what to say, so I remained silent. In a way, I felt like Emilia was disappointed that I wasn’t dainty and innocent like Rebecca, or like my mother had been as a child.
Well, I was who I was, and she could take me or leave me.
Once she gathered herself, she returned her attention to Rebecca, cooing over her pretty dress and gorgeous blonde hair. It was like she’d fallen in love at first sight. Emilia’s eyes gleamed with a kind of maternal possessiveness, which put me a little on edge.
Suddenly, Finn was at my side, studying the spell ingredients. “I can’t tell whether you’re planning on casting a spell or setting up for a night of kink.”
I elbowed him in the side and gestured to Rebecca, whispering, “Shush.”
Finn chuckled low. “She can’t hear me.”
Rita appeared in front of us. “You ready to get this show on the road?”
“Ready as I’ll ever be.”
She began lighting the candles as Emilia carefully guided Rebecca inside the red inverted pentagram.
“I don’t like the look of those drawings on the floor,” Pamphrock commented. “If you three are up to something untoward there will be hell to pay.”
“Calm down, Gov,” Rita said. “Pentagrams aren’t all about Satanism. You’ve been watching too many horror films.”
“You will address me as Governor Pamphrock, witch,” he replied sternly.
Rita clearly resisted the urge to roll her eyes as she continued with the preparations. Emilia took the rope and tied it around Rebecca’s wrists. I entered one of the outer black pentagrams and sat down.
“Why does she need to be tied up?” Pamphrock questioned in concern.
“It’s just a part of the ritual,” Emilia explained, leaving Rebecca and stepping outside of the pentagram. My grandmother approached Pamphrock, laid her hands on his shoulders, and looked deeply into his eyes. He seemed momentarily taken aback by her proximity, but she managed to charm him. “Do not worry about 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 blinked and visibly calmed at Emilia’s touch. “I understand. I just worry about my daughter’s safety. All of this is unknown to me.” He gestured to the set-up on the floor.
Emilia let her hands fall to Pamphrock’s biceps now. “Do you trust us?” she asked in a sultry voice.
“I do,” he swallowed. Ugh, my granny was flirting with the governor. The sooner this was over and done with the better.
“Do you have the blood?” I asked Pamphrock.
He stepped past Emilia and reached inside his coat, retrieving a glass vial and handing it to me.
“Thank you,” I said before passing it to Rita.
Emilia stepped back inside the circle, and we all sat down. I made sure to leave the back door open, so there was a light breeze flowing into the room. Rita placed a large spell bowl in front of her and began throwing in the ingredients. First was the moss, then the bottle of what may or may not be dragon blood. Next came the cinnamon sticks, followed by a few drops of clove oil. As we planned earlier, we each took one of the now half-melted ice cubes, licked them, and threw them into the bowl in unison.
Rita uncapped the vial of Felicity’s blood and poured the whole thing in before swiftly grabbing the bottle of vodka and emptying it into the bowl. She picked up the packet of matches, lit one up, flicked it in, and the concoction was alight with magical, multi-coloured flames. The air in the room thickened with what I’d come to recognise as magic. It had a scent, too. Like church incense, but stronger and spicier.
Rita, Emilia, and I took each other’s hands and began the chant that we all learned by heart earlier.
“Earth, Wind, Fire and Water, Nature, Ice, and Creatures of Myth, lend unto us your power. Give us your strength and protect this child. By saying your names, so it is done.”
The colourful flames burned higher, and Rebecca cried out as the rope around her wrists tightened. It only lasted for a few seconds before the knot miraculously untied itself and her hands fell free. An unnaturally strong wind blew into the room, putting out the fire in the bowl, and the spell was complete.
Silence filled the space.
“Is that it? Is it done?” Pamphrock asked with urgency.
Emilia turned to him with a benevolent smile. Something about her expression made me suspicious though. The smile seemed fake.