open later, and there were more special tours, historical events, haunted houses and whatever other manner of “spooky” entertainment an up-and-coming entrepreneur could imagine.
A little bell tinkled when Devin went in; the store was about a thousand square feet, with curtained rooms in the rear where Beth and her employees sometimes did readings.
“Hey!” Beth said, rising to greet Devin with a hug. Beth was about five-eight but so slim she appeared small. Even with Devin being an inch taller at five-nine, they had to stretch over the counter to greet each other.
“Glad to see you,” Beth said. “I mean...now. I’m always glad to see you.” Her verbal confusion was a frequent result of her effervescent sincerity. “I have to tell you—I sold out of the last batch of your books in two days. Of course, it’s summer and this town is teeming with kids. But still....”
“That’s great,” Devin said. “I’m impressed—and flattered.”
“Anyway, if you happen to have any extras, can you bring them by?” Beth asked her. “I’ve ordered more, but I could use a few to tide me over.”
“I’ll bring my author’s copies.”
“Great, thanks.”
Devin looked in the display case by the counter as they talked. She wasn’t really much for costly jewelry—diamonds, platinum, elegant pieces—but she loved artistic costume jewelry. Silver. And, okay, sometimes silver with stones.
“Wow!” she said, and looked up at Beth.
“You’re looking at the Sheena Marston series, right?” Beth asked.
“They’re gorgeous pieces, aren’t they?” came another voice.
Devin looked up. Theo Hastings, one of Beth’s employees and mediums, had come from the back. He waved at the young women to whom he’d been giving a reading and smiled at Devin. He was about forty, devilishly handsome and great at his work. He was a practicing Wiccan—though Devin suspected that he was “practicing” more because it was good for his image and his work than because he believed the way Beth did. He had the right look, with dark hair that fell to his shoulders and was highlighted with just a touch of gray, dark eyes and perfectly sculpted features. And of course, he always wore black suits that hinted at the 1800s without being costume pieces. He was always nice, but she hadn’t known him all that long, and he wasn’t an open book like Beth, so Devin always kept a little distance.
“Take that one,” he said, pointing to a gorgeous silver medallion hanging from a delicate chain, a pentagram entwined with enamel glass-green leaves and tiny stones. “Beautiful—truly beautiful. So many people come in here thinking that the pentagram is evil, but it isn’t. It even symbolizes the Freemasons, who do a lot of good things and fall under suspicion, too. Pentagrams were important religious symbols for the Babylonians, and they were also used in ancient Greece. Christians have even used the pentagram to represent the five wounds of Christ. It’s no different than the cross or the Star of David or any religious symbol. How do people get these things in their minds...?”
His voice trailed off as he shook his head.
“Hey, you’re asking that question in a place where ‘spectral’ evidence was considered proof of guilt,” Devin reminded him.
“Amazing, right?” Beth asked. “A kid said she was being pinched by the astral projection of some poor old woman, and people believed her.”
“Different times,” Devin murmured. “And sometimes I’m not so sure we’ve evolved very far. Look at the prejudices we still practice.”
“Hey, not me,” Beth protested. “I love everyone.”
Devin laughed. “And everyone loves you. I mean, as a species, we can still be pretty wretched. You can make prosecuting witches illegal, and we can enact laws against discrimination, but that doesn’t mean we can change the human mind.”
“Well said,” Theo told her. “But to get back to what’s important, you should buy that piece. Your hair is so dark, a perfect contrast to the silver, and your eyes are such a deep blue—like the sapphires. It practically screams your name, Devin.”
“It is gorgeous,” she agreed. “I may.”
“It really does scream your name,” Beth agreed. “You have the perfect creamy skin for it, too. I’ll wrap it up.”
“Hey, thanks for the compliments, but I don’t even know what it costs,” Devin said, laughing.
“Not that much, really. Just bring me your books—if you have a box, we’ll wind up about even.”
Devin laughed again. “Okay, done deal.”
Beth took out the medallion and put it in a small box.
“Well, I’ve got to get back to writing. I just came out to buy birdseed—which I still have to do—and wound up walking around,” Devin said. “Seems like every time I look, something’s closed and something new has opened.”
“And we grow more commercial every year,” Theo said sadly.
“It’s a commercial world,” Devin said lightly. “They want you to pay your power bill no matter what.”
Beth put the box in a decorative bag and handed it to Devin. “So how are you doing with that wretched old bird?”
“Poe?” Devin asked.
“Other people are left cats and dogs—and your great-aunt left you a raven!” Beth said, shaking her head. “You know, I watched him until you came home after your aunt Mina died.”
“I do, and I’m grateful,” Devin assured her. “He’s doing just fine.”
“How the hell long do those birds live?” Beth asked.
“I think they can get to be about twenty in captivity. Aunt Mina rescued him when he was a baby, so I’d say he’s about twelve now,” Devin said. “He’s a very cool bird. I like having company. I mean, it’s not that the cottage is so far out of town, but it seems like there are a lot of woods out there.”
“You need a cat,” Beth said.
“Or a dog,” Theo suggested.
“For the moment, I have Poe,” Devin said.
Theo set a hand on hers. “It’s been nice to see you. We’ll all have to go to dinner one night.”
“Sure,” Devin said, smiling and quickly extracting her hand. “See you all later.”
Her car was in the public garage off Essex, and she hurried to it. It wasn’t a long drive down Broad and out to her cottage, but it did involve avoiding crowds of jaywalking tourists.
Parking, she studied her “cottage in the woods.” Technically, it was an old house, but it did have the white-walled, thatched-roof look of a cottage, and she was surrounded by a small forest of trees. When she had the fire going and smoke was drifting out of the chimney, it did look as if she lived in a home that belonged in a fairy tale.
As
