“Me neither.” I pause and blow air out through my mouth. “So you’ll make sure Rebecca gets here, yeah?”
“Of course I will, Petal. I’ll see you soon.”
We hang up and I return to the kitchen, which is now clear of furniture. Rita is kneeling on the floor, using a piece of black chalk to draw what looks like some kind of satanic Venn diagram on the lino. There are two pentagrams intertwined. Then she takes some red chalk and draws an inverted one in the middle.
All of the ingredients are spread out beside the pentagrams. Included are four candles, three blue and one red, a bowl of green moss from the garden, a packet of matches, ice cubes, a bottle with what Rita claims is dragon blood (though I have my doubts about that), clove oil, a large bottle of vodka, cinnamon sticks and one short piece of rope. Either someone’s in for a wild night, or as Alvie likes to put it, we’re about to get our spells on.
Just as everything’s assembled the front door opens, with Finn leading Pamphrock and Rebecca into the house. The moment Rebecca steps into the room Emilia’s eyes light up. The little girl is wearing a very fancy cream dress with a purple sash around the waist. On her feet are shiny black Mary Janes and her hair is in a French plait.
“Oh, aren’t you just a little darling,” Emilia exclaims as she introduces herself to Rebecca. Pamphrock doesn’t express any surprise at finding her here, so I take it Finn filled him in. Emilia explains to him that she once had a daughter just like Rebecca and that she’d do anything to assist in his cause. This puts him more at ease, but I can tell he’s not too happy about Rita’s presence. Well, we need three people for the spell, so he can either like it or lump it. I have a feeling the only reason he’s agreed to all this is down to his desperation to keep his daughter safe.
I watch Emilia interacting with Rebecca and I think I see her eyes glaze over a little. Is she upset? She turns away and dabs at her cheeks. When she catches me looking, she explains, “She’s just so much like Darya, so sheltered but so sweet. And she feels just like her too.”
I take it she means “feel” in the magical sense, rather than the touching sense. I don’t know what to say, so I don’t say anything. In a way it seems as though Emilia resents me for not being more dainty and innocent like Rebecca is, like my mother had been as a child. Well, she can fuck right off with that.
Once she gathers her emotions, she returns her attention to Rebecca, cooing over her pretty dress and gorgeous blond hair. Now Emilia’s eyes gleam with some kind of maternal possessiveness. I have no clue what that’s all about.
Suddenly Finn is at my side, studying the spell ingredients. “By the looks of it I don’t know whether you’re planning on casting a spell or setting up for a night of kink.”
I elbow him in the side and gesture to Rebecca, whispering, “Shush.”
Finn laughs. “She can’t hear me.”
“Still, you shouldn’t be talking about that shit when there’s a kid in the room.”
He leans in and tells me softly, “You shouldn’t be saying the word shit in front of her either, but we can punish each other later if you like.”
“Maybe,” I whisper back with an evil grin.
“Oh don’t torture me, Petal.”
&
nbsp; I smirk and turn to Rita, “You ready to get this show on the road?”
“Ready as I’ll ever be.”
She begins lighting the candles as Emilia carefully guides Rebecca inside the red inverted pentagram.
“I don’t like the look of those drawings on the floor,” Pamphrock comments. “If you three are up to something other than what you have told me there will be hell to pay.”
“Calm down, Gov,” says Rita. “Pentagrams aren’t all about Satanism. You’ve been watching too many horror films.”
“You will address me as Governor Pamphrock, witch,” he replies sternly.
Rita makes an annoyed face and continues with the preparations. Emilia takes the rope and ties it around Rebecca’s wrists. I enter one of the outer black pentagrams and sit down.
“Why does she need to be tied up?” Pamphrock questions.
“It’s just a part of the ritual,” Emilia explains, leaving Rebecca to step back outside of the pentagram. She places both of her hands on Pamphrock’s shoulders and looks deeply into his eyes. He seems momentarily taken aback by her proximity and she manages to charm him. “Do not worry on anything you see here. Once it is done your daughter will be safe and her blood will be all but non-existent to anyone who sees fit to do her harm.”
Pamphrock blinks and visibly calms at Emilia’s touch. “I understand. I just worry for my daughter’s safety. All of this is unknown to me.” He gestures at the set-up on the floor.
Emilia lets her hands fall to Pamphrock’s biceps now. “Do you trust us?” she asks in a sultry voice.
“I do,” he swallows. Ugh God, is my granny playing the seductress here? The sooner this is over and done with the better.
I look at him now and hold out my hand. “Do you have the blood?”