Spellbinding

On a good day, Sabine wouldn't have parked this far from the bookstore.

On a good day, Sabine would have had some form of defence spray tucked into her purse, ready to go if any situation warranting it arrived.

Today, the car park was completely full due to a mini festival of sorts happening a few blocks down from the library, forcing Sabine to have to park several streets away from the store.

Sabine stepped out of her car, carefully adjusting her above the knee gingham skirt so as not to flash anyone walking by. She smoothed down her sweater vest and reached for her purse in the passenger seat, slightly confused by the new weight of it.

Sabine opened her bag and panicked at the lack of defence spray normally haphazardly tossed in one of the zips. Annoyed, Sabine checked her car, hoping that it had just fallen loose while she drove.

It was nowhere to be found.

"That's okay, nothing to panic about Sabine," she assured herself. "You've walked to the bookstore several times before."

Sabine looked around, her stomach flopping around like a gymnast once she spotted the little blue banner of Michael's bookstore hanging farther down than she had initially thought.

Sabine locked her car door, hesitating for only a moment, wondering if she really had to go to the store today. "You'll be fine," She chanted in her mind, "You're a witch remember," She shook out her arms and clung to the strap of her purse and made her way down the street.

The smell of fresh pastries filled the air as she passed the small cafe tucked between empty shops. Sabine longed for a cup of tea and a heavenly slice of pumpkin pie. Her stomach growled reminding her that she had made a mistake skipping breakfast. She would have to wait, finding the storage area for the grimoire was far more important than any pie on this earth.

Just as she passed the electronic store two doors before the bookstore Sabine's back tightened and the hairs on the back of her neck stood tall. The wind blew a chill through her body waving the scent of clover through her nostrils. Someone was watching her- a vampire was watching her. Sabine glanced around anxiously. The only thing behind her was an alleyway and nobody was there. Sabine turned back around and hurried towards the bookstore once again. Her stomach still in knots.

The bell of the door rang as soon as she opened it, causing Michael to look up from the register. "Ah, Sabine, just the person I wanted to see!" He said when she approached the desk.

Sabine smiled, feeling slightly uncomfortable by what she had to do. "Good afternoon, Michael, I see Malcolm isn't here today," Sabine said, noting the empty chair beside him.

"Afraid not, he's at his mother's this week," a frown replaced his eyes, as if the thought of his ex-wife made him upset.

"I was wondering if I'd be able to take another look at the basement," she smiled, making sure to bat her eyelashes at him. Sabine hated leading him on but this task was a necessary evil.

"Of course, you know the way," he smile kindly.

Sabine turned around and paced towards the basement door and descended down the steep steps.

Today, the basement felt different. Almost like Michael had tried to do some light cleaning in an attempt to impress her if she ever came down here again.

"Oh Michael, what have you done?" She whispered to herself. He could have accidentally moved around the wrong book and upset the balance of whatever trap the book's owner had set up.

It was common practice for witches to put their grimoire under protection. In the early ages the wrong folk had found them and uncovered secrets not meant for them. The spells often allowed only blood relatives to open the book or uncover them from their hiding place. That meant that there were two possibilities.

1. Michael descend from a small coven unknown to Sabine's knowledge

Or

2. The protection spell put on the books and the spot where they were found had weakened.

Either way, neither option was good.

Sabine crouched down to where Michael's son had said they found the box and brought out her phone from her pocket. The light coming from the tiny basement window wasn't exactly cutting it so her cellphone would have to do for the time being.

There was something off about the area. Sabine felt an itching underneath the surface of her palm as she examined the linings of the wooden shelf, swirls of ornate etching lining the foot of the heavy woodwork. Sabine clenched and unclenched her hand, there was certainly some form of magic in this room. Something stronger that beckoned her closer. Sabine moved closer to get a better look at the square cutouts of each cubby.

On the leftmost cubicle Sabine noticed a slight difference that one wouldn't have seen had they been standing at the typical distance. Sabine ran her fingertip down the spine of the books, an electric jolt reverberating from the wood to her skin. Looking closer Sabine noticed that what seemed like normal fanciful design was actual symbols, some of which were familiar and some which were not. She turned with a quick glance making sure the nosy Michael was not watching, as she took a picture of the chest and its markings.

From what she could tell, this was something much bigger than books being found in a basement. Sabine carefully gather the books and placed them into a nearby cardboard box before making her way up the flight of stairs.