They found themselves surrounded by hundreds of glazed eyes, stitched into the long-dead pelts of various wildlife. Birds, deer, squirrels, rabbits, foxes, bluecoons, quillas, even a few cats.
Sasha wandered among the shelves, stroking their coats, and admiring their forms.
“Uh, Sash,” Bobby started in a whisper, “You know these are dead right?”
Sasha frowned at him, “So? They’re still beautiful. And they’ll be beautiful forever.” She stroked the grey fur of a small squirrel in a black waist coat and red tie.
“Yeeeaah, beautiful,” Gemma remarked unconvinced and with a raised eyebrow at stuffed kitsuni playing a miniature piano.
“I think they’re creepy.” Salem shuddered. “Can we go now?”
Katrina wandered off down a second aisle. While it wasn’t something she would ever want to put on her bedroom wall, she had to admit, these were at least well made. They didn’t look like those terrible eye-popping ones made by a certain artist back in Little Rock. These looked frighteningly realistic, if not for some of the settings they had been placed in, like a rabbit sitting in an arm chair, sewing a rabbit coat. They were interesting and creative though. She could see the art in it.
“Come on Sash,” Bobby spoke from the aisle over, “We should go.”
“You can go if you want,” Sasha replied simply as she continued toward the back of the shop. “I’m still looking.”
“Looking at the weird, creepy, dead animals?” He raised an eyebrow.
She spun. “They’re not weird or creepy. They’re pretty.”
“Someone had to kill them to make them you know.”
“Or maybe they died of natural causes. But even if they didn’t, as long as they ate the meat I don’t see how this is any different from the fur on my coat. You said it’s more respectful to use the whole animal remember? So what’s the difference?”
“Because clothing is useful. It keeps you warm.”
“And pretty things make people happy,” Sasha replied.
“Well...” Bobby hesitated.
Gemma chuckled. “She’s got you there.” But she gave the surrounding animals a frown.
Bobby frowned too. “If you think these are pretty.”
Gemma grinned in agreement and then shrugged. “Sasha obviously does.”
Up ahead, Sasha knelt down to stroke the long fur of a white rabbit that had been positioned naturally in a resting position, back legs to the side and front paws forward, head on it’s paws, and it’s ears laid back.
Bobby sighed and thought it over. She did seem to like them. “I mean, you don’t think they’re kind of mocking?”
Sasha shook her head. “No, they’re forever preserved in art. You think throwing them in the ground and covering them in dirt is better?”
“I... hmm,” Bobby frowned.
Gemma chuckled. “Regardless, we probably shouldn’t hang out in here too long. The owner’s supposed to be a bit weird.” She was surprised and somehow a little worried that no one had appeared at the chime of the bell. The place was dead silent. The apprehension of not knowing the owner except in rumour left a heavy blanket-like feeling in the air.
“Have you met them?” Sasha asked curiously.
“No, but-”
“Then how do you know?”
“Because the other kids said so,” Salem butted in. He didn’t like all the eyes on him and was eager to leave.
“So you just listened to rumour and believed it? What if they’re really nice? I bet people just gossip about them because they don’t like their animal art,” Sasha replied sadly.
“Well, it’s better to be wary,” Katrina remarked, repeating one of her aunt’s favorite phrases. She took a step forward and something suddenly mooed loudly from her left.
She jumped sideways, hand to her chest, and bumped into the shelf on her right. “The Fates!”
There was a moment’s silence and then Salem chuckled. “It’s a cow,” he observed, as he peeked through between the shelves.
He was right. To Katrina’s left, hidden in the shadows was a large brown cow. Cautiously she leaned in to take a closer look. Peering into it’s life-like nostrils she could just make out a hidden speaker, and there on the floor near it’s foot was a little black box with a wire running out and into the foot of the cow. It probably ran all the way up the inside of it’s leg and connceted to the speaker.
She was almost at the end of the aisle so she stepped up and over the line of sight of what she assumed was the sensor by the cow’s foot, and continued onward, shooting wary glances back at the cow.
