The next morning Alice and Maya left the others to watch the shop, trudging across the icy street they headed for the bright awning of a café on the corner, breath rising in silver clouds over their heads as they talked.

                “It’s so beautiful and quiet in the morning,” Maya was saying. “There aren’t even any cars on the street.”

                Alice nodded. It was just growing light outside, and the street lamps were still on, casting a glow over the street, illuminated the snowflakes falling around them. The shop lights were just starting to come on one at a time, shedding beckoning yellow light onto the sidewalk. The café looked especially inviting with its cheerful wide windows and lit up displays of coffee beans and tea bags inside them. She pulled her scarf tighter around her neck, glad that she’d dressed in layers that morning.

                “I wonder if the shop will be magic,” Maya said, and they both paused in front of the red awning over the shop front, which proclaimed in scrolling golden words that it was “The Witch’s Cup”.

                “I would think so,” Alice grinned. She walked up the steps and pushed open the front door, which triggered a happy sounding chime. The strong scent of fresh coffee filled the shop, and Alice inhaled deeply,

                “Oh, I need whatever that is.”

Maya was looking around in delight, “it’s so quaint in here! I’ll have to show it to Gabriel tomorrow, he’ll love it.”

The insides were done in dark brown and cream. There was a crackling fireplace in one corner with several large leather arm chairs in front of it, and just beyond that a bar along the wall with stools. Several people sat at the bar, reading newspapers and talking quietly to one another.

“Let’s get our drinks and sit by the fire.” Maya tilted her head back to look at the chalk boards on the wall above the counter. “Oh, maybe I’ll get a hot chocolate.”

The woman behind the counter regarded Alice with enormous brown eyes, “What’ll it be, sweetheart?”

She couldn’t help but notice that the barista’s explosively frizzy brown hair and massive eyes made her look as though she’d just stuck her finger in a wall socket. “Um, I’ll have a hazelnut coffee please.”

“Alrighty,” the woman looked at Maya, who in turn looked a little startled, “and you?”

Maya blinked, switching her gaze to the board behind the woman’s head, obviously trying not to stare at the explosive hair. Alice hid a smile behind one hand.

“I’ll have a hot chocolate please, with whip cream.”

“Coming up,” the barista punched something into the till and yelled the order over her shoulder to her coworker, a mousy blonde boy that Alice hadn’t even noticed until then. “Andrew! A hazelnut and a hot chocolate!” she turned back abruptly, eyes fixed on Alice, “hey, I recognize you. Aren’t you Alice Cunningham? The one who owns Threads?”

She could never get used to the fact that everyone always seemed to know who she was. “Yes, I am, nice to meet you.”

“I’m Jen,” the frizzy haired woman stuck her hand out and shook Alice’s enthusiastically, “you were in Witch Weekly a while ago. Did you really date that pop star, the one who went missing?”

“No,” Alice shifted uncomfortably, “we never dated. Witch Weekly tends to just say whatever will best sell copies. I went to a few of his parties, that’s all.”

Jen looked a little disappointed, then she smiled again, “Well, it’s still cool that you’re here in Jasper. I hear you’re a pretty powerful sorceress, that’s so cool. Did you really throw a guy across a coffee shop in New York and knock down half the shop?”

Alice sighed. Every time she heard that story it grew more ridiculous. “Sort of, it’s a long story.”

“So cool,” Jen grinned, and then turned and grabbed two steaming cups from the timid blonde boy, who was regarding Alice from underneath shaggy blonde bangs. “Andrew, this is Alice Cunningham. Cool, huh?”

Andrew just stared at her with his jaw hanging open, and Alice took the cups, feeling awkward. “Well, it was nice to meet you both.” She turned away and spotted Maya practically twitching as she tried to contain her laughter. “Wipe that look off your face,” Alice grumbled, “come on, let’s take refuge by the fire. I claim the one facing away from them.”

“He was looking at you like you were a rock star or something,” Maya took the hot chocolate from her and sat down in the seat nearest to the fire.

“I have no idea why,” Alice took the chair opposite her friend, leaned over her coffee and inhaled, appreciating the smell of hazelnut. “Mm, so good.” They were silent for a moment, enjoying the crack and pop of the fire and the soft jazz music that was playing. Alice couldn’t help but think about what Jen had said, about Ambrose going missing.

