The shop was officially closed and both men went behind the curtain into a dark and long hallway. At the end of it, there was an iron door covered in symbols only Cecilio understood since he created each one of them, but what was behind that door wasn't important at the moment. Through a tiny elevator in the hallway, they reached the roof of the small building where a garden and a solarium he used as a greenhouse took up all the rooftop space. That's where Cecilio produced most of the specialties offered in his shop, like some of the most potent oils, the leaves for brews, and other things that special customers requested.
Customers like his dearest friend Cherry, and the incense she needed for tonight.
“What do you need me to do now?” asked André, distracted by the blooming gardenias, even bothering to water them a little.
“Stand guard, and pass me some dried Malojillo.”
André needed a second to search in his memory before remembering he’d meant lemongrass, then searched in the apothecary cabinet dedicated to the many herbs, oils, and different materials Cecilio used in his craft. All in pristine conditions in crystal bottles with their names handwritten on the tags. André set a big jar full of lemongrass next to him, who was passing around the place an incense stick. It was sandalwood and the smell made André sneeze so he left the greenhouse.
André liked to complain about his situation, but even he couldn’t deny that it was a lovely day, so lovely that he casually slipped into his true form, or at least a human-friendly version of it, the one of a big, jet black Doberman, and enjoyed the warmth of the sun in his fur as he quietly watched over the street by the building’s cornice.
Now it was time to work. Cecilio placed in a large oak desk in the middle of the greenhouse all the materials and instruments needed for this request. A grey rock mortar and pestle, an assortment of little jars with loose powders, and a metallic bowl to mix. He arranged his hair in a small low bun and proceeded to mix this urgent order he knew by memory, so no need to search for his old grimoire. With some myrrh powder, grounded cinnamon, the grounded lemongrass he prepared, and some sandalwood, he had the base for the incense. All of these ingredients he ended up mixing with 4 drops of sunflower oil in the bowl, then proceeded to add enough water with a dropper and formed 20 perfectly shaped cones with a mold.
As they dried on a pan under the sun, Cecilio cleaned his instruments, rearranged them in the cabinets, and cleaned the table before seeing the hour on his phone and the message on the screen. He closed the shop at the perfect time for lunch. Outside the greenhouse, in the rooftop garden, there was a little corner with a white garden table and matching chairs with colorful cushions, he sat there and pulled a golden cigarette case and lighter from his pant pocket, and lit a brown cigarette that was a mix of herbs but most of it was lavender.
“Smoking with an empty stomach?” asked André, who stood firm and still on the verge of the roof.
“I’m getting my lunch in a minute. What do you see?”
“Everything’s calm. Is Saturday after all… But on the mountains…”
“You sensed it too?”
They both looked towards the mountains that protected the valley the city of Teria was in. It separated them from the sea and surrounded the city by beautiful green mountains thanks to the rains of the past weeks, that’s the reason the climate in this city was so good, yet for the past 4 days, it’d been as if something sinister was coming from those mountains.
“So, Grand Witch, what do you think it is now?”
Cecilio took a drag of his cigarette while pensive, and a small green light flickered in his eyes as he concentrated on which one of the mountains could the main problem be brewing as they spoke.
“Some sort of ritual. Someone probably stumbled upon a grimoire in the library again and is trying to invoke something that fixes their life.”
“Poor bastard is getting into a bad deal,” said André and shook his head, relaxing his posture a little.
“I wish for that. You can easily take them, make them believe everything they saw was some sort of hallucination because of something they smoked, and send them home making them feel all of it was a bad dream,” he looked at the smoke coming from the cigarette in his hand and sighed. “Unless I’m wrong and it’s The Order.”
André, who’d been resting his head on his paws, jerked up straight and looked back. Cecilio could see the uneasiness reflected in his pitch-black eyes only by the mention of that organization.
The Order was, at best, a group of preachers, and at worst, a bunch of violent cultists that commit the worst of atrocities for the sake of humanity. Even if regular people didn’t even know they existed and they limited themselves to target your regular fairy trying to live their life, or made a forced exorcism to get rid of your friendly local ghost. Order members thought of themselves highly, acting as vigilantes across the world with the stubborn belief that they were born to fulfill a holy mission of getting rid of the so-called shadow creatures from the world that rightfully belonged to humans.
Seeing one of their members speak was like seeing the pope giving a sermon on sin, but on steroids.
The argument of protecting humanity was valid, but the big flaw in it was that these “shadow creatures” (a rude name no one reclaimed) weren't as dangerous as they said. Yes, demons and fairies exist, and so do vampires, ghosts, and many more, but they belonged to this world as much as humans did. Otherwise, why would they exist? And they were not as bad as most people thought or how the media portrayed them. From the vampires Cecilio knew, if they’ve wanted to make humans their cattle, humanity would’ve been long gone. Most of them preferred smaller animals' blood to the fatty taste of the human one. They were kind of gourmets.
Most of these communities wanted to live peaceful lives, with no persecution, and enjoy earth the same way humans did. That’s why centuries ago when the assembly was established, big support came from these groups in exchange for protection. That’s where The Order was born too. A big faction of witches decided they needed to protect their kind and only that, ignoring the important factor that truly made the world go around.
Balance.
Balance is needed. You can't have light without darkness, good without wrong, happiness without pain. Cecilio knew that well, and he didn’t tilt the scale in favor of anyone, but he had duties to fulfill as Great Witch, so he passed fair judgment on any creature that wanted to live in Teria. Something impossible for non-humans 5 years ago thanks to this city being a red zone for them.
