Chapter Sixty-Four

My senses begin to feel overwhelmed by all of the sudden changes to my intuition, so I locate the crystal inside of my jacket pocket and grip it tightly, comforted by the warmth that soaks through my fingers upon contact. Serene stops outside of a door and digs through her bag for a key pass before sliding it through a card reader that is mounted on the threshold of the doorway. It beeps softly and flashes green, allowing us entry as she twists the hands and pushes it open, revealing a dimly lit room. As soon as the door opens, I’m greeted by a slight gust of warm air and the scent of sweet magic, tainted by some nameless herbs that I don’t recognize. Combined with a hint of cinnamon, I find it oddly comforting as i follow Serene into her dorm.

Unsurprising, her room is decorated in dark colors with heavy drapes covering her windows, though a bit of the evening light pours in around the curtains. She flicks on the light beside the door to give me a better look at her space, illuminating rows of dried herbs inside of pristine glass jars that line a bookshelf, taking up every inch of space that is meant for texts. Luckily, there are no eyeballs floating in jars and no dead animal parts scattered over an alter, so I consider that a bonus. I notice the tension start to fade from my shoulders almost immediately after crossing the threshold, though, which is a huge relief.

“Welcome home,” Serene says, kicking off her warn converse and leaving them by the door. She sheds her winter coat and tosses it on the back of a chair, so I follow suit by removing my outside layers and my boots. She squats down on an adorable area rug that looks like a moth with moons marking its wings, and a cat shoots out from beneath her bed to greet her. “This is the baby boy. Say hi, Willy.” She holds the fluffy black ball up for me to see, and it blinks back at me with huge, yellowish-green eyes.

I squat down beside her on the floor and reach to let the cat sniff me, unsure of how he’ll react to meeting a stranger. “Hi, kitty,” I say, feeling his whiskers tickle my skin as he sniffs curiously. Wilfred purrs in Serene’s arms and rubs his head against my hand, seeming to accept me for the time being. He’s a pretty cat, but I wasn’t expecting something so big to be living inside of a dorm room. Granted, it doesn’t seem like Serene has a roommate, since her bed is the only one in the space. She even has her own little kitchenette and a bathroom that opens up on the other side of her kitchen, which I’m grateful to see. I’ve never been reduced to having to shower in a public space with other people before, so it’s a relief to see that I won’t have to resort to that.

Serene set Wilfred down to allow him free reign of the dorm, but he decides to come to investigate me a little bit more, circling around me as he catches the scent of my clothes. “It’s no surprise that he likes you,” She says, climbing to her feet as she heads over to her dresser. “He’s a familiar, so he can recognize good energy from other Sorcerers.”

I look down at the cat as he gazes up at me, continuing to purr as he flexes his claws inside of the moth rug. It reminds me of someone kneading bread dough, which I find endearing. I smile and reach to pet him, which seems to be appreciated. Wilfred leans into my hand and rubs against me, giving a strange meow combined with a purr as he turns and comes back for more. “I’ve never really interacted with cats before,” I admit, looking back at Serene. “I’m glad he’s friendly.”
Serene has gathered a pair of pajama bottoms and an oversized t-shirt, and she brings them over for me, holding them out. “Wilfred? Oh, he’s not usually friendly. Here, these aren’t the best, but they should fit you long enough to get your laundry cleaned. The bathroom is right behind you through the kitchen.”

I accept the clothes, grateful that she has anything for me to borrow at all. “Oh, okay. I appreciate this, Serene,” I say, giving her a grateful look. I climb to my feet with the new clothes and begin to make my way to the bathroom.

Serene smiles and follows me, but stops in the kitchen to fill up a tea kettle at the sink. “I’ll make something to drink while we wait on your clothes. Should I toss your coat in, too?”

“Yes, please. That sounds great,” I say, closing the bathroom door most of the way to change out of my clothes. Once I’m stripped, I creak the door open enough to toss the magic-scented laundry out the door for Serene to clean while I jump in the shower to rinse the stench from my skin. I know that I should probably wash my hair while I’m at it, but I’m already worried that Adrian will smell the different soap on me as it is. At least he knows that I’m with Serene, so having a bit lingering in my hair wouldn’t be abnormal for being in the presence of a Sorceress for a few hours.

The heat of the scalding water did wonders to warm me up, so I waste no time climbing into the borrowed clothes to stay as snug as possible. Serene greets me in the kitchen with a steaming cup of sweet-smelling tea. “Here you go, it’s a raspberry leaf tea, I think you’ll like it. We probably won’t be able to go anywhere until your clothes are dry, so should I make something to eat for dinner?”

I accept the drink gratefully, taking a sip. She was right, I do like the flavor and I add it to my mental list of things to buy on my next grocery run. “Sure, I could eat,” I admit, beginning to become aware of the hunger gnawing at my belly now that I’ve relaxed a bit. Even though I try not to focus on it, I can still feel the blotch of darkness lingering at the corner of my mind, reminding me that Jasper is still out there somewhere in the frozen forest beyond the school. I hope Adrian can restrain him without hurting him too badly.

The sound of the washing machine running a cycle somewhere inside of the dorm room fills the silence as Serene goes through her cupboards and refrigerator, gathering ingredients for a meal. Once she has them laid out on her small counter, she waves me over to join her. “The thing about magic is that it can be incorporated into anything and everything. Cooking is one way to do it, other than the conventional spellwork. Like, this salt,” She says, holding up a glass bottle of pink salt. “Is more than just for taste. Salt is purifying and dispels bad energy. Just about anything you can cook with can be magically embedded, you just have to set the intention for it as your cooking.”

I look on in amazement, watching as she opens the jar and pinches some salt in between her fingers. She gestures to the other ingredients that are laid out, already washed and precut, waiting to be used in a recipe. I’m honestly impressed that she’s so organized and even her dorm is completely spotless, save for the occasional cat hair left behind from Wilfred. “That explains a lot,” I say, gesturing back to the bathroom. “I noticed the eucalyptus hanging by the showerhead. What does that do? I feel really relaxed now.”

Serene smiles as she gathers the shredded cabbage into a bowl, seemingly glad that I noticed. “It’s for purification, too. It cleanses bad energy, which is what showers are meant to do in the first place. A little eucalyptus is perfect to help with that, but it’s toxic to cats so I try to keep the door closed.”

Seeing that I left it cracked, I smile apologetically and lean over to pull it closed, making sure that Wilfred isn’t inside first. He waltzes up to rub against my leg, purring like the motor of a boat. I find it hard to believe that he doesn’t like people. I feel like Serene just said that to make me feel special, but I would never say that to her.

Serene adds more sliced vegetables to her mixing bowl, tossing them together with her hands. “And there’s Selenite over the door, sitting on the frame. It cleanses people as they come in so they don’t bring their shit into my space,” She says, gesturing to the entryway. I lean over to see what she’s talking about, noticing a pretty, almost satiny white crystal sitting over the doorframe, almost undetectable. That explains why the dorm feels so inviting.

“Wow, that’s amazing,” I say, sipping my tea. “So, everything basically has a purpose?”

Serene nods as she pours more ingredients into her mixture, which I slowly gather is for some vegan eggrolls of some sort. “Yep, everything has a purpose, even Wilfred’s whiskers that fall out can be put to use. Nature is like the pantry of witches,” She says with a small chuckle. “I’ll teach you all about it once you’re feeling better.” As if to prove her point, she casts a look over her shoulder at me.

I hope my expression is reassuring as I mean it to be, busying myself by leaning down to pat Wilfred some more since he still lingers by my feet, staring up at me expectantly. “I’m fine, it’s just… a lot.”