Part 15 (1/2)
”I have to close up,” he said going to the front door and flipping the lock. He turned the open sign over to closed and pulled down the shade.
Patrick walked to the alcove curtain and motioned for them to follow. Evan grabbed Sasha's hand and walked ahead of her. When they reached the curtain, he squeezed her hand and spoke softly so that Patrick couldn't hear.
”If this gets too weird we'll leave, ok?” He watched her from the corner of his eye as she nodded..
They walked into a dimly lit storeroom in the back of the shop. It had shelves rising to the ceiling stacked with cardboard boxes of merchandize. The room wasn't large and at the rear there was a metal door.
The door led to a nondescript hallway and Patrick locked the door behind them as he motioned for them to move down the corridor. Evan stopped and waved Patrick to lead them up a wooden staircase.
”You first,” he said to Patrick who threw back his shoulders and marched up the stairs.
As they climbed the creaky stairs, Sasha worried that she'd made a mistake. She had a nagging feeling like she'd missed something. It was when her pendant lit up like a firecracker. It had to mean something but she was at a loss to explain the phenomena. It had never happened before and she was ignorant about magic. Her mother made sure of that.
Sasha didn't want to let anxiety freeze her. She fought back her fear breathing deeply and ascended the stairs behind Evan. He was still holding her sweaty hand.
Patrick unlocked a wooden door at the top of the stairs and disappeared from sight. Evan hesitated before following.
”It's ok Evan,” Sasha said. ”I can keep us safe if we are in danger.”
She knew the blue sparks would appear. She was at least confident in that a.s.sumption because she had tested the theory. Evan had a question in his eyes. She didn't say anything more and pushed him lightly to move forward.
They walked into a gloomy, smoky room that strangely didn't smell like anything. An elderly man sat in a burgundy upholstered hardback chair in front of a table of gleaming candles. His hair and long beard were white and he was clothed in grey pants and a long flowing white s.h.i.+rt. There was nothing distinct about him except he was mumbling under his breath and didn't stop when they came into the room. Patrick led them to a wooden bench normally seen in a park.
Sasha and Evan slowly lowered themselves to the hard wood. Evan collected Sasha's hand and held it in his lap. He stroked her palm with his thumb and traced the lines. The feeling was electrifying and distracting. She smiled at Evan and pulled her hand away. She needed to focus on everything that was going to happen.
She opened her mouth to speak and Patrick put out a hand to silence her. He put a finger against his lips, the universal sign to be quiet. Sasha clenched her mouth shut obeying the request.
The old man finally stopped his strange muttering and looked at them. His gray eyes were surprisingly clear and the skin around his eyes was smooth despite his white hair and long white beard that gave him the appearance of being old. Sasha could not pick an age for this man. He white hair told her he was in his seventies. The smooth skin said he was still in his forties.
The man smiled and still no wrinkles appeared on his face. Maybe the guy was a fan of Botox. Sasha didn't smile back. She didn't know if this curious man was friend or foe.
”Thank you for coming Sasha,” the man said. ”I am Gus.”
”How do you--,” he cut her off before she asked how he knew her name.
”It's not important,” Gus said as if answering the question she never got to ask. ”I am here to help you.”
Sasha eyed him quizzically. How was he going to help if he didn't let her ask questions?
”How?” She finally asked after thinking for a minute.
”I can tell you how to break the curse,” Gus said. ”A piece of hair please.”
Patrick walked over to her as she put her hands on her head to stop him from taking a hair.
”Why do you need my hair?”
”I need to know what kind of curse Vania cast on you,” Gus said.
”You seem to be all knowing, can't you tell me already?”
Gus laughed heartily. The girth around his middle jiggled like a bowl of Jell-O.
”I am good,” he said. ”That's how I know Nefar has come for you.”
Sasha felt a chill run down her spine. Gus said Nefar's name as if he were a friend of his rather than a dangerous killer. Was this a trap?
”Don't worry,” he said. ”I am no friend of Nefar's.”
Suddenly it struck her. ”You are reading my mind,” she said.
Gus smiled widely. He was trying to put her at ease but Sasha was still wary.
”Was I that obvious?”
”Yes,” she said. ”You also haven't told me anything that I don't already know.”
Gus laughed again and picked up a green candle. ”I will tell you more if you give me a piece of hair.”
Reluctantly Sasha pulled a strand from her skull. She handed it to Patrick who delivered it to Gus. The hair was placed in a pottery bowl and Gus poured a liquid on top from a narrow, orange gla.s.s bottle. He touched the candle to the surface of the bowl and there was a yellow flash and smoke. Gush waved the smoke in a circular motion as if he were trying to conjure up a smoke vision.
He waved a slim stick around as if it were a wand and mumbled something she couldn't hear. Gus was surrounded by smoke for several minutes before he spoke.
”Unfortunately I have bad news,” he said. Sasha wasn't surprised. She had been feeling the doom and gloom since she came into the shop. ”It's a killing curse.”
Sasha shook her head in denial but she believed Gus. She knew he was speaking the truth. It explained much.
”But why send Nefar after me?” she asked.
”Maybe a plan B just in case the curse didn't work?” Gus guessed.
”Do you know why it hasn't worked yet?”
”No,” Gus said lighting a cigarette. ”It's not important. You need to know how to disable it.”
”Can I do that?”
”Of course,” Gus said. ”No curse is impregnable.”
”How?”
”A killing curse can only be accomplished with a biological item from the intended victim,” he said. ”So Vania must have something of yours. Sometimes it's a lock of hair or an organ.”