Everyday Witches

*Author’s note* This is another short story featuring one of the supporting characters from the novel Everyday Witches. Juan is a coffee shop owner and a witch friend of the main characters in the novel. I came across the legend of the kobold recently while doing some research and thought it’d be an impressive addition to the world I created with the novel, and a fitting way to elaborate a little on Juan’s story. I love the idea of mixing true myths and legends in with my fiction to give it a little bit of extra depth. I’ve been sitting on this for a bit, trying to come up with just the right ending, but I think I finally came up with one that suits the story and the legend.

The early morning was still dark and cool as Juan climbed the steps to Local Brews, the coffee shop he had owned for several decades now. He always liked to arrive at least an hour before opening to give himself plenty of time to make sure the supplies were all set up; and to double check his store of potions before the customers began to arrive. Although his little coffee shop was legitimate, he was a witch, and so they also offered a secret menu that was available only to the magical community.

He unlocked the door and stepped into the darkened shop, flipping on the lights and then disabling the alarm. He glanced around the small seating area, making sure that Benecio and Domingo had done their jobs cleaning up the night before. The lobby looked good so he made his way behind the counter towards the back of the shop. As he walked past the coffee dispensers, his sneaker made a sound like a piece of tape being ripped from the roll; as it encountered a sticky spot on the floor. Cursing softly he brought his foot up as far as his aching knee would allow to examine the bottom of the shoe.

The level of stickiness made him think that it must be some of the coffee syrup that the younger customers loved so much. He pulled off the shoe and then hobbled over to the sink, rinsing it off thoroughly. He pulled off a long sheet of paper towels and dried the shoe and then dampened them further to wipe up the spot on the floor. When he was finished, he crammed his foot back into the shoe and headed for the office, muttering a few more oaths under his breath. “We’re gonna end up with rats in here.”

When he arrived at the office door, it was standing open just a few inches. Anyone else would’ve been worried, but Juan knew that there was nothing to worry about. Soft clicking noises and the taps of office supplies being arranged on the desk drifted out from the room. It was obviously Heinrich, a kobold, or a type of sprite. Although the creatures had originated in Germany, their population had increased world wide as centuries passed and they had immigrated outward along with their humans.

Like Winston, Juan’s father Julio had been drafted into the Army as a youth. But being a generation older, his tenure was served during World War I. After the war, he had been stationed in Germany and had acquired the kobold there. When he and Letitia had been ready to move back to the United States, Heinrich had been invited to come along with them.

Kobolds were loyal creatures who attached to a household, or in this case a shop; often helping the family by completing little tasks for them. They also had a fiercer side however, and when crossed they could become angry and sometimes destructive. Heinrich had been generally congenial during Julio’s lifetime and had served the family well. But after the deaths of Julio and Leticia he had become increasingly short tempered; although he had opted to stay with Juan after the death of his parents. He still helped with little tasks around the shop and was like family to Juan, but there were also plenty of times that he might come in to the shop in the morning to find all of the coffee mugs lined up precariously along the edge of the shop counter; or coffee grounds dumped into the tea urns. This morning Heinrich was in a grand mood and he sat in Juan’s chair at his desk, neatly arranging the collection of pens and paper clips, and the little stacks of paper that accumulated at a business such as this.

“Good morning Heinrich,” Juan said to the kobold, and the creature spun the office chair around to greet him. His visage was that of a wizened old man, and it was probably a fitting guise now that he had been with the family through several generations. He had appeared this way for as long as Juan could remember, however. And that was a long time now. Juan was no spring chicken any more either. As he looked up, Heinrich adjusted the little red hat that was customarily worn by his kind, giving Juan a little wink.

“And a good morning to you Juan. How are you on this fine day?” The kobold grinned, the wrinkles on his deeply lined face rearranging themselves with the motion. He pulled off the cap for a moment and scratched at the thin layer of fine white hair before replacing it on his head.

“Good. Good,” Juan replied. “Thank you for tidying up. I appreciate it.” He set his leather satchel on the desk and hovered near the chair, waiting for Heinrich to vacate it so that he could begin his day. He knew better than to irritate the spirit by asking him to move; the consequences could be unpleasant. Asking a kobold to do anything in particular was a bit like asking a Djin for a million dollars. You might instead end up inheriting a million rupees from a never before known dead relative. Or possibly even find yourself in an impressive vehicular accident where you end up paralyzed for life, but end up with a million dollar settlement from the health insurance company. So Juan preferred just to make his presence be known without making any special requests.

“I’d like some breakfast soon,” the kobold said, without looking up again from the desk. “Eggs and waffles.”

Juan sighed. Kobolds were generally good natured, if mischievous; but they were well known for the epic fits they might have if not fed properly. “I don’t know if we have any eggs and waffles. How about a nice muffin?”

