artur
Holy shit. Cesar Aguiar was standing at my table.
Pull it together, pull it together. Act cool. Don’t be an idiot.
Cesar smiled. “You know who I am?”
“The community isn’t that big here. But yes, Senor Aguiar. Your reputation and charm are often talked about.”
I wasn’t about to tell the city’s best bone witch that I often thought about him. I would have talked about him too, gone on and on to anyone who would listen, if I’d had friends in the clan who acknowledged my existence.
Or any friends, period.
Cesar’s cheeks reddened at the compliment, and if I wasn’t mistaken, his smile got a touch wider.
“Was there something in particular you needed, or were you just out for a casual stroll in the rain?” I tried to make small talk, but as usual, ended up saying something goofy and daft.
Stroll in the rain?! Who does that in the rainy season? Artur, get a grip!
I glanced at the bone witch to see if my comment had offended him. I admired him. He had everything: tall, muscled, handsome, with a killer beard, and he was well respected and liked within the witch world. A lot of qualities I did not have. In fact, I had none of them.
Cesar’s brows furrowed for half a second before one rose, as if questioning my conversational skills.
What the hell is the matter with you?! Be smart, quit making a fool of yourself.
“I mean, I can’t imagine that there’s anything here that someone as talented as yourself would have a use for.
But if you tell me what you’re after, I might know someone who has it.
” I waved my arm toward the other shopkeepers, who had stalls and tables like mine, though most had much better stock than I could ever get hold of.
The expressions on Cesar’s face shifted as fast as the number of tequila shots I had downed the night before.
Now he looked at me with pity, which was the exact opposite of what I wanted.
I got enough of that from other people, and it was, in part, why I had gotten so drunk the night before.
There was still a slight twinge of a headache left over from my poor decisions.
Apache’s had made a pretty penny off me the night before.
“Never sell yourself short,” Cesar smiled. “I’m certain there’s something here that I could utilize for a charm. Got any lizard bones?”
“Hmm, no, don’t think so.” I bit my bottom lip as I scanned my table.
Most of the items were trinkets I’d scavenged from other retailers who had gone out of business.
A lot of the vials were slightly damaged, the crystals were cracked, and all the twine used in creating voodoo dolls had knots.
Truthfully, anytime anything sold off my table, a small prayer was sent up to the gods in thanks.
“Bones would be my favorite thing, obviously. But I have stashes of them. Could always use more. But let me see…” Cesar waded through the pile of junk in front of me, picking up the odd random tidbit and then setting it down. “Oh, what about this?”
Cesar picked up a black tourmaline crystal and held it up to the dimly glowing lightbulb that hung bare above my stand.
“Just so you know, it’s cracked. Most of them are.” The words came out softly— confession of sorts. I sighed and frowned.
“Ah, that’s a shame,” Cesar remarked as he inspected the stone.
“But I might be able to salvage this. I have a stone cutter at home. If I cut the gem and removed the cracked piece, I could use the smaller segment, once polished, in a charm. In fact, I think I might be able to get several pieces out of this, and you don’t see this colour variety often.
” Cesar wrapped his hand around the stone.
“And it gives off an unusual vibration. A decent find, Artur. I’ll take it. ”
“You haven’t even asked me how much I want for it.” I cocked an eyebrow.
“I’m not worried about the price. Tell me the gem’s monetary value, and I’ll double it, as repayment for saving the contents of my pockets.” Senor Aguiar winked at me.
Now it was my turn to blush.
“If I said I wanted five hundred pesos?” The gem had come in a box of assorted stones; one I had found lying about.
I hadn’t paid a single thing for any of the contents of that box, and now I stood to make a killer profit.
But I didn’t make many sales these days, and rent was due.
Food was scarce. I could have killed for a taco.
“I’d say that’s a fair price.” Cesar pocketed the tourmaline, then pulled out a fat envelope, opened it, and retrieved some bills. Being careful not to display his money to anyone but me, he counted out the cash and then handed it over.
“Ah, this is too much,” I said as I flipped through three five hundred peso-bills. “Like way too much.”
“Let’s call it even. As I mentioned, you saved me from potential monetary losses tonight. Plus, you gave me some shelter from the storm, and you’ve been honest with me about the condition of the gem. You don’t get a lot of truth from the market vendors these days. I appreciate that.”
The heat I felt crawling across my neck and shoulders from the compliments he was doling out made me wonder if the falling rain would sizzle as it hit my skin.
And right about now, I was so hot I wanted to go stand out in the downpour.
I glanced down at the ground, a bit out of shyness, and a lot out of embarrassment, especially considering I had significantly overcharged him.
“Thank you, Senor Aguiar. You are too kind.” I bowed my head to him.
