up faded wooden trellises. A pond lays at the very end of the garden, over grown with bright green moss and dark leaves. There’s noise, like the light tinkling of glass, coming from the multi-coloured stones that hang from strings intertwined through the branches of a tall oak tree.
In the centre of the garden is Rita, she looks exactly the same as the last time I saw her. Short, choppy black hair, too much eye-liner crowding her deep brown eyes. Behind her are four individuals lined up in a row. I recognise Alvie as one of them, but the other three are strangers.
All of them are holding the exact same posture, their arms stretched out in front of them, the palms of their hands facing upward, and above each pair of hands a small grey pebble floats in the air. It’s so similar to how the fork had hovered in the air above my hand yesterday that I have to cough to disguise my surprise.
Surely this accounts for the magic I’d felt in the air just as I’d gotten near to the house. All of them have their eyes firmly closed, so they don’t notice myself and Gabriel standing watching them just yet. And Wolf, I’ve only just realised that he’s followed us inside. Perhaps he’s not content to wait outside this time, since I took so long at Nicky’s.
Gabriel glances at Wolf and whispers, “Is that Finn’s dog?”
I smile. “He’s my new bodyguard.”
Gabriel raises his eyebrows and nods, as if in agreement that Wolf definitely suffices as a form of protection.
My eyes wander to Rita again when she says, “And slowly release.” All of those standing behind her mimic her movements, as they gradually let their hands fall to their sides and the pebbles in front of them float calmly to the ground.
Rita opens her eyes, and they immediately widen before she exclaims, “Oh shit!” Then she gallops forward, throws her arms around me and grips me in a hug so tight it almost suffocates me. Finally she lets go and pulls back to look at me. “I knew you’d be back,” she says, with a cheeky grin.
“I couldn’t stay away,” I answer, and then Rita begins introducing me to the people standing behind her.
I already know Alvie, the other three are Melissa, Caitlin and Marcus. They’re all students of Rita’s, she and Gabriel have started a small secret magic school for disenfranchised members of the magical families. Melissa and Caitlin belong to the Ridleys, a family of witches and warlocks after whom Ridley Island was apparently named. Seemingly the human population is unaware of this connection. Marcus is a Girard, which means he’s related to Marcel in some way, but I don’t venture to ask exactly how closely related he is to my old employer.
Once Rita’s students have left, it’s just me, her, Alvie and Gabriel standing in her kitchen. She makes a pot of tea and we sit down at the table to drink it.
“So,” Rita begins, “do you want to fill us in on why you’re here Tegan? Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy to see you and all, but I’m still a little unclear as to why you’ve come back to a place that’s so dangerous for someone like you.”
I sip on the tea, pleasantly surprised by the explosion of fresh peppermint as I swallow it down my throat. “I came back because Finn asked a favour; he needed some help with a certain DOH mission.”
“Oooh, juicy gossip,” says Rita, both of her thin hands clasped around the sides of her mug. “Come on, spill the beans.”
“I’m not sure if I can, I think it might be confidential.”
Rita tuts and throws her eyes to the heavens. “Oh for Goddess’ sake, well I hope that you’re at least getting paid for whatever it is you’re helping him with.”
I smirk. “Of course I’m getting paid, what do you take me for?”
Rita grins in return. “That’s my girl.”
“Um, there was actually a purpose for my visit,” I say tentatively. Wolf is sitting by my feet, and I think I see his ears perk up at this, like he wants to hear if Rita has an explanation for what happened to me at lunch the other day just as much as I do.
Rita’s dark eyes slowly flick to mine. “Well I wouldn’t expect anything less. I don’t think you’ve ever come to me without having some kind of problem to be solved.”
“Don’t be mean to the girl, Reet,” says Alvie, Rita glares at him but doesn’t respond.
“Why are you here Tegan?” Gabriel asks quietly, speaking up for the first time.
I glance between Gabriel and Alvie. “Would you two mind if I spoke to Rita alone for a minute?”
Gabriel looks like he’s about to say something when Rita interrupts him. “Whatever you have to say, you can say in front of these two,” her arms are folded now, and I wonder why she’s suddenly annoyed with me. Perhaps she’d thought I’d come to see her just for the pleasure of her company for once. Now I feel bad.
“Fine,” I reply tightly. “The other day I caused a fork to vibrate and levitate just by lifting up my hand. I thought you might be able to explain why that happened.”
For a split second Rita’s mouth gapes open, but she quickly shuts it and replies, “Are you certain you didn’t imagine it?”
“Yes I’m sure, Wolf was with me when it happened.” I pat the big dog on the head, and he whines in response, perhaps to inform Rita that I’m telling the truth. I really am getting fond of Finn’s pet.
Rita eyes me curiously, then she stands up and walks over to me, pulling me up by the elbow. “Hey, go easy,” I say, as she yanks the living day lights out of my arm.
She positions me directly in front of her. “Oh quit whining and stay still,” she says, placing a hand on either side of my head. She stares deeply into my eyes before closing hers. Nothing happens for a minute, but then an odd sensation comes over me. A fizzing in my brain. It’s almost like the time when Ethan had invaded my mind and planted an erotic image of the two of us there, but not quite. This feels less invasive, but an invasion of sorts all the same. I’m just about to pull away when Rita’s grip suddenly loosens and her hands slip away from me. Her eyes are wide and interested.