‘Hey.’ Faye blinked, coming out of her daze.
‘So?’ Ruby was already carrying two brown glass bottles of herbal tincture and a tall white candle labelled ‘Peace’. She grinned at Faye. ‘You like it?’
Faye smiled. ‘I love it. Thanks for bringing me here.’
‘You’re welcome, witch.’ Ruby nodded at the candles. ‘Deciding what to get?’
‘Oh… no, I was just thinking about my shop, Mistress of Magic.’ Faye turned around and looked at some goddess sculptures on the wall behind her. ‘It’s been closed a while now. I… at some point, I have to decide what to do with it.’
‘You’d sell it?’ Ruby’s eyes widened.
‘No. No, I’d never do that.’ Faye was caught off guard by the rush of sorrow and homesickness that overcame her at the thought. She swallowed, embarrassed by the tears that suddenly choked her throat. ‘Sorry. I… I don’t know what’s come over me. I was fine a minute ago.’
‘Oh, darling. Come on, let’s go outside for a minute.’ Ruby set her treasures down on the shop counter before leading Faye outside the shop and to a green cast iron love seat in the little courtyard outside. Tall palms in wide pots helped obscure the shop from the idle passer-by.
‘It’s amazing they get any custom, the shop’s so hidden away,’ Faye observed.
‘People that need it, find it,’ Ruby replied. ‘It’s an institution. So, come on. What’s going on?’
Faye sighed. ‘It’s kind of a long story. But basically, my shop’s closed up, in Abercolme, and I haven’t made any long term plans about what to do with it. And I realised that’s because I don’t really know what’s happening with me and Rav. I don’t want to sell the shop. That’s my family’s heritage.’ Faye felt the tears filling her eyes again and wiped them away impatiently.
‘Sure,’ Ruby nodded, ‘I wouldn’t want to either.’
‘But what I do with the shop’s a barometer for my commitment to Rav, don’t you think? I don’t have a plan for either. That worries me.’ Faye looked into the distance.
‘It’s not ideal, babes.’ Ruby took out her vape and turned it on. A cloud of raspberry-scented vapour surrounded Faye. ‘I don’t know what to suggest. I mean, it’s okay not to know, that’s the first thing. You don’t have to be definite about the guy until you are, one way or another.’
‘I know, but… the shop is an added pressure.’
‘You should speak to him about it, then. If you can see this is going to become an issue. He knows it’s your business, I mean, he owns his own business, right?’
Faye nodded.
‘Okay, well, stands to reason that he’s going to understand all the practicalities. I mean, maybe you can get a manager in temporarily? Or go back yourself for a while?’
‘I can’t really open it here and there. You have to be reliable for customers.’ Faye thought of her mix of locals and the witches that often made Mistress of Magic a particular stop on their holiday. ‘But, yeah. I need to talk to Rav about it. You’re right.’ She didn’t know what the outcome would be, but she had to make a decision at some point.
‘It’ll be okay, sweets.’ Ruby kissed her on the cheek, surprising Faye. ‘Ha. You didn’t know we were at the cheek-kissing stage, did you?’
‘No, but it’s fine.’ Faye smiled, her heart warmed by Ruby’s obvious care.
‘Look. Gabriel’s a good listener.’ Ruby nodded and squeezed Faye’s arm. ‘Gods know he’s listened to my woes enough times. But I am too, okay? It’s been nice getting to know you, Faye. I don’t have that many witchy girly friends.’
‘Me neither.’ Faye gave Ruby an unexpected hug.
‘Come on, then.’ Ruby turned off her vape and put it back in her bag. ‘Let’s shop. And then, cake, definitely.’ She rearranged the fluffy fuchsia pashmina around her shoulders; Faye rubbed her hands together. It was getting cold in the days now; she needed new gloves.
Gabriel poked his head out of the shop door and gave both of them an enquiring look. ‘Ladies. All okay out here? You’re missing out on some serious retail therapy.’
‘We’re fine. I needed a vape.’ Ruby waved dismissively at Gabriel. ‘We’re coming back in now.’
Gabriel ignored Ruby’s wave and came to join them; he pulled a wooden garden chair to sit next to Faye’s side of the love seat.
‘What’s going on?’
‘It’s okay. I was thinking about my shop, that’s all.’ Faye smiled.
