Raindrops pattered against the glass windowpane where Effie sat meticulously working a pile of dried herbs into a fine powder in her little stone mortar.
The sky outside was dreary. Inky black clouds drowned out all sunlight, casting a dark haze on the world around her. Though it was hard to tell through the darkness of the storm brewing above them, dusk was drawing near, signaling the time to close-up shop. Typically, Anise would be finishing up the paperwork for the day, and getting ready to head out. But today was different.
In the corner of the apothecary, Anise sat at her desk, mulling over the financial log for probably the eighth or ninth time that day, grumbling and sighing despondently into the pages. And though Anise hadn't said anything about it, Effie already knew the reason why her aunt couldn't tear herself away from the log.
Not a single one of their previous patients - except for Ms. Spenser and old farmer Silas - had set foot through their door since the day they were accused of being witches. Everyone else in Evanore had completely abandoned them. With only two paying patients left, the apothecary wouldn't be able to maintain itself financially for much longer. It was an inevitable problem that Anise and Effie would have to face eventually. They simply weren't making enough income anymore to afford the taxes on their business. And unless a miracle happened fast, their business would go under in a matter of weeks. Maybe less.
After a while, Effie sat down her mortar and pestle on the countertop and turned to Anise. "You know, it doesn't matter how many times you look at that thing, nothing's going to change," she said gently.
"Well, I was thinking," Anise replied absently, "if I could move this expense over, and cut this other expense here, maybe we could hold out for another month."
Silently, Effie moved across the room until she was standing next to Anise's desk. Then gingerly, she reached over and shut the large book.
"Wha..." Anise began to protest, looking up with surprise.
"You've been working too hard, Auntie," Effie spoke gently. "Let's go home and rest, and then you can work more on this tomorrow. If you work yourself to the point of exhaustion, you'll be too tired to do anything for the business. So let's take a break, okay?"
Anise sighed, and a faint smile appeared across her lips. "You're probably right, dear. It's getting late. I suppose that means it's time to go home. Oh... but wasn't I supposed to pick up some meat from the market today to make some stew for dinner? It's almost dark though, I wonder if the butcher is even open? I have to hurry."
Anise rose to her feet, heading for the coat hanger but Effie put her hands on her aunt's shoulders to stop her.
"Let me go," Effie offered.
"You?" Anise blinked through her tired eyes. "Are you certain?"
"Of course," Effie insisted. "You look like you haven't slept in days, but I'm alright. I'm happy to go to the butcher for you. Why don't you head straight home? And I'll be there soon."
"If you insist..." Anise replied hesitantly. "But remember, the shopkeepers aren't friendly with us anymore."
"I'll wear a cloak. And it'll be so dark out by then that I doubt they'll even recognize me with the hood up. Don't worry about me. It's not like I haven't done this before." Effie offered a reassuring smile. "
Anise finally conceded, put on her coat, and headed out the door in the direction of home.
Effie watched her aunt leave, waiting until the flickering light of Anise's lantern had disappeared down the road before she pulled the hood of her cloak up over her head and set off into the night.
Rain was coming down harder now, large droplets falling the dark clouds that hung low in the sky. Effie pulled her cloak tighter around herself against the biting wind that chilled her to the bone. She had no idea where this dreary storm had even come from. That morning had started out bright and sunny, but by afternoon a wall of unusually dark, ominous clouds rolled in and opened up over the city of Evanore, unleashing more rain than the city had seen in years. Effie thought it was almost as if the storm was in response to the terrible night last night when the angry mob had gathered around the apothecary with intent to harm. But that was ridiculous.
A bell above the butcher shop door chimed as Effie entered the store. Much to her relief, they weren't closed up for the night. The interior was warm and dry, and smelled of raw meat and blood. Across the front counter laid various cuts of meat stacked haphazardly into different crates. It was almost obscene, but then again, it was a butcher shop.
When the butcher behind the counter laid eyes on Effie's dripping-wet form and let out long whistle. "Man, it's really raining cats and dogs out there isn't it?"
She recognized the man's face immediately as someone who had been in the angry mob last night, holding a butcher knife in his hand and chanting "kill the witch," with all the others. Though he practically looked like an angry demon back then, now he just looked like a regular guy. But in Effie's eyes, he would always be a demon.
"I don't think I've ever seen so much rain," Effie answered nervously, trying to mask her voice while she pulled her hood down over her eyes to prevent him from recognizing her.
"It's unnatural," the butcher replied. "I personally believe those two evil witches at the apothecary cast some dark spell over Evanore to make us pay for last night. They'll get what's coming to them soon enough. Anyway, we're about to close up shop, so what can I get for you?"
Of course he'd blame the storm on them.
"Just a cut of pork," Effie said, approaching the counter.
"You got it."
The man picked out a fresh cut of pork, weighed it on a scale, and began wrapping it in paper. Meanwhile, Effie reached into her pocket for her coin purse, but to her dismay it felt lighter than she expected. She began to worry if she had enough to pay for the pork, as she dumped the last two gold coins into her hand.
"I hope this will cover it..." she said apprehensively. "It's... it's all I have left."
The butcher shook his head solemnly. "The pork is three gold coins. I'm afraid I can't sell it to you for two."
