Chapter 2

The Desire
 “I-I’ve been feeling tired lately, worn out. I’m not sure why. I haven’t increased my workload, things at home are fine, but I cannot seem to shake this exhaustion. I’ve been to doctors and they tell me the same exact thing over and over. Nothing is wrong, it is just stress and nothing more. But-”

“But you disagree.” While she had been talking I looked her over once more with my senses opened. It’s a trick I’ve picked up over the years. If you open your senses you can see much more than what is on the surface.

Looking at her again I could see what she meant. A person’s aura, their lifeline, their soul, is a shifting mass of vibrant color and sparks. Usually you can tell a person’s general mood after a quick glance and if you’re really good can tell minute details.

There was definitely something wrong with her aura. Like I said, usually it is a mass of vibrant color. It can be a darker around the edges if in a really bad mood or depressed but Victoria’s was washed out. It was as if someone poured pastel coloring around her figure. This was worrying.

And interesting.

I had never seen the like of this before. I had to consult my books for confirmation but it was as if something was sucking the vibrancy out of her. In the meantime, she had to make do with what I had on hand. My mind raced, going through the many items I had here in the shop.

I blinked once to clear my vision and belatedly realized Victoria had stopped talking and was staring at me warily.

     “Stay here a minute Victoria, I’ll only be but a moment.” I heard her let out something between a gasp and a scoff whilst I turned to go into the back of the shop. I’m pretty sure I was mumbling aloud, going through the various items in my inventory. “No, no, that’s too gaudy, that’s too powerful, that would turn her hand into a muppet. What about this? No, that would turn her brain into swiss cheese. Eureka!”

I emerged from the darkness in a manner that was apparently too stealthy for Victoria as she started from my appearance. This hardly hindered my growing fervor. I handed her what I hand found. It was a necklace, a silver and pearl cross I had acquired recently. It wasn’t gaudy enough to stand out from what she usually wore and the enchantment I had placed on it would slow the process down enough for me to find a more permanent solution.

“Wear this. It will suffice for now, but bear in mind that this is only a temporary solution. You should return tomorrow, especially if this fatigue continues.”

She stared at me in bewilderment and slight alarm. I went back over the instructions in my head and realized that I had probably spoken a bit too quickly. I repeated the instructions, slower this time, and she had nodded and left.

Almost before she had reached the door I had retreated into my library, only pausing to scoop up Dion (the cat in case you’ve forgotten her). I had so much research to do and little time to do it. I could feel the fierce grin nearly splitting my cheeks. I knew this would be fun.