‘Ah,’ Gabriel frowned.
‘What?’ Faye prompted.
‘No, it’s just… I was wondering if this was about Aisha.’
‘Oh god. No, I wasn’t thinking about that.’ A new wave of despair overtook Faye.
‘Sorry. I shouldn’t have said anything.’ He looked uncomfortable. ‘It’s just that we were talking about it before. I know it’s on your mind.’
‘Gabes, don’t upset her.’ Ruby looked concernedly at Faye.
‘He’s not,’ Faye sighed. ‘The thing is, I could get into Murias. There is one obvious way. But…’ she met Gabriel’s eyes. ‘You know what I mean. What do you think?’
‘You mean…’ he frowned again. ‘You said that was a definite no.’
‘What was a definite no?’ Ruby looked back and forth at them both. ‘Can someone please remind me know what we’re talking about?’
‘Aisha. There is one way I know I can get back to Murias, and rescue her. Maybe.’ Faye exchanged a glance with Gabriel. ‘But it would mean being his lover again. The faerie king.’
‘Riiiight,’ Ruby took a long drag on her vape. ‘And you’d do that?’
‘I don’t know. What do you think?’
‘I think it’d be really bad for your home life with Rav.’ Ruby exhaled the smoke, eyebrow raised. ‘As a massive understatement. But… I dunno. Maybe it’s more a question of making Finn believe you would, rather than “going all the way”?’ She made quote marks in the air with both index fingers.
‘Ruby, darling. That’s a little oversimplifying,’ Gabriel chided her. ‘I don’t know, Faye. It would be hugely dangerous. For you, for Rav – even for Aisha. What if it made things worse for her – if Finn found out what you were doing, and punished her for it? Have you thought of that?’
‘Of course I’ve thought of that!’ Faye snapped. ‘But time’s moving on, you know? Even if it moves differently in Murias. She’s still there. It’s still my responsibility to save her.’ Faye took in a long breath. ‘What I want to know is, do you think it would work?’
Gabriel looked away, thinking.
‘It might. I mean, I don’t have the same knowledge of the faerie realm as you do. And, as you know, I am fascinated by the idea of having faerie lovers.’
‘It’s not what you think it is,’ Faye argued back, but Gabriel’s indication that it might be possible – that she might somehow be able to pretend with Finn long enough to get to Aisha – was seductive in ways that she didn’t want to admit to herself.
‘Maybe. But if it’s something you decide to do, I’ll help you, if you need it.’ Gabriel stuck his hands into his pockets. ‘You know I’m kind of… obsessed with the fae. Like a fanboy.’
‘You really shouldn’t be,’ Faye warned.
‘Maybe. But you know better than anyone how addictive they are,’ he replied, and Faye knew she had no reasonable response except to agree.
Thirty-Two
Ruby, Gabriel and Faye had already opened the wine and were chattering merrily in the kitchen when Rav got home. Faye was making a salsa verde to go with the poached salmon and Gabriel was laying the long scrubbed pine dining table; Ruby sat on the kitchen counter with a glass of wine, finishing the end of an outlandish story she claimed was true, about her experiences with her first coven.
‘So, he was laid out cold for hours, I’m not even joking, and when he came around, he said he’d been talking to his ancestors and they foretold the Royal Wedding. A prince will marry a commoner. After all that prep, that’s the message he got.’
Rav walked in, smiling. ‘Party’s already started, I see.’ He kissed Faye and shook Gabriel’s hand. ‘Hey, I’m Rav.’
‘Gabriel Black. Delighted,’ he answered with a friendly, Gabriel-esque nod; sometimes Faye thought Gabriel must have walked out of the 1940s, he could be so quintessentially English.
‘And you must be Ruby.’ Rav kissed Ruby on both cheeks. ‘So! What have I missed?’
Faye handed Rav a glass of the white wine they were almost at the bottom of already.
‘Ruby was just telling us about her first coven,’ she explained. ‘Tell Rav what you used to get up to!’ she laughed, going back to the worktop and pouring the salsa verde into a bowl. She was trying not to think about what she, Ruby and Gabriel had talked about earlier; that, while Gabriel had warned her of the dangers of going back to Murias, the fact that neither of them had absolutely said that she shouldn’t bothered her more than it should. She almost wished they had both told her uncategorically that it was a terrible, unworkable plan, destined to failure.
