Val shrugged her shoulders, “Insured? I haven’t a clue.”
“I’ll check with Wendy when she’s free.” Fran turned and headed off.
Val was very glad that she had responsible people here to help her. She had never paid a bill in her life. She lifted the tea as the doorbell rang again.
When Val saw who had come into the shop, her hand shook so much that she was forced to place her mug on the safe surface of the counter.
“Good afternoon, I hope you can help me,” said Eva, as she walked towards Val. “I have a reservation on a book and I was wondering if it was in stock yet?” The most shocking part was she said it all in perfect English. Val didn’t know what to say. Only three days ago Eva had given birth to a baby on the floor just two feet away and could speak hardly a word of English and yet here she was, ready to take her place on Countdown.
Val eyed her warily. “Right. Well, I’ve just taken over so I’m not sure about reservations. Why don’t you have a browse while I call one of my colleagues?” Val got to her feet. “Wendy,” she called.
Eva nodded and walked off down one of the aisles. Val didn’t know what women were supposed to look like three days after giving birth, but Eva was as slim and toned as a ‘Girls Aloud’ member.
“Are you ok?” Wendy arrived with
that
guy she had just met.
“Yes, never been better. There’s a lady here called Eva. She has a reservation, but I’m not sure where we keep them.” Wendy gave no sign of recognising the name.
“Yes, I found the catalogue earlier. All the reservations have been ordered and should arrive in the next few days,” she said nodding at Val, then smiling up at the man who was standing very close to her. “Anything else?”
Val shook her head.
“Then I will introduce you. Val, this is Daniel.” Wendy gazed at the strange looking blond guy who was now also blocking Val’s way.
“Hi Daniel. Get what you were looking for?” Val had never been any good at small talk.
“Yes thanks. Wendy has such an amazing knowledge of this place. You are very lucky to have her.” He didn’t know how close to the truth he was, and Val had every intention of keeping it that way.
“Thank you,” she responded, not bothering to smile at him. She really didn’t like the look of him, but was that because he was showing Wendy some attention?
“So that’s one hundred and ninety-five pounds please, Daniel,” Wendy said.
“A bargain,” he replied handing her the cash. Maybe he wasn’t so bad after all Val thought.
“Please come again. It’s always nice to meet someone who has a deeper understanding of literature,” Wendy gushed, blushing furiously.
“I will be back very soon.” He picked up his bag and walked backwards, never taking his eyes off Wendy till he reached the door. As he opened it he looked back one more time.
“I think I’m going to be sick.” Val made vomiting noises into Wendy’s ear.
“Stop it! Oh, you’re so immature!” Wendy pushed Val towards the flat. “Didn’t you have something to do, like save the world,” Wendy said just as Eva reappeared.
“Any luck?” she asked.
“My colleague here says that they will be here in a few days,” Val said. She could see by Wendy’s expression that if she hadn’t remembered the name, she definitely remembered Eva’s face. She discreetly squeezed Wendy’s arm, looking at her with an expression that said ‘don’t say a word’.
“I’ll come back later in the week then. Thank you for your help.” Eva turned and left them.
Val wasn’t sure exactly what had just happened. It was as if Eva was a different person, not Brazilian any more, although she did look the same. So why had she changed?
“That was the girl! She was here. I remember her! She got beaten up by Excariot,” Wendy exclaimed excitedly. “Why doesn’t she remember us?”
“The witches cast a spell so that anyone who had seen me, except you guys, would forget me; I would have been in too much danger,”
“Oh yes, I see. Wow! That felt so weird.” Wendy went to get a drink. “I could do with a copy of that spell. I’ll go and tell Fran and the others.”
“Ok,” Val agreed, starting to run questions through her mind. Eva had originally drawn Val with one of the symbols on her tattoo, which meant that she was a descendant of the original witches. “Oh my God!” That meant that Eva was one of the people Excariot was trying to get. And she had just let her go back out into the world for him to capture.
“Wendy, faster,” she yelled down the shop. “Get the others. She’s one of the high priestesses!” She hurried to the door to see if she could still see Eva. She scanned the street but nothing. She stepped out onto the path, looking desperately in both directions. There was no sign of her anywhere. “You idiot,” Val hissed kicking the wall.
