Witch Doctors Inc: SEASON TWO (Ongoing)

Part 1.2

She fixes equally bright amethyst eyes on me. "I have a request," she says, "and a complaint."

"Request first," I say.

"Fine. Maya wants us to come on holiday with her. She says we're working too much."

I raise an eyebrow. "Her Majesty can go holidaying on her own. I'm fine to work. I wouldn't have chosen this career if I couldn't handle it."

Ruby gives me an eye-roll. "She isn't saying you can't handle it. And she means all of us - me, Addy, you, the cat. Even Prince Marsi and the griffin."

Onyx perks up. I have been meaning to discuss the disappearance of the Emerald of Sactaphrane with Eamonn for some time now.

Huh.

The grumpy cat and the grumpy griffin are friends.

Figures.

"I don't need a holiday, Ruby."

"Okay. The next time Maya buzzes to casually remind me that she's happy to host us any time, I'll let her know. Now...the complaint." Mischief dances at the corner of her eyelid. "The conference yesterday, the one that wheezy old councillor with the lazy eye hosted. We had food laid out for the guests. A certain black cat gobbled down the cupcakes before any of the guests could even take a bite."

My hands go to my hips. I narrow my eyes at Onyx.

Onyx blinks innocently. It was not me.

Ruby grins. "The black cat got its paws in the pudding too. When it was done making a mess, witnesses saw it get into the elevator. What kind of cat rides an elevator?"

Onyx licks his paw. I was hungry.

"You can't go around taking other people's food," I scold. "It's stealing."

Cats do not live by the same rules as humans.

"I'm not human," I retort, "and you know it."

There's an awkward silence.

See, this is what I don't get. I say I'm a witch and everyone's okay with that. All my friends (and I use the term loosely here, because Ruby's included) know I'm a witch. They're fine with it.

Then I say I'm not human, and I get this - this weird silence. Witches were alien beings from the planet Phaedra, so being the reincarnation of the First Witch makes me not human. That's just logic. I don't get everyone's irrational reactions.

I try a subject change.

"Anyway, what's up with all the glimmer?" I gesture at Ruby's hair. "And where are your glasses?"

Ruby sighs, leaning back into the sofa. The hummingbird, who had been hovering over the armrest, gives her an unimpressed snort and huffs away. "Addy thought I should switch up my look. She thinks I should experiment with fashion more."

I eye her warily. I want to say it, but this is one of those things I'm supposed to keep to myself.

Ruby sees my expression and smirks. "Yeah, I know. It's not me. Got to keep the princess happy though."

She's right. I would've gone along with it too, but only for Addy. She was put through hell while I succumbed to darkness.

The ruby-coloured pendant throbs at my chest. I move to the window, taking in the lights of a city carved from crystal. Addy was out there on that ferris wheel, clutching at emeralds. Above her was a universe shrouded in mystery. Civilisations that once thrived, now gone. People, my people, and their legacy. Their home.

And there's something else out there. Something far away, but getting closer. A gentle, yearning presence, like butterflies dancing in the night. It was reaching out with fingers that spanned stars.

'My children.'

I jerk away from the window, heart drumming against my ribcage.

"What are you looking at out there, Lily?"

I hazard another glance into the crystal-speckled night. There's nothing there now, reaching for me. "I don't know," I say quietly.

"Well, like I was saying, be prepared for Maya's not taking no for an answer. The only reason I got her message is because Addy let me borrow her communications monitor when mine broke down. She'll probably try your monitor next."

Great.

I'll probably end up taking a holiday whether I like it or not.

Ruby turns on her heel and heads for the door. The hummingbird lets loose a triumphant trill when the door slams shut behind her.

Onyx trots over to nip my foot.

Adamantine has still not arrived, he says.