Effie's fingers closed tightly around the coins. "Oh... I see," she croaked, mostly because her voice was growing tired of speaking so deeply to mask it. "Isn't there any way we can make a deal? Or maybe I could owe you? I promise I'll get the third coin to you as soon as I can. You see... my aunt is old and tired, and we are running out of food. She'll... she'll starve. Isn't there anything...?"
The butcher looked surprisingly compassionate. "Alright," he said, looking down at her with pity which made Effie's stomach writhe. This was all for her aunt, she told herself. Otherwise she'd rather starve that receive any pity from this monster. "You can owe me the third coin, but try to pay it back by the end of the week."
The butcher held out the parcel of meat across the counter. And as Effie was about to hand over her coin in exchange for it, a sudden strong gust of wind flung the front door open which Effie had apparently not closed properly. At the explosion of noise and spray of rain, she whirled around on her heel just as the gust seemed to take hold of her hood, ripping it off her head and fully revealing her face to the butcher.
The shock of the random, yet seemingly all to convenient event wore off quickly.
"You!" The butcher jerked back the pork, holding it against his chest as if he was protecting a precious jewel from some disreputable thief. "You tried to trick me! Get out! Get out, evil witch! Before I throw you out!"
But Effie was already running toward the wide-open door which blasted her with cold wind and biting rain. Effie ran off into the darkness of an alleyway, and pressed her back up against a wall, panting heavily, her head spinning. What just happened? It was almost as if the storm wanted it to happen. Somehow it wanted her to get caught by the butcher; it wanted her to run outside. That sounded like crazy-talk, but it wasn't so far-fetched was it? Hadn't Moonshadow forest directed her path as well, back on the day she'd met Reign? Though the storm was no Moonshadow forest, it was a rather odd, unnatural storm. One that seemed to sit stationary in the sky directly above Evanore.
Effie wasn't sure that was the correct hypothesis. Not that it matter now, because thanks to this storm, she was about to return home to Anise empty handed. She had promised Anise that she could handle this errand, but ended up failing. She had failed her aunt.
With a heavy sigh, Effie pushed off the wall, preparing to walk home empty handed, when suddenly she sensed something. Something dark and evil was lurking in the shadows of the alleyway further down from where she was. And if the storm had been trying to lead her anywhere, this was probably it.
Against the warning bells that were now blaring in her brain, Effie cautiously started making her way further down the alleyway to investigate. The very air around her was charged with danger. Her heart thundered so loudly in her ears she almost couldn't hear anything else. Still, she crept along, sticking to the darkest shadows until she could start to make out whispering voices and the forms of two, fully cloaked figures standing around.
"Why would I pay you the full amount up front if I can't be certain that you'll get the job done right?" Hissed the tallest of the cloaked figures, his shoulders broad and his presence overwhelming.
"You have my word," said the smaller cloaked figure, who gave off a sickeningly evil aura that made Effie's blood freeze.
The small figure was a woman who's aura radiated with power. Dangerous power. Dark power. Effie couldn't be certain, but this woman fully matched the description of witch gone rogue. And although she'd never come across one before, somehow she knew. There was almost no mistaking it.
"How do you expect me to trust the word of a dark witch?" The man said. "You're the worst of your kind."
"Yes," the woman's voice was deep and biting. "But you couldn't rely on any old witch to get the job done, now could you? So even though you hate me, you come to me with a job that only I can carry out. But I am not some servant here to do your bidding on a whim. I need the incentive."
The man reached into his cloak and produced a large, heavy coin purse which jingled with cash. "Is this enough incentive for you?"
The woman froze, her aura flashing with greed. She reached for the bag of coin but before she could get her fingers on it, the man jerked it away.
"Why you-!" The woman hissed.
"All of this could be yours, and more," the man replied nonchalantly, not nearly as terrified as he should have been standing up to a dark witch like that. "All you have to do is finish the job. Once the second prince is dead, you can have every last penny."
The woman crossed her hands over her chest defiantly. "We shall see..."
Effie slapped her hand over her mouth to stifle a sudden cry. They were going to kill Reign?!
'What do I do? What do I do?' Effie's mind was scrambling, panic making it difficult to form any coherent thought. 'I have to warn him somehow!'
Just then, the rough witch's head turned ever so slightly in Effie's direction, and she could immediately tell that the dark witch was looking right at her. Looking straight through the dark shadows and resting her burning eyes on her small form. The dark witch somehow knew she was there. Had she known the whole time?
Effie knew she couldn't stay here. Though her legs suddenly felt as heavy as cinder blocks, she tore out of the alleyway and into the night, half expecting the rogue witch to come after her. But for some strange reason she didn't. Even though Effie had just eavesdropped on their entire plot to murder the prince why was the dark witch letting her go? Effie had a horrible feeling about this. The witch must have been plotting something more terrible than Effie could fathom. Though she couldn't imagine what that was right now.
Right now, all she could do was move. She ran full speed down the streets of Evanore, her feet pumping as if they had a mind of their own. And right now they were heading toward Moonshadow forest; the direction of Avanthia. Effie had to get to Prince Reign right now, to warn him about the plot against him. She had no time to lose.