Page 76 of Which Witch is Willing?
Claire shifted her gaze to the fist-sized rose quartz ball displayed on another shelf. “Would you like to try playing ball?”
“Baa,” Violet said.
Claire blinked in surprise. “Oh, shit. I hope that wasn’t your first word. Don’t tell your mommy or daddy. They’ll be so disappointed that it wasn’t one of them.”
Violet’s cheeks grew pinker, and she grinned.
Claire hugged her. “You’re just a cute little thing, aren’t you? Wait until you get older, and Auntie Claire will teach you all kinds of things like how to ride a bike, a real one, and how to throw knives. All kinds of important stuff.”
Things her mother wouldn’t need to know about.
Claire retrieved the rose quartz and carried the small child toward an ancient wooden chest. She set her down, anchoring her against the chest, and tucked her frilly, rose-print dress so it would be out of the way. Violet complied when Claire pushed her feet outward for balance. “Okay, you sit here, and I’m going to sit across from you.”
Violet didn’t squawk even once.
Claire sat on the hardwood floor with her legs open and her feet touching Violet’s so that they formed a diamond shape. This way, the gemstone ball couldn’t escape. “I’m going to roll it to you, and then you roll it back to me, okay?”
She hoped the little girl understood and that the quartz wasn’t too heavy to push.
Gently, Claire sent the ball rolling in Violet’s direction. Violet release a squeal of delight. She caught it and quickly pushed it back to Claire.
“You are such a smart girl. Your mom is going to have her hands full with you.”
They rolled it back and forth several times, and each time it was Violet’s turn, she giggled. When she rolled it the next time, however, the ball didn’t make it to Claire, but ended up hitting their shoes where they met. “That’s all right, Violet. I can get—”
Before Claire could finish her sentence, the ball rotated and rolled in her direction. She caught it and eyed the little girl. “Very clever girl. Does your mom know you can do that?”
Violet only smiled.
Claire held out her arms, and Violet crawled to her. “I guess if you’re capable of stealing Aunt Justine’s soul, then moving a ball isn’t any big deal.”
The moment the words left her mouth, inspiration struck. Violet had taken Aunt Justine’s soul… So, did that mean it was possible that she could do the same with Claire’s? If so, that had to be considered dying, didn’t it?
If Violet was able to take her soul, then Claire would know she wasn’t immortal. The question burning in her soul would be answered.
Plus, odds were that she wouldn’t ultimately stay dead because Violet would probably play with her spirit like she had with Aunt Justine’s. And Killian certainly wouldn’t accept it. Dru would never forgive him if he did.
She pondered the idea for several moments, and then decided that it might be irresponsible to leave her lifeless body with a child who could get into all kinds of trouble if she wanted.
What she needed was a co-conspirator. Someone to watch over everything.
Kai lifted his head and sniffed the air as though sensing her plan.
She snorted. He certainly wouldn’t help her.
And she knew damn well no one else in the house would be willing to take the small, very teeny, tiny chance that she might not be able to re-inhabit her body.
And that was only if she died at all.
And now she had a mostly-solid plan to prove her immortality one way or the other, with only a small risk. Some would call her crazy for even attempting it, but she’d always lived life on the edge.
Claire stood and scooped up Kai. He protested when she set him outside the door and closed it. She snatched a notepad from the antique writing desk and quickly jotted down her plans and wishes to see her soul rightfully returned should Violet manage to extract it.
She slipped the phone from her pocket and texted Aerin, asking her to come to the attic in five minutes. Her experiment shouldn’t take any longer than that. And if Violet did remove her soul, five minutes wasn’t long enough for her body to reject it when Aerin told her to put it back.
Claire scooted until they were both propped against the old trunk. “Violet, I need you to do something for me. Do you remember how you took Aunt Justine’s soul?”
Violet giggled and nodded her head several times. Claire hoped her nodding was from understanding and not excitement.
