Helen padded through the empty building, creaky hardwood floors the only sound as she turned off lights and set the thermostat. She whistled an upbeat tune, filling silence with cheery noises. Though things on the Brian front remained scary and unknown, at least she’d taught an awesome class. Even though her trance had gotten a bit strange at the end, the money spell had to be doing its thing.
Circumstances were improving, and Helen ought to honor and appreciate bursts of good energy when they erupted in her life. Express her gratitude to the universe and humbly ask for more bounty. Committing to operation count blessings and recognize positivity, Helen scooped her car keys out of a dish on an end table.
Chimes rung, the front door moaning. Who could that be? She’d just taught the last class of the day, and none of the studios in town offered yoga at the current hour.
But in the doorway stood Nerissa, jaw set in a clench. Balancing on a carved wooden cane capped with a porcelain bulb, she walked into L&E shaking her head. “Oh, child, it’s worse than we thought.”
“So now you show up, right on cue to reprimand me? How convenient. I get avoidance and phone tag until I’m due for my slap on the wrist.” Helen blew out a candle, the force of her gust excessive for the task.
“Not that I owe you an explanation for my methods, but I’m busy. Many clients, duties. Obligations. My own craft requires regular and diligent practice. I’m not on call for baby witches.” Nerissa walked into the vestibule and lowered onto a bench.
Helen sat beside the older witch. “Do your other clients include a shady as fuck music industry manager by the name of Joe, perchance?”
“No.” Nerissa rested her chin on the tip of her cane. “But I’m aware of him, his coven. It’s a bastardization of our practices. They’ve co-opted our lineage and line. Think Left Hand magic practiced with reckless abandon and zero training or skill, deployed in the service of absolute greed.”
Helen stroked the tassel edge of the seat cushion. “Let me guess. Their connection to us allowed them to commandeer my crystals and fill the rocks with their own evil juju.”
“More or less. Clear crystals are highly receptive, and our rival coven’s powers are stronger and more concentrated than yours. My astral connection to this cabal isn’t great, as their practices aren’t pure, but I have seen. Oh, I have seen.” Her voice rumbled, foreboding in its gravely, mannish timbre.
“I don’t want to know what you saw, but I’m guessing I need to.”
Nerissa nodded. She’d worn her hair loose, and a tangled riot of cobwebs rested against a T-shirt screen printed with discs of the moon phases arranged in semi-circle. “This music manager and his cohort wish to recruit the clone into their own agenda. And seeing that they have two of your crystals? They are already halfway there. Once they’re able to wield both hex and clone? Good luck stopping them. Such a thing is so far out of my league it’s an altogether different sport.”
An acute sense of defeat scooped out every ounce of Helen’s optimism. She hung her head. “I guess I’m destined to fail.”
Nerissa grabbed Helen’s hand, her touch papery and cool. “Enough. Enough of your bad attitude. Claim your strength. Find your true power and use it not only to beat these fools, but to become the best version of yourself.”
“How? How do I do that? Because even though you sound like a best-selling self-help book right now, I’m not sure what your words mean.”
“My words have been clear as those crystals. The Left Hand path does not suit you. Spells are boomeranging, becoming sentient beings in their own right as they run amok, seeking practitioners who can aid their agenda of destruction. Stop enabling, now.”
Helen threw up her hands. “Okay. As of right now, I hereby declare that I will stop doing Left Hand spells and stop enabling. But I’ll confess I’m clueless as to how to fix what I’ve done.”
“No, no. You aren’t clueless. You have more than a clue. What can you do with proficiency now that you couldn’t achieve before you began your practice of the craft?”
“Astral travel. Remote viewing.” Well shit, that answer came out in a spurt of confidence. Felt pretty damn stellar to wear accomplishment like a cute new outfit.
“Good girl. Now steer yourself onto the appropriate path. Reject the lures of the Left, leave such things to these buffoons you now must defeat.”
“Again, this sounds great, but how? Do I just say my intention to switch trajectories out loud, and boom, done?”
A chuckle from the old witch. She laid two firm fingers below the dip of Helen’s collarbone and tapped twice. “Your change of course comes from here, my darling coven daughter. It’s already in there, albeit latent and unsung. So sing it.”
“Could you please not speak in riddles and just tell me what to do?”
“I am telling you every single thing I know, so listen.” With a grunt, Nerissa stood. “The clear stones are the ultimate tabula rasa, reflective of the practitioner’s deepest truth. Once you are one with yourself, they will do your bidding. But that time hasn’t come yet. You have much to learn, many obstacles to overcome. When you’ve recovered the stolen crystals, bring them to me, and I shall help you charge them for your final battle.”
“How about a hint as to how I’ll use them in this battle?”
“Once your course is set on the proper line, purpose will reveal itself through the workings of the universe.” Nerissa ambled to the door. “I’m not omniscient.”
“Thanks.” A begrudging sense of appreciation saved Helen’s reply from outright sarcasm status. At least Nerissa intervened. “This has been marginally helpful and quasi-enlightening.”
“Helen.” Nerissa turned over her shoulder, a spark of
