Page 35 of The Lone Wolf Café
As much as I enjoyed the morning rush, I was grateful for the calm and quiet of the afternoon lull. It gave me time to clean the kitchen since I hadn’t been able to before the café opened. Aria helped me sweep the crumbs off the counter.
“Now you stay quiet in there,” I whispered to Aria as she climbed into the pocket of my dress. It was a large, flat pocket, so the little mouse had plenty of room to tuck herself in. I stillwasn’t sure if I should be interacting with her, so I wanted to keep her existence a secret from Rowena.
Although that was getting harder every day. I’d already had to bribe her with several peanuts when she helped me in the kitchen, and Rowena would eventually notice the bag getting emptier.
I brushed through the kitchen door and entered the front room of the café, where Rowena was wiping down the front counter. It was 2:15, so we had less than an hour left until closing. There were no customers in the store, and Rowena had a teapot boiling with a blend that smelled both earthy and fruity.
I closed my eyes and inhaled the scent, tapping my front pocket to ensure Aria was still hidden. The blend smelled a lot more pleasant than Earl Grey.Maybe I’d have to ask Rowena if I can try some.
I watched as Rowena pulled the teapot off the counter, pouring herself yet another cup of tea in her favorite forest-animal-patterned mug. But when I noticed her fingers hovered over the tea longer than usual, I realized now was a good time to ask about her magic.
“So, you’re an herbalist, right?”
Rowena’s head snapped up. She seemed startled by my sudden question, but she nodded.
“I was just wondering, since I learned a bit about witch magic from the other townsfolk yesterday,” I continued. “So how exactly… do you cast spells on the tea? How does it all work?”
Rowena’s features softened, and she chuckled. Despite her reserved nature, I could tell she enjoyed talking about her abilities.
“Well, herbalism isn’t really a witch power. It’s a learned skill; being able to identify different plants and know what properties they contain.” As Rowena spoke, she poured honey from a dark vial into her tea, stirring it with a tiny woodenspoon. “Even humans can learn herbalism. But among witches, chloromancers are obviously the best at it. Because not only can I identify and cultivate useful herbs, I can use my plant magic to enhance their natural properties. So, my blends are far more powerful than anything you’ll buy from an ordinary tea shop.”
“Wow. So… that’s what casting a spell is? The magic just flows from you?”
“For most powers, yes,” Rowena replied. “Most of us witches can’t just ‘cast a spell’ on anything. We just enhance the properties the object already has. True spellwork – giving ordinary objects magical abilities – is known as enchanting. It’s a tricky, complicated process, and enchanter witches are exceptionally rare.”
“Do you have an enchanter in this town?”
“Um, no, we haven’t in some time.”
“But you used to?”
I could see Rowena’s face tense up, and my stomach bunched itself up in knots. I was venturing into prying territory again, and I could see how uncomfortable it made her.
But my wolf goaded me on, hungry with intense curiosity.
“Yes. Juniper’s mother, Aster, was an enchantress.”
Aster. My gaze fell on the black beaded necklace around Rowena’s neck. Juniper had mentioned her mother gave Rowena the necklace when they were young, before she passed away. Did that mean it was enchanted?
And more importantly, what was it enchanted with?
“Was she–”
“I’m sorry, Nettie,” Rowena interrupted, clearing her throat as if to get rid of congestion. “It’s just… difficult to talk about Aster. Her death had a major impact on our community, and it’s not a topic I want to revisit right now.”
I nodded. Wolfish curiosity aside, Rowena had firmly stated her boundaries, and I needed to respect them.
Even if the newfound tidbits of information sent my mind reeling with more questions.
I decided to give Rowena space for the rest of the afternoon. The kitchen was already cleaned, so I threw myself into custodial duties in the front of the café. I grabbed a broom and dustpan from a supply closet and spent the next twenty minutes sweeping every bit of dust in the café into a neat little pile.
Aria was still in my pocket, and I could sense her frustration. She could easily have the whole place swept in a matter of minutes, but I still wasn’t willing to reveal her to Rowena.
“Nettie?”
I snapped to attention as Rowena’s voice pulled me out of my cleaning frenzy.
“Yes?” I replied.