The moment Cecilio got installed as a Great Witch 9 years ago, The Order reached him. They thought getting a confused, grieving boy would help them to gain control over the assembly. It could’ve worked if it wasn't for two basic mistakes: One, they misjudged his character, and two, offering a ring made with the bone of a hunted infant fairy.
It was shiny and unique.
He was disgusted by it.
The Order was something no one ever mentioned if it wasn't to shame their actions, so this first encounter told Cecilio everything he needed to know about them. All of this hero talk was but a cover to justify their sadistic tendencies toward other living beings that hadn't attacked them. You just knew they were bad if they managed to make a demon afraid.
They were scum and Cecilio despised them, their actions and ideas. So he made his sole mission to get this world clean and safe for both humans and non-humans. After his first year as Grand Witch, he managed to get real close to that goal. It seemed as if The Order disappeared from the whole country, so seeing this weird aura emanate from the mountains worried him.
It wasn’t that he couldn’t deal with them, but what André told him earlier was stuck in his head. Peace truly doesn’t last forever. To deal with some rookie getting involved in light or dark magic was easy, he could even send someone else, but for this… he needed to personally attend to this situation.
“Been a while since they last dared to come to your turf.”
“Maybe’s not them, dog. We can't jump to conclusions yet.”
“And what will you do?” he yawned, showing fangs you wouldn't find in another dog. He always spent the whole night monitoring the city, and demons didn’t need sleep, but who was André to deny how good a nap was?
“I’m going to Cherry’s tonight and ask around a little.”
“The moment you step into the club you’re not leaving until tomorrow,” Cecilio swore he saw the Doberman smile at him even if he knew it was impossible. “Have you seen how sleep-deprived you are?”
“That’s what concealer is for! And what? Are you jealous of how popular I am?”
“Says the guy that went to a birthday party and couldn’t stand talking to people for 3 days,” murmured André. "You even closed the shop."
Cecilio found himself not being able to answer and let it be. It wasn’t his fault his social battery was this bad, and he just couldn’t stand big groups since they drained his energy, he was never able to. Not as a kid, or as a teen. If he made memory he was way worse and more asocial than in the present. It didn’t help that he got bullied everywhere he went, but what could you ask of mean kids with meaner parents seeing a foreign child that had to learn English as quickly as he could, who also had a witch grandmother as legal guardian. It was always easier to be mean than to be kind to many.
This made Cecilio kind of a loner. Back in the day, he made just one true lasting friend and fell in love once. At least he kept the friend and started to make new ones, about the love thing... He's working on it. When he looked back he understood how different he was from his grandmother who was the life of the party no matter where she went. Maybe that’s why some council members still doubt someone like him could play the role.
“Is not a good idea to go on a Saturday right? When I’ve barely slept and my room is such a mess….”
“I couldn’t know about your room… I could help you clean, of course.”
André never noticed when Cecilio took a spray bottle and sprayed his way with holy water he kept for special plants. The contact of the thin mist against his fur made steam come from it and he jumped and whined with his tail between his legs.
“Stop trying to cross a line. No demon is allowed in my house, and you’re specially banned for life.”
The burning on his body stopped and he growled to himself. It was never that bad, being sprayed by that thing that many times kind of made him get used to it, and he couldn’t have expected any other outcome when he knew Cecilio was so protective of his home. That’s where his most powerful artifacts were hidden, and where the key to André's freedom must be.
“Not being nice to you again ever, weirdo.”
Taking a drag of his cigarette, and letting grey smoke that slowly turned greenish out of his mouth, Cecilio looked at André. “About the mountain… We’re checking it tomorrow.”
The dog growled before leaping towards Cecilio. “You want to get me killed. That’s it. You hate me and are offering me!”
“I don’t hate you, André…. I don’t particularly like you, less when you act like a weakling, but hate is such a big word,” he rubbed the dog’s head and André made an effort to not bite him. “Also, aren't you my reliable guard dog?”
“The smoke turned green, it means you’re stressed,” he unconsciously leaned into the ear rub. Cecilio knew exactly where he liked it.
“You say that as if it wasn’t the usual. Let’s make a deal…”
“Hell no,” he interrupted, getting his head away from Cecilio’s hand. “Look what making deals with you landed me in! You’re worse than common demons!”
“Stop acting like a loser and listen. If you accompany me I’ll give you a free day. When was the last time you had a free day?”
André knew the answer. Technically, his last free day was when he mistakenly offended this witch. It was quite tempting, to have a full day on earth where he wouldn’t be used as an errand boy. André could even try and go to Santorini! It’s been years since he stepped on those nice beaches where he could actually try and get a good tan.
“But I still don’t understand why it should be me! Take a human with you!”
“You’re of my strongest, dog. Stop this pathetic act now.”
Cecilio’s tone dropped, and the stern look in his eyes gave him shivers. The idea of getting offered to The Order terrified him, but his awful boss that played nice was worse.
“... Fine, I’ll do it.”
Cecilio let out a chuckle as he saw André dropping to the floor. “One would expect more of a demon. Your kind has the duty of punishing humans, why should you be scared of these guys?”
“They’re abnormal. I stopped considering people so warped to have humanity in them.”
Cecilio smiled tiredly. “You’re probably right about that.”
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