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“When I was in the warehouse, I saw her give the knife to Fafnir as a gift. She said it was cursed with the blood of the betrayed and wanted to use it on the protector,” I replied. “Have you ever heard of such a thing?”
I opened my eyes to see her purse her lips and nod. “I’ve heard of such a thing, but I’ve never seen it, nor do I know how to counteract its effects.” She picked up a tube and pulled out a brush from the lid. Mascara.
“Look up,” she instructed, and I did as I was told. She continued as she combed my lashes with the brush. “I could do some research. We have lots of craft books here. If your new witch, Charlie, needs to know anything, he’s also welcome to join me in the library.”
“That’s really kind of you to offer. I’m sure he’ll take you up on that. He’s keen to learn more about his powers to better protect us all.”
She nodded and picked up a smaller tube, revealing a pink lipstick. After painting it on my pouted lips, she snapped the lipstick shut and said, “There look at you. A brand-new woman.”
Naomi took my hand and pulled me into the bedroom in front of a full-length mirror. I gasped.
I could barely recognize myself. My hair wasn’t gold; it was darker but with blond highlights, making my skin seem brighter. It was straight and silky smooth to the touch. My eyes looked defined, wider. My lips looked plumber.
I look … beautiful.
My lips quivered, and my eyes filled with tears.
“Why are you sad? What’s wrong?” Naomi gasped.
I swallowed. “I spent a lot of time watching films where the girls would have sleepovers or help each other dress and talk about boys, but I didn’t have that in my old life. It wasn’t the done thing. But I never imagined I’d meet such lovely supportive ladies who would do all this for me.”
“Oh, goddess.” Natasha put her hand on her heart and closed her eyes.
Karin slapped the hand I moved to rub my eye. “You’re ruining all my hard work. No more crying.”
It shocked me enough that I laughed. “I’m sorry. I’m not sure what’s wrong with me.”
Naomi nodded knowingly. “You let the barrier down after grieving your witch, and now you’re all tender and squishy.”
“That must be it,” I replied.
“Cry as much as you like.” Natasha gripped my arm and pulled me into a hug. “I’ll join you. I’m in the emotional part of my cycle. I have an excuse.”
I chuckled. “Thankfully, familiars don’t have cycles.”
“And you are definitely still a familiar?” Karin asked quickly.
“Of course I still am a familiar. Just not your average one.”
I followed Naomi back to the table, where she topped up all our glasses with the remainder of the bottle. I smiled and picked up my glass to take a sip. It seemed to taste better the more I drank and made me feel warm and loose.I can definitely see the allure.
“You’ve met other familiars?” Karin asked.
I nodded as I sat back down. “I have met another familiar. His name was Cedric. He was a raven.”
“And he liked being an animal as you did?”
“Oh no, he hated it. I don’t know about now. His witch was really old, so they could have passed on already, but he wanted to fly. She wouldn’t let him. He called himself an adrenaline junky and died in a skydiving accident. He wasn’t pleased to wake up as a familiar.”
“That’s so sad,” Natasha commented as she put all the makeup away.
“Is that often the case?” Karin continued.
I shrugged. “I imagine it depends on the person. People can die before their time in all manner of ways. If they were looking forward to their death, they might feel differently to someone who regretted their ending.”
“Someone …” Karin repeated as though it were an alien word.
The odd feeling I had returned, and I looked at her intently. “Yes. Someone. Familiars might look like animals, but we have human souls. We talk and feel and think just as we used to.”
