The Memory Witch by Heather Topham Wood Page B

ready in ten minutes.”
    Stella’s dressing down of me in front of the client was my punishment for not following her rules. I simply nodded and headed out of the room. As I left, I heard Stella’s voice, “I accept your offering. I’m going to write down the spell for you now. Say these words exactly as I write them.”
    I hurried through the corridors of the house. Reviewing the list, I was relieved to find most of the ingredients consisted of oils that Stella stored on the shelves in the workroom. She had labels attached at the end of each shelf and had yet to remove them.
    I set out the last ingredient just in time as Stella breezed through the doorway of the workshop. She looked over each of the objects and announced them, “Lavender oil, sweet orange oil, lovage, cinnamon bark, lodestone, and lemon flowers.” Nodding at me, she stated flatly, “Good job.” I stayed glued to the spot and waited for her to speak. “You can go to lunch now. I’ll take things from here.”
    “Can I watch you cast?”
    Stella had never cast a spell in front of me since my arrival at Chadwick House. I suspected she was holding me at arm’s length. I don’t know if it was because she didn’t trust me fully or didn’t feel I was ready to witness her casting. “For someone so afraid to come here, it’s good to see you eager to learn.”
    I flushed at her praise. Stella usually treated me with indifference and it felt strange to hear a compliment pass her lips. When I didn’t reply, she started, “I don’t want you to know how to cast a spell just yet. Magic is dangerous and an exacting science. A poor cast can have detrimental results for you and the person you’re casting for.” The disappointment must have been clear on my face. “No worries, my dear. When you leave this house, you’ll be one of the most powerful spellcasters the world has ever seen.”
    Her proclamation made me grimace and I thought of my mother’s warnings about being seduced by magic. I felt in control and assured that I could walk away from magic at the end of the year. I had a life that I was eager to get back to.

Chapter Eleven
     
    Another week passed by and Stella permitted me to sit in on two more of her meetings. One of the requests was for a woman who needed help finding her deceased mother’s lost jewelry box. An elderly man had come to Stella for a cure for his arthritis. Stella offered up her potions and charms and sent each of her clients happily away from the estate. After the man paid his debt with the only photograph of his mother, I asked Stella about what she did with the objects offered to her.
    “Come with me,” she told me and led me down into the basement. After unlocking another door, we entered a storage room. There were metal shelves along the perimeter and at least a dozen of storage bins toppled on top of each other. Without her prompting, I walked over to one of the bins on the floor and opened it. Inside was an odd assortment of knick-knacks and photographs.
    “Anything worthwhile, I sell. I have an estate sales agent that comes once a month and gives me a quote on the objects that have been given to me. This is my sole income and how we live in such lavish luxury.” She cackled as if she was laughing at her own private joke. “Anything else, I keep down here.”
    Tears prickled my eyes and I couldn’t fully explain this sudden rush of emotion I felt over seeing people’s keepsakes collecting dust in the basement. These mementos were meaningful to someone and I wondered that maybe I did have a certain level of naïveté that I had to cast off if I was going to be a practicing witch. Magic was enticing and people were willing to part with their cherished things to possess a piece of it.
    Stella was speaking. “It doesn’t matter what happens to the offering made by the client. It can be sold, stored, thrown out, burned…” Stella’s voice trailed off. “The thing that’s important to keep the balance is