Leo was pleased to discover that the witch shop had been just as easy to find as Charlie had promised. The boy had been more than helpful, trusting unwittingly with his big hazel eyes and floppy, brown hair. Leo could have easily accosted the young boy, and yet he so quickly engaged with Leo in conversation. Humans were odd beings. But from the aura that surrounded Charlie, Leo assumed the boy was much more than human.
In the front of a surprisingly well kept yard stood a polished, wooden sign that read: Hex House. Your family friendly neighborhood home of practical jokes and overall tomfoolery! He chuckled quietly. Because this place was not what he'd been expecting.
Out front was a garden the likes of which Leo had never seen. A number of colorful flowers were weaved among a plethora of herbs that he faintly recognized but couldn't quite name. Oddly enough, sunflowers strived to kiss the sun in the brightly painted flowerbeds. Must be those hexes hard at work, he thought wryly. The flowers ranged in color from deep, navy blues to light, airy pinks. They stood out against the two story Victorian style home that loomed before him. It was painted a buttery yellow, clearly very recently, as was the cherry red front door.
The crisp white sign hanging inside the window of said door proclaimed that the shop was open in delicate, loopy hand writing. He squared his shoulders as he pushed open the door, taking in the array of pastels that were the walls. He didn't think a single one was the same color. To the left of the entrance was a living room turned witch liar. Shelves lined the walls, in which were little potion bottles that glimmered a diverse spread of colors. Thick, leather bound journals joined them, the spines decorated in that same fancy writing from the sign. In the middle of the room were baby blue bins, filled to the brim with some of the same herbs that Leo had seen outside.
To the right of him was a sitting room where a slight girl came barreling into the foyer from. Her golden eyes were wide, a smile taking over her pixie like features. Her aura was dazzling, a gold that sparkled just as her eyes did. The air thrummed with a warmth that Leo had long since associated with witches, as if her otherworldly aura and strange coloring weren't enough of a hint.
She pulled him into a fierce hug, one in which Leo was too shocked to do much more than stand there awkwardly. She pulled away soon enough, smile still intact. Her slender hands flitted about nervously at her sides, her nails lacquered a hot pink. Her ring fingers glittered brightly under the florescent lights, the nails coated generously in glitter. "I'm Silver and I welcome you to Hex House. Let's have a seat." she chirped, turning on her heel. He followed her into the sitting room, taking a seat on a white couch that was embroidered with roses the color of rubies.
Silver perched herself on a loveseat embossed with vibrant yellow sunflowers across from him. She was humming softly under her breath and Leo was struck by how young she was. She couldn't have been older than eleven or twelve as she wrapped a section of hair the color of liquid mercury around her pointer finger.
"I don't normally invite customers into the parlor, but considering the fact that a demon has made his way into my place of business, I'm assuming you're not here for an instructional pamphlet on summing a unicorn." she said wryly. Leo quirked an eyebrow at the notion that a preteen ran a business but felt that saying so would not be well received. "That may not be my main motive, but now that you mention it, I just might have to stay a little longer." he quipped. Silver stared at him, a knowing glint in her eyes. She kicked her feet against the bottom of the loveseat, her pink sneakers creating a rhythmic, dull thud.
"Can I get you anything to drink? Tea? I would have offered straight away, but such a powerful demon as Leo Winters arriving in my shop has me all kinds of discombobulated." she said suddenly. Leo made a face at the mention of tea and the young girl giggled. "Vivienne, my friend, she makes the same exact face of disgust whenever I mention tea. Unless its cold and has copious amounts of sugar." Silver laughed.
Leo found himself smiling softly at the girl. Her exuberance reminded him of his sister. Both of them were so inherently joyful. "Sounds like my kind of girl. And no, no drink for me." Her eyes darkened slightly in response, though Leo had no idea why. A sad sort of look marred her pretty face before she smiled again. "What can I do for you today?" she queried.
"I heard about your establishment all the way in the underworld. About how you often deal with the supernatural. And I was wondering if-" before he could finish, Silver's reedy voice rose over his own. "Were wondering if my services might be called upon to find the missing Lacie Winters. Lacie, eighteen years old, who decided to venture into the mortal realm so that she might experience some of the world before she had to work in it. She then vanished, never returning to the underworld as she was supposed to. Been missing about a week now." she finished with a sympathetic look in her eyes.
Leo averted his gaze, eyes landing on that of a bunny statuette. It carried a whicker basket in its miniature paws, a collection of daisies nestled within. Hex House's décor was quite pleasant. His sister would have loved it. He'd been on the receiving end of of pitying looks for the last week and he couldn't stand it anymore. The only thing that would help him was the knowledge of his sister's whereabouts. "Look Leo, I can totally lend you a hand. I mean, that is what Hex House does. It aids demons in dire need of help. And as you also know, I deal in favors." It made sense that Silver knew about his sister if she dealt with demons. The Winters were one of the most powerful and renowned of them, the underworld having been buzzing with the news of his sister's disappearance since the moment she didn't arrive home.
Leo nodded quickly. "Anything you ask of me that's within my ability to give, it's yours. As long as you promise to find my sister." he implored. Silver leaned back in her seat, her short hair just reaching her thin shoulders. "I happen to have a handful of baby witches on my hands. They've been woefully ignorant of their powers for their entire lives. And now bat shit crazy stuff has been happening and witches with similarly crazy eyes are here to most likely control the situation. I need you to help these novices before the witches sink their claws into them." Silver's mouth curled in disgust when she spoke the word witch, though Leo was fairly certain she was one herself. So that was confusing.
"I wouldn't mind ruining their little plan. Sounds like quite the good time, actually." he smiled at the thought. The stress of his sister going missing had been eating him alive. Dark thoughts had festered in his mind like infected wounds, a constant source of pain and worry. His mind was ordinarily a place for happy, cheerful thoughts. Destroying some witches' plans to corrupt some unsuspecting kids sounded like a good distraction.
"Though I am required by my own rules of complete honesty to my customers to inform you that I will not be involved in the actual sleuthing myself. I'm more of the behind the scenes kind of girl. My friend, she does all the catching of rogue demons while I supply her with a healthy arsenal of potions to throw at things." Silver said brightly. Leo leaned forward in his seat, balancing his elbows on his knees.
"I don't care who it is, so long as they can find Lacie. And that I, of course, can help in the process." he added. Silver smiled a gap toothed smile. "I wouldn't have it any other way." And then they proceeded to shake on it.