by Angie Cabot
Chakras were the energy centers of the body, but I couldn’t tell you what any of them meant. It wasn’t something I believed, but everyone else in the room held a different opinion.
“You’re not as amusing as you think,” Aunt Liz said.
“Blockage in the anahata is why you can’t find joy,” Zen said.
“Shallow thoughts from a shallow mind,” Aunt Liz said, and followed Carl out of the room.
When she left, Balthazar shook his head. “She’s a witch with a capital B.”
Everyone nodded.
Even the cat.
Chapter Four
I took off my coat and sat in the chair next to Sandra. Nico jumped into my lap, kneaded my legs for a moment, then stretched out and purred.
I stroked her fur.
“I’ve never seen her take to someone like that,” Balthazar said.
“Yeah,” Diana said. “Normally, she hates everyone.”
“You’re not even wearing white,” Balthazar said.
I shrugged. “Cats like me.”
“You say that now,” Balthazar said. “But if she leaves a present in your shoes, you’ll think otherwise.”
I grinned. “Somehow, I suspect you deserved it.”
Diana and Zen laughed. “She’s got your number,” Zen said.
“Not yet,” Balthazar said, “but the night is still young.”
Thankfully, Carl came downstairs and interrupted. “Would you like a glass of wine?” he asked me.
“Please,” I said.
“Red or white?”
“Red.”
“Is the old bat sleeping?” Balthazar asked.
“Just resting,” Carl said, walking to a liquor cabinet. He poured me a glass of red wine and carried it over. “For you.”
“Thank you,” I said.
“Any time,” he said, and took the chair next to me.
“Has Elizabeth always been such a…?” Diana raised a finger to her chin and squinted. She seemed to be searching for the right word.
I let the unfinished question hang in the air for a few moments, then said, “Yes.”
Diana laughed.
“But she’s a good person,” I said.
Balthazar laughed. “She hides it well. She interrupted one of my readings last week because I forgot to ring it into the cash register. If I’d wanted to cheat her out of her cut, I wouldn’t have written up the ticket.” He shook his head.
“She’s not that bad,” Sandra said.
“You’d stick up for Hitler,” Diana said.
Sandra looked at her hands, folded them and rested them in her lap.
“At least Hitler liked dogs,” Balthazar said.
“Aunt Liz likes dogs,” I said. “She had an English bulldog named Princess when I was a little girl. Every time the dog ran down the street, her hind legs scrabbled outward and she ended up loping sideways.”
“Well, she doesn’t like dogs anymore,” Balthazar said.
“It broke her heart when Princess died.”
“That woman doesn’t have a heart,” Balthazar said.
“Yes she does,” I said.
“I should probably shut my trap,” Balthazar said. “New girl might report to the evil crone that I’m saying mean things.”
I waved off his worry. “I know Aunt Liz can be a handful, but her heart is in the right place.”
“Again with the heart,” Balthazar said and swept his arm out toward everyone. “By show of hands, who here believes Elizabeth has a heart?”
I raised my hand, and Nico reached up with a paw to pull it down.
“See? Even the cat knows.”
“I think Elizabeth’s just pitta provoked,” Morgan said. “She needs to lay off the Mexican food. Too much hot pepper in her diet.”
“Enough with the Ayurveda nonsense,” Balthazar said.
“Maybe you’re pitta provoked, too,” Morgan said.
“You’ll think provoked if you keep talking.”
“Calm down, honey,” Diana said, placing a hand on Balthazar’s shoulder.
“Actually,” Morgan said, “honey would be good for him. It has a calming and healing effect. Of course, I prefer to call it madhu, but it’s all right to go with the layman terminology.”
“Time out,” I said. “Balthazar, you work at Eye of Ra, but you don’t subscribe to the benefits of an ayurvedic diet?”
“I eat what I want when I want.”
“That explains a lot,” Carl said.
Balthazar pointed at him. “Careful, Carl. Rumor has it you might be male, so I can punch you in the face.”
“Nobody is punching anybody,” Diana said.
Balthazar glared at Carl.
“I need a cigarette,” Zen said. She pushed herself to her feet. “When I come back, I hope the testosterone level has dropped back to a civilized level.” She started toward the door, but glanced back. “Anyone want to join me?”
“I will,” Carl said, starting to get up.
“You don’t smoke,” she said, motioning for him to stay in his seat.
“Nobody else here smokes, either,” Carl said. He settled back in his chair.
“Kathy, you look like a smoker,” Zen said.
I shook my head. “I quit ten years ago.”
“Join me anyway.”
I scratched Nico behind the ears. “I would, but I don’t want to disturb the cat.”
“Suit yourself.”
She left the room for a moment, then returned. “Carl, where did you put my heavy coat?”
“In the closet.”
“Thanks.”
Zen got her heavy coat from the closet, and stepped out onto the front porch.
As soon as the door closed, Balthazar leaned forward. “What do you think of Zen?” he asked me.
“She seems nice.”
“Come on. I know your aunt dished on us. What did she say about Zen?”
“She didn’t say anything about any of you to me,” I said.
Balthazar scoffed. “Fine.”
