{"id":7368,"date":"2016-11-09T11:45:27","date_gmt":"2016-11-09T18:45:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jerseydevilpress.com\/?page_id=7368"},"modified":"2016-11-09T11:45:27","modified_gmt":"2016-11-09T18:45:27","slug":"the-elixir-witch","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/www.jerseydevilpress.com\/?page_id=7368","title":{"rendered":"The Elixir Witch"},"content":{"rendered":"

Rachael Sterling<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The Elixir Witch only accepted three forms of payment: IOUs, heirlooms, and secrets. I\u2019d heard the stories — how Mrs. Johnson paid with an IOU and the Elixir Witch collected her left pinky finger a week later. How Mr. Figueroa paid with his family\u2019s Virgin Mary oil painting and afterward, how his abuela haunted him nightly, painting her naked body and crying over his paralyzed form until dawn.<\/p>\n

I knew the risks.<\/p>\n

The Elixir Witch didn\u2019t have a shop. No storefront full of clinking potion bottles or bubbling cauldrons. She had to be summoned. And thanks to Mrs. Johnson and Mr. Figueroa, I knew how. The Elixir Witch could be summoned, quite simply and efficiently, by declaring one\u2019s intent to provide any of the three forms of payment.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wish to pay,\u201d I said to my bathroom mirror, \u201cone secret.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMaya,\u201d the Elixir Witch said, pushing the shower curtain aside. She stepped out of the tub, balancing her tray of potion bottles on one hand. She wore black, but not in the gothic Wiccan way or even in the traditional Halloween way. It was the classic, little-black-dress way. Clean lines and sharp stilettos.<\/p>\n

\u201cElixir Witch,\u201d I said, \u201cthank you for coming.\u201d It was good manners to thank the Elixir Witch before a transaction, but also just good sense. She tapped her metallic nails against the countertop.<\/p>\n

\u201cMaya,\u201d she said again, arching her manicured eyebrow. \u201cWhich elixir would you like? Cupid\u2019s Arrow? Hell Hath No Fury?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe both know the elixirs don\u2019t work on you,\u201d I said. \u201cWhat would I do with Love or Revenge potions?\u201d<\/p>\n

She gave an exaggerated sigh. \u201cSo what then?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIgnorance Is Bliss.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her eyes glinted and her lip curled in disgust.<\/p>\n

\u201cOnly the weak wish to forget,\u201d she said. But I knew she couldn\u2019t refuse service. Not if I had adequate payment.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou think I care what you think of me?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTell me your secret,\u201d she demanded. I opened my mouth to speak, but she cried, \u201cWait!\u201d and for a split second, I let myself hope. \u201cAll sales are final,\u201d she said with a cruel smile. \u201cNo refunds. No exchanges.\u201d<\/p>\n

I nodded and looked her straight in the eye.<\/p>\n

\u201cI faked it at least three times with you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her eyes narrowed, but when she spoke it was clipped and business-like. \u201cYour secret ranks 2 on measures of Shame and Consequence — well below adequate. But it ranks 5 for Cruelty.\u201d She handed me a tiny crystal bottle of cloudy liquid. \u201cPayment accepted.\u201d<\/p>\n

Then she was gone. Technically, she stepped back into the tub and pulled the curtain shut with a flourish, but I knew that if I were to pull the curtain back again, she wouldn\u2019t be there.<\/p>\n

I held the bottle up to the light and watched the forgetfulness swirl.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Lorena was surprised to find me on her doorstep. She shifted from foot to foot and her eyes darted down the block. Still, she invited me in.<\/p>\n

We sat on her lumpy mustard couch. I refrained from wrinkling my nose until she left the room to get drinks. She came back with two glasses of Coke and set them on coasters. She didn\u2019t even roll her eyes when I asked for more ice. She just got up and went back into the kitchen.<\/p>\n

But she still broke first. \u201cWhat are you doing here, Maya?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI came to warn you,\u201d I said, sipping my Coke. \u201cShe\u2019s dangerous.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course she is,\u201d Lorena said. \u201cI like that about her.\u201d<\/p>\n

I laughed. Lorena scowled.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe used to tell me the secrets people told her,\u201d I said. \u201cWe\u2019d laugh at how pathetic they were.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lorena pursed her lips. Her glass began to sweat.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou bought from her once, didn\u2019t you?\u201d I said. \u201cWhat was your secret\u2026 that you sleep around to feel powerful? Bet you feel more powerful than ever.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lorena said nothing. A peacock feather tattoo peeked out from under her black top as she reached for her glass. She wore black jeans, too — probably a sad attempt to match the Elixir Witch. As soon as I had the thought, I said it aloud. I told Lorena she couldn\u2019t come close to the Elixir Witch\u2019s dark beauty. I told her that by wearing black, she only highlighted the disparity between them. I expected her to scowl again, or cry. But Lorena just smiled and brought the glass to her lips.<\/p>\n

\u201cCruelty isn\u2019t the only way to get her attention,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

All of a sudden, I felt naked. Exposed. It was as if Lorena could see right through me.<\/p>\n

My resolve wavered. Maybe I didn\u2019t have to do this. I could knock the glass right out of her hand.<\/p>\n

I reached toward her, but I was too late. She drained the glass.<\/p>\n

Lorena\u2019s face contorted with pain and confusion. She shifted from panicked to serene, until she looked only vaguely curious.<\/p>\n

I left. There was no point in saying goodbye.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

At midnight, the Elixir Witch appeared in my darkened living room. Her slender fingers closed tight around my throat. The points of her nails dug into my skin.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou bitch,\u201d she growled, her breath hot against my ear. \u201cPurchase Forget-Me-Not and give it to Lorena immediately.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDo it yourself,\u201d I sneered.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know I can\u2019t.\u201d Her breath was ragged, her eyes bloodshot.<\/p>\n

And I cared.<\/p>\n

This is what she did. She made me weak, then hated me for it.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m out of secrets,\u201d I told her. \u201cYou know them all.\u201d<\/p>\n

It was true. I didn\u2019t own any heirlooms and there was no chance in hell I\u2019d indebt myself to her. Not after everything. Did that make me cruel enough?<\/p>\n

She shimmered. Sparks burned black spots into the upholstery, raised shiny welts on my skin. She was angry, but she wasn\u2019t disgusted. Not anymore. I reached up to take her curls between my fingers and pulled her down to me. I tasted the tang of her magic, pushed past the shock of it. When we broke apart, she was gone.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

RACHAEL STERLING<\/strong> lives in sunny Santa Monica, California, staying indoors or else seeking shade. She teaches music to preschoolers most mornings and writes most afternoons. You can find her playing music on the internet under the name Rae Sterling or very occasionally, performing at real live locations around Los Angeles.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Rachael Sterling   The Elixir Witch only accepted three forms of payment: IOUs, heirlooms, and secrets. I\u2019d heard the stories — how Mrs. Johnson paid with an IOU and the Elixir Witch collected her left pinky finger a week later. … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"parent":7364,"menu_order":4,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-7368","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/P15duy-1UQ","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.jerseydevilpress.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/7368","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.jerseydevilpress.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.jerseydevilpress.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.jerseydevilpress.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.jerseydevilpress.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7368"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.jerseydevilpress.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/7368\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7376,"href":"http:\/\/www.jerseydevilpress.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/7368\/revisions\/7376"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.jerseydevilpress.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/7364"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.jerseydevilpress.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7368"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}