West Coast Witch by Justen Hunter

floor. She had a bag of salt from one of my cabinets,
     as well as a number of candles I had saved from back when I was still dating.
    “So, what’s this?”
    “The tools for your first spell, Eric.” She answered. “You have the brush still?”
    “Yea, despite the guy from last night who tried breaking in.”
    “What?” She snapped. “Someone tried to break in?”
    I sighed. Yea, I had forgotten to mention that. “Uh, yea. One of the guys from yesterday
     at Francis’s office broke in. I think that he followed me home or something, and was
     looking for the brush. Why? I can’t say.”
    “Another mystery among many.” She sighed. “Very well, bring the brush. Let us get
     to work.”
    I went to my dresser, and grabbed the brush. “So, explain this to me. Walk me through
     it.”
    “Certainly.” She said. “Symbolism is important. We have a part of Sam here, in this
     brush. What we’re going to do is create a link between one of her hairs and her.”
    “All right. And the salt?”
    “Salt is part of the process. What we are doing here is pretty advanced, at least
     for your experience. Salt is a magical substance, a containing element of sorts. We
     can use it to make a circle to harness magic for the ritual. Ready to begin?”
    “Just tell me what I need to do.” I said.
    “Pour the salt in as near-perfect a circle as you can, large enough for you to kneel
     in. It should be large enough for you to spread your arms out, and still have them
     not leave the circle.”
    I walked to the center of the kitchen, and stuck out my arms to guess how big of a
     circle I would need. Then I grabbed the back of salt, and started to pour. It took
     me a few tries to get it how I wanted, but after a few minutes, I was able to make
     a big enough circle.
    Under her instruction, I put five candles at various points on the circle. “Okay,
     what’s with this?” I asked.
    “You are creating a pentagram, a symbol of magic.” She gestured with her hands, and
     drew a five pointed star in the air. “The different points represent the elements.”
    “Fire, water, earth, air, and...well, whatever you call the last one, depending on
     your mythology.”
    “Correct,” She nodded. “I have always preferred the descriptor of spirit or void.”
    I nodded, and lit each candle. The smell of vanilla filled the air. “Okay, so, now
     what?”
    She reached into the bag, puling one last item. It was a battered compass. “You will
     need something to focus the results of the spell. The compass will be the focus of
     the spell. If we can successfully cast it, the needle will home in on Samantha Coolidge’s
     position.”
    “And if it doesn’t work?”
    She clicked her tongue in a scolding manner. “Positive thoughts. Positive thinking
     is at the heart of magic. If you do not have confidence, why should the magic come
     to you?”
    “What, are you saying magic has an ego or something?”
    “It is all about self-fulfilling prophecies, Eric.” She moved to sit up on my counter,
     looking down at me. “Think about it. Magic is based on thoughts, and your own mental
     energy. If you do not believe in yourself, your mind will believe you will fail, and
     so the magic will not come.”
    “Whoa.” I thought about that for a moment. “That’s actually pretty thoughtful.”
    “Indeed.” She nodded.
    Amy walked me through the rest of the process. I put the compass in front of a candle,
     and used a rubbed band to fasten one of the hairs to the compass. It seemed a little
     weird, but Amy explained it all out, the symbolism of tying what we wanted to find
     with the method of locating it.
    When everything was set up, she started to instruct me. “All right, the first thing
     you want to do, is like before, close your eyes and open your senses. However, this
     time, there will not be a lot of magic for you to sense. The circle will help contain
     it, so you can gather it easier.”
    I closed my eyes, and started to relax