Change by Keeley Smith Read Free Book Online Page A

with ‘I’m
sorry’ from every person who knew her mother, or from the people
who knew her? This village was small, so that meant someone was
bound to say something about her mother’s death.
    Tabitha was
opening the blinds, allowing much needed light to filter in which
highlighted the amount of dust that had gathered on the bookcases.
Her usual annoyance at seeing the dust didn’t rise up. At least she
would be busy. Tabitha turned the sign around on the door. There
was no going back now. Taking a deep breath, she made her way to
the little room where she would find the duster.
     
     
    *
     
    Cora had seen
a steady stream of customers throughout the day, only Mrs Rogers,
the obsessive sex lady, had asked if she was okay and how she was
coping. Mrs Rogers’ pale green eyes had offered her genuine
sympathy which Cora appreciated. A tiny smile had touched Cora’s
lips because it was kind of the woman to think of her. She’d grown
used to Mrs Rogers and her kooky ways so she appreciated the
support.
    Tabitha had
left her to her own devices most of the day, because she’d needed
to purchase a lot of Valentine’s Day stock. This meant that Tabitha
was either walking with the phone stuck to her ear, or the old
stone they called a laptop was in her hands.
    She followed
the last customer out of the door and started lugging in the
decrepit witches that stood on the pavement outside the shop. This
was one part of the day where she wished she could openly use her
element. She dropped the last of the witches on the top step and
pushed them aside into the corner. Heading to the little room, she
locked the windows and heard the chime above the door.
    Cora stood for
a moment with her hands on her hips as her brain flicked back over
her previous steps. She’d locked the door, hadn’t she? Retracing
the steps in her head, she recalled that she’d moved the witches
and walked to the door, she must have locked it? Obviously not. Was
Tabitha still in the shop? She opened her mouth to call for
Tabitha, but before she could speak she was interrupted.
    “ May I help
you?” Tabitha asked.
    So, Tabitha
was in the shop.
    “ A’m haur tae
see the wee lassie.”
    Cora’s spine
straightened at the sound of an unfamiliar name. The wee lassie could only
refer to her. She recognised the accent, it was hard not to, but
she couldn’t remember if she knew anyone who lived in Scotland. She
blamed the memory potion that Tabitha had given her. Had he found
out about her mother’s death? Had he wanted to come to the
funeral?
    “ Could you
tell me what it is about?” Tabitha asked politely.
    “ Am afraid A
cannae dae that.”
    Cora took a
deep breath and walked into the shop to face the
stranger.
    The man had
quite a long, drawn out skinny face that was hounded by wrinkles.
His brown hair, thinning in places, was tied into a loose ponytail
at his neck. His blue eyes latched onto her and followed her every
movement until she came to a stop next to Tabitha. “I believe I’m
the person you wish to speak to?”
    “ Aye, are yer
Cora?”
    “ Yes.”
    “ The leader of
yer coven?”
    “ Yes.”
    “ Nice tae meit
yer lassie. Ma name is Alastair.” He nodded his head and smiled,
his face exploding with more wrinkles.
    “ A’ve come tae
talk aboot the Corenthio Coven.”
    Her heart
stopped beating at the mention of the Coven. She panicked and
backed away from this stranger. She knew that she'd have to face
some consequences for their actions, eventually. For some reason
everything they did always came back to bite them on the ass.
Obviously, the deaths of her mother and Clio hadn’t been punishment
enough. This couldn’t be happening.
    Tabitha
shifted her body to stand protectively in front of her. Alastair
understood the meaning behind such a move, and Cora saw it register
in his eyes.
    “ Ach nae. I
dinnae come haur tae bicker. A’m fair puggled after the wee
journey, cud we sit?
    “ Yes, of
course,” Tabitha said.
    Whilst