“Well, if that’s the case, then I don’t know how else to help you. I need Felicity’s blood if I’m going to cast the spell.”
Pamphrock remained silent for a long moment. His shoulders hunched like he was wrestling with his conscience. Finally, he said, “Leave it to me. I’ll figure something out. In the meantime, you can continue your research on the components of the rest of the spell.”
I nodded and stepped back. “Alright then. I’ll, um, let you two finish your conversation.”
Returning to Rebecca and Ira, I almost burst out laughing at the scene that greeted me. Rebecca was kneeling on the sofa next to a stoic Ira and using a bright pink comb to brush his hair. I didn’t blame her for wanting to get her hands on it either. Ira had glossy, shoulder-length, dark brown hair that just begged to be touched. Obviously, I’d managed to restrain myself so far.
His eyes met mine, and I struggled to contain my giggles at the perplexed look on his face even as my heart melted that he was letting her treat him like one of her dolls. I sat down on the other side of him and gave him a warm smile.
“Isn’t it just lovely,” Rebecca exclaimed, running her comb through Ira’s dark locks. “I’m going to ask Daddy to get me a new doll with hair just like this. Tegan,” she stopped brushing and held out the comb to me, “you have a go.”
“I’m not sure if Ira likes having his hair combed,” I said, glancing at his stoic expression.
“Don’t be silly! He loves it. Don’t you, Ira?” Rebecca asked sweetly.
He let out a quiet grunt, but I couldn’t tell whether or not it was an affirmative.
“You see, he wants you to. Go on,” Rebecca urged, handing me the comb again.
“Okay then,” I said, shooting Ira an apologetic look as I turned to face him. He tilted his head down at me, watching my hand as I brought the comb to his hair, and his dark eyes never left my face. I swallowed and his attention went to my throat.
Had it suddenly gotten hotter in here?
My knuckles accidentally brushed the skin at the back of his neck, and it felt like he leaned into the touch. His skin felt nice, all warm and smooth. Perhaps he subconsciously missed how I used to pet him when he was a dog. I dropped the comb as soon as I heard the sliding doors open and Finn and Pamphrock step inside.
I thanked my lucky stars that Finn didn’t see me brushing Ira’s hair. That would have been an awkward conversation trying to explain what I was doing.
“Time to go,” Finn announced.
Rebecca gave me a quick farewell hug before moving to Ira and squeezing his hand as she grinned at him. “You’re cute.” She glanced at me. “Next time you come to visit, don’t forget to bring Ira, too.”
“I won’t,” I said, grinning as Finn shot me a questioning look. We entered the lift, and he was still staring at me, waiting for an explanation.
“When I went back in, I found Rebecca combing Ira’s hair with a bright pink comb.”
Finn’s eyes crinkled with mirth. “I’m sad I missed that.”
Ira gave another of his low grunts, and Finn and I burst out laughing.
***
When we got back to the house, Delilah and Rita were in the kitchen, both staring at a glass jar they’d placed on the table. Inside the jar was what appeared to be some kind of black and grey swirling mist.
“What you got there?” Finn questioned, pulling up a chair.
“Not sure exactly,” Rita replied. “Dee and I took a boat out to Ridley Island, but there was nothing much to find except for empty, barren land. Then on the way home, I came across this little fella hovering by a shop doorway.” Rita had taken to calling Delilah ‘Dee’. I was surprised Delilah hadn’t told her off about it yet.
“I’ve never seen anything like it,” Rita continued. “But I’ve heard of strange entities like this drifting through from other realms. We watched it for a couple of minutes, and it seemed to be seeping into the people who came in and out of the shop, little by little. It was a good thing I had my spell kit with me, so I could trap it in this jar. I think it must be some kind of energy that got through when Theodore came back from hell. From the way it was seeping into people, I’d say this is what caused the riot you experienced. It’s making humans go doo-lally somehow.”
“That doesn’t sound good,” Finn said, leaning in to study the jar. He jerked back when the mist suddenly slammed against the glass right where his eyes had been focused, as though it sensed him looking at it.
Rita chuckled. “Hey, Finn, I think it just gave you the finger.”
Finn smirked. “I think you might be right.”
I rubbed my arms, feeling a chill. Something inside of me was revolted by my proximity to the jar. It was like my magic, the same magic that presented me with the pages of the unknown book, was urging me to stay away from it.
“You need to get it out of here,” I said, eyeing Rita. “It makes me feel odd, kind of like I’m sick with fear. I’ve got goosebumps. Look,” I pulled up my sleeve to show her my arm.
“Yeah, I’m getting that feeling, too. Maybe not as strongly as you are though,” Rita replied. “But I can’t just let it go. I need to get rid of it responsibly, and until I figure out how to do that, we’ve got to keep it in the jar.”
“How about I lock it in the shed out back?” Finn suggested, nodding in the direction of the little wooden building behind the garden. “I’ve got a big padlock that I can put on the door to make sure nobody gets inside.”
“Yes, we should do that. Do it now.” My eyes locked on the mist, which was swirling violently inside the jar as though taunting me, struggling to break free of its glass prison. I could almost feel it urging me to open the lid.
Yeah, fat chance of that happening.
“We can do that later. I want to show it to Ethan first,” Delilah said.
I glanced up at the clock. “But it’s only lunchtime, and Ethan won’t be up for hours. I can’t sit in the house for that long with it here. I’m seriously repelled by it. I feel like I might be sick.” How was it affecting me so intensely? My stomach turned just looking at it.
“Amanda’s upstairs packing the last of her things to go home. Why don’t you go help her? It’ll get you out of the house for a couple of hours and will give me time to study this thing in more detail,” Rita suggested.
“Oh, I completely forgot she was going home today. Yeah, okay, I’ll do that.”
I felt skittish as I hurried upstairs to Amanda. I helped her with her bags, and we got a taxi to her parents’ place. I didn’t even realise Ira had tagged along until I felt him slide into the back seat next to me. It was a tight squeeze, but I didn’t mind. Truth be told, I liked having him around. His presence was quietly reassuring, especially after my reaction to Rita’s trapped mist.
“He is hot,” Amanda whispered to me on the drive, taking in Ira’s well-built form.
I grinned. “He’s mute, Mandy, not deaf.”
“Oh.” Her cheeks flushed as she glanced sheepishly back at Ira. I could be mistaken, but I thought I saw the corner of his mouth twitch in amusement. Huh. So, he was paying attention. Half the time it felt like he was in his own little world.