Page 9 of The Slayer Seduction

Iris

Iwake with a start, the vision consuming me. This one is familiar, except it feels eerily real.

I can feel the surroundings, the tension, and a thick gust of wind that slaps my face. There’s chanting and I wonder if I’m envisioning something with my coven, and then I watch as it all unfolds.

A man, he’s strapped to a picnic table, his chest bare, covered in symbols as he tries to tug away from his confines. No one is listening to him. They just keep chanting repeatedly. The man’s body goes still and I wonder what they’ve done to him.

The man’s eyes open, and they’re no longer the scared brown they once were, no, they’re completely blacked out.

Before I can get a closer look to see if I’m imagining it, I’m pulled into the present with the doorbell of the shop ringing.

“Fuck,” I hiss, my head throbbing as I grab my wand and send my robe flinging across the room, wrapping myself up as the doorbell rings again.

It’s not even opening time, in fact, far from it.

“I’m coming,” I say as the bell rings again and I take the stairs from my apartment to my store downstairs.

I breathe out a sigh of relief when I see Ember in the window, happily waving at me, her pink hair flailing in the wind. She’s wearing a dark pink dress that contrasts against her pale, freckled skin and she looks way too happy this early in the morning, but I suppose that’s the best way to avoid the heat with her affinity for plants. With a yawn, I unlock the door and let Ember in.

“Ember, it’s early as fuck,” I groan and she gives me a grimace.

“Sorry. I know it’s early, but I had to come and show you,” she says, pulling out the most beautiful Camellia Japonica plant I’ve ever seen out of her purse.

We’ve been trying for ages to grow these properly so that I could make a new fragrance for the shop.

“It’s gorgeous,” I tell her, examining the large red blooms. “This is amazing, Ember.”

“Isn’t it? Just think of all the potions you can make.”

I give her a smile. My life would be so much better if I could just stay in my little shop and make potions all day long. It’s my passion. I never wanted to be a seer, especially not one who has visions that make no sense and are kind of terrifying.

Even with the beauty of this flower in front of me, I can’t shake the vision of that man’s fearful expression or how his eyes changed. It’s the same every time, almost like he’s being…sacrificed?

“Hey, is everything alright?” Ember says, squeezing my shoulder.

“Yeah. I just haven’t been sleeping. You know how it is.”

“None of your potions have worked?”

My sigh is dramatic as I shake my head and lock the door behind Ember. “Coffee?”

“Always,” Ember says, following me upstairs to my apartment. With a flick of my wand, I have mugs careening out of the cupboard and the machine whirls as we take a seat at the one small table I have.

The upstairs apartment isn’t much to write home about. I have a queen-sized bed, a kitchenette, and the dining table. At the end of my bed sits a loveseat that faces the small TV I got, mostly for Scarlett. The fox has a huge penchant for trashy reality television.

“I’m sorry for showing up so early. I was just excited,” she says, placing the plant on the table.

“It’s fine, I was up already anyway,” I say, untying my bonnet and letting my long twists free. Some of the golden jewelry clinks as it falls to my shoulder.

Ember smiles at me and grabs a lock of her own hair. “I think I need to do something different,” she says and I send the coffee mugs through the air, and they gently land on the table in front of us.

“I can come up with something,” I tell her, and she gives me a smile before taking a sip.

“I’d love that. Another time though, because we’re still going out tonight, right?”

“Of course we are.” I take a sip of my coffee, acting like I didn’t completely forget.

“Iris, are you sure you’re okay? You aren’t sleeping and I haven’t seen you around much,” she says, her face kind and gentle and I love her so much. Part of me wonders if I should tell her what I saw, but that’s the crux of being a seer.