"Rough night?" Rose asked, while munching on her eggs. Anna had really outdone herself on breakfast, the table was filled with any hot and cold dish the two brunettes could wish for.
"Ugh, kinda. Had a bad nightmare."
Rose cocked her head. Eliza never had nightmares.
"Stop staring, will you? Just a nightmare, nothing more."
Before she could call bullshit, Anna entered the kitchen. Dressed in a matching blue sweatshirt and leggings combo, and with her hair braided, she carried a small book with her.
"I got this for you," she said while extending the book towards Eliza,"This is a grimoire I got fifteen years ago. A weird girl in a black cloak gave it to me, telling me to give it to the first person who mentioned traveling to Salem to me."
Eliza took the old looking book. Its black leather was chipped in several spots, and it's silver lettering was almost gone. When she opened the grimoire, the yellowed pages were blank.
"Huh?"
"It was the same with me," Belle's sister replied, "Blank pages, nothing. The girl said it would aid this person in a dire situation, but she didn't tell me how or what. Plus, she had already vanished before I could ask her any questions."
Rose patted her friend's hand. "You attract some weird shit, Eliza."
"Oh shut it," Eliza countered. Rose was the one who started this whole mess.
"Anyway, Eliza and I have to get going soon."
Anna nodded.
"Alright, have a safe trip, okay? I prepared some lunches for you girls, Salem is still a way to go."
-----------
"So, what's Sybil's shop called?" Rose asked when they entered the town of Salem. She had been driving the whole way, with occasional stops for lunch and snacks.
Eliza pulled out the picture and address from her pocket.
Belle Epoque Antiques
Sybil Rathz
~~~street 15, Salem
"It's called Belle Epoque."
"Ooh, fancy," Rose snickered. She got an elbow from her friend in return.
"Let's go, it's almost closing time."
After parking the car, they went on their search. Despite the streetname's implication, the shop was tucked away in a narrow alleyway, between a butcher and a bookstore. The wooden storefront looked worn from age. Beautiful gems set in silver and gold and delicate tableware lined the shop's windows. They opened the door and a bell chimed, notifying the owner of their presence. Along the long walls of the narrow shop various cabinets were placed, that displayed their antique fabric contents. Several dressforms were dressed in slightly less delicate garments, all strategically placed to avoid any sun damage.
"Ah, welcome." The woman from the picture emerged from a room on the left. She looked at least ten years older and wore a yellow jumpsuit. Her hair was wrapped up and the cloth covered part of her forehead.
"Are you Sybil Rathz?" Eliza asked.
The woman nodded, "I got a message from your mother that you two would visit. Please sit over there." She motioned to a set of chairs in the back of the shop. "Would you like some tea?"
The girls agreed and while Sybil disappeared back into the room she just came from, they sat down onto the set of red fabric chairs. Moments later Sybil came back with a teapot and matching teacups on a tray.
"So what did you want to ask me about?"
Eliza exchanged looks with Rose. Neither knew how the woman would react to their request, but they had to know more to save Ino.
"We wanted to know how your soul was stolen and how you got it back."
Sybil stopped pouring the tea for only a second and then continued. She filled up all the cups before sitting down in her own chair and then started telling her story.
"Nineteen years ago we, my coven and I, accidently summoned a demon goddess during the previous Blue Moon Halloween. I was a young and fearless witch back then. I said something wrong, maybe about her clothes, and then a searing pain started on my forehead. Then it went all black."
She took a sip from her tea and then continued.
"My mother later told me that she used a very old, forbidden spell to open a portal to the Underworld so the rest of my coven could retrieve back my soul. It took me a very long time to recover and I still bear the mark of the unfortunate account."
She reached up to the cloth on her head and unwrapped it, revealing the deep scar of an upside down pentagram. Before they could continue, the sound of the bell at the door reached their ears.
"WITCH!"
The shrieking of the unexpected customer startled Eliza and Rose, and Sybil hastily bandaged her head again. The lady left as quickly as she came, leaving them shaken.
"Well, that was unexpected," Sybil noted.
"Do you think you'll be in trouble?"
The shopkeeper shook her head.
"She's a regular. She often suffers from delusions, so even if she spreads any rumors, I doubt anyone will believe her." She got up and walked to the door and locked it, turning the OPEN sign as she turned around. "Should have done that earlier."
When Sybil sat back down, it was Rose's turn to ask.
"So, this portal, do you know how your mother opened it?"
"Only she knows. She wouldn't tell anyone, not even me, it's a forbidden spell after all. Why?"
Eliza shifted uncomfortable in her chair.
"We... kinda have a similar problem on our hands."
"I understand."
Sybil drank the last of her tea and then stood to gather the teapot and teacups.
"I can ask the owner of the bookstore next door if you can go with him the next time he goes to my mother. He's the only one she allows to visit on the regular."
The girls thanked Sybil for the tea and the information.
"His next visit will be in thirteen days, the day after the new moon. Until then you can stay in the spare bedroom upstairs."
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