“Somehow, I think you have some choice things to say about Zen,” Diana said.
“Doesn’t everybody? I mean, she’s a vegetarian, right?”
“Yes,” Diana said.
“But she wears leather. And she smokes.”
“We all have bad habits,” Diana said.
“What’s yours?”
“You.”
He laughed. “Good answer.”
I looked around at the people, and felt alone. They tried to include me, but I was an outsider, and they didn’t trust me. And I knew Aunt Liz considered this group to be comprised of the worst full-time employees she had. I was being groomed to be manager, which meant I might have to discipline them. My stomach turned flips because, like Sandra, I hate even the thought of confrontation.
Zen returned after a few minutes. She put away her coat, and entered the drawing room. “It’s really coming down out there.”
Two young women entered the room. One was blonde, the other brunette. They wore black dresses with black shoes, and their hair was tied back. “Welcome to Bostwick Manor,” the blonde said. “My name is Emma, and I’m your cook.”
“I’m Jenn,” said the brunette. “I’ll be in charge of cleaning.”
Emma nodded. “Dinner is served.”
“Sorry, Nico,” I said. “I have to get up now.”
She meowed at me, but hopped down and wandered away.
Everyone got up and followed Emma and Jenn through a doorway, and down a short hall to a massive dining room. I was the last of the group to enter the room. My stomach growled, and I tried to see over and past everyone to see what Emma had prepared for us. I expected a nice spread of roast beef, rice, salads, mashed potatoes, vegetables, and a selection of wines.
The table had three loaves of white bread, and three open deli trays. One with meat. One with vegetables. One with a selection of sliced cheeses. A row of ketchup, mustard, and mayonnaise stood behind shakers of salt and pepper.
A stack of paper plates stood at the far end of the table. Two pitchers stood at the other end with a sleeve of plastic cups. We had two options: water or tea.
“Help yourselves,” Emma said.
“I thought you were the cook,” Diana said.
“That’s my title, but I burn water.”
“So we have to make our own sandwiches for dinner? What kind of nonsense is this?”
Aunt Liz strolled in through another entrance, carrying a large gift bag. “Good evening,” she said, setting the bag on the far end of the table. “There’s plenty of food, so dig in.”
“This is beyond insulting,” Balthazar said.
“If you don’t like what’s for dinner, you can go hungry.”
***
Balthazar took a big bite out of his sandwich, giving Aunt Liz the side-eye as he chewed and swallowed. He washed it down with a sip of tea. More side-eye, but no more words.
We all sat around the huge walnut dining room table in large chairs. Fancy place to eat sandwiches. Nobody asked about the gift bag. I wasn’t sure if she always brought gifts or not. She didn’t do that when I was a girl, but maybe this was normal. I didn’t care about the gifts; it just bothered me to be an outsider who couldn’t even guess at what was normal.
Other than Balthazar’s initial outburst, nobody complained about the sandwiches. We all ate the meal in awkward silence.
When everyone finished, Aunt Liz rose from her chair, walked around the table to where she’d set the gift bag, and as she reached inside, she said, “I brought gifts.”
“Let me guess,” Balthazar said, “plastic whistles.”
“Whistles are annoying,” Aunt Liz said.
“So are you,” Balthazar said just loud enough for everyone to hear.
Diana slapped his arm. “Be nice.”
“Because I got a cheap ham sandwich for dinner? Maybe we can have cereal for breakfast, and if we’re really good we might get some milk to pour over it.”
“Anna can get you a variety of cereal, Todd,” Aunt Liz said.
I expected him to insist she call him Balthazar, but he bit his tongue and leaned back in his chair.
Aunt Liz smiled. “Now, unless you have other complaints, I’ll pass out gifts. Any objections?”
Nobody spoke.
“Very well.” She pulled out seven pretty black ceramic boxes emblazoned with gold pentagrams, and wrapped with blue ribbons. She handed the stack of boxes to Carl. “Take one, and pass them around. They’re all the same.”
“Thank you,” Carl said.
Balthazar faked a cough and said, “Suck-up.”
Each of us got a box.
“Open them,” Aunt Liz said.
I untied the ribbon, and opened the case to reveal a double-edged steel knife.
“A bone-handled athame,” Zen said. She pronounced athame with three syllables. Aa-the-may.
I lifted my knife. It had a white handle with brass pommel and hilt. It was about ten inches long from pommel to tip.
“Be careful,” Aunt Liz said, pointing at me. “It’s sharp.”
“I can see that.”
Balthazar glanced at his knife then clapped the lid of the case closed. “The deli trays cost more than these.”
“It’s not about the price,” Aunt Liz said. “One of you is holding a murder weapon.”
“So we’re supposed to bring these to the game tomorrow night?” Carl asked.
“I don’t even want to touch it,” Sandra said, pushing the box away.
“I agree,” Morgan said. “Do we have to bring them?”
Aunt Liz folded the gift bag. “I have a few things to say before I retire to my room.”
“I can hardly wait,” Balthazar said.
“With the exception of my niece, you were all invited because you’re the employees who have been the least productive, or about whom we’ve had the most complaints, or you have personality issues that may be more than we want to have at the Eye of Ra.”
