“I really don’t think that’s a good…”
She ignored me, rushing to the back of the shop. Slipping behind the counter, she hurried through the archway to the back area that was clearly marked “Employees Only.”
Chapter Three
“Hey!”
My voice cracked like a whip, but she ignored me. With no other choice, I followed her into the back room. Passing the large worktable and shelves, she walked all the way to the tiny room in the back which served as an office space.
“That’s my office! You shouldn’t be back here!”
“Celeste let me buy my ingredients here, even though…anyway, everyone in town who’s our kind knew about this secret. Please just let me show you!”
She hadn’t even turned around to talk to me as she hurried to the far wall in the back of the office. Running her hands along the surface, she looked from side to side.
I reached out for her arm, ready to yank her away, when she poked her whole hand into the wall. I skidded to a stop, staring in disbelief as she pushed her arm further in, all the way up to the elbow. Her arm twisted as if she was turning a doorknob.
“What the…”
And then, the entire wall came away, swinging open as if it were on hinges, like the front of a doll house. Behind the wall was a small storage area with metal shelves. Hundreds of old-fashioned glass bottles lined the shelves, filled with an assortment of colorful substances.
The woman turned to look at me, her expression triumphant.
“Celeste showed me the trick of opening the apothecary once when she was busy with normal customers. I was kind of surprised that she trusted me, but…”
I ignored her, my eyes bulging as I stared into the small space at the bottles.
“What the hell is all this stuff?”
I sounded shrill and unnatural. I realized I was on the border of panicking.
“Did Celeste ever tell you about her side hustle?”
I looked over at the woman, my mouth hanging open.
“No! I told you, she didn’t tell me anything! I haven’t seen her since I was four years old!”
Stepping into the room, I looked around at the bottles. Most of them were filled with powders in all different colors, but some of the bottles had liquids or even solid chunks in them. Though the bottles were all different sizes, I noticed that they’d been labeled and lined up neatly in rows.
To my dismay, the bottles were labeled with names like Owl Feathers, Lizard Tongue, Bat Ears, and Monkey Tail.
I turned to the woman, my mind scattered, my heart pounding.
“Are these drugs or something? Was my grandmother a drug dealer?”
That had to be what was going on. It all fit. The woman’s desperate need for “chameleon,” the fact that she was willing to ignore my requests that she leave, it all made sense. I’d inherited money and property from a drug dealer.
Despite my horror, the woman laughed.
“No, Celeste didn’t deal drugs. I promise you.”
Fuming, I clenched my hands into fists.
“Oh really? Then what other explanation is there?”
I folded my arms and glared at her.
“Unless drugs these days are called Shark Tooth, Willow Bark or Henbane, your grandma was not a drug dealer. These are ingredients that are important to our kind. Why didn’t your family explain these things to you?”
My face grew red with rage.
“Don’t…talk about my family,” I snarled through clenched teeth.
“But surely someone…did your mom…”
“I said don’t talk about them! Especially not her!”
The woman’s expression softened instantly into sympathy and pity as a tear slipped down my cheek.
“I’m sorry, that was thoughtless of me. I forgot that Rebecca…”
I stared at her, wide-eyed.
“You knew my mother?”
“No, not personally. I heard about her here and there, but I knew that she was a kind person. I’m not that much older than you, after all, so I was only about eight or nine years old when she….”
A stunned silence stretched between us. This woman, no matter how indirectly, had known about my mother. My overwhelming desire to know more overcame even my anger and fear. I looked at her, struggling to get control of my emotions.
