5. Iris
Iris
Iwake with a start, the vision consuming me. This one is familiar, except it feels eerily real.
I can feel the surroundings, the tension, and a thick gust of wind that slaps my face. There’s chanting and I wonder if I’m envisioning something with my coven, and then I watch as it all unfolds.
A man, he’s strapped to a picnic table, his chest bare, covered in symbols as he tries to tug away from his confines. No one is listening to him. They just keep chanting repeatedly. The man’s body goes still and I wonder what they’ve done to him.
The man’s eyes open, and they’re no longer the scared brown they once were, no, they’re completely blacked out.
Before I can get a closer look to see if I’m imagining it, I’m pulled into the present with the doorbell of the shop ringing.
“Fuck,” I hiss, my head throbbing as I grab my wand and send my robe flinging across the room, wrapping myself up as the doorbell rings again.
It’s not even opening time, in fact, far from it.
“I’m coming,” I say as the bell rings again and I take the stairs from my apartment to my store downstairs.
I breathe out a sigh of relief when I see Ember in the window, happily waving at me, her pink hair flailing in the wind.
She’s wearing a dark pink dress that contrasts against her pale, freckled skin and she looks way too happy this early in the morning, but I suppose that’s the best way to avoid the heat with her affinity for plants.
With a yawn, I unlock the door and let Ember in.
“Ember, it’s early as fuck,” I groan and she gives me a grimace.
“Sorry. I know it’s early, but I had to come and show you,” she says, pulling out the most beautiful Camellia Japonica plant I’ve ever seen out of her purse.
We’ve been trying for ages to grow these properly so that I could make a new fragrance for the shop.
“It’s gorgeous,” I tell her, examining the large red blooms. “This is amazing, Ember.”
“Isn’t it? Just think of all the potions you can make.”
I give her a smile. My life would be so much better if I could just stay in my little shop and make potions all day long. It’s my passion. I never wanted to be a seer, especially not one who has visions that make no sense and are kind of terrifying.
Even with the beauty of this flower in front of me, I can’t shake the vision of that man’s fearful expression or how his eyes changed. It’s the same every time, almost like he’s being…sacrificed?
“Hey, is everything alright?” Ember says, squeezing my shoulder.
“Yeah. I just haven’t been sleeping. You know how it is.”
“None of your potions have worked?”
My sigh is dramatic as I shake my head and lock the door behind Ember. “Coffee?”
“Always,” Ember says, following me upstairs to my apartment. With a flick of my wand, I have mugs careening out of the cupboard and the machine whirls as we take a seat at the one small table I have.
The upstairs apartment isn’t much to write home about. I have a queen-sized bed, a kitchenette, and the dining table. At the end of my bed sits a loveseat that faces the small TV I got, mostly for Scarlett. The fox has a huge penchant for trashy reality television.
“I’m sorry for showing up so early. I was just excited,” she says, placing the plant on the table.
“It’s fine, I was up already anyway,” I say, untying my bonnet and letting my long twists free. Some of the golden jewelry clinks as it falls to my shoulder.
Ember smiles at me and grabs a lock of her own hair. “I think I need to do something different,” she says and I send the coffee mugs through the air, and they gently land on the table in front of us.
“I can come up with something,” I tell her, and she gives me a smile before taking a sip.
“I’d love that. Another time though, because we’re still going out tonight, right?”
“Of course we are.” I take a sip of my coffee, acting like I didn’t completely forget.
“Iris, are you sure you’re okay? You aren’t sleeping and I haven’t seen you around much,” she says, her face kind and gentle and I love her so much. Part of me wonders if I should tell her what I saw, but that’s the crux of being a seer.
It’s the whole reason why a seer can never be a High Priestess. Visions can be too vague, and sharing them with the coven to make decisions can create a worse outcome. What would I tell her, anyway? I had a vision where blood dripped from your neck and you were moaning in agony?
It could be a metaphor.
Then I think back to the card about death and fate and I second guess myself. I look away from my oldest friend, a person I love the most in the world. I can’t tell her what I saw, not until I’m sure.
She reaches out and squeezes my hand. “Whatever it is, you know Violet and I are here for whatever you need. You can always talk to us.”
“I know that, Ember. I’m fine, I promise,” I tell her and try to give my most believable smile.
The moment I say it, Scarlett pops into the room. Thankfully, her snout is clean, and she chirps as she sees Ember, prancing over to her feet, where she begs for pets.
“Well, hello there, Scarlett,” Ember coos at her, scratching under her chin.
“Oh, I love mistress Ember,” Scarlett says and I smirk down at my familiar.
“What did she say?”
“That she loves you,” I tell Ember, which makes her smile widen and give Scarlett even more scratches.
“Gus doesn’t tell me he loves me often enough,” Ember complains.
“Gus is an overweight, unhelpful familiar,” she says into my mind, and I have to stop myself from snorting.
Scarlett’s biggest flaw might be her ego.
“So, tonight? You need to get out of this shop. You and Violet both work too hard,” Ember says and I give her a smile around my coffee mug.
“I’ll be there.”
“Oh, and make some hangover potion.”
“You got it,” I tell my friend, knowing that I need to figure out these visions. The sooner I do, the sooner I’ll be able to sleep and know that both Ember and I are safe.
Ember gives Scarlett another scratch with a promise to see her soon. I walk her down to the entrance to let her out and begin all my prep for opening the store.
As I do, Scarlett rambles around beside me.
“Why do you not tell Miss Ember about your visions?”
“It would only worry her. Once I know more, I’ll tell her,” I say, logging into the register and making sure everything is in order.
The front is retail, the back is my brewing station, and upstairs is storage and where I live.
