[Chapter 2: Magic]Lois had no idea what she was doing in the crystal shop, but she had run out of ideas.
Other than a few disturbing witchcraft books, the city library hadn't been all that helpful, and while the medium downtown had initially been kind, Lois quickly realized she was a fake and liked taking advantage of lonely, desperate souls. It was despicable. Lois promised herself to write an article on that piece of work. . . .
She refocused as she scanned the shelves.
What was she even looking for?
“Hi."
Lois turned toward the voice to find a short, black woman who had the most gentle and inviting expression on her face.
"Er, hi," Lois returned.
"Oh. wow! Don't tell me. You're Lois Lane, right? The Daily Planet? That must be a great place to work. I don't have a subscription, but I really love the logo. I'm Star." She held out her hand.
Flattered at being recognized, Lois shook her hand.
"Hi, Star. It's, uh, not often I meet people who recognize me," Lois said with an uncertain smile.
"Oh, I didn't! I've never seen you before in my life. Not even a picture! If you were a snake you could've bit me," Star said simply.
"Then what are you; like, psychic?" Lois asked, raising an eyebrow.
Who was this lady? And how much caffeine had she had that day?
"Yeah! You, too?!"
"No. But, seriously, how'd you know my name?" Lois asked, wondering if Star was going to be another liar like that downtown medium.
"I got it off your tote bag," Star said as she handed her a card. "I really do psychic counseling and channeling though, but don't worry, I'm really quiet. Occasionally, I do do hypnosis and tarot and crystal healing, but I never do any of the dark stuff. Too scary. I'm a Pisces, at least in this life, but I have been a Taurus; wow, was that bad. So did you just come in from a story or something? You look really whipped."
Lois decided Star must have had at least three shots of espresso. Star spoke faster than she did!
"Actually, I'm in search of information for one right now," Lois admitted, really hoping she had caught a break, as unlikely as that was.
Star suddenly put her fingers to her temples and closed her eyes. "Wait a minute. Wait a minute," she said before her eyes snapped open and gave a wink. "You don't really have to close your eyes, but most people expect it. Anyway, I'm getting . . . I'm seeing . . . something more than a story. Oh my gosh! You saw someone die today!"
Lois was stunned and hurriedly looked around the shop to see if anyone had overheard. Thankfully, the shop was empty, save for the cashier at the front who seemed oblivious to their conversation.
"I–yeah . . . but how did you know?!" Lois stammered.
The story was in the Planet’s next edition, which hadn’t been published yet!
"I always know," Star stated, resigned.
"Huh," Lois said, not sure what else to say on that before shifting gears. "Well, maybe you can help me then. You see, the man I saw . . . before he . . . well, he had a sort of panic attack and collapsed, but the reason I'm here . . . a snake had appeared on his chest for a few seconds. Could something . . . I mean, if I hadn't seen it myself, I wouldn't have believed it. Even now I'm wondering if I'm nuts, but the person who had been trying to help him also saw it, so. . . ." Lois swallowed, and she wasn't sure if Star's calm expression should make her feel better or not.
"This serpent, would you recognize it?" Star asked.
"I think so, and, while I'm no artist, I think I could draw it well enough," Lois said.
"That's good, but you won’t need to draw it,” Star said with a nod as she motioned for her to follow. "Let’s go to the park and I'll show you."
Lois blinked but followed Star, who, for some reason, went on a brief tangent talking incessantly about how happy she was that the shop had gotten green tea in. A minute later, they were seated at a secluded park bench not far from said little shop.
"Alright," Star said as she picked up a nearby stick. She then began drawing with it in the dirt nearby.
“Did it look like this?” Star asked.
“Oh my gosh, yes!” Lois gasped.
“I was afraid of that,” Star sighed, before quickly rubbing out the etched serpent.
“Why? What is it? What does it mean?” Lois asked, baffled.
“A Boker is involved,” she stated, resigned.
“A . . . Boker?” Lois asked, confused. She had never heard that term before.
“Voodoo, Lois. A Boker cast a spell on that man you saw,” Star explained.
“Voodoo? Like voodoo dolls, hexes, magic, all that?” Lois asked disbelievingly.
Star nodded gravely. "I know it's hard to believe, but you saw the snake yourself and what resulted. As crazy as it sounds, Voodoo is real and it's dangerous. I refuse to dabble in it for multiple reasons."
“. . . Okay, assuming I believe you, why would anyone curse that man?” Lois asked.
“I don’t know, but he must have seriously upset whoever had cast that spell. The dark arts are nothing to mess around with. The user at times can be just as at risk as their target. So they either don’t care about the risks or are confident in their abilities, and considering what had happened, this user is . . . very talented,” Star warned.
Lois frowned. “I see. Well, thank you very much, Star. I’m not quite sure I’ll be able to include what you’ve told me in my article, but you've given me something to consider at least.”
Lois really didn't know what to believe, but she couldn’t ignore what she had seen.
“If you need more help, just let me know. I . . . uh, I feel you are more involved in thi – oh, no! Someone close to you is being targeted! I think you might . . . love them? Sorry, that's sorta fuzzy, but please, if you need more help, call me. And be careful," Star said.
“What do you mean someone I know is being targeted? And love?!” Lois asked, baffled.
How could this woman say something like that so frankly?
“I’m sorry, that’s just what I got. It doesn’t make much sense to me either, but these sorts of things rarely do until I can look back on the events once they take place,” she said.
“Well, that’s confusing,” Lois complained while also mentally adding ‘and convenient.’
“It is,” Star agreed.
They both stood up.
"Alright. Well, thanks," she said. "I should return to work, but, um, do you know of any books I could get that might be helpful?"
Whether or not this was actually real, Lois wasn't going to miss a chance to get more information.
Star winced. "No, sorry. Everything I know is from what I've learned from former practitioners. Writing this stuff down is dangerous."
Lois immediately thought about how Star had quickly brushed away the snake sketch, as if she didn't want to be around it longer than absolutely necessary.
"I see. Well, thanks anyway," Lois said, deciding not to push.
She already had more than she had hoped for in coming to the little shop anyway.
"Of course!" Star said, cheerful again.
Lois nodded her thanks and went on her way, placing Star's business card securely in her pocket.
O o O o O
The apartment was quiet, but not peaceful. Despite the soothing moonlight that streamed down through the windows, casting shadows across the walls and floor, something darker was within.
Clark rolled over and his hands suddenly clenched the blanket so tightly his fingers tore through the fabric. Sweat dotted his brow and his breathing became labored. He turned back to his side and moaned in his sleep.
An otherworldly whisper sighed in the room, but no one heard.
Clark shot up, heaving in breaths of air as his eyes frantically searched the room.
“What–?” he gasped, alarmed and confused.
He couldn’t remember what had scared him, but something had, and in a way that scared him more than anything else ever had. He forced himself to breathe slowly and deeply, extending his hearing out to focus on the hum of traffic throughout the city.
It took a long moment to shake the feeling of crushing doom that seemed to drizzle down his spine, but once he had, his racing heart slowly calmed. He took a long, deep breath.
What had he dreamt? What could possibly have affected him that much?
He had had nightmares before, but nothing that had caused such a . . . primal response. Even his worst nightmare had never made him scared like this. Whatever he had dreamt, he had wanted to run, to hide, to lash out, but instead he was frozen in overwhelming terror.
What had just happened?
Usually his nightmares occurred right after a not so good day, such as after a bad rescue or after he was reminded of a run-in with kryptonite. However, the day had been normal. There had been nothing that he could think of that would have triggered any sort of nightmare.
What had scared him?
O o O o O
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