Sortilege

Beams of sunlight streamed through the open curtains and into a small bedroom, landing on the outline of a body huddled under a mass of blankets. Only a mop of white blonde hair stuck out and began to move with a few soft groans. Lorelei Hathaway stretched before sitting up entirely. She pushed her hair out of her face and peered around the half-lit room, then stood up and padded into the kitchen to start a pot of coffee. Once brewed, she poured quite a bit of creamer and sugar into it then held her finger above the mug, twirling it slowly. A tiny mocha whirlpool was created, effectively stirring the coffee and after a few seconds, the blonde grabbed the mug and walked into her small den, curling up on a battered loveseat to check the news on her phone and knew it was going to ring a few seconds before it did, her best friend’s name popping up on the screen.

“Good morning, Sofia,” Lorelei greeted. “What’s got you up so early?” It was seven in the morning, a couple of hours before the other girl was usually scheduled to wake up.

“Eh, I don’t know. Couldn’t sleep well. Funny feeling in my stomach, you know?”

The blonde nodded. “I know what you mean. I get them all the time. It usually just means a bird is gonna fly in front of my car or something.”

Sofia laughed, “Maybe that’s what happens to you, but you know as well as I do that my gut feelings usually mean something.”

Lorelei was a special kind of young lady. She was blessed (some would say cursed) with the gift of magic. It was something she had been practicing since she was very young. Very few people knew of her ability, close friends and the little family she had left. She was extremely lucky to stumble upon Sofia during their second year in high school. She had come from Mexico City with her father and two brothers, her mother staying behind with Sofia’s three-year-old sister.

She was right about her foreboding, though. All mages had different strengths and weaknesses. Sofia’s strength happened to be premonitions. She could tell something was going to happen days before it would, even if she never got the full details until they started unfolding in front of her. Lorelei could remember the girl being a nervous wreck for a week before her mother called with the news that her grandfather had passed away.

Lorelei’s forte was charms. She could charm just about anything, whether it was as simple as making a doll dance or something a little more difficult like making it stop raining outside just long enough for her to get to her car without getting drenched.

“Anyway, you wanna go get breakfast somewhere? I’m starving. I’ve actually been up for about an hour.”

“Yeah, I could go for some hash browns right about now.”

After saying goodbye, Lorelei began getting ready. She took a quick shower and towel dried her hair. It was going to be hot outside, she already knew. It was always hot in Texas, especially San Antonio. Even at nine in the morning, the dryness in the air was tangible. By one o’clock, it would be nearly unbearable, but after living there for several years, one got used to the sweltering heat.

The witch pulled on a pair of denim shorts and a flowing tank top then tugged on a pair of ankle-high moccasins. She put a fedora on top of her messy hair then grabbed her phone, her keys and her purse and walked out of her small apartment.

The Jeep Cherokee that sat in her numbered parking spot was a model from 1993 and was navy blue with wood paneling on the sides. It needed tune ups here and there but was otherwise a reliable vehicle. It had belonged to her father and made her smile every time she climbed into it.

Sofia had told her to meet her at a little café on the Riverwalk. It wouldn’t be busy so early in the morning and even if it was, their breakfasts were to die for.

It was a good twenty minute drive, but it was well worth it when she finally hugged her best friend and sat down with a plate of hash browns and a tasty parfait. It had only been a couple of days since they had seen each other, but they still found things to talk about—how Sofia’s mother and sister were doing, what her brothers were arguing about these days, the cute boy from her anthropology class last semester that had been texting her recently.

Lorelei didn’t have much to talk about, though. Sofia was really her only real friend, her and Dickens, a sort of familiar to her. Most of the time he came to her as a crow and other times as a cat. Whatever form he took, she could always tell it was him because of his energy. Other than that, she didn’t have any really close family aside from her batty Aunt Ivey who lived in Colorado and called her every few weeks. She too was a witch with strength in potion making. Lorelei wished she could spend more time with her, but Colorado was just so far away.

As the sun rose higher, the hotter and brighter it got. Neither of the girls really minded, just donned their sunglasses and continued talking. It wasn’t like Lorelei didn’t need the sun anyway. After living in the near desert city for seven years, the blonde still managed to remain pretty pale.

A shadow fell over the two girls and they looked up to see a tall, dark man with light eyes. He stood and stared at the two for a few seconds before Sofia finally piped up, “Uh, can we help you with something?”

“Yes,” he said firmly and turned his gaze to Lorelei. “I have a message for you.”

“From who?” She frowned, hair rising on the back of her neck.

“Theodore and Seneca.” The blonde’s breath caught in her throat at hearing the names. Her parents. “They told me to tell you… Help them.”

As soon as the words left his mouth, the man’s eyes rolled into the back of his head and he collapsed.

“Holy shit,” Sofia was on the ground next to him in an instant. Lorelei stood still. Her heart was pounding furiously in her chest. The hairs on her arms were standing on end. She didn’t understand what was happening. What the stranger said wasn’t even possible.

“Lorelei,” she could vaguely hear Sofia calling her name. “Lorelei! Call 911, god dammit!”

A small crowd began to gather, encircling the three of them. The blonde shook her head and grabbed her phone off the table to call.

“911, what’s your emergency?”

“Yes, uh, we just, uh, a man just collapsed at the restaurant we’re at. It’s Café de Rosa on the Riverwalk.”

“Okay, we’ll send an ambulance right away. Can you check for a pulse?”

“I, uh… here,” Lorelei handed the phone to Sofia then ran her fingers down her face.

This couldn’t be happening. This could not be happening. Theo and Seneca Hathaway had both died in a house fire six years ago. There was nothing left of them. There was no way that her parents were still alive or needed her help. That’s all she had wanted to do back then, but she was too late.