SHIMMER WAS WAITING and she jumped into Delilah’s Jeep without hesitation. We didn’t know her all that well, but we knew she was serving time Earthside for some fracas back in the Dragon Reaches. Smoky said she’d been dealt a raw deal and that it was better for her to be over here, and Smoky’s word was good enough for all of us.
After another quick stop at a hardware store for gardening rakes, we decided to avoid the freeway on our drive into Edmonds. Instead, we wove through the city. Aurora Ave N. was a straight shot for a while. It was also known as Old Highway 99, and ran a good share of the length of the I-5 corridor. Traffic was thick, but not at a gridlock yet—it wouldn’t be until later in the afternoon. Rush hour around the city was from about 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. We continued through the parade of shops on either side until we hit the area where the Evergreen Washelli Funeral Home and Cemetery spread out to both sides of the road, and then after a stretch, we were back in the city. We passed mini-malls and park & rides, salons and auto shops, through Seattle into Shoreline, and then into Edmonds with nothing denoting the difference except for signs placed strategically to tell us we had entered a new city.
Shortly after Aurora turned into Pacific Highway, I veered left at the juncture, easing us onto Edmonds Way, which curved west toward the sound through a heavily wooded residential area, then past the salmon hatchery and Edmonds Marsh, which offered interpretive walks and bird watching.
“Ferry terminals coming up on our left,” Trillian said, consulting his phone. Vanzir had texted him our directions. “Shortly after we curve around the ferry toll booths, you’ll make a left onto James Street, and then before we hit Third, park by the building on the left. Fresia has her magic shop there. It’s called Marsh Briar Fortunes.”
I kept my eyes open, and sure enough, less than a block after I turned onto James, I saw the building. I made sure there was no oncoming traffic and turned, easing into one of the parking spaces. Behind me, Delilah followed suit.
“Here we are.” I turned off the ignition and glanced at the guys. “Maybe we’d better not all go in. We’re likely to alarm her if we do.”
Delilah must have been thinking the same thing, because she texted me pretty much what I had said to Morio and Trillian. As I stepped out of the car I could smell the brine coming up from the sound, and it sent a calm, soothing caress through my jangled thoughts. If I could change one thing about our house, it would be to move it to the waterfront.
Everybody waited while Delilah and I entered the building. The shop was filled with ocean imagery, and was a lot more open and airy than I had expected. A lot of humans seemed to feel magic had to be filled with cobwebs and spiders, but though the shadow-energy was definitely a very real factor, it didn’t have to enter every aspect of practice.
The main room was large, painted in delicate shades of blue and rose and gold, reminding me of a sunrise. Besides the counter display case, there were shelves filled with books, potions, candles, and herbs, and a side table with four chairs around it. A pale blue cloth covered the table, and in the center sat a crystal ball and a flameless candle. A side door led to the back.
The woman behind the counter had golden-brown skin, and her hair was black, curling tight around her head. Her brown eyes seemed to melt with an inner warmth, and she was dressed in a flowing gown in blue, white, and tan, reminding me of waves crashing against the sand.
“May I help you?” She turned to us with a wide smile.
“A friend called earlier to ask about water breathing spells?” I rested my elbows on the counter, staring at the merchandise beneath the glass. Daggers, graveyard dust, statues, tarot decks, and wands were arranged neatly in rows.
“Oh yes, he said you’d have need of five of them? That’s quite a tall order, but as it happens, I’m a priestess of Yemaya and she gives me the strength of the water.” She turned toward the side door. “I’ll be back in a moment. I sorted them out and put them in the back so no one else would buy them before you arrived.”
Her movements were fluid and graceful, almost as though she were floating through the water. As she vanished into the back room, I took a turn around the shop.
“She has some lovely things here,” I said, pausing by the table with her crystal ball and tarot cards. “I wonder how clairvoyant she is.”
“She has help,” Delilah said, her voice low. “There’s a ghost standing by the table that looks like an older version of Fresia. I’d say it has to be a family member—maybe a grandmother or an aunt. I’m warded so the spirit doesn’t know I can see her, but Fresia isn’t working alone.”