As I stared at Adessa’s Herb’s and Spice’s, I noticed a crescent moon outlined by a black star sketching the window of the door.  I glanced at the tattoo on Aislin’s shoulder. It was exactly the same as what was on the window.

“What is that?” I asked, pointing at her shoulder.

She traced the lines of the tattoo with her finger. “It’s the witches mark. After I became a witch, it appeared on my skin.”

“Like the mark of immortality?” I inquired.

Her eyebrows dipped down in perplexity. “How do you know about that?”

“Laylen told me while we were at the Black Dungeon,” I explained.

“Oh great,” Alex scoffed. “What else did he tell you?”

“Nothing,” I said, which was a lie since I now knew what a Black Angel was. “So does everyone have a mark?”

Aislin nodded. “I actually have two. One because I’m a witch.” She lifted her foot onto the center console and flipped the ceiling light on. A black circle trimmed by fiery gold flames tattooed the side of her ankle. “And one because I’m a Keeper.”

“And what? They just all of a sudden showed up?”

“Yeah, my Keeper’s mark appeared when I was about twelve. It was also about the same time I really started learning about what it is to be a Keeper. And my witches mark showed up when I was about fifteen, which is when I first found out I possessed Wicca magic.”

I wondered how many marks Alex had. Was he more than just a Keeper?

“If you’re wondering if I have one, the answer is yes,” he said, like he’d read my mind or something.

Hold on. What if he could read minds? I mean, with everything else I’d learned over the last twenty-four hours, I wouldn’t be a bit surprised if there was such a thing as mind-reading abilities. If Alex could read minds then that would totally suck, considering how my thoughts tended to center around him and his beautifulness.

“I only have one mark, though,” he said, meeting my eyes “The Keepers mark.”

Phew. What a relief. “Does it look the same as Aislin’s?”

He nodded. “Same mark, just in a different spot.”

Why, for the life of me, did his remark fire up the electricity was beyond me. I chewed on my bottom lip, severely distracted by my thoughts of where his mark could be.

A sly grin spread across his face. “If you want, I can show you where it is.”

“Alex,” Aislin hissed. “What are you doing?”

“Relax,” Alex said. “There’s no need to get all wound up. I was just teasing her.”

I came to the conclusion right then and there that maybe Alex had some kind of a bipolar disorder or something. First he hated me. Then he’d kissed me. Sometimes I irritated him. And sometimes he was teasing me. For someone who didn’t want me to feel, he was sure sending my emotions all over the place.

Looking out the window, Aislin heaved a huge sigh of relief. “Oh good, we can go in.”

I followed her gaze and saw Laylen, standing in front of Adessa’s, waving us in.

Inside of Adessa’s Herb’s and Spice’s, the air smelled of sage and a few other spices that I couldn’t quite identify.  Black and white tile checkerboarded the floor, the witches mark painted largely in the center. Glass countertops, displaying simple things like jewelry, candles, and incense, outlined the room. There were, however, some things inside the display cases that looked rather questionable. A black pot with a creepy looking eye painted on it (I swear the thing was watching me), a miniature figurine of an Egyptian pyramid, and a statue of a cat with two heads. I couldn’t help but wonder what these strange looking objects did. Were they merely for display? Or did they hold some kind of magical power to them?

“So…” Aislin skimmed about the room with a puzzled expression. “Where’s this Adessa?”

“She’ll be down in just a minute.” Laylen leaned back against a display case and rested his elbows on top of it. “She had to run upstairs to get something.”

I walked around the room, trailing my finger aimlessly along the glass countertop as I gazed down at all the peculiar looking objects. On one of the counters, I spotted a crystal ball that looked like what Fortune Tellers use to see into the future. I peered inside it, curious if I’d be able to see what my future held. Violet ribbons floated gracefully in a sea of shimmering water. Through it, my reflection stared back at me. Apparently, I possessed no psychic abilities. Either that or this particular ball was a dud.

“If you’re not careful, you might get stuck inside it,” Alex said, practically appearing out of thin air and scaring the crap out of me.

I threw my hand over my accelerating heart. “Jesus. You scared the heck out of me.” I paused, catching me breath. “So what were you saying about me getting stuck inside something?”

He tapped his fingers on the crystal ball. “Stuck inside here. It’s a Foreseer’s crystal ball. The kind they use to see visions. But to see the future, they actually have to go into the future.” He flicked the ball with his finger. “By going inside this.”

“But why would I get stuck inside it? I’m not a Foreseer.”

“Yeah, but you’re…different. I don’t think you touching it would be such a good idea.”

“But you keep touching it,” I pointed out.