“I resent the implication,” Balthazar said.
“If we’re that bad, why don’t you just fire us?” Diana asked.
“What did I do?” Carl asked.
“I’m trying to do better,” Sandra said.
“She’s just pitta provoked,” Morgan said.
“I need a cigarette,” Zen said.
“Is this normal?” I asked.
“Last year, I brought the six best employees,” Aunt Liz said. “This year, I brought the six worst.”
“How many employees are there?” I asked.
“Twenty,” Aunt Liz said. “But for the retreats, there are only twelve considered. We only bring the psychics to these events. The other employees are merely retail.”
“So out of the twelve, how many are actually bad employees?”
“Don’t change the narrative, Katherine.”
“I’m serious, Aunt Liz. Don’t you think it’s wrong to call them the six worst?”
“I think it’s true.”
“This makes me uncomfortable,” I said.
“If you’re going to manage the store, you’re going to have to fire bad employees.”
She turned to the group.
“Not all of you will be working for the Eye of Ra by the end of this weekend. The athame will be your parting gift.”
Aunt Liz stared at me for a moment, then walked out the doorway headed in the direction of her room.
The rest of us remained at the table. They looked defeated.
“Can I ask a question?” I asked.
“Knock yourself out,” Carl said.
“Let’s go around the table. Just tell me how long you’ve worked at the store. Carl, you can start.”
“Six years,” he said.
“Two years,” Sandra said.
“Five years,” Morgan said.
“Five years,” Zen said.
“Eight years for us,” Diana said, pointing at herself and Balthazar.
“I’m so sorry she framed things the way she did. If any of you were that bad, she’d have fired you long before now.”
“John protected the employees,” Zen said.
“Who’s John?” I asked.
“He was the manager before you. His wife wanted to move to Florida, so he retired six months ago.”
“Elizabeth has been more hands-on since then,” Diana said. “Her management style is…”
“Adversarial,” Morgan said.
“At best,” Balthazar said. “I think she’s going to test your management abilities to secure your position by having you fire a few of us.”
“Or maybe all of us,” Sandra said. “I think I’m going to throw up.” She pushed herself to her feet and rushed from the room.
“I just bought a house,” Carl said. “If I lose my job, I won’t be able to afford the mortgage.”
“I can barely afford my rent now,” Morgan said.
“Most of us live paycheck to paycheck,” Zen said. “If you fire us, I don’t know what we’ll do.”
All eyes were on me.
I felt like a wounded tiger facing five angry rhinos in the wild. I wanted to go back to Denver.
“Are you going to fire us?” Zen asked.
“I don’t want to fire anyone.”
“What are you going to do?”
“I’m going to go to my room,” I said. I grabbed the case holding my knife, and left the room.
I passed through the drawing room, and climbed the steps to the second floor.
Nico sat at the top of the stairs. She meowed at me.
I leaned down to scratch behind her ears. “I want to go home, too,” I said, and headed down the hallway to my room.
When I opened the door to my room, Aunt Liz opened her door.
I glared at her, went into my room, and closed the door without even speaking to her.
She knocked once on my door, then opened it.
“I don’t want to talk to you,” I said.
“The perils of growing
up in Cassandra Springs,” Aunt Liz said. “No one listens.”
“Very funny.”
“This will be our last heart-to-heart,” Aunt Liz said. She walked over and sat down beside me.
“You hate me,” I said.
“Why do you say that?”
“Because you expect me to fire someone.”
“Part of the job.”
“I don’t want the job,” I said.
“You might not have to fire anyone this weekend,” Aunt Liz said, putting an arm around me.
“So it’s my choice?”
“The final choice is yours. And just for the record, I don’t hate you. Clara and I love you.”
“You have a strange way of showing it.”
“Offering you a job and a place to live when you’re at rock bottom?”
“By making me the enemy of everyone here.”
“There should be separation between management and employees. A little bit of fear helps with respect.”
“I’m not taking the job.”
“Think on it,” she said, and kissed my forehead the way she did when I was a little girl. “But I also want you to know that I’m proud of you, and that I love you.”
“Those sound like empty words to me,” I said.
“I’m sorry you feel that way,” she said. She gave me a hug, then got up and walked to the door. She hesitated, then turned back to me. “You’re family. I really do love you.”
I wish I’d told her that I loved her too. Instead, I said, “Yeah, right.”
It was the last time we spoke.
When I saw her the next morning, she had a bone-handled athame protruding from her heart.
Chapter Five
Balthazar found the body.
He called out, “Everyone come down to the kitchen, please!”
It was seven in the morning, and I wasn’t ready to face the world yet. I turned over, and buried my face in my pillow, hoping everyone did not include me. Nico gave a soft meow, irritated that I’d moved.
That threw me off because I didn’t remember letting her into my room.
“Now!” Balthazar yelled. “Like right now!”
I groaned when I sat up. Mornings suck. If I were God, I’d make days start at noon.
Balthazar called again.
“Be quiet,” Carl yelled. “We’re all trying to sleep.”
“Yeah? Well, one of us is never going to wake up again, so get down here now!”