“Yes, you are,” a young voice came from the alley next to the shop.
Val turned with a start. She could just make out the silhouette of a young girl.
“Should you be there? It’s not safe,” Val told her.
Slowly the young girl came into view. She was like one of those porcelain dolls with golden ringlets in her hair and a perfect complexion and her lips were like a small rose on her pure white face. She was wearing a delicate silk dress that almost reached the floor and tiny white shoes. Val was left breathless at her appearance: she was almost angelic. “Where are your mum and dad?” she asked concerned for the child’s safety.
The girl moved a little closer; for some strange reason she walked like a man. She stopped, looking Val up and down, her jaw moving as she chewed something. Disturbingly the stuff she was chewing was black.
“Are you alright?” Val asked.
“I think disappointed just about covers it.” The little girl turned her head and spat something dark and disgusting onto the pavement.
“Hey what are you doing?” Val jumped in disgust.
“It’s tobacco. What would you like me to do, swallow it?” The little girl laughed a deep gruff laugh - much deeper than a little girl should have. She then proceeded to reach inside her dress pocket and pull out a tin. Popping the lid she pulled out a brown shredded substance and shoved it into her mouth and started to chew again.
“God! Stop! That stuff will kill you.” Val grabbed the tin from the girl’s hands. The girl looked up at her, her eyes visibly tearing up. “No, look I’m sorry, but this stuff is for adults and you’re just a child. How old are you?”
“Twelve. Please let me have my tin,” she sniffed and then the tears started to roll.
“I’ll give it you back if you promise to go home.” The girl nodded and wiped her eyes on her sleeve. “Ok.” Val handed her the tin.
“Sucker,” the child laughed.
Val didn’t know how to deal with this. “Just go away. What’s wrong with you?” She had completely forgotten why she was out here. Ah yes, Eva. Well, any chance of her still being around was gone. Now she was stuck with psycho kid.
“You’re looking for the witch,” the girl said confidently.
“How do you know about that?” She wondered if the girl could be possessed by a prisoner; it wouldn’t surprise Val and it would explain the tobacco habit. It wouldn’t be the first time they had used children against her.
“Because,” the girl spat again, “I am the first, the oldest of them all and I want to join your team.”
“You may be the oldest, but I’m not getting the impression that you’re the wisest. Why on earth would you choose to take the body of a twelve year old girl?” Val asked.
“Hit me.” The girl spat yet another mouthful of tobacco, which landed perfectly on Val’s trainer.
“You’re mad. That’s disgusting, and I’m not going to hit you, you’re just a little girl.” Val stared at her shoe indignantly.
“First prize goes to the dumb guard,” the girl laughed, pulling her tin out again. “Listen, I don’t have much time,” she said as Wendy, Fran, Jason and Zac flew around the corner.
“Are you alright?” Zac asked, eyeing the girl with a concerned expression.
“Well, sort of,” Val looked at her shoe.
“I’m sorry, do you need a group hug before we can continue?” The girl asked nastily.
“Ok! Firstly the attitude needs to stop if you want to join us,” Val responded.
“Since when do we take on minors?” Wendy shot a horrified glance at Val.
“She’s not your average girl, are you? What’s your name?”
“Flo,” the girl gave an innocent wave and curtseyed to them.
“Flo is supposedly the oldest of the oldest, or something, and she wants in; she knew about Eva,” Val said.
“Please tell me this is a joke. The oldest don’t exist; it’s a myth, a story.” Zac kept his suspicious gaze fixed on Flo.
“Listen to me hunter, I was travelling the galaxy before your line had even been started, so back off.” Flo pushed out her chest.
“So what are you doing here?” Zac stood his ground. He needed more proof than that to believe that she was who she was saying she was. He pulled out his watch and started to scan her.
“You can put that thing away; there are no records of my existence. That was the deal I made with the Warden.” She straightened her dress like a little girl would. “We need to get indoors; Excariot will be looking for me.” She started to head past them into the bookshop.
Val grabbed her by the arm and brought her to an abrupt halt. “What do you know of Excariot?”
“Ow, that really hurts!” Flo hissed. “I will tell you everything, but not here, so you have two choices.”
