“Then go, we shall,” Savannah said with a wink. “We’ll give you a quick little tour then eat since we’re all starving. After food we can go in the shops if you want.”
I nodded and started to follow them when a little golden light flew in front of my face. I froze and followed it. I watched it fly over to a bush to my left and instinctively, I chased after it. When I got there, I found dozens of little flickering gold lights.
“Saffie?”
I pointed. “Fairyflies!”
“Fairy flies?” Savannah stepped up beside me and leaned down. Then she smiled and stood straight, turning to me. “You mean fireflies…?”
“What?” I frowned and shook my head. “No. No, these are fairyflies.”
Gigi cocked her head to the side. “Why do you think they’re called that?”
I grinned and my heart fluttered. Something about them made me instantly happier. I felt lighter on my feet. I’d seen them outside my bedroom window, too. “I don’t know. I just do.”
Gigi pursed her lips. “Well, we call them fireflies but if you had a different name for them – and you’re remembering it – then go with it.”
“For sure.” Savannah nodded. “Plus fairyflies sounds cuter.”
“Although…” Gigi scowled. “It’s winter, what are they doing here?”
“Landreia said the same thing yesterday when we saw them outside my window.” I stood straight and the fairyflies shot out of the bush and over to me. They flew around my body and between my arms and legs. I giggled. “I like them.”
I lifted my hands up and was watching them swirl between my fingers when my stomach growled.
Savannah laughed. “Right. Food. Shall we?”
I nodded and followed her down the center of the red-bricked pathway – granted I only knew it was red brick from where people’s footprints had melted the snow away. The fairyflies hovered around me and a few even landed in my hair. It made me smile as we walked. To my right, on the corner, the red-brick building had golden spotlights shining through the glass windows. Inside, people sat at tables with plates full of food.
“Oh, is that where we’re going to eat?”
Gigi shook her head. “Nah, that place is good but we’re taking you to our favorite spot.”
As we walked, my head snapped back and forth, left and right, to try and see everything. Every few feet it seemed like there was a different shop with all kinds of pretty things in the window. Except the first few shops were dark and the doors were closed.
“These shops up here don’t stay open late,” Gigi said noticing my confusion. She pointed ahead of us. “The ones up there do, and of course, so does The Night Haven shop.”
“Oh yeah, Landreia loves the night.” Savannah nodded. “But that first shop on the left that we passed is Coon’s Cards, they sell all the best tarot card decks.”
“And that place, Nightmare Gallery, is one of Savannah’s favorites.” Gigi pointed to our right. “They have such great, unique finds.”
All the buildings on this pathway were made of either red brick or gray stone. They all felt old to me, though I couldn’t put my finger on why I thought that. It was just a feeling. Lots of souls had been through the area, I felt it in my bones.
Up ahead on the left were red window coverings that stuck off the brick wall. “What’s a CVS?” I asked, pointing to the store’s illuminated sign.
“It’s a drug store. They sell medications and stuff, but you can really get just about anything you need there.”
“Yep. Right on the corner of happy and healthy.” Savannah grinned.
“That’s Walgreens, stooge.” Gigi rolled her eyes.
Savannah grimaced. “My bad – oh, there’s the book store. Love that place.”
“Hotel Salem is a super cute boutique hotel—”
“OH!” Savannah tugged my arm, pulling my attention back to the left. She pointed. “That store, Angelica of the Angels, is a fantastic little witch shop. They’re a deeply spiritual place, which I like a lot, and the readings are always spot on. Plus they leave you feeling good there.”
“Angels as in Heaven — oh, what’s in that one?” I hurried forward a few steps to the next store. The lights were off and the door was closed, but there was something about it that drew me closer. Energy like I’d never felt pulsed through the doorway, seeping out onto the street like a roof leak. It was jumbled and hectic. I wanted to go inside. “That one…Coven’s Cabin.”
“Everyone loves that store.” Savannah sighed. “It’s….it’s…”
“Breathtaking,” Gigi swooned. Then she shook herself. “Come on, they’re closed anyway. We’ll go there during the day soon. Let’s get to our food.”
“Right.” Savannah hooked her arm through mine and led me forward toward a row of shops with bright white light pouring out onto the pathway in front of us. “These are the stores open later. The Silver shop has the most amazing jewelry selections, and great crystals, too.”
I frowned. “What about the one called Omen?”
“Super popular store. Open late.” Gigi’s eyes flashed with excitement. “They have so many books—”
“Food, Gi.”
“Right. Right.” Gigi shook her head. “We’re hungry. Books must wait.”
Savannah led us through a set of double glass doors. Inside, the floor was hard like stone but shinier. There were glass windows on the walls that showed glimpses of the stores next door. The one on the right was some kind of photography store, I recognized some of the equipment from our class. Elegant dresses and hats of every kind hung on the walls.
“Finally,” Savannah mumbled with a sigh.
I turned to follow her gaze and my eyes widened. The wall was made almost entirely of glass, and through it I saw rows of tables that were mostly empty. People sat in a few of them but were spread out. To the right, inside the store, was a counter and people waiting in a line at it. I looked up to the sign on the storefront and read New York Pizza and Deli.
We hurried inside to the counter and got in line. There was so much to look at that I hadn’t realized the line had moved until Gigi tugged my arm.
“…and Saffie? What would you like?”
“Pizza,” I said without hesitation.
The girl behind the counter with violet hair nodded. “What kind?”
“Cheese. She wants cheese,” Savannah answered for me, thankfully.
“And I want two.” All three of them looked at me, then down at my body, then back up. I shrugged. “Definitely two. Please.”
The girl pursed her lips and nodded. “Coming right up.”
“Come on, Saffie, let’s go grab our table before it’s gone,” Gigi said as she took my hand and pulled me along.
I frowned and glanced around. “Most of them are empty…?”
“Ah, yes. But we have our table.” Gigi shrugged. “It’s a thing.”
We stopped at the table in the far front corner, under the television.
“This is our booth.” Gigi grinned. “Why don’t you sit and I’ll go help Savannah?”