mother learned magic from Emilia, then perhaps she was exactly the person I needed right now. With this realisation, I turned to face Ira.
Taking his large hand into mine, I said, “If I agree to what she’s asking she’s going to be hanging around here for a while. She might be my grandmother, but it’s your life she stole. If you don’t want her here, then just say the word and I’ll tell her to leave.”
Ira looked over my shoulder at Emilia. “Did you really come to apologise?”
“I did,” she answered immediately. “I meant what I said about not being the woman I was back then. I now see the error of my ways. You don’t know how sorry I am for my selfish actions.”
His eyes returned to me, but he didn’t speak yet. I wondered if forgiving people for their sins was a part of Buddhism the same way it was a part of Christianity. “You think she can help with your spell for Rebecca?” he asked.
“There’s a good chance she can,” I replied truthfully.
“Then you should agree to work with her. Protecting that little girl is what matters.”
I squeezed his hand. I knew allowing this was a big deal for him. I tried to show how grateful I was with my eyes. When I let go of his hand, I turned to address Emilia. “You say you’ve changed, but I’ll believe that when I see it. I’ll let you work with me on the spell, but if you try to do anything to Ira again, I’ll kill you myself.”
“You would kill your grandmother?” she questioned, raising her eyebrows.
“If she turned out to be an evil, backstabbing bi—I mean, witch,” I said, my slip intentional. “Then yes, I would, without hesitation.”
She studied me now. “You have Darya’s eyes, her hair, too, but it seems that is where the similarity ends. Darya was a gentle creature. You are tough, like old boots.”
“Old boots are survivors. I’ll take that as a compliment,” I quipped.
Before she could reply, a man dressed in a chauffeur getup walked up the driveway and whispered in Emilia’s ear. It was only after seeing him that I noticed the fancy black Mercedes Benz sitting out on the road.
She nodded to the chauffeur, and he returned to the car. “I have an engagement I’m late for, but I’ll come to see you at lunchtime tomorrow, if that suits, and you can tell me all about this spell you endeavour to cast.”
I gave non-committal shrug, still not too keen on having anything to do with her. Working on the spell with Emilia was for Rebecca’s benefit. I had no intention of becoming close to the woman who cursed Ira. Speaking of whom, she turned her attention back to him before she left. “It’s good to see you whole again, Mr Wolf. My word, you really haven’t aged a day. It’s a marvel.”
“I’m afraid I can’t say the same for you,” Ira replied, and his tone was so casual it took me a second to register the insult. I felt like giving him a high five for that one. It wasn’t like Emilia didn’t deserve it.
Her face hardened slightly, but she seemed to accept that she probably deserved far worse treatment from Ira after what she did. She inclined her head, turned on her heel, and walked to the Mercedes, sliding gracefully into the back seat.
“There’s never a dull day around here,” I said, hands on my hips as I watched my long-lost grandmother drive away.
“It’s this city. There are too many supernatural creatures here. It’s a big place, but not big enough to contain them all,” Ira said.
“Makes a person feel like moving to a remote cabin in the woods.”
“True,” he smiled. “So now you know who your grandmother is.”
“Yeah,” I sighed. “I kind of wish I didn’t.”
11.
Throughout the rest of the day, I found myself slipping my hand inside my pocket to fiddle with Edwards’s coin. I grew paranoid that he wouldn’t be able to locate me unless I was touching it.
I was going to drive myself insane with all this fretting.
Ethan didn’t come over to the house once it got dark, which made me wonder if he felt too ill to venture out. I felt like going over and checking on him, but I wasn’t sure if he’d want to see me. Finn brought Thai food home, and we all sat down together to eat, while I recounted what had happened earlier in the day with Emilia.