Alice spent the day trying to brush aside thoughts of the dagger, though it was hard, since she was hyper aware that it was right there in the desk where she was sitting. She was so preoccupied with trying to think about something else (anything at all) that she hardly noticed when Altair came down around lunch time and placed a plate of sandwiches and a cup of tea by her elbow.
She glanced up, startled, when he cleared his throat loudly. Altair was standing there with his hands on his hips, brows creased in concern. She thought, distractedly, that he looked nice today, his shaggy hair freshly shampooed and tousled, wearing a grey hooded sweatshirt and torn blue jeans. He shoved his hands in his pockets and raised one blonde brow at her, clearly waiting for her to say something.
“Oh,” Alice glanced down at the sandwiches, which looked like they might be cucumber and cream cheese. Her favorite, “thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” he said, “but that’s not what I was looking for. Azura told me about the dagger, can I see it?”
“Oh, yes of course!” She felt silly. She should have called him downstairs right away, since his previous “occupation” meant he was quite familiar with valuable artifacts.
Alice reached down and opened the cupboard, happy that Maya was at the front dusting the shelves when the bell jangled over the door. She could take care of customers for a while. Her hands were trembling just the tiniest bit when her fingers closed around the box. She couldn’t decide if she was excited to see it again, or just frightened. The same question was playing in her head over and over. Why would she need this dagger? And why was it so drenched in power? Was it black magic, like the witch Germaine had practiced? The thought of handling something that had magic from demons powering it made her stomach turn. She handed the box to Altair right away, but kept the photo, glancing over it again, eyes lingering on her aunt Ruby.
Had her aunt been involved in some sort of cult? Had her aunt been a practitioner of black magic? The thought made her chest tight and her breath shorten. She had always thought of Ruby as a sort of guardian angel watching her, a benevolent force for good. She had given her the charm bracelet when she was a little girl, she had somehow known that Alice would need it. The idea that she might have used dark magic was sickening. She put the photo down on the desk and glanced over at Altair. He was shaking his head in admiration.
“I would have nicked this as soon as I saw it…”
“It’s valuable?”
“I think the handle is gold,” Altair set the box down, eyes shining, “man, that’s nice.”
“Do you recognize it?” she asked eagerly, “do you know anything about it?”
He shrugged, “sorry, I don’t recognize it,” he gestured at the box, “but if you take a look at the design of the guard, how it twists like that, it’s probably Grecian.”
“Why am I not surprised?” Alice muttered, “it’s like your bloody jar of Pandora all over again.”
Altair looked momentarily regretful, “that would have got me so much money.”
“You’re right,” she snapped, “too bad you had to use it so he wouldn’t kill me. Shame, really.”
Altair looked startled, “I wasn’t….I didn’t…”
“I’m sorry,” Alice rubbed her forehead, “I’m just…I shouldn’t have snapped at you.”
To her surprise Altair suddenly grabbed her hand and pulled her up from the desk chair, wrapping his arms around her firmly. After a moment, she sort of melted, resting her chin on his shoulder, enjoying the faint scent of cologne on his sweatshirt and the smell of his shampoo.
He said in a low voice, “It’s alright. You’re just tense. I made you cucumber sandwiches and tea.”
She pulled away slightly, looking up into his face, “thank you,” she said gravely, “that was very thoughtful of you. I shall enjoy them immensely.”
“I sure hope so,” he grumbled, ‘it took my forever to slice the bread into those little triangles.”
She laughed and sat back down behind the desk, whisking the box and the photograph back into the cabinet and out of sight. Maya seemed to be helping the only customer in the shop right now, a small, mousy woman, so Alice started on the plate of cucumber sandwiches. She gave Altair a thumbs up, and he pretended to a do a fist pump of triumph,
“Yes,” he exclaimed, “damn, I’m good!”
She giggled through a mouthful of bread, but before she could say anything the bell over the door rang again, and they both looked up. Alice’s good mood evaporated like smoke in a wind storm.
