“Professor Broome handcrafted most of this jewelry,” she says, “so you know it’s the good stuff.”
Since Isla always wears her teardrop pendant, I decide on bracelets for each of them. For Isla, I find one with interlocking silver links shaped like ocean waves, each one dotted with an embedded hematite stone. I find a charm bracelet for Nat, a gold chain dangling with hematite stones affixed to silver pendants shaped in alternating circles, stars, and triangles.
“The gifts aren’t the only reason you stopped by,” Kelly says, wrapping each in a black gift box with a cream-colored bow. “The cards told me I’d see you here today.”
“Really?”
Kelly nods. “They also told me it was time to give you this.”
She reaches beneath the counter and pulls out an old journal with a soft brown leather cover, tied with a long red cord that wraps around the pages several times. A silver moon and star dangle from the ends of the cord, winking in the light.
“What is it?” I whisper.
“Open it and see for yourself.”
I do as she asks, unwinding the cord. The moment I turn the front cover, my hands begin to tingle, the touch of magick warming my skin. Each page is hand-written, drawn with ancient runes and symbols I don’t even recognize. I run my fingers across the page, hoping my magick will illuminate more words like it did with my mother’s notebooks, but nothing happens.
“Is it a journal?” I ask. “A grimoire?”
“Perhaps,” she says. “I’ve never been able to translate it. It’s my hope that you’ll be able to unravel its mysteries—it was meant for you, Stevie.”
“Kelly, it’s beautiful, and I appreciate the vote of confidence. But I’m a first-year with almost no magickal background. I haven’t even begun to study runes or magickal symbols yet—I’m still trying to get a handle on the Tarot.”
“I’m aware.” Kelly smiles. “I’m not sure studying our runes and symbols will help. This book is… different.”
“Is it from the library?”
“Not any library in this realm.”
“But… Where did you get it?”
“It was your mother’s.” She reaches across the counter and covers my hands with hers, her eyes sparkling. “She dreamed it.”
Thirty-Four
STEVIE
I head back to Sea and Sky in a daze, the gift bag draped over my arm, the dream-book still clutched in my hand, still giving off its warm magickal vibe.
“What isthat?” Isla asks, glancing at the book as I rejoin them at our table. “It looks about a thousand years old.”
“I think it might be,” I say.
“Is that what you went to get?” Nat asks.
I shake my head, my thoughts still hazy.
“Then where did it come from?” she asks.
There’s a bright green appletini sitting on the table before me, and I reach for the glass and take a long sip, focusing on the sweet-tart flavor, the pleasant warmth of the alcohol sliding down my throat. When I set down the glass, I glance up at Nat with a dazed smile. “It came from a dream.”
Nat laughs.
Isla laughs.
I just stare at the book.
“I don’t think she’s kidding,” Nat whispers to Isla.
