Page 1 of Herbs & Hex-breaking

CHAPTER ONE

My morning walk was my personal reset. I typically went out early in the morning a couple times a week, enjoying the relative peace and quiet—and almost no traffic—as the sun rose. As was my habit, I ended my walk at the Storyteller Fountain. Taking a moment to slow my breathing from the brisk pace I’d set, I admired the statue in the fountain of the god Pan. Surrounding him were other animals that he appeared be reading to from a book—hence the fountain’s title of storyteller.

Above me, a thin waning crescent moon was still visible in the morning sky. In the old traditions, the moon and sun seen in the sky together brought balance and harmony. For the moment I was alone in the center of the Five Points area. And so, I bowed my head in silent acknowledgment to the waning moon, the moon phase of my patron deity and namesake, the triple goddess, Hekate.

My full name is Hekate Fiona Weaver—but my friends call me Kate. I’m thirty years old, half Greek, and a business owning Witch about town. And what a town it is. My city has its ups and downs but still, I love it; there’s a unique energy here and a thriving magickal community.

Despite it being a mid-October day, it was humid and the temperatures were warm. Which wasn’t a surprise considering this was Alabama. Well used to the weather, I tightened my ponytail and swiped at the perspiration gathering on my forehead.

I headed for home, and in the distance a dog began to howl. Then a second joined in…and a third…another sign that my patron goddess was near. Despite the heat and humidity goose bumps rose on my arms.

“Thank you,” I murmured. There was extra juice in the air today, I decided. The energy might have been from the upcoming sabbat of Samhain, and the thinning of the veil. Or perhaps it was something else...

I hadn’t gone far before I spotted a couple walking towards me. Taking one look at them, I sized them up as tourists in their late sixties.

“Excuse me, Miss?” the woman called out.

“Yes?”

“We seemed to be turned around.” She laughed nervously. “We went out for an early breakfast, and I wanted to walk over and see the fountain afterward...but now we can’t seem to figure out which direction our hotel is.”

I asked her for the name of her hotel and then quickly pointed them in the correct direction.

“Oh, thank you,” she said. “It’s all so confusing the way the streets come together… There’s literally two 20th Avenues. We weren’t sure which way to go!”

“No worries,” I said.

“The fountain,” the man said, glancing back at it. “That’s a little shocking showcasing a Pagan god like that. And across the street from a church no less.”

“This is Five Points South,” I said. See how the five streets all converge at this point? They create a five-pointed star, and a crossroads with the fountain at the center.”

“Like a pentagram? Sounds like witchcraft,” the man said.

I kept my expression and my voice friendly. “Well, Birmingham is known as the ‘Magic City.’”

The woman elbowed her husband. “We noticed,” she said. “There’s a few shops clustered together in this adorable, old building. We passed them as we walked to breakfast—”

“Someone at the hotel mentioned that they were all run by Witches,” her husband interjected.

“Did they?” I asked, fighting back a grin.

The woman rolled her eyes. “Oh, for goodness sake, Greg. I peeked in the windows, the stores all looked pretty. A candle shop, and apothecary, and a bookstore all in a row... But I especially liked the one in the middle. It had a black and white striped awning. Through the windows I saw all of these herbs, spices, teas, and houseplants that were for sale. The plants were amazing from what I could see.”

“Why thank you,” I said to her. “The Apothecary Shoppe is in fact, mine.”

The couple blinked. “You own it?” the woman asked.

“I do,” I said with a smile. “I’m Kate, and we open up at ten o’clock. I hope we’ll see y’all in later.”

The woman nodded. “Ten o’clock you say? Well, I’ll be back wallet in hand. Thank you, Kate, for your help and for being so friendly to a couple of tourists.”

“My pleasure,” I told her.

The couple went on their way back in the direction of their hotel and I could hear them clearly as they walked along.

“Maybe you shouldn’t go into that shop, Julie,” the husband said.

“Oh hush, you!” The wife laughed merrily.