Could anyone link his disappearance to her? She took a sip of the coffee and winced. Still too hot. Even if anyone did link her to it, it probably didn’t matter. One of the things that bothered her most about the magical community was the “mind your own business” attitude. The system seemed to be very loose, with the councils for magic in each city simply looking the other way unless it involved the mistreatment of “regs” or risked someone revealing their way of life. How ironic, that the very thing that bothered her so much was now saving her. If it were being treated like a disappearance in the reg world, with police involvement and investigation, then she’d be in trouble. People had seen her storm into his mansion; they’d seen him leave with her. He never came back. It didn’t take a genius to figure it out. But apparently nobody cared. For all his fame and wealth, nobody seemed to give a crap that Alexie Ambrose had simply vanished. Sure, it was in the trash magazines like “Witch”, but no one was taking it seriously. Maybe they all expected him to just show up again a few months later with a tan, claiming he’d been in the Caribbean or something. Most likely they were distracted with a new and shiny pop star and honestly didn’t care what had happened to him.

“Alice Cunningham?”

The voice was familiar, and Alice looked up to see a woman sitting at the bar just beyond the fire had turned around on her stool and was waving at them. The firelight glinted off the golden wire of her spectacles, and her curly hair was done up in a bun this time, but she recognized the strange woman who’d been so obsessed over her necklace.

“Abby?” Alice felt her mouth drop open, “what are you doing here in Jasper?” Her fingers tightened on the arm rest of the chair. Had the woman followed her here all the way from Prauge?

Abby was walking over, smiling from ear to ear. . “I’m so excited to see you here, that’s so crazy that you came into the same café as me!”

Apprehension was growing, making her chest tight. There was something distinctly wrong about this woman that she couldn’t put a finger on. She tried to make her voice sound polite, “What brings you to Jasper?”

Abby actually ducked her head and blushed slightly. She looked up and adjusted her spectacles in a nervous gesture, “Can I be perfectly honest with you? It’s embarrassing, but…I’m a big fan.”

A fan? Alice tried not to look incredulous. Abby pressed on, her cheeks red. “I have every magazine you’ve been in. I’ve heard all about you…” she leaned forward, eyes intense, and Alice had to resist the urge to press back into the leather seat. “I have a theory about you….and Ambrose.”

Alice clutched the coffee cup tightly, “I beg your pardon?”

The woman’s voice was nearly a whisper now, “It’s okay. I suspect Ambrose was on the same level as pond scum. I’ve heard the rumors. I’m sure you did the world a service. How did you do it?” Abby’s eyes were alight, drilling into Alice with an intensity she found extremely disturbing.

She took a deep breath and said sternly, “I’m not sure what you’re talking about, and you’ll excuse me if I’m a little critical about you being such a big fan. You were a little…strange, the last time I met you. To say the least.”

Abby’s hand flew to her mouth, “Was I? Oh dear, I’m so sorry. Sometimes when I get too deep into my magic I get a little crazy. I say things that make no sense. I had just been practicing before I went into your shop. I hope I didn’t say anything completely insane,” she laughed, and there was something strange about that too. Something that sent a shiver down Alice’s back. The laughter had an edge to it. Madness? Cruelty? She decided that whoever this woman was, she didn’t like her one bit.

“You didn’t answer my question,” she couldn’t seem to keep the hard edge out of her voice.

Abby smiled brightly, apparently completely oblivious, “I heard you were here. I have a cousin who lives here and word of mouth spreads extremely fast. I just had to come meet you properly. I wanted to talk to you for longer this time.”

“Well, we’ve talked,” Alice stood up, abandoning her coffee, “lovely to meet you, I’m afraid we have to go now.”

Maya stood up without protest, her eyes wide. Abby looked downcast, but Alice could swear her mouth had twitched on one side as if she were trying to suppress a smile. This woman gave her the creeps.

                “Goodbye Alice,” Abby said, “hope to run into you again soon.”

                Alice mumbled something that could have been interpreted as agreement, and turned on her heel, stalking towards the door with Maya hurrying to follow. It wasn’t until they were outside, standing on the snowy sidewalk again, that she felt she could breathe properly once more.

                “Wait,” she seized Maya’s arm as her friend started to walk back down the street. “let’s duck in here.”

                “Why?” Maya allowed Alice to tow her into the next shop, ducking inside quickly and banging the door shut behind them. Together they peered out the little glass oval that was cut into the door.

                “I want to see if she goes out right after us.” Alice’s breath was fogging up the pane.

                Sure enough, seconds later Abby emerged from the Witch’s Cup, pulling a red knit cap over her curly hair. She shoved her hands into the pockets of the winter jacket she wore and marched off down the street, puffs of frozen breath trailing behind her. She was heading straight for Threads.