From the aisle over, Bobby remarked, “Come on Sasha, let’s go.”
“I told you, you can go, I’m looking.”
“We don’t want to leave you here,” Bobby replied.
“I’m fine by myself,” she replied in an annoyed tone.
“This guy could be dangerous.”
“You guys are judgy.”
Stepping around the corner at the end of the aisle, Katrina gave it a try. “Oh, come on Sash, we need to help Bobby find his girlfriend.”
Sasha put her hands on her hips. “I don’t wanna help Bobby find his girlfriend if he’s just gonna spend all his time with her and ignore the rest of us.”
“Oh, come on, you’re being petty, Sash,” Gemma told her.
“I am not.”
Bobby sighed. “Look, I’m sorry I was ignoring you okay-”
“No,” Gemma butted in. “You don’t need to apologise to her. She’s being a child.”
Sasha scowled.
“Come on,” Gemma grabbed Bobby and pulled him toward the exit. “We’ll go find Seraphina, Sasha can do what she wants.”
“Phew,” Salem remarked, but he paused and glanced nervously back at Sasha.
Katrina took Sasha’s wrists gently.
“Now Sasha, you’ve still got the rest of us, and love only strikes once in a blue moon. Bobby’s never had a girlfriend before and love is a magical, mystical, precious thing. You’ll see for yourself one day. But just for today, and it is only today since we’ll be going home soon, don’t you think you could let Bobby have this? Let him have just a bit of time with the girl he likes?”
Sasha pouted, then answered, “Fine. But it’s not just Bobby who’s been ignoring me. Salem and Gemma wouldn’t come see what I found yesterday either.”
“Well, I promise to come look, after we find Seraphina. Okay?”
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Sasha gave a resigned sigh, and mumbled, “Okay.” She couldn’t be bothered explaining that ‘later,’ was not quite the same thing as what she had been after.
“Besides, we need your help. Need to think up places she might be.”
Katrina smiled. Sasha didn’t, but she did start walking with Katrina toward the door.
Behind them, near the shop counter, a floorboard creaked.
All five kids froze and turned. For a full five seconds no one moved. No more sounds came and so they made to leave again.
Another creak. Then a voice asked, “Who goes there?”
They turned back once more to see a pasty, freckled looking man, older than their own parents but not yet old enough to call elderly. His hair was a vibrant red and unevenly cut. He stood behind the counter and he faced their way.
Only Katrina and Sasha could see his eyes. They were milky white.
Katrina turned silently to face her other siblings and mouthed, “He’s blind.”
Gemma nodded to show she understood and then held a finger to her lips. She indicated toward the door.
The others nodded quietly in reply. Bobby reached for the door handle, having completely forgotten the bell attached at the top.
But before he could open the door, Sasha piped up in a friendly voice, “Hello.”
The rest of her siblings all looked at her fiercely.
Sasha ignored them and stepping around Katrina she approached the counter.
Katrina rolled her eyes at the others, and followed Sasha. To be honest, the man did not look very threatening. The red hair did make her slightly wary. Red hair usually meant powerful magic. But his lack of sight counterbalanced that fear. There was many a witch who could not perform magic unless they could see what they were doing. Only the best, like her mother, could cast without a visible line of sight, while the weakest sometimes even required the use of a wand and the ability to point at their workspace. Any witch that fell in the latter category was often ruthlessly mocked.
He smiled. “Hello, who might you be? Can I help you find something?”
His nose wrinkled and Katrina noticed him frown. He cocked his head slightly.
“I’m Sasha. I’m visiting from somewhere else.”
“Ah, a stranger. And friends?” He wrinkled his nose again.
By this time, the other kids had made their way toward the counter well.
“My brother’s and sisters,” Sasha replied. “But they’re shy.”
“Ah, well, there’s nothing to be frightened of here. Feel free to have a look around, and if you like something I can tell you the price.”
