A WITCH'S HEART

Chapter 27

When I sat down for breakfast the following morning, the Portuguese cook Emry gave me a novel to read to pass time until my safari. I had woken up early, and had gone for a rejuvenating walk in the wonderful outer areas of the jungle. When I had returned and had expressed my feelings of indolence for the next three hours, she had handed the paperback to me.

It was like a mix between Jane Austen and Edgar Allen Poe. The story was cheery yet set in a Gothic house. The girl was rich, and was in love with a sanguinous anthropoid( simply put, vampire) who was evil and was hatching a plot to overthrow the powerful clan to which the girl belonged. The girl was busy plucking dandelions while the bloodthirsty demon claimed victims everyday. It was only when the younger sister of our heroine( who is supposed to resemble Elizabeth Bennet from Pride and Prejudice, though her wits are not even close to her keen wit) realised that many of the servants were missing that some action was taken. The brother of the vampire, who was truly in love with the younger sister proposed a plan to expose him, and just as he was discussing the intricacies, somebody entered the room.

I didn't get to see who it was, because at that moment, someone entered my room too.

"Are you really reading 'My heart belongs to you'?"

I looked up from the book sheepishly. "Actually, it isn't that bad."

"Of course, it isn't that bad." Julian rolled his eyes. "Seriously human? That book is like a weak version of a cross between a Jane Austen novel and an Edgar Allen Poe story."

Interesting comparison, just what I had been thinking.

"Witch now," I said.

"What?"

"You said human. I am a witch."

His eyebrows rose. "So the little human is growing."

"Stop it, Reynolds," I said, referring to him by his surname, which our school teachers used for us whenever they had to act like they didn't care for the kids, didn't consider them important enough to remember their first names.

"Oh yes, sure." He had a playful gleam in his eyes.

"By the way," I said, changing the subject, "What did you do?"

"Went for a swim in the river," he said. His dark hair was still wet, and his eyes flecked with the colour of a clear blue ocean, like he had acquired it from the water.

"Enjoyed it?"

"Oh quite," he said, "The river wasn't very turbulent. Though I think it will be, soon, because its going to rain."

That was true. Clouds covered the sky in a grey blanket, and the air was cool with pre-rain breeze.

I threw open the windows to allow more breeze to enter my little room.

"What time is our safari?"

"Four thirty," he said, then grimaced. "That woman will bore us to death until we get her off our backs."

"Didn't you speak to the authorities who arranged the safari?"

"I did, but they denied permission to go without a guide, those damned idiots! I wanted to do a memory charm spell on them right then and there, but of course, the stupid council has to ban it."

"I didn't know you were a stickler for rules," I teased.

"That I am not," he agreed with a mischievous twinkle in his eyes. "But some stupid rules impose themselves."

"So what's the plan?" I sat up straighter on the bed.

"Simple," he said, "Ditch the woman midway with a sleeping spell, find the ingredient."