‘That can’t be good.’

No matter what he did, John could not get his phone to turn back on. After a few minutes of growling in frustration, plugging it in with no response, and even going so far as to attempt the factory reset button combination, he threw it uselessly onto the couch cushion beside him. It was bricked.

“Great, now I need a new phone.” The gamer ran his hands through his hair as he stood. “That’s fucking perfect. One more thing to try to explain to Mom.” He snapped it back up and shoved it in his inventory. ’At least I have an excuse for missing Mom’s calls,’ John thought to himself, fighting to find the bright side of the situation. A low whisper in the back of his mind dragged him back to reality. ’But I’ll miss it if Tala tries to call.’

Muttering a stream of expletives under his breath, the lycan grabbed his jacket and shoes and marched out the door to the bus stop. He got there just as the 9:15 bus pulled up, scanned his pass, and found a seat near the back door to settle into. During the ride, he decided to use Observe on the few people sharing the public transit with him, starting with the elderly driver.

“Well, that was boring,” John grumbled, closing the window. ’At least spamming the skill might level it like it did before,’ he mused as he looked around at the other passengers. Another cast of Observe on the mousy middle-aged woman with her nose shoved in a book was almost as boring. With skill leveling in mind, John looked at a balding man in the front row that was currently using a handkerchief to mop his brow before shoving it back into the pocket of his ill-fitting grey suit.

’That guy has some serious problems. He needs a better job.’ The next passenger to Observe was one the gamer found himself actually interested in. They were a row ahead of him and something about them seemed off when he’d walked past to take his seat. He didn’t know if it was the hooded trench coat on the small figure that caught his eye or if it was the way their hood seemed to move when he wasn’t looking directly at it. After glancing again at the driver and lackey, John cast Observe on the intriguing passenger.

’What the fuck?’ He bolted upright in his seat, craning his neck to try to get a better glimpse of her as he read through the window again. ’A gorgon?’ The image of Medusa popped into his mind and he stared at the small girl. The bus hissed as it pulled up to a stop. The hair under her hood stopped undulating and Mimi stood on her seat to look back at him, a tiny snake resting on the top of her head. Her green skin looked freckled with deeper shades and her black eyes were alight with excitement.

“Hi Jawn!” she shouted at him and waved before hopping down and running out the door between them.

John stared after her, ignoring the passengers that were watching him. He wasn’t instantly turned to stone, so at least that part of the myth was apparently wrong. The small girl skipped into a candy shop as the bus pulled away from the curb.

’What the hell was that? Did nobody see what she was? Wait…‘ He jumped up to his feet, watching the candy shop as they drove away. ’Should I have followed her out?’ John turned towards his destination and bit his lip. ’My stop is only two more blocks away.’ The bus rattled to a halt for the next stop, and he grabbed at the bar near the door to steady himself as it opened. ’And how the hell did she know my name anyway?’ He was so lost in thought that he didn’t realize he’d stepped off the bus until he’d already done it. ’How much of the world around me did I never see before? How many people have I met that weren’t… human? Why doesn’t anyone notice?’ The bus doors slammed shut, startling him out of it. ‘Oh, well. I guess it can’t hurt to follow her..’ Oh a whim, he tried casting Observe on the bus itself as it revved up to drive away, but only the word “Bus” and a fuel level appeared in response.

‘Heh. Yeah, I should’ve expected that.’

John dismissed the pop-up as he took in the fresh air and made his way back towards the shop that Mimi went into. The simple brick building before him seemed normal enough and John couldn’t spot the gorgon through the windows, but after the surprise on the bus, he was ready for anything. He took in a deep breath before opening the door to find her.

The sickly sweet scent of hard candies and toffee assaulted his nose as he walked into the candy store. A batch at some point must have burned because the stench of burnt sugar was lingering in the background. The cashier behind the counter was busy counting a jar of coins, so John was free to wander through the store for a moment. He went down the few rows of shelves, stocked with candies from various brands to ones made in-store, but Mimi was nowhere to be found.

He made another round, thinking he may have just missed her, but the gamer was the only customer in the store. He grabbed a random bar from the shelf and went to the checkout. Casting Observe on the guy behind the counter produced absolutely nothing interesting other than the fact the guy was on a sugar high.

“I had you pegged for something sour.” The kid chuckled as he took John’s $2.50 and handed him a worthless penny back. “Ah well, maybe next time.”

The gamer chuckled but didn’t respond, muttering a ‘thanks’ as he grabbed the candy and walked back out the door, shoving the candy in his inventory without really looking at it. ’I didn’t see her come out of the store,’ he glanced around the few people on the street, ’but I could have missed her, I guess.’

He looked around for her one last time before giving up and headed up the street until he could see an old-fashioned wooden sign in the shape of a tombstone with a cauldron painted on it. ’That’s probably Grave Concoctions. It’s a good thing it’s right here in view; without my stupid phone for GPS, I’m not sure I’d find it on my own.’ Downtown wasn’t busy today, and for that, John was glad. The last thing he needed was to be surrounded by people when he wasn’t sure if he could control himself.

’Wolfsbane and licorice root… Wolfsbane and licorice root…’ John repeated the herbs for his tea in his head, worried about getting the wrong things. ’Will they know why I need it?’ He paused halfway down the block. ’They’re not exactly common like lavender. Wolfsbane is a poison, right?’ He chewed on his lip before he **** himself to keep going. He could feel the tension in his shoulders with every step that drew him nearer the store. ’I should have looked up other uses for it.’ He gulped, opening the door. ’Too late now…’

John found himself instantly hit with a heavy perfume of burning incense that clouded both the air and the lycan’s senses. Candles lit the dim room to supplement the meager light that filtered through the curtains on the windows. Every wall was lined with shelves of old books and dusty bottles with peeling labels written in odd languages. Along the back wall was a glass case topped with a thick slab of live edge wood polished to perfection and an old-fashioned cash register perched on one edge. A small silver bell above the door rang upon his entrance and a young woman came out of the back room to greet him. Once he was finished coughing and had managed to adapt to the potent, burning scent, John cast Observe on her.

“Welcome to Grave Concoctions where all your herbal needs be met. How can I help you?”

“Uh,” he stammered nervously as he skimmed the pop-up, a little distracted by her appearance. Emily had beautiful, pale skin, hunter green eyes, and long black hair tucked under the hood of her matching dress. It was embroidered with a red orchid and leaf pattern around the hood, with a matching band under her modest bust. The long sleeves left only her hands exposed and John could see her fitting in well in a Renaissance fair. “I was looking for a few herbs for a, uh, game.” ’Oh come on, John,’ the lycan chastised himself, pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration. ’Nobody would actually believe that.’

“Roleplayer?” She smiled softly, offering him an answer as she pulled an old-fashioned scale out from under the counter, setting it on the smooth, glossy surface.

John blinked at her in disbelief, but latched onto the excuse like a lifeline. “Yeah. Do you get many roleplayers?”

“A few,” Emily said as she turned her back to him, stretching to barely reach a high shelf and pulling down some glass bottles. The movement really pointed out to John how small she was, easily a head or so shorter than him. Even though she was petite and alone in this dimly lit room with a man she’d never met before, she seemed confident and in command of the situation utterly. She tugged her sleeves back to her wrists and smiled, setting the bottles by the scale. “Especially as summer approaches. Renaissance fairs bring in a bit of business, too.”

“So,” she looked across the counter at him,