Chapter 14
“Please, Auntie Sel?” Allie made her puppy eyes even bigger. It was clear she’d been practicing the look.
“No.”
“But—”
Selene shook her head. “There’s no way. I’m barely convinced I should be there. If I didn’t think it would be rude, I’d stay home with you.”
“Yeah, right.” Allie flopped back on the bed. “It’s so unfair. Josh is going.”
“Josh isn’t my responsibility. You are.” Selene knew she’d have little luck convincing Allie that she meant what she’d said: she had more than a few reservations about attending the Beltane celebration.
Avondale’s supernatural side was too unpredictable.
Every time she thought she was beginning to understand the rules of her new world, another wild card turned up.
“But I’m his girlfriend, and this is a really important holiday,” Allie whined. “One of the biggest pagan days of the year. He needs me there.”
“Then why didn’t you get an invitation?” Selene asked pointedly.
Allie slumped into a pile of pillows and looked out the window.
“Fenris told Josh I could only come if you said it was okay,” she grumbled.
Selene smiled. “No wonder I like him.”
Allie’s begging gaze was back. “Please, please, please!”
“Allison.” Selene sighed. “Natalie said this ritual isn’t appropriate for you. Marley and Tim agreed. They all know you well. If they say it’s not a good idea—and they know way more about this event than I do—then I’m not going against their advice.”
If she were in Allie’s position, she’d want to go to the pagan party, too, but until Selene understood what precisely it entailed, she wasn’t comfortable bringing Allie.
“What am I supposed to do tomorrow night?” Allie asked. “All my friends will be at the Beltane rite.”
“Don’t you have any nonparanormal friends?” Selene asked.
“I stopped hanging out with the kids who aren’t part of the paranormal scene when I started dating Josh.” Allie pushed out her lower lip.
“That’s a winning look.” Selene scoffed. “I’m terribly convinced you’re mature enough to attend this pagan holiday.”
Allie startled, blushing. “You’re not being fair.”
“Neither are you for punishing me because I’m acting like your guardian instead of your buddy,” Selene replied. “Now do you want to go shopping with me tonight or not?”
“I want to go to the movies with Josh tonight,” Allie said, still sulking. “Since I won’t get to see him tomorrow.”
“Okay,” Selene quipped, refusing to be drawn in again. “I’ll be home later. Have a good time with Josh.”
“Bye.” Allie flipped over on her bed so her back was to Selene.
When Selene had embarked on her shopping expedition in downtown Avondale, she hadn’t realized that finding an appropriate outfit for her first pagan ritual would be so involved.
Selene turned over the tag on the blouse she’d picked out and scanned the list of materials.
She sighed and put the blouse back on the rack.
After seeking advice from her paranormal friends, she’d come away with specific parameters regarding what she should wear.
Natalie had pursed her lips and said, “I’d wear a skirt, something you can move easily in. There will be lots of dancing.”
“Really?” Selene hadn’t known what to expect, but dancing in the forest hadn’t been on her list of possibilities. With everyone talking about how important the holiday was, she assumed it would be something more staid.
Natalie nodded. “And make sure you wear only natural fibers.”
“Natural fibers?”
“Yeah. Cotton, wool, silk. Nothing synthetic.”
Selene frowned. “What are you wearing?”
“I have to wear ritual clothing because I’m assisting in the ceremony,” Natalie said, then added, “And leave your phone at home. No technology.”
Tim and Marley hadn’t been much more helpful.
“Don’t wear too much,” Tim said. “If you’re overdressed, you’ll regret it. It always gets hot.”
“Hot? You’re kidding.” It was still April, and the air rolling in from the coast at nights brought the temperature way down.
Tim just smiled. “Trust me.”
“You could go skyclad,” Marley said slyly.
“Knock it off, Mar.” Tim laughed. “She’s asking for our help.”
“What’s skyclad?” Selene asked and sipped her coffee.
“Naked.” Tim rolled his eyes.
Selene managed to stop herself from spitting coffee all over their kitchen table. But just barely. She was not a fan of this pattern. Though it was an improvement over the fainting.
“Will there be many naked people at this event?”
“At least a few.” Marley laughed. “But you might not recognize them as people.”
Selene’s eyes widened.
“Let’s just say that among the Fae, Marley is one of the most human-looking,” Tim said.
“Don’t worry, Selene. You’ll handle it just fine,” Marley said, then his face grew serious. “But make sure you wear only natural fibers.”
