plants need water. Do you know how many rare botanicals are in this garden that you’re just letting die? What has your undine been up to? I saw she isn’t working the fountain either. Makes the house look shabby, doesn’t it? She needs to water these plants.”
“Hi, Isaac, um…the undine can’t stay, you know,” I said. “She lives in the pool and no one can use it.“
“You know how to get rid of an undine?” Isaac asked.
“I do know,” I said, reluctantly. I was circling back to the same problem. I felt bad for the undine. I just wanted to be left alone to work on the house. But I could only imagine trying to tell my Realtor and potential buyers, The undine stays.
“Nope!” Isaac barked. “That’ll just make more trouble. She’s sad and that’s why everything’s messed up. I guess she’s heartbroken over Sam. I understand. She’s been here a long time working with the water here, and you can’t just get rid of her or this entire garden will die of drought and your pool will dry up. You have to give her a happy sendoff so she will bless your garden and your pool.”
“Wizard real estate seems like a nightmare,” Graham said.
“Ha! Yes,” Isaac said. “You two don’t want to keep this house, do you?”
“I am planning on selling it,” Graham said. “It’s a great house, but we need more bedrooms.”
“The undine is very moody,” I said. “She’s sad because she misses Sam. I don’t know what to do. She’s so human that I can’t just kick her out like a poltergeist. But we have to do something about her.”
“She just has to get married,” Isaac said.
“Do you want to marry her?” I asked, a little desperately.
“Me? No, no, I just lost my wife and she’d kill me from beyond the grave. I don’t really know what you can do about it, except that maybe you should just keep the house. You’re not bad neighbors, a little high on the drama, but not bad.”
I sighed.
Chapter Twenty-One
Bevan
Jenny had been in bed for days now. It was finally quieting down around the house. New familiars didn’t show up that much anymore, just two or three a day. Thankfully there was an end to it all. Most familiars, it seemed, were still pretty happy with their witch or warlock.
But I couldn’t forget the pain, because Jenny remained unconscious, clinging to life. I couldn’t get her to eat. I made healing poultices of every recipe I could find. I was barely sleeping because I kept shooting awake to see if she’d stopped breathing. I didn’t dare bring her to a healer in Etherium, considering who I was now. Who my witch had become. The destroyer of Etherium as we knew it.
It was definitely better for me to lay low. Soon, they would come for me too and I would probably have to leave this world and go to one of the other realms.
I’ve been naive, I thought, as I chopped some herbs for another pointless concoction. I’ve never had to look death in the face like this. When Harris lost his familiar all I could think was to be grateful Helena never got herself in any trouble.
Jenny had a lifetime of trouble. Just like Chester, the poor guy.
“Mm…” Jenny made the smallest murmuring sound and I almost cut my finger off.
“Jenny? Jenny. Talk to me. Can you turn human?” If I could at least get her to turn, it would be easier to administer healing.
“Mm…mouth…dry…”
I grabbed a clean cloth and dipped it in a pitcher of water from the spring, then put it to her mouth. She sucked on the rag a minute and then sighed.
Her body suddenly exploded out of the little wooden box I had made into a toad bed and I barely caught her before she fell off the table. I carried her to my bed.
“Warn me first, huh?”
“I didn’t know if…I could.” She winced. “Hurts…”
“You’ve been comatose for several days.” I poured a cup of water for her now and lifted her head as I put it to her lips. “You need to drink and eat.” She looked pallid and skinny, the days of unconsciousness sucking the life right out of her before my eyes, and all I wanted was to restore that life.
Some water trickled down her chin. She tried to wipe it off but her arm had no strength. It fell back beside her head. “Where am I? Who are you?”
“Bevan. I’m a familiar, like