Chapter 2

Tansy Paxton arrived at The Murky Cauldron an hour before the store opened, popping on the lights as she walked through the front door. She stopped just inside the store, inhaling deeply, the stale lingering aroma of incense barely noticeable. Wanda would arrive in another thirty minutes, which gave Tansy plenty of time to do what she felt necessary, considering the chaos the small store saw over the past month.

A couple of weeks ago, she taught Sherri Rockford, or rather, Regina Hawthorn in Sherri’s body, how to perform an aura cleansing. Now, the time came to perform a cleansing for the store, purifying it of all the negativity that crossed the threshold. The Murky Cauldron needed to be rebalanced, and Tansy put it off long enough. Therefore, she came in early that morning to perform a smudging of the store to start the coven back off on the right foot.

She placed her purse on the table in the back and grabbed the wooden box off her desk. Once she walked back out at the front of the store, she placed the box on the counter and opened the lid. Stretching a cloth across the countertop, she then reached inside the box and pulled out a giant shell, about the size of her hand, with a lighter, a bundle of sage, and a feather inside. After grounding herself magically, Tansy lit the sage, allowing it to burn for a while before blowing out the flame. The sage smoldered, slight wisps of smoke twirling up into the air around her. She then circled her body with the sage, allowing the smoke to bathe her in its cleansing properties. Once satisfied with that, she took the feather and walked around the store, spreading the smoke throughout, allowing it to clear away the negative energy that had settled inside The Murky Cauldron. As she walked around the store, she repeated, “White Goddess, take away the negative energy of this place; let light and love fill this space, clearing it of all energies not welcome here.” When she finished, she returned to the front counter, placing the sage inside the shell and allowing it to sit until it burned itself out. She stood there a moment, taking several deep breaths with her eyes closed as she inhaled the soothing aroma.

After a few moments of silent meditation standing there in the light smoke, Tansy opened her eyes, smiling. It was time to start her day.

She went about setting up the store for opening, counting the cash, some last-minute dusting, and turning on the soft melodic music of wind chimes in the stereo behind the counter. She assumed Wanda would be the first person through her door, so it surprised her when Sherri Rockford entered, her shoulders drooped, lips down-turned, her hands shoved into the pockets of her ratty jeans. Tansy’s heart ached for the woman, wishing there was some way to help her move past the loss of sharing her mind and body with Regina Hawthorn. “You doing all right?” Tansy asked as she moved from behind the counter to where Sherri stood.

Sherri nodded. “It’s just weird, you know?” She moved over to the small discussion table off to the side, plopping down on one of the red velvet pillows. “For almost two weeks, Regina buzzed around inside my head, first trying to steal my body, then actually becoming a great enough friend that I was happy to share my body with her just to give her a chance at life again.”

Tansy sat down on one of the other cushions. “I can only imagine,” she said. She also thought if anyone who didn’t know what actually happened heard Sherri talking, they would draw an entirely different conclusion and not a nice one. “I truly wish we could have anchored her essence to you. As it was, Nazareth fears we still may have waited too long to send Regina on to her next life. He worries you may have suffered some type of damage with Regina’s possession.”

Sherri shrugged. She still appeared rail-thin, her body more bones than meat due to the hard life she lived before Regina took control of her body. However, Sherri kicked the drugs and was doing her best to improve her life. If only she could get past this sense of loss she felt with Regina’s death, Regina’s second death, that is. “I know it needed to be done, but it still sucks. She just got her family back, was able to see her grandson, and then it was all ripped away. It’s just not fair.”

“I know, sweetie,” Tansy said, feeling the unfairness of the loss, as well. Regina’s husband killed her twelve years ago, poisoning her, so he could marry Regina’s sister, who had been pregnant with his child. The horrific nature of Regina’s death kept her spirit from passing on to the Summerlands, turning her into a dybbuk, instead. For twelve years, she raged around Harbor City, every once in a while attempting to possess a body, so she could exact her revenge on her husband and sister. None of them lasted, most fighting her off, others dying before she could make use of their bodies, until Sherri appeared a couple of weeks ago. The two struggled at first, but then Sherri grew to understand Regina’s plight and decided to help her achieve her goals. They never received justice for Cale Hawthorn killing his wife, but Regina talked to her children and held her grandson. Her son and daughter now knew the truth of her death, which only estranged them from their father even more. In the end, it was all the Cauldron Coven could offer Regina. Sherri/Regina had been enjoying a cookout with Regina’s family when her time ran out. Nazareth had warned them it would, eventually. One of the ladies needed to surrender the body, or they would both perish. Regina refused to do that to Sherri, not after everything she did for Regina. Nazareth and Laci bought her as much time as they could for her to say her goodbyes to her children before she released her hold on Sherri’s body, passing on to the Summerlands. “She, at least, was able to tell her children goodbye. They’ll have some closure on her death, even though it’ll bring animosity between them and their father.”

“That must be frustrating,” Sherri said with a shake of her head. “Knowing he killed her, but unable to do anything about it. I would hate to be that family right now.”

Tansy gave a sad chuckle. “You and me both.” She took a deep breath, sitting up straighter, as she patted the table. “How about some tea? Wanda isn’t here yet, but I could use something warm in my stomach.”

Sherri smiled. “I’ll give you a hand.”

The two ladies moved to the back room, Tansy setting the kettle on the burner and Sherri preparing the teacups. At one point, Tansy stopped, propping herself up on the counter as she turned to look at the younger woman. “Have you made up your mind about what you’ll do next? I’d love to see you join the coven officially.” She shrugged. “You’ve already started learning magic; why quit now?”

Sherri smiled. “I’d like that, thanks.” She gave a soft shrug. “It feels good to be a part of something. The one good thing about that entire experience was how Regina and the magic purged my body of the drug addiction. I don’t intend to return to that miserable life. This will give me something on which to focus. As for what else I’ll do with my life, I have no idea. I’m not returning to the streets though.”

“Good,” Tansy said. “I’m glad to hear that.” The kettle whistled, and Tansy poured the steaming water into the teacups as an idea formed in her mind. “You know, it’s not much, but I could use a little help around here. It would, at least, get you started and offer some stability. Wanda just pitched in after Rose died to keep me from going bonkers, as well as keeping us from bringing someone new into our chaotic world.” Her grin grew as she gave a soft laugh. “You’ve already been tossed into that world full force, so there would be no surprises for you. Plus, it would give me a chance to help you along your magical journey.” She handed Sherri a teacup, steam wafting out in thin tendrils. “What do you say? You up for it?”

“Are you sure? I’ll be honest, I’ve never really held a job before, hence why I worked the streets.” She thought a moment, lifting her teacup to her nose and inhaling deeply of the aroma. As she lowered the cup, she said, “But, if you’d have me, I’d love to do it. I’ll work hard, I promise.”

Tansy smiled. “I don’t doubt it. You can start tomorrow. Saturdays are usually our busiest days, so we could use the extra pair of hands.”

“Awesome,” Sherri said, and Tansy watched as the other woman stood straighter, her eyes brightening as she smiled into her cup. “Thank you. I appreciate it, really.”

“My pleasure,” Tansy said. “You’ll be helping me more than I’ll be helping you, I assure you. We get some interesting people through here.”

The bell over the front door jingled, followed closely by Famallumi’s voice. “Hello? Is anyone here? Hello?”

Tansy giggled as she leaned over, touching Sherri’s arm. “Case in point,” Tansy said before calling out to the elf. “We’re back here, Famallumi.” Life at The Murky Cauldron was never boring.