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“I don’t know. Some day I’d like to try and figure out a spell that could open up a door to another dimension.”
“You already have. Remember, when you banished Theodore?”
“Yeah but that was a banishment spell. I’d like to figure out something less dramatic. A way of just stepping in and out whenever I like.”
“Oh my God, you’re jealous of Edwards, aren’t you? The way I told you how he just drew a circle in the air and a hole opened up.”
She shrugs and nods. “Maybe. It’d be cool to be able to do something like that.”
“You can do enough cool stuff as it is,” Alvie tells her.
“Not as many as Tegan,” she argues.
“Ugh. At least you know what you’re doing when you work magic. Half the time I’m clueless, and that’s pretty scary.”
It irritates me a little that she can’t just be happy with the magic she already has. I walk away from her and go over to another rack of t-shirts. I find a white one with the slogan “Keep Calm and Carry Garlic” written down the front. Snickering to myself, I throw it over my arm and decide to buy it. It’ll be funny to see how Ethan reacts when I wear it, if nothing else.
It’s after two when we get home from shopping. I go inside the house and hang out with Ira for a while. I ask him to tell me about his childhood growing up in Samoa, because I want something to distract me from worrying.
He talks for a long time, describing the island and the people, the way of life. I sort of get lost listening to his accent and the way he pronounces different words. Unfortunately, we’re interrupted by a knock at the front door.
Thinking it’s probably Rita coming in from her RV, I go to answer it. It isn’t Rita though. When I open the door there’s a very well dressed lady standing there. She looks to be in her late sixties and she’s got really weird hair. It’s split down the middle, with one side jet black and the other silvery grey.
“I’m here for Ira Wolf,” she says, eyeing me up and down with a snobbish air.
I eye her up and down right back, folding my arms and leaning back against the door-jamb. “Oh yeah, and who are you?” I’m not normally so rude to strangers, but this woman’s haughty demeanour puts me on the defensive.
“Do not play with me, little girl. I’m here for Ira, so bring him to me.”
“I’ll bring him to you after you tell me who you are, old woman.”
She sighs and flicks her long, two-toned hair over her shoulder. She’s wearing a fancy dress coat, black leather boots with severely pointed toes, and dark green leather gloves. She glances past me and into the house. “Ira!” she calls. “I know you’re in there. Come out here and face me.”
Seconds later Ira steps into the hallway. I turn back to see him standing there, a look of undiluted hatred on his face. “Emilia,” he growls.
Emilia? Oh wow. This is the witch who cursed him all those years ago? So much for her suffering her own curse right now. She doesn’t look like she’s suffered a day in her life. You can tell by her refined features and the lack of lines on her face, despite her age. Or since she’s a witch, maybe she just knows some spells to get rid of crow’s feet. I can’t believe she has the gall to show up like this.
“I knew my spell had been broken. I could feel it, but I’d been out of the country when it happened. I traced your presence to this house. This is the first occasion I’ve had to come and see for myself.”
“I hate to break it to you, lady, but I think you’re the last person Ira wants to see at the moment. In fact, I don’t want to see you either. I think it’s fucking disgusting what you did to him.”
She barely glances at me, her dark eyes seeking out Ira. “Tell this rude child to leave us. I want to talk.”
“Eh, I’m not a child and you’re not talking to him. Now go piss off back to wherever you came from.”
She glares at me, her nostrils flaring a little. Then quite boldly, she moves to walk past me and right into the house. Oh, the fucking cheek of her. I can’t help it, I get angry at how she just dismisses me like that. My magic bubbles up and my arm whips out; sparks fly from my hand and I knock her flat on her arse.
I momentarily think how ironic it is that I’m defending a big guy like Ira. I still kind of look upon him as this voiceless animal who needs to be protected. Every time I stare into his eyes I can see the dog he once was. He hasn’t changed back since the curse was broken, perhaps in fear of being stuck in his animal form again.
“How could you possibly…” she breathes, trailing off. She’s not looking at Ira anymore, now she’s looking at me with a mixture of fear and fascination.
“I’ll do worse than that if you don’t pick yourself up and walk away from this house right now,” I warn her.
“No, no, you don’t understand. You shouldn’t have been able to do that.”
“Oh yeah, and why not?” I ask, thinking she’s going to say something like, because you’re only a human.
But that isn’t what she says. Instead, she replies, “Because the only witches who possess that particular form of defence are those from my bloodline. I know every member of my family and I have never seen your face before in my life.”