Goddess Apothecary has become a lucrative business…
well, it was. I need to sell way more product if I want to make up the huge dent Izora put in my wallet.
I still can’t decide if it was worth it or not. No, that old hag definitely overcharges people and she’s made a killing from it. I left that place with more questions and a human finger in tow.
As I go to turn the open sign, another vision…no, a memory, one that’s not my own, hits me. It puts me on edge for the rest of the day.
With irritation, I realize who I need to speak to. It can wait till tomorrow. Tonight is about reconnecting with my friends. Being with Violet and Ember always makes me feel better and tonight will be no different.
“I want to comeeeee,” Scarlett whines and I sigh, getting down on my knees and petting her.
“I wish I could bring you, but restaurants don’t let in dogs, let alone foxes.”
“Humans are dumb,” she complains, jumping onto my bed and swirling in a circle multiple times before plopping down and making herself comfortable.
I put on Love Island UK and kiss her orange little head before leaving the shop.
The two-block walk to Howl at the Moon is just enough time for me to take a deep breath and get my shit together. Before, we wouldn’t have dared stepped foot in here, being shifter-owned, but now that Silas is the Alpha of the Moon Walker Pack and he’s married to Violet, everything has changed.
Speaking of my hybrid friend, she approaches me, her two-toned hair bouncing as she gives me a hug.
Her skin is usually a warm olive, but time with the shifters has given her a more bronzed glow.
She’s half witch and half wolf shifter, and she’s taken that new information in stride.
What used to be pure hatred between the shifters and witches in this town has turned into a peaceful understanding.
Sure, not all the coven has progressed, like Ember’s family, but for most of us this has been a move in the right direction.
“I’ve missed you,” Violet says, holding me tight.
“I missed you too. Oh, here, I made us hangover potions,” I say, handing out the purple vials between us. “Hopefully the extra peppermint helps.”
We all grimace as we shoot them down; the flavoring did not help.
“Well, it’s better than a hangover,” Ember says and I nod my agreement.
When we walk into the place, there’s a variety of supernatural and humans alike. No one pays us any attention as we get into our booth.
As soon as we sit down I make sure the conversation isn’t about me. “So, how’s the clinic going?” I ask Violet.
“Well, really well. There are a few shifters who still don’t trust me, but I’ve won most of them over. Or Silas told them it was me or bleed out, since they don’t have another healer. Either way, I have lots of patients.”
“Oh, and how is your giant wolf shifter?” Ember asks, wiggling her eyebrows.
I can’t help but glance at Violet’s bond mark. It shimmers silver on her skin. Wolf shifters immediately know what it is, and most humans assume that it’s a scar of some kind. What would it be like to have a fated mate?
What’s it like to be with someone because cosmic forces we can’t even begin to understand brought you together? Not that I’m interested in finding a relationship—far from it.
I’ve never had romantic feelings toward a man.
While I’ve had sex, it never felt quite right.
I had to use magic for lubrication and I never met climax.
Part of me wonders if it was like this for everyone, or maybe I was alone in feeling this way.
I don’t have any issues when I’m by myself, but I haven’t even been doing that lately. I’m too exhausted.
Love isn’t really in the cards for me, at least not romantically. My coven and my familiar have always been enough for me.
I’m content with my life at the shop, just me and Scarlett, and my amazing coven.
The love I have for them was deep, a sisterhood that I wouldn’t trade for the world. They’re my soul mates in a deep platonic way, and I always felt like I was the one who made sure we always stuck together. If I wasn’t here anymore, what would happen?
“He’s amazing,” Violet says dreamily. “I think we’re going to take a trip up north, let our wolves run free.”
“That sounds so romantic,” Ember says dreamily.
“You know, there are a lot of new nomads coming to town. I could find out who’s single,” Violet says happily, and I smile in agreement.
Ember purses her lips and tilts her head.
She’s been on dates, but they never really go how she wants them to.
My best friend longs for an epic romance and I love that about her.
With the old coven rules, there wasn’t much she could do about it.
Now that things have changed, I hope one day she’ll find someone worthy of her love.
The thought of not seeing Ember get married or finding love has me shooting back the rest of my drink in worry.
“It’s worth a shot,” I say as the bartender brings us a new round of drinks.
“Silas would never let an undeserving wolf into the pack. I think there might be some good candidates,” Violet assures her.
“He would need to be tall and be able to hold a conversation,” Ember replies, her cheeks turning a bright pink.
“What about you Iris?” Violet asks and I shake my head.
“I’m too busy at the shop. I’m not looking for anything right now,” I tell her, and she gives me a small smile, not pushing me any more than that.
“Is everything going okay at the shop?”
“Sales are better than ever,” I reply honestly.
“And you’re getting enough sleep?” Violet poses the question like she isn’t completely worried about me, and I just can’t take them fussing over me.
“Yes. Oh, that reminds me. Guess who came in for hair growth serum,” I say, wiggling my brows, and changing the conversation so that it doesn’t lead back to me or how I’m doing lately.
Conversation from there is easy. The bartender keeps plying us with drinks and for the first time in a long time, I feel light.
Violet is telling us about how her and Silas’ wolves keep making them shift and blocking them out and doing gods knows what, and Ember tells us all about her garden fairy drama.
“You should kick them out, Em,” I tell her.
“I just need to be more stern with them. They’re so demanding,” Ember huffs, taking a drink.
My skin feels warm. There’s a slight buzz in my fingers, like electricity humming through my veins. I swallow thickly, knowing what’s about to happen.
Fuck.
“I’ll be right back,” I tell them, dragging myself to the bathroom, holding myself against the wall as the vision hits me.
A deep, otherworldly voice rumbles in the darkness with one simple word.
Finally.