Ruby blushed.
‘Oh, it was nothing really,’ she insisted, looking uncharacteristically embarrassed. ‘We were young then. So, tell us about yourself, Rav?’ Ruby had changed the subject adeptly, and Faye wondered if she was uncomfortable talking about witchcraft in front of a non-witch. If Rav noticed her slight discomfiture, he didn’t show it. ‘You run your own music company, don’t you? Faye was telling us earlier.’ Rav sat down at the table as the doorbell rang.
‘Yeah, it’s been running, what ten, twelve years now? We’ve been fairly successful. Promote tours and festivals, that kind of thing. That’s how I met Faye.’ He shot Faye an affectionate smile, and she swallowed a little of the nervousness she had about the evening. Rav hadn’t spent a lot of time with her friends, and this meant a lot to her.
‘I’ll get it. It’ll be Annie and Suze.’ Faye wiped her hands on a dishtowel and welcomed the couple in. Annie gave her a bear hug.
‘How are you, Faye?’ Susie handed her a bag from the wine shop on the corner.
‘That guy in the wine shop’s a talker, aye? Couldnae get a word in.’ Annie took off her coat and threw it on the sofa; Susie picked it up wordlessly and looked at Faye.
‘I think what Annie meant was, where should we hang our coats?’ she said, brightly. Faye took them, laughing. ‘Everyone’s in the kitchen. Go on in, I’ll be right there.’
She opened a door to the utility cupboard, a little alcove with the boiler in and the place Rav stashed his shoes and various random golf clubs, magazines and tote bags with his company’s logo on them, and hung up the coats. When she turned back into the lounge, she was surprised to find Annie still standing behind her.
‘Gods, you frightened me.’ Faye put her hand over her heart.
‘How are things?’ Annie whispered, nodding in the direction of the kitchen. ‘I wanted tae ask before we do the social chitchat.’
‘Between me and Rav? They’re okay. Good.’
‘Ye sure, sweetheart?’ Annie had always been able to see into her soul.
‘Okay, okay. Same as before, then,’ Faye hissed.
‘Ye havenae talked to him yet?’
‘Not yet. But I will.’ It seemed that there was a lot Faye needed to talk to Rav about; she could feel herself resisting it, though. She didn’t want to upset their fragile balance. ‘Come on, come in and say hi to everyone.’ Faye led Annie into the kitchen, where Rav and Ruby were laughing about something; Gabriel was standing next to them, smiling politely. He grinned as Annie walked in, spun an imaginary walking cane and made a bow.
‘Emma Peel! As I live and breathe!’ he trilled, making Faye laugh.
‘Oh, jolly good, it’s my loyal companion John Steed!’ Annie, being an actress, could change accents at lightning speed, and when she wanted to, her Queen’s English was clipped and aristocratic. They laughed and Gabriel hugged her and Susie. Obviously, they’d all made quite an impression on each other when they’d met at the witches’ ball; kindred spirits.
‘Okay, time to eat! Everyone, sit down.’ Faye directed everyone to where they should sit, placing Rav between Ruby and Susie, and Gabriel between her and Annie on the other side of the table.
‘Darling, this looks delicious.’ Rav raised his wine glass to her. ‘To Faye, chef extraordinaire.’
They all toasted her and Faye felt her worries recede temporarily in a mist of good cheer.
The conversation and the wine flowed – Faye put a second and then third bottle on the table as the six of them laughed and talked. She was feeling tipsy, but hadn’t had too much. It was making her feel nauseous, so after the first glass she switched to water.
The conversation had turned to Annie’s TV show, Coven of Love, and Annie and Ruby were regaling the table with funny stories about other members of the cast.
‘And of course there’s the Coven of Love ghost,’ Ruby said, deadpan, holding up her index finger for quiet. ‘Seriously. He’s called Cyril and he brushes against you sometimes in one particular dressing room. And you can hear shuffling footsteps going up and down the hallway outside, and sometimes he coughs.’
‘He sounds like a strangely underwhelming ghost for a witchy TV show,’ Susie commented. ‘I’d expect… I dunno. Some wailing or something.’