“How much is the white rabbit? The one at the end here?”
“Saaash,” Bobby chided softly under his breath.
“The one near the front?” the man asked.
Sasha nodded. “Yeah!”
“42 silver,” he replied.
Sasha’s face fell and she looked back forlornly at the rabbit. “Oh.”
“Alas they don’t get much cheaper than that.”
“Who usually buys them?” Bobby asked, his curiosity getting the better of them.
“Oh, the odd passer through. And Mr McKinley, when he’s been hunting will often get something made. But these aren’t my main business. No, I mostly do tailoring these days, and other small repairs. Plus hunting and tanning supplies, and other odds and ends. There’s more of the store downstairs if you want to have a look.” He gestured toward what looked like a very steep staircase embedded in the floor just behind the counter. It was obviously where he had been before.
“Do you make these?” Bobby asked hesitantly and slightly in awe.
The man smiled and chuckled softly. “Yes, yes I do. I wasn’t always blind but I can still feel and I remember what to do. Tell me,” he sniffed the air again. “Have you by chance visited the book store today?”
“How did you know?” Katrina asked, finding it hard to imagine his nose was that good or that by going into the book store they had picked up any scent. Still, her mind started to wonder at his incessant sniffing, what if he smelt the dead bird? Did they reek of blood without knowing?
Gemma answered. “Because that place smelt like a spice cabinet and now we smell like it. Isn’t that right?”
The man nodded. “I should warn you though. You’ll want to be careful of the bookstore owner.”
Katrina rolled her eyes. “Because he’s a sorcerer?” she asked with a sigh.
The man’s eyebrows rose. “Ah, so you know. Yes, that and, he’s not the nicest man. He likes to spread a lot of rumours.”
“That’s a bit ironic, don’t you think?” Bobby replied with a frown.
“Oh, you don’t understand. He tried to convince this whole town that I killed a cow and left it in the canyons. But I’m pretty sure it was him you know, for some spell. I mean, why would I leave it there? Oh, he does the odd good thing. He cured the Milkins boy when he got the pox last winter. But he’s also obsessed and bitter and he’s intent on just letting this town live under that music-less curse forever. He tired to petition the counsel to make me get rid of my bell, but it’s how I can tell when people come in you know?” He leaned forward over the counter then smiled deviously. “They don’t check often though, so I just put it back up, and Larry, one of the brewers, always lets me know when they’re coming.” He chuckled to himself softly.
“The curse?” Gemma asked.
“Of course, what else could it be? Pretty sure it’s related to that sorcerer too. It showed up just before he got here. This was a musical place before that. Now you don’t even hear the birds much anymore. I think what it is, is an animal that he used in a spell. A spell that went wrong. Maybe it survived and now it wanders looking for revenge. You can hear it in the tune it sings. It’s so sad. You can hear it can’t you? On the wind at night. He never had much respect for animals though you know, not like I do.”
Gemma raised her eyebrows and glanced around the room. A quick look at her other siblings showed them all to be equally confused, except for Sasha, who was looking at the man with some kind of reverence or sympathy.
“B-but, you’re a taxidermist?” Bobby stammered.
“You think this isn’t respectful?” the man asked in a genuine curious tone.
“Well, there is a kitsuni playing a piano,” Gemma replied.
Salem nodded.
Katrina eyed the frozen animals and once more she noted and thought about the obvious care that had been taken in creating them.
“That’s Millie,” the man replied, referring to the kitsuni. “She liked music.”
“What happened to her?” Sasha asked politely.
The man replied sombrely and with a sniff, “She got old. She was my friend.”
They were all silent.
Eventually, Salem remarked, “Well, that’s unfortunate, but well, we should really get going.”
Bobby agreed. “Yeah, we’re actually looking for someone. You haven’t had a girl come in here this morning by any chance have you? We’re looking for her, Seraphina, the butcher’s daughter.”
The taxidermist shook his head. “No, but I know her father usually gets his meat from the slaughter every few weeks. They might’ve headed out there. He often spends a night or two.”