Heinrich looked up with a sour expression and then returned his attention to the desk. “Eggs. And. Waffles.”

Juan sighed again. He’d see what he could do. After standing there for several moments while Heinrich once again reorganized the collection of paper clips in the little tray, Juan decided to head to the kitchen to begin preparations for the morning rush, instead of working on the books. He noticed, on the way, that the ceiling vents he had been meaning to get cleaned for quite some time now were sparkling to perfection. And the bakery display case was polished to a shine that Benecio probably never would’ve aspired to.

He moved towards the brewing area, intending to make a cup of coffee for himself while getting things ready for the morning rush. He poured a small amount of coffee into one of the industrial sized coffee pots and set it to brew. Then he reached for the coffee syrup. He noticed, with some amusement, that the collection of coffee syrups, usually more or less grouped by flavor, had been rearranged. They now appeared to be grouped by the color of the label and the height of the bottle, and possibly even the girth. He chuckled to himself and then searched among the reorganized flavors for the salted caramel, adding a little bit to the bottom of his coffee cup.

While he waited for the coffee to brew he made his way back around to the display case to see what he could dig up for Heinrich’s breakfast. The little shop specialized in coffee and didn’t offer a big spread of food to go along with it, but he did have an impressive offering of baked goods. The conchas were his personal favorite, since they had been his mother’s specialty. They were delicious anyway and they always reminded him of her. His family had been poorly when Juan was young, since the Army didn’t offer impressive pay to Hispanic draftees at the time, but his mother had been able to whip up just about anything with a little bit of flour and some sugar. Juan had had his hand slapped several times as a youth, trying to go back for seconds, but now he could afford to have one every morning.

He pulled one of the large yellow sweet breads out of the display cabinet and set it in the microwave to heat while the coffee finished up. Before the timer could ding he noticed a strange prickling sensation along the skin of his arms and the back of his neck. He spun towards the display case and found Heinrich there, floating a few inches above the floor. The kobold’s wrinkled face was screwed up in agitation.

“I said eggs and waffles,” Heinrich said menacingly. His ghostly form appeared to grow larger in his ire and the air shimmered around him in waves.

Juan held a hand out in a defensive posture. “Hold on, old man. I’ll get your breakfast. I’m sure I’ve got something around here that will suit your taste.” He popped a bite of concha into his mouth and moved towards the walk in freezer, hoping that he’d have the items on hand there.

Heinrich was still seething and before Juan could reach the door it popped open, nearly hitting him as it flung outward and slammed against the wall. Juan jumped back in surprise and turned to look at Heinrich. The kobold had definitely increased in size and now he towered over Juan; his no longer little red hat nearly touching the ceiling now. The air around him popped and crackled with electricity, in addition to the wavering halo that surrounded him. Suddenly, all of the cabinets and doors in the room popped open, before immediately slamming closed again. They continued to open and close repeatedly, in a deafening cacophony of kobold ire. As the sprite’s tantrum progressed, the floor beneath Juan began to shake and the walls vibrated with an overwhelming thrum. Juan held an arm above his head to protect it and stepped towards the fuming kobold; the very foundations of the building rattling beneath him as he walked gingerly across the floor.

“Heinrich, knock it off,” Juan shouted over the sound of cabinets slamming and equipment rattling. Somewhere a mug hit the floor and shattered. “Come on now, I’ll get your breakfast cooked. Just lay off it!”

The kobold’s image surged even wider and a flare of magic and electricity erupted in a wave, sending a blast of energy through the little shop. All of the items on the counters and shelves were pushed back against the wall, and the ground below them rumbled like thunder. A large crack formed in the concrete floor below Juan and he glowered in agonized disappointment as it rent the kitchen floor in two; the hole rapidly deepening and growing larger. Sizeable chunks of flooring broke off on either side of the growing hole, careening down into the unseen depths.

The commotion suddenly died down as quickly as it had begun, the thrumming ceasing and the expansion of the rift coming to an abrupt halt. The concrete dust began to settle and an eerie blue light came forth from the depths of the chasm, highlighting a variety of amorphous shapes that drifted and floated within in a gravity defying dance. Heinrich’s form began to shrink, until he was once again the size of a wizened old man. He floated across the decimated shop floor to stand beside Juan, and together they stared down at the hole that had once been the floor of the shop.

Juan looked at Heinrich, his face pale and covered with a thin sheen of sweat. He knelt and dipped a hand into the portal void that was now visible beyond the floor. Magic crackled and his hand seemed to disappear into the swirling blue abyss. He pulled it back quickly and massaged at the tingling appendage, looking up at Heinrich in disbelief.

“What. The Hell. Is That,” he asked, wide eyed.

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If you’d like to explore the whole novel, you can find it listed by chapter at- Everyday Witches: chapter listing

If you’d like to check out some more short stories, you can find them at- Odds & Ends