Chapter 32

Ch. 32: Julian

Danni's shop is still closed when Freya and I arrive, but I'm willing to bet Danni is already inside. A meticulous inventory doesn't keep itself.

After several rounds of knocking, my suspicion is confirmed when an annoyed-looking Danni answers the door.

"Can I help you?" They ask, glancing between me and Freya. "The shop isn't open yet."

Conscious that I probably look like hot shit, I offer Danni a smile. "This is Dane's sister, Freya," I say. "We need your help. That spell kit you made me—it worked. I was hoping you could make us another one."

"Oh." Danni's expression clears a little. "I see. Of course. Come in."

They step back and hold the door open wider, so Freya and I can enter.

The interior of the shop is dark, with the blinds still drawn. The last time I was here, the place was bright and cheerful, with a rainbow of colors washing the room. Now the atmosphere is gloomy and mysterious, the air rife with the odors of incense and herbs. The contrast seems drastic, but I imagine it's simply because the shop isn't open yet.

"So, what can I do for you?" Danni asks, circling around behind the counter, where it looks like they've been unpacking a box of aromatherapy candles.

"What do you know about breaking curses?"

Danni frowns "Witchcraft isn't about curses, you know."

"I know," I say quickly, and glance at Freya as I realize I can't simply tell Danni everything. They may have a gift, but that doesn't mean that I can dump the reality of werewolves and Fae on them. "I'm just hoping you might have something to dispel bad energy, and if there was such a thing as a curse, if you know of some way to break it."

"Any particular kind of curse?" Danni asks, almost absent-mindedly continuing to unpack the candles and place them on the display.

Freya speaks up. "A curse of silencing," she says. "Like maybe if someone's energy is blocked so they can't speak or communicate."

"I see," Danni says, still frowning. "I think I might have something that could help with that. Just give me a minute and I'll put a kit together."

They place the last candle on the display, and disappear into the back room of the shop, leaving Freya and I to wait in the main floor.

While Freya takes the opportunity to look around, I study the candle display. Something about it is bothering me, though I can't say what.

A minute or so later, Danni returns with a handful of things, including a small pouch, like the one in which they had packed the original spell-kit they had made for me, and a small bundle of dried sage. Muttering to themself under their breath they circum-ambulate the store, pulling more items off the shelves, seemingly at random, and stuffing them into the pouch.

"This should do it," they say, tying off the top of the pouch and handing it to me. "Is there anything else you need?"

"What about the instructions?" I ask.

Oddly, Danni hesitates a moment as if frozen in place, then says, "Of course. I forgot."

Grabbing a card from the stack by the register, they quickly scribble out a few lines of instructions.

"We're not keeping you from something, are we?" I ask, frowning.

"What?" Danni looks up at me.

"It just seems like you're in a hurry."

"Oh. Well, I do have a lot of things to do."

Danni returns to the task, but I can't help noticing that their handwriting looks nothing like the neat script on all the other labels in the store. Then it strikes me that Danni hasn't looked at the labels at all—not while collecting ingredients for the curse-breaking kit, and not while arranging the candles on the display.

"Do you mind if I pick out a gift for a friend while I'm here?" I ask.

Danni looks up at me distractedly. "Help yourself."

"What do you think, Freya," I ask, wandering over to the farthest corner of the store, "Do you think Ingrid would like some soap?"

Brows raised quizzically, Freya follows me. "Yeah, she likes lavender," she says; and then, in a whisper, "What's up?"

"I don't think that's Danni," I mutter under my breath.

"Skin-changer?"

I nod. "Danni is red-green color blind, and their handwriting is super neat."

"You got a plan?"

"Half of one."

Freya nods. "Leave the other half to me."

Plastering a smile on my face, I return to where Danni is putting the finishing touches on the hastily written instructions.

"Can I get another amethyst, too?" I asked. "I lost the one you gave me."

Danni nods sharply and snatches an amethyst from the basket of gems.

It could certainly be the case that Danni simply has the arrangement of their inventory memorized, and thus no need to look at the labels. I'm willing to bet, however, that Danni relies on the labels more than their memory.