Sara strutted through the door, giving them both a cheerful hello. Alice mumbled a greeting, distracted by the outrageous outfit the woman had on. Today she was wearing another pair of treacherous high heels, in a bright red color. Alice estimated that they had to be nearly seven inches. She had combined this with a tube dress, (which Alice thought would have been better suited as a shirt) in a bright pink color. Sara moved forward, heels clicking over the wooden floor, a number of silver beads rattling around her neck. With her pink and red and silver, Alice was struck by the thought that the woman looked like a giant valentine’s day card.
Sara barely acknowledged anyone else. Her eyes were glued to Altair’s face, and she marched right over to him, “Hey there, I have a proposal for you.”
Alice clutched the edge of the desk tightly, for one dizzy moment she thought that Sara meant a marriage proposal, and she could tell Altair was thinking the same thing, because his blue eyes went wide, and he backed up a step and said, “sorry?”
Sara laughed, high and flirtatious, and flicked her hair over one shoulder, “calm down, sweetheart, you got me all wrong. I mean, I have a job for you,” she was looking up at Altair through long black lashes, “I have a big shipment coming in tomorrow night, lots of heavy frames and paintings, and I need a strong man to lift for me. My usual guy has come down with the flue.”
Altair looked lost for words, and Alice bit her lip and hoped frantically that he would say no. She couldn’t say no for him of course, though what she really wanted to do was leap over the desk and throttle this woman with her bare hands.
Sara clearly took Altair’s stunned silence as a good sign, perhaps that he was so dazzled by her beauty that he was speechless. She reached up and touched his arms with one finger, “I could use someone with some muscles. The paintings are really heavy. You look strong enough for the job.”
Altair finally seemed to find his voice, and he stammered, “Um…I think…I’m busy,” he glanced over at Alice, looking almost frantic, “I think…we have a thing…”
“Yes,” Alice said, feeling relieved that he looked so uncomfortable with the situation, “we, um. We planned to go…shopping.”
It was a lame excuse, but it was the only thing that had popped into her mind just now.
Sara turned to look at her for the first time, eyes scanning her up and down, and her flirty smile turned into a smirk, “Yes, buying some new clothes are we?”
Alice nodded guardedly.
Sara flipped her hair back again, “Well good. You should try to get something a little less, drab darling. Sweaters are all well and good for being a bum around the house, but what if you have to go out?” Her gaze slid back to Altair, “you have to dress to match present company you know, or you’ll be positively out-shone.”
Alice took in a deep even breath. There was another customer here, so it wouldn’t look good if she turned Sara into a toad. She could dream about it though. Wouldn’t it feel nice to see her warty and slimy? Or maybe she would make a good gerbil…
Sara didn’t seem to notice she was treading on thin ice, she had turned back to Altair and only had eyes for him again, “I love this sweatshirt on you,” she stroked one finger down his arm, “is it designer? You have great taste, it really emphasizes your muscles.”
Really, Alice thought furiously, there was only so much she could take.
She tried to make her voice as even as possible, “IS there something we can help you with, Sara? Is there something you wish to buy now, since Altair has said he can’t help you.”
Sara looked cross at having been interrupted, “No need to be rude, darling. I was just socializing.”
“Yes, you certainly are,” Alice stood up from the chair, visualizing how nice it would feel to wrap a thick handful of magic around Sara’s throat and pull it tight, “but we have loads of work to do here, so we’ll have to say goodbye.”
Sara huffed, “well, I’m basically being kicked out, aren’t I?”
Alice kept her voice mild, “well, it depends on how you look at it. I like to call it ‘being escorted out’ but yes, things will get unpleasant if you don’t leave now. I’m asking you nicely.”
“Well, I never,” Sara turned to Altair and shook her head, “you must like bad tempered, shrewish women then?”