And that sent Selene on a hunt through the few clothing stores in Avondale on Friday night, sorting through racks of clothes in search of an all-natural-fiber, not-too-heavy outfit.
It wasn’t easy. She was rather astounded by the number of synthetic materials that made up at least a part of most clothing.
The first two stores yielded nothing, so it was with delight that she discovered that the third, Arachne’s Web, appeared to carry only natural-fiber items. Selene kicked herself for putting the store at the bottom of her list. The name had creeped her out.
She was not a fan of spiders. If she’d gone there first, it would have saved her a couple of hours, and now it was close to closing time.
With an armful of skirts, tops, and dresses, Selene approached the store clerk sheepishly. “I’m so sorry. I know you’re about to close, but would it be possible for me to try these on?”
The store was set to shut in ten minutes. There was no way she’d get through her mountain of options in that time.
The woman eyed the pile and smiled knowingly. “Shopping for the Beltane rite?”
Selene almost blurted, How did you know? then thought better of it.
When she nodded, the woman laughed. “I can never decide what to wear. Here, let me look at what you have.”
They walked over to the counter, where Selene spread out her choices.
Tapping her index finger against her lips, the woman made a humming sound and began to pluck items from the counter and deposit them in Selene’s arms.
“This. This. Not this. Maybe . . . no. Definitely not this. Oh, this would be lovely. But this could work too. Ah, the slit in this skirt isn’t high enough. You don’t want your movement to be restricted. We’ll put that aside. But you should try this one instead.”
She surveyed the slightly smaller pile Selene held. “You should find something in there that suits you.”
“Are you sure you don’t mind?” Even having reduced the number of choices, it would still take her a while to try them all on.
“Not at all.” The woman eyed Selene again. “Is this your first Beltane?”
Selene nodded.
“You’re in for a treat.” She offered Selene her hand. “Perhaps I’ll see you there? I’m Arachne.”
“This is your shop?” Selene shook Arachne’s hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m sorry to make you stay late.”
Arachne waved away her apology. “My studio is in the back of the shop. I always weave for a few hours after I close. If you don’t mind, I’ll lock the front door and go to work. Come find me when you’re finished.”
“You weave?” Selene asked.
Nodding, Arachne replied, “I create most of the fabrics for the clothes I sell. Avondale is home to a number of independent and incredibly gifted seamstresses and tailors who I hire to take my fabrics and turn them into everything you see in here.”
Gifted, Selene thought, means magic.
Arachne watched her with an obvious if-you-know-you-know expression.
“That’s wonderful,” Selene replied. “I regret that I haven’t been in here until today. It’s silly, but . . .”
“Go on,” Arachne urged.
With a nervous laugh, Selene confessed, “I don’t understand the name of your shop.”
“You don’t like spiders.” Arachne smiled gently.
Selene couldn’t stop herself from rubbing her arms. Even thinking about spiders gave her the creepy crawlies.
“Do you know the story of my namesake?” Arachne asked. “The first Arachne?”
Selene shook her head.
“Then let me tell you,” Arachne continued. “You might change your mind about spiders. At least a bit.”
“Okay.” Selene doubted anything could change her opinion of spiders.
“In ancient Greece Arachne was an incredibly gifted weaver,” Arachne explained. “She gained so much renown for her talent that she got a little too full of herself and decided to challenge Athena to a weaving contest.”
“Athena, as in the goddess of wisdom?” Selene asked.
“The very same,” Arachne replied. “Athena is also the goddess of crafts, and let me tell you this, if there is one rule to be followed in life, it is this: Never brag about yourself to a deity. Hubris is always punished. When Arachne realized how deeply she’d enraged Athena, she hung herself.
Athena took pity on Arachne and saved her life but did so by changing her into a spider so that she could weave for all eternity. ”
“An immortal spider then,” Selene remarked.
“Yes.”
“Is that supposed to be a happy ending?” Selene frowned. The story would make her see spiders differently, but she wasn’t necessarily more inclined to like them.
Arachne shook her head. “Myths rarely offer happy endings. The blessing is mixed. The lesson is what matters.”
“No bragging when the gods can hear you,” Selene said. “Got it.”
“And the gods can always hear you,” Arachne added. “I named my shop not only after myself but also as a reminder that my love of weaving is a gift that I shouldn’t take for granted. Now let me show you to a dressing room.”
Arachne led Selene to a generous space in one corner of the shop that could be curtained off for privacy. After the shop owner excused herself, Selene pulled the curtain shut, stripped off her clothes, and began shuffling in and out of her options.