Val wasn’t letting go. She pulled her into the bookshop with the others close behind. “Talk and fast.”
Flo pulled out of Val’s grip, straightening her dress again and scanning her surroundings. “Nice place you have here.” She went to the counter and made a sorry attempt at leaning on it like it was a bar. “If you want my help and information, madam, you won’t touch me again, understood?”
“Let’s get one thing clear. We aren’t going to trust you until Zac tells us you’re what you say you are. Now, let’s hear what you have, and it had better be good.” Val made her way behind the counter and sat down. The others stood on guard around the girl.
Zac stopped doing his checks, paused then spoke. “I have no record of this prisoner, but one thing does concern me: she’s dead.”
“What!” Wendy jumped back. “Oh my God, she’s a zombie or a vampire.”
Fran gave her a withering look. “Don’t be silly. You read far too many books.”
“The body I have was that of a girl who was about to pass away. That’s true, but that’s my speciality.”
“Sorry, but a speciality is egg fried rice, not dead bodies,” Jason remarked.
“Well, let me explain for the slower of us here, which seems to be all of you,” Flo said, glaring at them. “I can jump bodies. That’s why the Judges sent me here originally. They wanted to know if spirits could take other life forms. I’m one of a handful of my kind and I agreed to finish my existence here in exchange for freedom from the prison. So, for hundreds of years I have been here as Flo, not bothering anyone, until he arrived.” Her forehead wrinkled as her pretty face was marred by a scowl.
“Are you referring to Excariot?” Val asked.
“No, the Easter Bunny,” she hissed. “Yes, Excariot.” Her expression was visibly getting darker by the second. “He changed everything. He killed and trapped for pleasure and then he found me. He knew who I was, and he used his witch to capture me.“
“What?” Wendy chipped in, looking offended. “He killed witches, that’s true, but they didn’t work for him.”
“Look, I know you children must find this sort of information hard to digest, but if you are going get upset or offended by what I have to say, maybe I made a mistake coming here.” Flo turned as if to leave.
“No, stay, tell us more.” Wendy put her arm out blocking the exit. “It’s just a hard pill to swallow.” She lowered her hand and Flo leaned awkwardly against the counter.
“Ok, so where was I? Ah yes, prisoner. So, I have worked for Excariot for the past four hundred years give or take a few. Sometimes he leaves me alone for a while, but recently with the arrival of you,” she pointed at Val, “I have been extremely busy.”
“Me, what do you have to do with me?” Val looked mystified. “I have never met you before.”
“Well, firstly that water cooler scalded like mad, then you tied me up; you really should have taken the baseball bat with you. Then there was the time on the plane, that really scared me. Do I need to say more? Oh no, let’s not forget the day you set me on fire!”
“You! You were the one who made me save all those people so Excariot could release Lailah!” Val leapt to her feet, enraged. This little girl was responsible for everything.
“I just told you I didn’t have any choice. Which part did you miss? The witch has power over my actions. Well, she did until the other day when you changed everything.”
“Sorry that doesn’t wash with me. We all have a choice, and what changed the other day?” Val enquired.
“When you went back in time you altered something because the witch’s orders have all changed. She doesn’t even look at me anymore.”
“I don’t care. You are trouble with a capital ‘T’ and I think you need to go back to Alchany.” Val stood up.
“Stop,” Zac stepped in. “I believe her. There were a group of people who were imprisoned for a crime against their planet. The stories say it was thousands of years ago, when Alchany was just starting. It has been said that the judges chose to send a few of these spirits through the portals to find new planets to use. If what Flo says is true and she’s been trapped under a spell, which is also a possibility, then we need to move with caution. I also have to add that I have never seen any spirit take a dead form; it’s quite a unique ability.” Flo was nodding in agreement with Zac’s words. “I have also seen people on Alchany murder, destroy and commit atrocities just to follow orders without the influence of any magic. So let her tell us how she can help and maybe we can learn, instead of just following in Excariot’s footsteps.”
Val glared at Zac. “This thing hurt me and many other people, including children. You think we should just let her off?”
“No, but you must learn to listen before you judge, then you will become a good guard.”