Suddenly, Ira met my eyes through the mirror. There was so much wisdom in his gaze that I had to wonder if he really couldn’t talk or if he was simply pretending to be mute so that people would underestimate him. It was a good strategy, I supposed, but I’d be upset if it were true. He had nothing to fear from Finn or me. I wanted him to be comfortable enough to be his true self with us.
“So, what do you think our visit to Indigo is going to achieve?” I asked, returning my attention to Finn. “Marcel is hardly going to spit out Theodore’s location and master plan just because we come marching into his shop with a six-foot-something shapeshifter at our side.”
Finn shook his head. “We’re not going to let on that we’re after Theodore. Jesus Christ, who’s actually idiotic enough to let their enemies know they’re gunning for them in advance? You, Missy, are going to demand that Marcel tell you how to get your dad back from the hell dimension, while I scope the place out for clues about the big bad sorcerer.”
“Well, that could be useful, actually. I’ve been reading all of Gabriel’s magic books, but I still haven’t managed to discover a way of retrieving Dad, not without sending someone there to replace him. The only person I could ever do that to is Theodore himself, and obviously we have to find him first.”
Finn reached out a moment and patted my hand. I was struck by the warmth of his skin and how nice the contact felt. My head went to a strange place as I wondered what it would be like to be with Finn. He was so warm and friendly, so teasing. So human. I shook myself out of the fantasy, because starting anything romantic with Finn wasn’t a wise idea. I still had too many unresolved feelings for Ethan.
Finn shot me a curious look. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. I’m just worried about dad,” I answered.
“We’ll get him back. I promise.”
I blew out a breath. “Rita said time works differently in other dimensions. She said that even though, to us, Dad’s been gone for three weeks, it could only be a few minutes for him, which is what I’m hoping. But then, it could also be years, which I can’t even allow myself to contemplate.”
“Then don’t. We’ll get him back. Whatever comes after that we’ll deal with when the time comes.”
I was touched by his determination to help me. Finn had become almost like family to me these last few weeks, not afraid to dole out tough love when needed but also prepared to give reassurance, too.
“Thanks,” I whispered. This time I was the one to squeeze his hand. “I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
“I know. I’m pretty special,” he said with a wink as he parked his car around the corner from Indigo.
When we neared the entrance to the shop, I immediately noticed the steady flow of customers going in and out. I hadn’t worked at the place for very long, but during that time, there had never been such a large number of patrons. Finn placed his hand on my lower back, ushering me inside. I might have spent more time wondering about the affectionate gesture if I wasn’t so stunned to see how much Indigo had changed since I’d last been there.
The interior had undergone a major renovation. There were now several brand-new cash register stations instead of the old rickety one from before. It also looked like they’d knocked down one of the back walls to make the space larger. The shelves were new, too, displaying a whole range of stock the shop never used to carry, such as herbal cosmetics and hair dyes.
Two guys and one girl manned the cash registers, and something hummed inside of me. My magic informed me that these were members of the magical families. That had been happening more and more lately. I could recognise a supernatural being simply from the way my magic reacted to them. It was similar to how I’d felt a hum in my chest when I first got to know Rita, or how I was drawn to Florence back when we were still neighbours.
“Is your boss around?” Finn asked one of the guy workers.
Before he could answer, a voice said, “Well, well, to what do I owe this pleasure?”
Marcel stepped out of a doorway at the back of the shop, a smile on his face and a calculating gleam in his eyes.
“I think you’re finding this about as pleasurable as an injection up the posterior,” Finn said humorously. “I love what you’ve done with the place, by the way. It’s like McDonald’s for hippies.”
Marcel gave him a broad smile. “I’ve decided to try my hand at capitalism. And on the contrary, having old friends such as yourselves grace my door is quite the gift.” His eyes slowly drifted to me, and in their seemingly harmless depths, I saw my dad falling into a black, bottomless hole.
Immediately, anger roiled within me. How could he just stand there like he hadn’t thrown an innocent man into hell?
“Hello, Tegan,” Marcel greeted me, a hint of cruelty apparent in his smile. I enjoyed watching that smile swiftly dissolve when his eyes landed on Ira, who was standing directly behind me.
“Ah,” Marcel cleared his throat. “I see you’ve brought another friend.”
I felt Ira’s protectiveness like a heat at my back. His presence put me much more at ease than I would’ve been facing Marcel alone.
“This isn’t a social visit,” I said. “I want you to tell me how I can bring my dad back from where you sent him.”
Marcel gave me a fake sympathetic look. He reached out as if to comfort me, but rapidly withdrew his hand when Ira gave a low, rumbling growl.
“Easy,” Marcel said, backing away as he met Ira’s gaze. “I mean her no harm.”
Ira’s growling ceased once Marcel had distanced himself far enough. The warlock blinked, seeming a little shaken by the obvious threat in Ira’s growl. He also looked a little fascinated, clearly wondering exactly what kind of supernatural being my new bodyguard was. Marcel brought his attention back to me.
“I’m sorry, Tegan, but your father is irretrievable. I suggest you grieve and move on.”
His heartless statement cut me to the quick. I narrowed my gaze at him, a feeling of hopelessness setting in. Was Dad really irretrievable? No, Marcel was lying. He had to be.
“If he’s been sent to the same place Theodore was sent, then surely he can be retrieved,” I argued.
“Your father is human. Theodore is not,” Marcel answered. “If you try and pull a human out of a hell dimension they will always come back changed. There are no fifty-fifty chances with this. He would be corrupted, poisoned, certainly not the father you once knew.”
His words deflated me because they made far too much sense, but I couldn’t bring myself to accept it. “You’re lying,” I whispered.
“I wish I were. Any attempts you make to bring your father back will not end well.”
How could he stand there and talk to me so casually when he was the one who pushed my dad into that hole? I wanted to hurt him, but I knew it wouldn’t do me any favours. Besides, if it turned out that I really couldn’t get Dad back, then I was going to focus all my energy on destroying Marcel and every other person who was in that cave on New Year’s Eve.
Marcel turned his attention to Finn. “Mr Roe, I hear you’ve been making friends with a couple of exiled vampires.”
What? How could Marcel know about the alliance we’d made with Ethan?