Chapter 13

"Oh, yeah. Something happened.", I say.

"You will not give me a straight answer, are you.", he states.

"Correct.", I answered, while pulling Jess back from running into someone.

"Mama, can Brandon, Maya, and I go to that store?", she asks.

"As long as they monitor you, then I have no problem.", I state, staring at the two.

They both nod their heads in a slight panic from my glare; smiling, I glance at Jess and mouth, behave, making her nod her head. Watching them head into the store, I look around to see if I can't find a bookstore, which I quickly find. Thankfully, it was across the way from where Jess was. Книжный магазин чудес Кумы, odd name for a store, but I'm not judging. Hopefully, it'll have what I'm looking for. Making my way towards the entrance, the cool air that's coming from the buildings doesn't sit well. Not long after, I wasn't feeling cold. Not thinking too much about it, I headed for the information center, but I didn't get far since someone stopped me.

"We don't serve half-lings."

"I just need a book and then I'll be out of your hair.", I answered.

"You don't get it do you.", they snap.

Breathing, I state, "You only serve light creatures.", then turn around and walk out.

Wanting to growl but hold it, as I continue my search for a bookstore; having gone there the whole town and not a single bookstore that serves half-lings so I head for a witch store, it's the last option I have because I doubt the institution would have the book I'm looking for. Witches sometimes don't like half-lings, I haven't asked a witch who hates half-ling since I've only met one witch; hesitantly, I knock on the door. You never know when they put a spell on it.

"Come in.", they called out.

Mentally preparing myself for when I get kicked out once again, I make my way inside. Looking around, I notice a scent that doesn't seem right but is; taking a bigger sniff, I come to detect lilac, breathing the scent in as it eases my anxiety. Nice choice to have in a store that most people would be too nervous to think straight. Continuing my way towards the front until I see the witch; coming to a stop before sitting down on the chair.

"Why has a half-ling come into my store?", she asks.

Gulping, I answer, "I'm looking for a book but I wouldn't get the help needed going to the other stores."

"What book are you looking for?", she asks.

"A book on Reda Bahar Phoenix.", I state.

The witch looks up at me, feeling slightly uncomfortable as I feel her look through my mind. Not long after, it pushed her out. She glares at me, which releases in me, shrugging my shoulders; she lets out a sigh before disappearing. Scanning the room, I noticed something moving, so I headed towards it; it's a baby rosy boa, they're one of the few viviparous, so they give birth and not lay eggs. Gently petting its head as I walk back to the seat, the baby boa curls up around my neck to get the heat that's coming from my body; the witch comes back with two books. Raising an eyebrow, she passes the books over and then starts explaining.

"The first book is about Reda Bahar Phoenix like you wanted, and the second book is dealing with your family history and whatnot."

"Thanks, how much?", I ask.

"₽14,556.56.", she says.

Handing over the two hundred dollars before heading towards the door, but before I do that, I place the snake back when the witch says to keep them. Nodding my head and saying thank you, I head back to where everyone else is. Once back in the same area as everyone else, Jess comes running over to me.

"Mama, where were you?", she asks as she stops in front of me.

"I was looking for two books but most of the bookstores wouldn't let me in.", I answered her.

"Oh… is that a boa?", she asks, getting on her tippy toes.

Nodding my head, before passing the snake over to her; her eyes go wide before a smile comes onto her face. Heading towards the vehicles and getting in; driving back was better than driving here. Jess talks to the snake while Tj and I make conversation.

"You know there are a few marks on you.", Tj states.

"What marks? If you are talking about the flower tattoo that's around my wrist that's nothing new.", I answered.

"I'm not talking about that mark, I'm talking about the marks on your face.", he says.

Confused, so I rushed to pull down the sun visor and look in the mirror to see what he was talking about, and there they were. Making the mental note to check the new book, I got to see if there's anything on these types of marks and if so, why; glancing in the rear-view mirror, I see Jess yawning as she tries to keep her eyes open, which she wasn't exceeding at all. Leaning my head back as I close my eyes as images that I don't remember happening pop up. Great, more questions than answers and I haven't even read either books to lessen the question. Sighing, I dropped my head against the window as we continued to drive in silence; either of us wanted to talk, even though we did. Feeling the car parked, I move to get everything until Tj grabs it from me then points to Jess; not having to look, knowing what I'll see. So with no words, I gently pick her up while trying not to squish the baby snake; Tj follows Maya and me to our room. Maya unlocked the door and opened it, so I went in first, heading straight for Jess's room. I lay her down before grabbing a change of clothes and changing her, then take the heating pad out. Plugging it in, then taking the snake and putting it on the heating pad before leaving.