“Does she usually go with him?” Bobby asked.
The taxidermist frowned. “Not usually no. But I heard that she hasn’t been getting on well with her new mother. Maybe she wanted to get out of the house?”
“Thanks, we’ll keep looking,” Bobby replied.
The man nodded.
“I’m sorry about your kitsuni,” Sasha told him.
He smiled warmly at her.
As they walked toward the exit of the shop, they could hear him start to chant a sombre and lonely tune, one that matched very closely the tone of the howls they had heard the night before.
“Through hills and mountains high, he is lost here,
As others pass on by, no road in sight,
He walks in alone, hiding from new fights,
And never stops to ask, what is the cost to bear?
The years move on, and still he’s fixed nowhere.
The world that’s left behind, it changes tide,
He dare not reemerge, for fear he’s tried.
A memory long forgotten out of fear.
A sorcerer’s regret, it lingers like a sweat.
His magic’s bittersweet, then gone in a rush
Just like the music in this old town we call Hush.”
“What do you think?” Bobby asked once they were outside again. He turned to his older sister for advice.
“Well, he’s weird, but I don’t think he knows where she is. Maybe we should keep looking for her house?” Gemma replied.
“Or out near the hot springs?” Salem suggested, “Didn’t her friend Tolly say they were going berry picking today? Maybe she’s out there. Or her friend is, and we can ask her? Or those other kids?”
Gemma shrugged and nodded. “Okay, Let’s try that.”
And so, off they headed, in the direction of the canyons.
Sasha gave a sad look back at the taxidermy shop, and wondered, about the words in his song. Even after leaving, still she could hear the echo of his tune.
“So, you gonna sing a song then?” Sirius teased Amanda as they walked along the beach.
Amanda groaned and elbowed him playfully.
He chuckled and shook his mop of dark hair. “Ugh, that guy.”
“Let’s not talk about him,” Amanda replied.
“Good point, let’s not.”
“But if you want a song, I can sing you one.”
Sirius smiled. “Maybe later. Definitely later. But first we need to come up with some ideas.”
“Oh, lunch, lunch is definitely my idea.”
He laughed. “Other ideas.”
“Oh, I don’t know.”
“A spell?” he suggested with a serious expression on his face.
“Mmm,” she thought about it. “I don’t think I know any that would work. None I know by heart anyway.”
“Infusements? If we loaded up enough telekinesis...”
“It would still take a few days, maybe weeks, and even then, it would wear. I don’t think Katrina’s good enough. By the time she’s infused even a small portion of the power we’d need, the earlier ones would probably be wearing off. Unless you know of another infuser?”
Sirius shook his head. “Maybe in the town. I don’t know if anyone’s going to want to help after that last attempt though.”
“An infusement would make things easier but I wouldn’t cross you’re fingers. Infusers are rare. And spells are just as tricky. Not that we have any spell books.”
“Just the one Katrina borrowed.”
“I don’t think it had much we could use.”
“We could take a look.”
“I suspect it’s probably not where you left it.”
He chuckled.
Amanda sighed. “I just wish she’d be more careful.”
“I don’t think she’s cast any.”
“Yet. Remember that time she borrowed your sister’s powers?” Amanda raised her eyebrows at him.
Sirius nodded seriously. “Maybe it would be easier if you just taught her how to do the spells?”
Amanda laughed. “If I thought that would stop her. I suspect she’d just take it further. Sorcery is not a toy.”
“Didn’t you and Wolf used to cast spells back in high school for fun?” Sirius probed.
Amanda turned to him. “Why do you think I’m so worried? We were stupid kids, very lucky stupid kids. We very nearly destroyed the town.”
“Stupid kids without training.” He raised an eyebrow.
Amanda smiled and sighed. “Maybe. Maybe you’re right.”
“I’m always right.”
She laughed and shoved him playfully. “Well, Mr always right, what’s the right thing to do about our beached ship then?”