"What do you mean?" I ask Asphodel.
"Well, we have karmic misfortune for a start." She answers.
"Is that a fancy way of saying we get bad luck?"
"Kind of." She replies.
"Okay, so what else?"
"Our daughters must be hidden from witches and eaters alike." She adds.
"So, what about the men?"
"No such thing in our bloodline. No woman has birthed a man in our family history." She explains.
I get through a set of lights. The brightness makes me squint a bit. My eyes feel like they burn.
"Okay, so up that road and it should be on the left." She says to me.
It seems like she has been here before. She knows just how much everywhere is. Where everything is as well. I try not to dwell on it. I pull into the red building's nice inner parking lot. I love the bright red colour of the building. We both grab our bags and get out of the car.
"You think Garth is ever gonna catch up?" I ask.
"I hope so."
"Me too." I know I was asking about him a lot.
The idea of us being here is like a fantasy, yet I know our situation is very real. I follow Asphodel into the office of the Inn.
"One room or two?" The clerk asks us as we walk through the glass front door.
"One. Two beds." Asphodel says.
"Alright, I will go get you a room key." He replies.
He turns towards the door behind him and walks through. The place seems nice, even though it is in the core of Memphis. I can only tell it has been around a while, due to the hanging pictures of Elvis Presley on the wall with a signature. Beside it is hanging a record signed by Johnny Cash. I feel like I am standing before the legendary musicians themselves. I get in my mind and picture what it must have been like to see these men in the prime of their music careers.
"What, you a fan?" Asphodel teases.
"A bit."
"You know, back when they were starting out, they were being persecuted like witches were at one time. Though, I guess people didn't wanna eat Elvis or Johnny Cash." She sighs.
"Uh, what?" I ask.
"I'll explain later." She brushes me off.
"NO!" I slam my fist onto the service bell without fully realizing it was there. "You explain now. You keep calling them eaters. now tell me why." I demand an explanation.
"Annie, you didn't have to live in that time."
"Spill."
"Fine." She sighs. "It was during the war-"
"Okay, let's get you two settled in!" The clerk says excitedly.
"R-right." I stifle my anger for his timing. Asphodel is beaming with relief.
The clerk leads us out into the parking lot. I can hear a few roaming drunks in the streets. I can smell the smoke coming out from one of the other inn rooms. A pungent skunk odour wafts our way every so often as we head towards the back wall of rooms. It is shaped like a large 'u'. I can't help but feel heightened each time I smell that scent.
Asphodel raises her shirt over her nose and pulls my shirt for me the same way. I have no idea why, yet she is always there to protect me. I try to keep it over my face.
"B24, bring the key tomorrow and we'll settle up." He says.
As he turns, I can get a decent view of his face. A strong nose that is straight. He has dark, thick eyebrows and deep, dark brown eyes. His skin is almost milk white. We slip into the room we have for tonight.
Shockingly, the place is even nicer on the inside. beige painted walls, deep brown comforter and sheets, a TV and it even has a Jacuzzi tub in the washroom. The door to the bathroom is wide open. I take a look at our beds and see we both get a double sized mattress.
Asphodel turns and closes the door. Immediately, I can feel her fear. It's tense. I feel like I could pull out a spoon and cut it. I don't like this feeling.
"I'm locking the door. We also are putting up wards. Here's where you get a crash course in witchcraft." Asphodel says.
She pulls out a tiny beige bag. I know that's going to grow. I sit on my bed and watch her with my full attention. This should be cool. She pulls out her wand. I mimic the action, grabbing my own. She taps into her beige bag.
"Incrementum!" Asphodel commands.
"Latin?" I ask.
Asphodel nods quietly as she pulls out some weird bowls and big sticks. She pulls out some herbs, salt, incense and candles. She also pulls out a black book with a pentagram etched into its leather. On the corners and intersecting lines, lays varying gemstones. I see them shine for only a moment as she whisks the cover open. She rustles through the pages in search of something specific.
"Where is the recipe...?" Asphodel talks to herself for a moment.
She goes through the book. Every page very intently. She starts to turn red.
"I grabbed my Grimoire of spells, not my alchemy book, though." Asphodel sighs.
"Maybe this ought to help?" I ask. I hand her one of my own bags.
"Incrementum!" Asphodel commands once more.
My bag hits the floor and I scavenge until I uncover the books I had picked from Mom's library. I hand them over to Asphodel. She seems surprised.
"One of those books could be handy, right?" I ask.
"Yes, but this is spell making. We'd be making a new spell." Asphodel sighs. "Latin can be fussy too. One mispronounced word could be bad."
I had never thought of that part. I sigh. We toss the books into my bag. If it's that much a risk, it's not worth it, or at least not to us.
"So, why are you so afraid of humans?" I ask.
"Look, Annie, again you were too young to remember. We sent you away because there are groups of humans who eat witches." Asphodel says flatly. My heart sinks into my gut.
"Why? Why would they ever want to eat us?" I ask.
"Well, rumours say if you eat a witch, you gain their magic." She replies quickly. "However, even a witch never dared to cross that line with a witch. We know that's unforgivable magic." Asphodel adds.
"Unforgiveable?"
"You lose part of your soul when you eat a witch's flesh." She says. The expression she is like that of a long time murder investigator. Like she'd seen it herself many times.
"What happens then? I thought a witch only could lose magic by someone stealing their shadow?" I start asking what's coming to mind without thinking first.
"Annie, some things just are better not known." She sighs.
I aim my wand over my bag. I tap it. The nerves at the moment have me shaking.
"Minimus!" I order.
The bag shrinks back to pocket sized. I pick it up off the mint green carpeting. I must have ignored it until now, because it throws the entire room off to me.
"Nice Annie." Asphodel seems to be hollow at the moment.
"So, any tips for being in Memphis?" I ask.
"Don't leave the room." Asphodel commands.
Chills run down my spine. I don't know why. I intend to find out.
"Why not?" I pry.
"Unless you want to end up dead." She replies.
"Not all humans are evil!" I shout a bit.
"Yeah, they are, Annie." Her reply is like cold stone.
I storm to the bathroom and lock myself in. I strip down and start running the water to fill the jacuzzi. I am not dealing with this. She should see I grew up Okay.
"Whatever." I mumble as I check the water temperature. This feels like it's been the longest birthday of my life.
I slip into the tub while it fills with nice how water. I can feel my body slowly melt away as I let it fill more. The warmth washes over me and I sweat a bit.
I lay my head back and get my hair wet. I haven't heard any movement from the bedroom. Hopefully, she fell asleep. I get it; she had a lot to deal with from the war. Although they aren't like that... I don't believe that they could do such an awful thing.
I put my head under the water and let the heat help relax my face. I need more times like this, where I just say screw it and relax anyways. I pull my head up from the water and catch my breath.
"You Okay in there?" I hear Asphodel call out.
"Yeah." I reply.
I suppose that is family for you. We may get upset, argue or fight even, but we still care for each other. To me, that is the world. I never knew I had a family until this all happened. I am still feeling like I'm dreaming. Though I am kind of praying, I don't awaken from this dream, if that were the case.
I get shampoo into my hair. I start feeling a bit drowsy. I know I am tired, but this feels rather sudden. I smell the air and I can't identify the scent. A sour floral aroma hits my nose. I rinse my hair out and look over the tub. I try to climb over the tub wall, but I can't muster the strength. I feel another drowsy spell hit me.
"Asphodel..." I go to call for her. I barely can hear my own voice.
I try again to get out and I slip, hitting the plug out of the hole. the tub starts draining as I feel myself slip back into the tub, the warm water making me even more sleepy. The world fades for me entirely.