“Call me Cesar, please.” He stuck out his hand. A kind gesture. Benevolence was in short supply within the Obscurus and Illuminatus clans. I’d never gained any favor in either group, so Cesar’s doting was causing chaos in my head.
Granted, chaos lived there in droves.
I took his offered hand eagerly, clasping his fingers. His skin was rough, a tell-tale sign that he worked with his hands.
From the tips of my fingers, little static shocks ignited, tickling my skin, and for a hot tropical moment, my eyes widened.
Attraction.
Not a surprise on my part. I’d swooned over Cesar for years, but that’s not why the sparks occurred.
The electrical contact only ever happened when the attraction was mutual. It was one of those witch things. Magic does odd things sometimes. The community even had a saying to go with such an occurrence:
Meet and greet,
A spark will seat,
The love of a lifetime.
I couldn’t believe it.
I wondered if he’d seen it or felt it.
Cesar smiled and looked at me with a gentle grin and mischief in his eyes as he let his hand slip away.
“I’d say your magick is getting away from you, Artur.” His smile widened, and he winked at me again.
Now I was simply melting. I would need more than a tropical rainstorm to cool me off. Several shots of tequila and an ice-cold shower might bury this moment.
“Sorry, Cesar. An ongoing issue, as I’m sure you’re aware of. My talents get the best of me, often.” I let my hand drop and lowered my gaze.
“Don’t be so hard on yourself. Thank you, Artur.
I shall see you around.” Cesar then turned and walked away, leaving me staring at the back of him, mesmerized by his casual gait and the robes that swayed back and forth.
He pulled his cowl up to protect himself against the rain, which had now turned to more of a drizzle.
“Well, this evening was definitely one to remember,” I whispered to myself.
Settling back into my chair, I took stock of the remaining items on my table, noting the absence of the worthless pretty rocks the teens had stolen and accounting for the sale of the tourmaline shard. The rest I could box up and hope to sell another night.
I began to pack my stall away. As I glanced at my timepiece, the face read a quarter to midnight.
Thunder rumbled overhead, threatening to let loose with another round of cascading rain showers.
My overhead light flickered.
I glanced up. Water dripped from the overhang above my table. Several other lights down the alleyway, where I sat among other vendors, also began to sputter. That was never a good sign.
Either the current storm has disrupted the local power grid, which was common enough, or…
And then it appeared at the end of the alley.
The vendors furthest from me, those closest to the cloaked figure, quickly shut their lights out and disappeared from their stalls, leaving their goods abandoned. Most of the store fronts had apartments above them.
I was not so fortunate. I only rented this space; the sparse hovel I called home was a ten-minute walk away.
Lightning illuminated the alley, but despite the short burst of light, the figure remained cloaked in darkness. Not a good sign. Only one creature remained concealed in shadows regardless of time of day or weather conditions.
A wight. An undead creature, sentient, and retaining all the characteristics of someone who was alive—except they could leach the life right out of you if they chose.
Wight’s were powerfully magical, wielding spells with dexterity and precision.
They would kill with impunity and without consequence, as no jail could hold them, and no police force would even look their way.
They were creatures best left alone.
Thank all the gods they were exceedingly rare—except now there was one within a stone’s throw of me.
I couldn’t stop staring.
My skin erupted in goose-flesh pimples as the air around me chilled.
The entity floated closer.
I was certain I witnessed ice crystals forming under its feet as it made its way forward.
As the evil dead came near, the laneway behind it became enshrouded in a never-ending night.
I couldn’t breathe. The air was too thick. I couldn’t move. The chill had become bone-cold.
It stopped directly in front of me.
I couldn’t see behind the cowl, but it stretched out a hand and pointed to the remaining objects on my table. The digit indicating my goods was far too thin. With a glance, I saw nothing more than thin skin stretched over white bone.
“Who bought the black gem?” A raspy voice spat out words that skittered across the table.
I froze. I couldn’t form words and could barely think. I began to shake uncontrollably.
“I said, who bought the black gem? I will not ask again.” Snakes of black shadow spiraled around my ankles. They wound their way up my leg, constricting as they went. With a single inhaled breath, they coiled around my chest and throat, tightening, narrowing, squeezing.
Lights flashed in my sight while the edges of my vision faded into blackness.
“Cesar Aguiar,” I choked out.
“The stone belongs to me. I want it back. Get it. I will return tomorrow night.”
Another round of rolling thunder shook the buildings around us.
Lightning blazed briefly, and when the night’s overcast and gloomy pall returned, the wight had disappeared.
I sank into my chair, finally free from the fear the creature precipitated.
As reality seeped back into my brain and the cold of having the undead so near thawed, my eyes snapped open to their widest.
“I have to warn Cesar.”