Our next stop was the Crescent Moon Apothecary, which was also popular with the Wiccan community. In the secret back room, though, was the real apothecary, with all the ingredients I would need to learn witchcraft.
There was no secret room in Cauldron Corner: The magick was supposed to come from me, after all. Tanith pointed out two more shops as we walked. "I got your wand over there," she said, indicating Wise Wands and Witchery. Then, pointing at Familiar Trappings, she said, "And that's where you'd go if you had a familiar, a magickal companion animal to assist you in your magick."
Burke & Hamilton was a small bookshop, with numerous books about Wicca; in the back, of course, were books on the real thing. Witchcraft and Natural Remedies was a holistic medicine shop, in the front; in the back, it offered over-the-counter remedies for magickal injuries and ailments, as well as a clinic for more serious issues.
But the biggest surprise for me came at Lanchester Broom Works. The magick wall this time opened on an outdoor space, perfect for test flying. And that was the surprise: Tanith was buying me a broom, even before I got my driver's license.
I held the broom horizontally, a couple feet off the ground; it floated in place, ready. "Climb on," the saleswitch said, "just like a bicycle."
I climbed on. "How do I fly it?"
"It's quite simple: Lift your feet off the ground, and you're ready to fly; pull the broomstick up, and you go up; push it down, and you go down; lean forward, and you go faster; lean backwards, and you slow down; lean to either side, and you go in that direction."
With that reassurance, I tried it out. It was amazing. I felt like I belonged on a broom, flying through the air. I was a witch.
I got the broom, and a kit for routine maintenance for it.
With plenty of things to start my magickal career, we called a halt to our shopping, and went to an ice cream shop called Wicca-Licious. No magick there, just yummy treats. As I ate my hot fudge sundae, I asked, "Do I really have to keep all this secret?"
"I'm afraid it's necessary," Tanith replied. "The cowan cannot learn of our existence. Of course, there is something you can tell them."
"Really? What?"
"You can say that you've become a Wiccan. It would explain why you do your shopping here. And most people consider Wiccans to be perfectly harmless."
"I'll have to think about that; both as a cover story, and if I tell them. When's my first lesson?"
"Tonight, in your lair. At midnight: The witching hour."
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