                “I knew it,” Alice said fiercely, “there’s something I don’t like about her. There’s something strange going on.”

                They watched as Abby paused on the sidewalk just in front of Threads, rubbing at her arms for warmth. After another second or so of peering into the window, the woman turned and walked away, around the corner and out of sight.

                “She’s gone,” Maya said, “maybe she just wanted to see if you were inside. Maybe she really is just a fanatic. A witch who idolizes you.”

                Alice bit her lip. Maybe she was right. Was she simply paranoid from all that had happened lately? After all, that Jen woman, the barista…she’d been almost as crazy. But that still didn’t excuse Abby’s weird behavior when she’d first met her, the fixation on the necklace. Alice fingered the slim twist of bone on the cord around her neck. But at the coffee shop Abby hadn’t looked at the thing once! Could her story about acting crazy from using magic really be true? It sounded like utter rubbish.  What was going on? She wished there was a way to find out more about the necklace. But the woman who'd sold it to her hadn't seemed to know much.

                “I’ll ask Azura and Shakra what they make of her behavior.”

                A voice spoke up from behind them, “Can I help you ladies with anything?”

                Alice whirled around, face flushed. The shop owner was behind the counter, regarding the two girls with amusement. She couldn’t have been much older than Alice, a girl with black hair and purple bangs. Her nose was pierced with a silver hoop and her eyes were outlined with thick black liner. There was something vaguely familiar about her….

                Alice wracked her brains, but couldn’t match the face with a name. Had she met her somewhere before? The girl was staring back at her, and now she quirked one black brow at Alice, who realized with a start that she’d been staring for several seconds now.

                “Oh, dear! I’m sorry, it’s just….do I recognize you? I’m sure I’ve seen you somewhere before.”

                The girl gave her an easy grin, “Well I do have a familiar face. Tend to remind everyone of their cousin and best friend’s friend and that sort of thing.”

                Alice actually looked around for the first time since they’d darted inside the shop. They were surrounded completely by books. Shelves and shelves stretching up to the ceiling, towering over them. Rolling ladders were attached here and there, and anywhere there was a bare spot not occupied by rows of books there were old globes, world maps pinned to the wall and dusty ships in bottles.

                “Wow,” Alice breathed, “that’s a lot of books.”

                “You know what,” the girl came around the desk, walking closer, boots clicking on the hardwood. She was dressed rather oddly, in a ruffled shirt and a black corset. “I believe you’re right. I recognize you from somewhere as well.” She snapped her fingers suddenly, “you been to New York last year?”

                It hit her then. The girl who’d stood in the corner and entertained people at Ambrose’s ball by shifting into the people around her and mimicking their actions. Alice’s mouth dropped open, “Wait, I think I know! Are you a shifter?”

                A smile spread across the girl’s face, “That’s me.”

                “Ambrose’s ball,” Alice pointed at her, “you were changing into people,” she grinned, “you were quite funny.”

                “Well thanks, I’m Erica.” 

                “Alice,” she offered her hand and Erica shook it enthusiastically.

                “Charmed,” she waved a hand at the shop around her, “take a look. Pop into a book if you like, I don’t charge or anything if you want to test them out.”

                Alice’s mouth dropped open, “Sorry?”

                Erica laughed, “You’ve never experienced a spelled book before?”

                Alice shook her head, and Maya said, eyes shining, “You mean, you can actually go inside the story?”

                “You bet! Here, I’ll pick one out for you, a nice easy one at first. Come on,” Erica waved them to follow her, and they walked deeper into the bookstore, which smelled of leather and musty  yellowed pages. Alice looked around in awe, the bookstore was huge, far bigger than it looked from the outside.

                “Here we are,” Erica stopped at a section labeled “Fairy Tales”. She said, “Pick whatever you like.”

                Alice ran her fingers over the spines of the old books, feeling the different textures of leather and cloth bindings. The titles flew past, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, Rapunzel…

                “So, we just go inside? Inside anything we want?”

                “That’s right,” Erica leaned against the edge of the book shelf, grinning at the girl’s stunned expressions, “the books are bound with magic. You just open the book and away you go, to get out, you say the key word written on the outside corner of each book. Just make sure you take a look at that before you open it,” she ran a hand lovingly over the old books, “you don’t want to be forever stuck in wonderland, if you know what I mean.”

                Alice stared at the titles again. Which one should she choose?

No seriously, guys....which one should she choose?