After the girls had received their hot chocolate they walked down the main street, taking in everything the winter market had to offer. Alice stopped once or twice at the jewelry stands, tempted by the skillfully crafted necklaces and bracelets. Here and there they passed an obviously magic stand, the items for sale wrapped in layers of threads that shone brightly through the snow. This was so obvious to Alice that it was a wonder the non-magical people (or Regs, as everyone insisted on calling them) that walked past didn’t spot it. At the very end of the street there was a crowd gathering, as a pair of tall women in matching black dresses began to set up some kind of street show.

                Alice and Maya joined the crowd just as the first woman held up a pair of sticks and carefully waved a lighter beneath the ends. The flames caught quickly, and the woman straightened and passed the lighter to her partner. Then she stood back and began to spin the sticks hand over hand, creating a constant flow of orange rings around her head and shoulders, fire that cut through the glistening snowflakes and dissolved them in a sizzle of heat and light. Alice watched the spectacle in awe, even more impressed when the second woman began spinning, matching her partner’s movements exactly. It was almost like a dance.  Dancing with fire.

                She was completely mesmerized, and felt it had only been seconds when the women stopped and bowed low, letting their sticks drop into the snow to extinguish the fire. Maya glanced down at her watch and said, “Wow, it’s been twenty minutes already. I guess we should head back soon.”

                Alice tried to take another sip of her hot chocolate only to find the cup empty, “alright, let’s go back.” She felt more relaxed now. There’d been something calming about watching the fire spinners, something about it felt as though it had wiped her mind completely blank, and now she could start over and feel whatever she wanted to.

                Maya was giving her a sideways look, “you look more cheerful.”

                Alice smiled at her, “I am. Thanks for dragging me here, this was fun, and I actually feel way better.”

                “Good,” Maya paused to throw her empty cup into a garbage can as they were passing, “I’m glad. You just needed something to take your mind off it for long enough to gain a little perspective.”

                “I think you’re right,” Alice chucked her paper cup in, heard it hit the rim and kept walking, “I’m not mad at Altair anymore, since it wasn’t his fault. But I can’t guarantee I won’t slug Sara again if she has the nerve to come back into my shop.”

                “You could turn her into something really horrible,” Maya giggled.

                “A toad,” Alice mused, “or a ferret.”

                “I think she would suit a ferret.”

                They were rounding the corner now, and Alice caught sight of the shop windows, the soft glow of the threads strung over the roof like multi-colored Christmas garlands, the light bathing the top shelves of magical items in flickering rainbow lights. There was movement in the shop, someone walking back and forth past the windows, and when they got closer Alice could see it was Altair. He was pacing back and forth, chewing on his fingernails and glancing up at the far wall every now and then, in the direction of the big clock on the wall.

                She suddenly felt horrible.

                Behind her Maya said softly, “I guess you two will want some privacy?”

                “I…yes, I think so. It’s okay, we’ll go to the coffee shop.” The bell over the door jangled as she pushed through, and Altair stopped in his tracks, blue eyes wide. His mouth worked like he was about to say something but nothing came out. Maya scurried into the back room as fast as she could go.

                Alice took a deep breath, “let’s go somewhere, to the coffee shop?”

                Altair hesitated, then he nodded, and Alice turned and opened the door again, waiting for Altair to pass by her before she let the door swing shut.

                Once they were out on the sidewalk he turned abruptly and blurted, “are you breaking up with me?”

                Alice’s mouth dropped. Had he really been agonizing over that all along? She felt a flood of guilt rush through her suddenly, “No, God no!”

                He actually shut his eyes and took a deep breath, “alright, good. Look, I’m really sorry…” he trailed off when Alice stuck her hand up.

                “No, wait. Altair, I want to say something. It wasn’t your fault. I realize that. A love spell is a hard thing to resist.”

                His breath came in white clouds when he spoke, “it wasn’t a love spell.”

                She stared, feeling confused, “but…she kissed you. How can…what else could it have been?”

                “I don’t know what kind of spell it was, all I know was that it made her look like you.”

                Alice stared at him in shock, unable to even form words.

                He continued, “It was unreal. I came out of the store and there you were on the sidewalk. You came up to me and kissed me.”

                She struggled to make sense of it, “but…when I saw you, you pushed her away.”