“But I don’t have the power of a star flowing around inside me, do I.” He rapped his fingers on the crystal ball again, I guess trying to prove his point. “Who knows what might happen if you touch it? You might set off its power or something and get sucked into a vision. In fact, you probably shouldn’t touch anything at all.”

“Including the floor,” I said with bitter sarcasm. “Because that seems like it would be very tricky.”

Most people would have gotten aggravated by my smart mouthed comment. Not Alex, though. Nope. It was like a game to him.

“That does sound pretty tricky.” He leaned in toward me and lowered his voice. “I think you know that’s not what I meant.”

I took a few slow, deep breaths because I had to. With how close he was, the electricity had ignited and forced me into a tug-o-war with my emotions. Part of me wanted to slap him, while the other part of me wanted to press my lips against his.

I tore my eyes away from him and looked over at Laylen and Aislin to distract myself from my insane feelings. They seemed to be engulfed in a very serious conversation. Laylen had his eyes fixed on Aislin, who kept waving her hands around in a heated kind of gesture.

“Well, if it’s that big of a deal if I touch something,” I mumbled, “then maybe I should go wait in the car.”

“You can’t go back to the car,” Alex said sternly. “Not by yourself.”

We both stood there, staring at each other, as this giant bubble of electricity built around us.

Finally, Alex broke his gaze away. He kicked the tile with the tip of his shoe. “So yeah, just make sure you don’t touch anything, except for the floor.”

A few moments later, a woman around thirty years old or so waltzed into the room. She had golden cat-shaped eyes and wavy black hair that flowed all the way down to her waist. She wore a navy blue velvet dress, large gold-hooped earrings, and her skin was the color of honey.

“I’m Adessa,” she said in a voice as smooth as silk. “Now, Laylen told me that one of you is a witch and is looking for a Vectum Crystal.” Her cat eyes landed on me. “And let me guess, it’s you.”

I glanced around nervously and then shook my head, lost as to why she’d think that. I pointed a finger over in Aislin’s direction. “No, not me—her.”

“Hmm…that’s interesting.” She focused her attention on Aislin. “So what particular one are you looking for, dear?”

“Well, I’ve been using the purple amethyst.” Aislin paused. “But since we have to travel a long distance, I think maybe the gold one would work better.”

Adessa twisted a red diamond pendant necklace that hung around her neck. “How long of a distance is it, dear?”

“Oh…I think about 500 miles,” Ailsin said. “Give or take a few.”

Adessa wandered behind the counter and waved at Aislin to follow her. “I think I have something that would work even better than a gold one.” She raised her hand and drew an invisible rectangle in the air. One of the shelves, lining the purple walls, shifted backwards, sinking into the wall like it had been drawn back by an invisible force. Or a magical force. My mouth dropped agape as the shelf disappeared altogether and revealed a solid black door hidden behind it. Adessa flicked her hand like she was shooing a fly away, and the door swung open.                                  From where I stood, I couldn’t see what was inside. I tried to casually lean to my left to get a better look but no such luck—Adessa and Aislin were blocking my view.

Adessa motioned at the doorway. “After you, my dear.”

Aislin bit down on her lip and tentatively stepped inside. Adessa followed behind her. A bright red flash sparkled throughout the room, and the door slammed shut.

Then they were gone.

“What the heck.” I was resting somewhere between being completely fascinated and absolutely terrified.  “Where did they go?”

“To a secret place where Adessa keeps certain things hidden,” Laylen answered.

“What kind of things?” I asked, intrigued.

Laylen came over beside me, his hands tucked in his pockets. “The dangerous kind.”

“Laylen,” Alex warned.

“What?” Laylen gave him an I’m-so-innocent look. “She asked a question, and I answered. What’s wrong with that?”

“Everything’s wrong with it,” Alex said forthrightly.

I sighed. Would the secretiveness ever end? I could cross my fingers and hope so, but I wasn’t holding my breath—I’d probably die from lack of oxygen if I did.

I traced my finger along a crack in the display case. “So why did Adessa think I was the witch?”

Laylen cocked his head to the side, his forehead scrunched over. “I’m not really sure.”

Alex spun the Foreseers crystal ball in its stand—the one I wasn’t supposed to touch, but apparently he could. “Probably because of your eyes.”

I absentmindedly touched the corner of my eye. “Why would my eyes make her think that?”

“You’ve seen them, right?” he said derisively.  “The color’s anything but normal—a dead giveaway that there’s something different about you.”

“Yeah, I’ve seen them.” I snapped.

“I’m not trying to be mean.” He sounded like he meant it, but who could tell for sure. “I actually like the color. It’s a nice different.”

Confused if he was teasing me or not, I opted to keep my mouth shut. That way, nothing stupid would escape it.