"Who are you," I ask, dropping all friendliness from my tone, "and where is Danni?"

Danni—or, if I'm right, the skin-changer who has taken their place—looks up at me.

For a moment, we simply stare at each other, eyes locked; then, one second too many ticks by and the chance for plausible denial vanishes. The choice now is fight or flight, and with the odds being two against one, the skin-changer chooses flight.

Turning, they bolt for the back door of the shop.

"Oh, no you don't!"

Freya is on them in a flash, catching their arm in a vice grip, but the skin-changer twists, and I see they have something in their other hand.

"Freya!" I shout, but my warning comes too late as the skin-changer twists and throws a handful of dust in Freya's eyes.

With a muffled cry of pain, she releases her quarry, and drops to her knees with her hands over her face. I rush to her aid, and in the meantime, the skin-changer makes its escape.

"Are you okay?"

She waves me off impatiently, but shakes her head. "It's some sort of blinding powder— temporary, I hope. Hurts like hell, but I've been pepper-sprayed before. Go after it."

"You're sure?"

"Yeah—go!"

Obeying, I sprint out the door and into the back alleyway, just in time to see the door of another shop falling shut. I catch it before it can close and lock itself, and throw it wide to reveal the cluttered storage area of Stephanie Wong's thrift store.

Casting about the dimly lit space for signs of the skin-changer, I catch sight of movement just in time to duck an antique lamp as it hurtles towards my head. It smashes against the door frame at my back, dusting me with bits of shattered ceramic. Danni's doppelgänger dashes into the main area of the shuttered shop, and I follow just in time to see it disappear through a large, ragged hole in the wall. The hole looks like it's been knocked in with a sledgehammer, and it's in the exact spot where I'd found the first rune. Beyond it, I see a short, steep flight of stone steps leading down into the old tunnels, and bite back a groan. I have a pretty good idea where the skin-changer is heading, and I'm pretty sure it's a bad idea to follow it.

I follow it anyway, using the tiny flashlight attached to my keychain, which Dane had laughed at me for buying after my first subterranean adventure.

The thought of Dane makes me hesitate. He wouldn't want me doing this alone. He'd tell me to be smart, and to wait for backup; but then again, he isn't here. Meanwhile, the skin-changer could have vital information—about Ingrid, or the Fae, or about what happened in the past.

Moreover, Danni's physical form is slender and petite. That's not to say they couldn't still be a threat, but I think I'll have the upper hand in terms of strength.

Taking a deep breath, I enter the tunnel and descend into the dark. The air is dank and smells like mildew, and I keep one hand on the wall to stop myself from slipping on the slimy stones underfoot. My mini flashlight, which I'd thought was rather clever, proves less useful than I'd hoped, and its diffuse little beam barely penetrates three feet into the gloom.

Thankfully, I'm not entirely helpless. I expand my senses, and between my eyes and ears, I can manage just about as well as anyone else with a more powerful flashlight would.

Unfortunately, the slightest sound produces a host of echoes, making it difficult to tell if my target is around the next corner, or much farther ahead of me.

It hardly matters, as I have a fairly good idea of where they're heading.

I prove myself correct when, rounding a sharp turn, I catch sight of Danni disappearing through a hole in the wall, beyond which lies the cavern and the deep pit, wherein lies the portal to the Shadowlands.

"Wait!" I call, seeing Danni poised at the lip of the chasm. "I don't want to hurt you. I just want answers. Please, just—"

Before I can finish, the skin-changer turns and dives headfirst over the ledge. A second later, I hear the echoes of a splash.

Rushing to the edge, I aim my puny flashlight downward and swear under my breath. I can just make out the black surface of the water, a dozen or so meters below, rippling with the echoes of a recent disturbance. Beyond this, though, there's no sign of the skin-changer.

It stares me in the face: I can take a risk and follow the skin-changer, hoping to find a doorway to the Shadowlands, or I can back out now, do the safe thing, and wait.

What would Dane do, I ask myself.

What would I do?

I shake my head as a third option—and a more important question—presents itself; and then I make my choice.