‘Most spirits are those mundane ones.’ Gabriel helped himself to a spoon more of the salsa verde. ‘It’s just films that make people think it’s going to be, like, Henry VIII appearing at the end of your bed holding Anne Boleyn’s head or whatever.’
‘Yeah. He’s nice, anyway, Cyril. Been there years apparently.’
‘How do you know that?’ Rav asked.
‘Maintenance man told me. He’s worked there most of his life, he’s heard Cyril shuffling about loads of times.’
Rav raised his eyebrow. ‘And you believe him?’
Ruby blinked. ‘Why wouldn’t I?’
Rav shook his head. ‘I don’t believe in ghosts,’ he stated. Gabriel smiled, but didn’t say anything.
‘Oh. Well, lots of people don’t. It happens a lot more than you think, though. People pass on and get lost, get trapped in this realm.’
Rav smiled politely and nodded, but Faye thought they all could see on his face what he really thought.
‘So. Rav. Tell us aboot yourself.’ Annie sat back and took a sip from her glass, smiling neutrally. Faye knew Annie well enough to know that this was the smile she reserved for people she was assessing. ‘I know we met in Abercolme, but I don’t feel I know ye. Tell us some fascinatin’ facts about the man that is Rav Malik, aye.’
Susie elbowed Annie. ‘Don’t be so nosy!’ she chided, but Rav smiled; Faye thought he was probably glad that Annie had changed the subject.
‘S’ok. Fair question. Right, fascinating facts… hmmm…’ He reached for some bread and tore it apart as he was thinking. ‘Okay. The first album I ever bought was Bat Out of Hell 2: Back into Hell.’
‘Classy,’ Susie said with a grin.
‘Yup. Ummm, what else. I’m scared of moths?’
‘I’d expect more from a Meatloaf fan,’ Annie laughed as she drank from her glass.
‘What was yours, then?’ Rav topped up his glass and offered the bottle to Ruby next to him, who shook her head. ‘You going to claim it was something ridiculously cool? People always do that, but they always like the cheesiest things in secret.’ He rolled his eyes.
‘New Kids on the Block. It’s a 90s classic.’ Annie shrugged. ‘I’m proud of eight year old me. Better than Meatloaf anyway!’
‘Fair enough. Someone had to like that manufactured teeny crap.’ Rav met Annie’s eyes and Faye saw a challenge there. ‘What did Faye like?’
Faye felt angry. Rav was being a little rude. She’d always been nothing but polite to his friends, even though they apparently thought she was a liar. She’d swallowed it down for him – why couldn’t he do the same?
‘Why don’t you ask her?’ Annie shot back. Faye could see Ruby exchanging
a glance with Gabriel. She didn’t want this to be awkward; she just wanted everyone to get along. But there were tensions under the surface, and they were showing. Was Rav anxious about what Faye had told her friends about him? Or was he uncomfortable because he stood outside their group – even Susie, though not a witch, was knowledgeable about it and supported Annie’s interest. Frankly, she didn’t care. There was no excuse for rudeness.
‘Oh, I forgot. Faye’s not really into music,’ Rav continued. ‘I doubt she’s ever bought an album, much less had a favourite.’
‘Not true. And please don’t talk about me like I’m not here,’ Faye snapped.
‘I rather thought Faye enjoyed that Scottish band. Dal Riada?’ Gabriel interjected, his eyebrow raised. ‘I’d applaud her for her taste, myself.’
A silence filled the room.
‘Excuse me?’ Rav lowered his wine glass and looked straight at Gabriel.
‘I was just saying. I know that Faye particularly enjoyed Dal Riada’s music,’ Gabriel replied coolly, meeting Rav’s eyes. ‘I wouldn’t underestimate her if I were you.’
‘Gabriel. That’s enough,’ Faye ordered, glaring at him. What had got into him? She could see from his body language that he disliked Rav, and it was mutual. Rav was staring at Gabriel with undisguised contempt.
‘Don’t tell me what I know about my girlfriend, mate, okay?’ Rav’s tone was conversational, but everyone could hear the anger under it.
Gabriel nodded politely.
‘Of course. I didn’t mean any offence.’ He smiled, his face a mask of politeness that everyone knew was false, and took a long drink from his wine glass. Faye glared at them both. She wanted to say thanks for ruining my dinner party, both of you, but she stewed in silence instead.
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