“Well, that’s a bitch, isn’t it?”

They laughed companionably. Hard to believe she’d been terrified of this woman only last night.

“My grandmother always said that our gifts came from the Goddess, but the Goddess was far off. We shouldn’t be surprised when our gifts arrived banged up and battered. Like getting a package from Siberia, it’ll be a little worse for the wear. But better than nothing.”

Mercedes beckoned Nora to follow her with a wave of her hand. She pushed the curtain to the reading room aside and switched on an antique lamp with a green shade.

The floral scent in the shop had been coming from this room. Instead of Mardi Gras beads dangling from the ceiling, bundles of herbs were tied to crossbeams to dry.

Gmork seemed unusually alert in the reading room. He didn’t want to sit or lay down. He stood, sniffing, his ears straight up.

“Gmork? What’s wrong?”

“He smells Hestia.”

“Is that some kind of herb?”

Mercedes smiled. “She’s my cat. She’s supposed to stay upstairs, but somehow she always manages to come down here and sleep on my reading table.”

Nora noticed little black hairs on the lacy white tablecloth, where a dozen tarot decks lay in a neat row.

“You aren’t in the market for a black cat, are you?” Mercedes asked. “I have a spare. People dump them on my doorstep. Either a joke or they really think all witches have black cats as familiars.” She shook her head and clicked her tongue, tut-tutting the ways of fools.

“I’m not sure I could handle a weird dog and a weird cat. But if I change my mind, I’ll let you know.”

“Please. Hestia is much happier as an only child.”

Mercedes pulled a chair out for Nora. She sat, still studying the reading room. Shelves were stacked with books stuffed with loose papers. Impressionistic paintings of hares and harts hung on the walls.

“I like it here,” Nora said, not meaning to. The words just came out. Mercedes nodded like she wasn’t at all surprised to hear that. She took a seat opposite Nora.

“Every four days I charge the whole place, stem to stern, with good energy. I just did it yesterday, focusing on welcoming. The Goddess must have known I’d have a special guest.”

“How do you do that?”

“How does your pope bless rosaries?” Mercedes said. “Same way I imagine. You hold it, you speak words of power over it, sometimes you sprinkle it with water. I don’t know if your pope puts magical herbs in the water, but the Church used to sprinkle holy water with bunches of rue.”

Nora couldn’t deny it. She’d seen Søren himself using flowers to sprinkle holy water.

“My priest used basil,” Nora said.

“Basil’s good,” Mercedes said. “I use it in love spells. Maybe your priest wanted his people to love God more.”

“I think he just liked the scent of it.”

“Would your priest approve of you being here?” Mercedes sat back in the chair and crossed her legs. She wore an ankle-length floral-print skirt, sandals, and a white blouse embroidered with flowers at the low neckline.