                Altair nodded, “because after you…she…started kissing me, I realized something was wrong. She looked like you and even tried to act like you, but when she was that close it took me a few seconds to realize…but she didn’t smell like you. So I knew something was wrong.”

                Alice took a step closer, heart hammering in her throat. Her eyes were watering slightly, “you knew it wasn’t me.”

                Altair reached out and took her hand gently, and she didn’t pull away, “I knew. I just wish it hadn’t taken me that long. I wish that hadn’t happened.”

                Alice stepped in close and wrapped her arms around his waist, feeling him almost sag against her with relief. His arms came around her so tightly it nearly knocked the breath out of her.

                She lay her head against his chest, against the textured fabric of his sweater, inhaling the familiar scent of spices, “What do I smell like?”

                He kissed the top of her head and murmured into her hair, “You smell like Irish soap, and that peppermint shampoo you use.”

                “Do you like it?” She knew they must look odd, the way they were standing in the middle of the sidewalk clutching one another as if the world were ending, but she didn’t care. All that mattered was the feeling of his arms around her.

                “I love it. There is no better smell. You smell like springtime.”

                Alice tilted her head back to look at him, “I had no idea you were such a poet.”

                Finally that easy grin was back. She loved how it made his blue eyes crinkle at the corners, “Well, it’s easy when I have you to inspire me.”

                “Do you still want to go for coffee?” Alice said.

                Altair surprised her by placing one hand on her neck and kissing her deeply. It sent shivers all through her.

                His voice was the slightest bit ragged when they pulled apart, “I think we should go upstairs.”

                Alice grinned, gripping his hand tightly as they turned for the door. The tinkle of the bell sounded, but before she could follow Altair inside…

                A rush of footsteps on the sidewalk behind her, and something heavy landed on her left shoulder. Alice opened her mouth to scream. Something – scratchy wool it felt like – was shoved over her mouth and nose, and she thrashed against a pair of restraining arms.

                Altair was a blur in the doorway as he turned around, face registering shock. Before he could move Alice found herself pressed hard against a man’s chest, a thick arm encased in a black sleeve was pressing in on her throat so hard she could barely breath. Someone hissed close to her ear,

                “Don’t do anything stupid.”

                If she strained her eyes downward, toward his arm, she could see a number of pulsing threads of magic looping around her neck. She could feel them now, buzzing with a fierce, dark energy.

                His voice made his chest rumble as he spoke louder, this time to Altair, “You can’t see it, Reg, but I have several strands of deadly magic around her neck. I’ll kill her if you move.”

                Altair’s lips thinned, and when he finally spoke his voice was a low, shaky growl “What do you want?”

                “It’s not what I want,” the man’s voice was almost apologetic, “it’s what she wants.”

                Altair’s eyes widened, “I recognize you, you’re the one who came asking about spiders.”

                “Ekile…” Alice croaked out, and felt the man shift at her back, “you work for Athena.”

                Before anyone could speak again, there was movement in the shop just behind Altair, and Alice spotted Shakra as she darted past the window. Ekile El’ Shem’s arm tightened around her throat, the magic pressed closer, sending a dirty, creeping feeling across her skin.

                “Don’t come any further, Shakra” Ekile called out, and Shakra halted just behind Altair in the doorway, her face pale.

                Alice felt herself dragged backwards as the man began to back down the sidewalk, “It’s not you she wants anymore,” he called, “you’re free to go. It’s just the girl she wants now.”

                Shakra stepped past Altair, her lips were pressed tight together. Alice had never seen her so furious, “She’s tired to me so fast. Gods are such fickle creatures.”

                Alice dragged her feet as he tried to pull her away. She couldn’t let him get too far away from the shop entrance. She thought about fighting off the magic that was looped around her neck, but she didn’t have any magic of her own out here, and there was something slimy and cold about his magic that made her reluctant to touch it. She had to get hold of magic somehow.

                Alice arched her back, pretending to struggle, managing to peer over her shoulder before Ekile tightened his grip and hissed, “don’t wiggle around so much, Athena wants you undamaged.”

                She went limp in his grasp and let him drag her further down the street. They were about to pass “The Scribe” a stationary store that sold enchanted quills and ink. She’d spotted several long strings of magic clinging to the awning over the store front. When they went underneath it, she’d try to pull one down before he could close the dark magic around her throat.