could clean it up, put it back in the cage and Ben would be none the wiser for a while. Of course, he’d be devastated once he discovered his pet was deceased, but that couldn’t be helped.
Even a Djinn couldn’t bring the dead back to life.
Twenty minutes and a half bottle of apple-scented shampoo (the dratted animal had been dirtier than he thought) later, the creature had been placed back in its cage in the corner of the living room. Daeliel preened as he surveyed his handiwork. He hadn’t quite been able to make the creature look as if it was comfortable, as its little limbs had been quite uncooperative, but at least it looked as if it was sleeping on its side.
“I think I’ve saved your bacon, missy,” he scolded the dog as he settled in to watch television and catch up on world events. This modern world could be quite entertaining when it needed to be.
***
It was around six when the front door opened. Ben shouted, “Dae, I’m home.” There was a clatter as he chucked something large onto the dining table. Daeliel winced. He’d polished it to a shine this afternoon and made faces at himself in the sheen of the wood.
I hope the buffoon hasn’t scuffed it.
Ben walked into the lounge, looking tired and a little pissed off. Tess got up and ambled over to him. He patted her head and scratched behind her ears. She closed her eyes in pleasure.
“You look as if you had a rough day. Are you all right?” Dae queried.
“Yeah, I’m good. One of my penguins got injured today, and we had to do some emergency surgery on her.” Ben walked over to the pet cage and stared down at it sadly. Dae held his breath as he cast a glance at Tess, who lay down watching Ben adoringly.
“Oh no. Is she okay?” Dae switched off the telly.
Ben nodded tiredly. “Yes, she’s fine. Some dickhead threw a plastic beer can holder into the water. Daisy got her beak caught and hurt herself trying to get it off.”
Daeliel thought it was cute the way Ben gave his birds names.
“What the holy fuck?” Ben exclaimed as he leaned towards the cage.
Daeliel strolled over and peered innocently into it too. “What’s wrong?”
“That.” Ben pointed to the cage, his eyes rounded in shock. “What the hell is he doing in there?”
Daeliel frowned. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, what the fuck is he doing in the cage?”
Daeliel wasn’t quite sure where this was heading, but he sensed something wasn’t going quite the way he’d planned it. He chose levity and a patronising attitude to help him through it.
“Well, unless he’s grown opposable thumbs and can open the door himself, where else would he be?”
Ben’s face darkened. “Pookums died in the night. I noticed this morning when I came to check on him before I went to work. I buried him out in the garden. So how the fuck did he get back in here?” His face brightened. “Unless you had something to do with this. Did you bring him back to life? You said you couldn’t do that. Actually, I wouldn’t want you to anyway, given what happened in Pet Sematary.” A visible shudder ran through his body. “If you can, I’m not sure that’s wise, considering how that turned out for everyone.”
Daeliel blinked. He had no idea what Ben was talking about but made a mental note to Google it later. It sounded—entertaining.
“Oh, you think it’s dead?” he said. He reached into the cage with his long finger and prodded it. “Hmm. It does seem rather unresponsive. It must have had a heart attack or something. Poor thing.”
“He died of old age,” Ben said between gritted teeth. “My original question stands. How did he find his way out of the garden grave I dug and into here?” He leaned in and sniffed. “Why does he smell of apples?”
Daeliel glared at Tess, who he was sure was grinning a blue streak at his predicament. Just you wait, he promised, hoping she could hear him. I am so going to get you for this one.
Wait a minute—Pookums? He snickered.
“So?” Ben demanded.
Daeliel sighed. “It appears I have been fooled. I found the little creature on the doormat when I got home. I thought he’d gotten out the cage and the beast here had killed him. It appears now she must have dug him up and brought him inside.”
“You thought you’d put him back in the cage? Why?” Ben’s