He didn’t answer, and Sara turned and stormed out the door, as much as one could storm in seven inch heels. Alice watched her stomp across the street, willing one of her heels to break, or for the woman to stagger and fall over, but she arrived at her art shop safely and vanished inside.
Altair shook his head, eyes still wide, “someone please warn me next time she’s coming. I plan to hide under the desk.”
“I don’t blame you,” Alice muttered, her bad mood was lifted slightly, when she looked at his face and saw how truly baffled he was by the situation, “don’t worry, I’m sure she’ll latch onto someone else when she finally realizes you’re not interested. I don’t think she’s used to being rejected.”
Altair shook his head, “I think she’s just plain crazy, doing that stuff in front of you. I’m surprised you didn’t make her disappear like you did that nut job siren.”
“That nut job siren was busy trying to kill us,” Alice sat back in the chair and felt herself relax finally, “making her disappear for flirting would have been a bit much. Though trust me, I was very tempted to turn her into a small, furry rodent.”
“Please do,” Maya had just ushered the other customer out the door, “that would be really interesting to see. Plus she seems to deserve it.”
“I’m thinking a rat,” Alice mused, “or maybe even a guide pig. Then someone can put her in a little cage with woodchips.”
Altair leaned over and kissed her briefly, “eat your cucumber sandwiches, Maya and I will deal with any further customers.”
“Right,” Alice set out to devour the rest of her sandwiches. The shop was busy in the next couple minutes, the doorbell jangling every few seconds, but Shakra came out from the back to help the other two, and Alice snuck into the backroom and finished her lunch in relative peace.
After she’d cleaned the plate and finished her tea, she emerged from the back room just in time to see Erica, the girl from the book shop across the street. She was leaning over one of the shelves, marveling at the tiny white shark that swam around in circles in the fish bowl. Erika saw Alice and straightened up, shoving purple bangs out of her eyes,
“Well hey,” she said cheerfully, “how’s it going?”
“Great,” Alice smiled, relieved to see a friendly face, “he’s neat, huh?”
Erica looked back down at the shark, “yeah, he bites though?” She pointed at the little hand drawn sign that warned people not to poke their fingers in the tank.
“He behaves exactly like a real great white,” Alice nodded, “but much smaller. So yeah, he sees a finger, he’ll take a bite. Sharp teeth, even though they’re small.”
Erica pulled back from the glass hastily, “Cool,” she had a thick, ancient looking book tucked under her arm, and now she pulled it out and offered it to Alice, “wanted you to have this.”
Alice stared down at the book in surprise, at the scrolling script on the front.
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland
“Wow,” she took the book when Erica offered it to her, surprised, “thank you, but why?”
Erica shrugged, “think of it as a thank you. I think that blabber mouth that works at the coffee shop saw you come in my store, because now everyone is coming in. I’ve had a ton of people asking after you, so I’ve sent them over here mostly, but it’s made business pick up a lot.”
“So that’s why it’s been so busy the last couple days!” Alice exclaimed, “that’s crazy. People are really asking about me? What are they asking?” She couldn’t help feeling a bit baffled and nervous by this news. Could they be asking questions about Ambrose and where he’d disappeared to? Speculating that she’d done something to him?
“They want to know what you’re like, if I’ve ever seen you do magic…” Erica lowered her voice, “I heard you were in a gossip rag awhile back, were you?”
“Yes,” Alice muttered, “believe me, it’s not what it’s cracked up to be.”
“Do you really have a pet tiger?”
Alice’s brows shot up, and she saw Shakra – who had taken her spot behind the desk – attempt to hide a smile of amusement.
“Er, no. Not anymore. I…released her into the wild. She’s happier that way.”
“Oh cool,” Erica looked slightly disappointed, and Alice wondered what her reaction would be if she pointed out Shakra and said, “there you go, stare all you like.”
She stroked the top of the book, finger tracing the raised words on the cover, “Thank you,” she repeated, “that’s really lovely of you.”