Page 77 of Slouch Witch
I breathed a sigh of relief. Obviously she’d find out what had happened sooner or later but it was the sort of news I’d prefer to break in person. ‘What time do you think you’ll be back?’ I asked
‘Mid-afternoon, I reckon. Are you sure everything’s okay?’
‘Yes, yes. Just … come and see me before you do anything else, will you?’
Her voice immediately filled with suspicion. ‘Why?’
‘Nothing serious.’ It wasn’t life threatening anyway. ‘I just want a quick chat.’
She let out a gasp. ‘You want to talk to me about coming running, don’t you?’
Er… ‘Yeah,’ I said unconvincingly. ‘That’s it.’ I couldn’t believe she really thought that but I’d go with it if allayed her fears until I could speak to her.
‘Fooooooood!’ Brutus howled, patently pissed off at the length of our chat.
‘I’d better go,’ I said. ‘Brutus is getting annoyed.’
Eve laughed. ‘So I hear. See you soon!’
I winced and put down the phone. Eve was a good person. I hoped she wouldn’t be too hurt when she found out what had been happening.
I gave Brutus some of his favourite tuna and shuffled over to the sofa, plonking myself down with a happy sigh. ‘Hello, my old friend,’ I said aloud. ‘It’s been too long.’ I was almost convinced that the sofa groaned in delighted response.
Laying down my head and stretching out, I closed my eyes. Then I opened them again. I grimaced and turned onto my side, reaching for the remote. I flicked on the television and scanned through my recordings for the latest episode ofEnchantment. The familiar theme music filled the room. I muted it and sat up straight.
Brutus sauntered in the room, licking his lips. ‘Hey bitch.’
‘Something’s not right,’ I told him. He jumped onto my lap and I stroked his ears. ‘I should leave well alone. That would be the smart thing.’ I glanced down at him. ‘Right?’
‘Where man?’ Brutus enquired, obviously referring to Winter.
Where man, indeed. I chewed my bottom lip then reached for the phone once more. ‘Hi, Iqbal,’ I said, when he picked up.
‘Ivy! How’s tricks? Do you have that ossombe root yet? I’m looking forward to my karaoke session.’
My mind flashed to Diall’s little jar secreted in my bathroom cabinet. ‘That’s not why I’m calling,’ I prevaricated. For whatever reason, I still wasn’t quite ready to separate myself from Winter. ‘I want to know about that other way around the binding.’ I thought of the strange smell that I suspected had been clinging to Winter, not Oscar Marsh. ‘Herbal methods. You mentioned some kind of temporary hold last time we spoke.’
‘Yeah, yeah. You’re getting that desperate, are you? Winter must be a right bastard to work with.’
‘Mmm. He’s not so bad.’
Iqbal laughed. ‘Damned by faint praise.’
I screwed up my nose. I hadn’t meant it like that. ‘The temporary thing?’ I prodded.
‘Yeah, hang on a minute. I’ve got it written down here somewhere.’ I heard Iqbal shuffling some papers and then he came back on the line. ‘Here we go. Culver’s root. It’s traditionally used in purification spells but I came across several references that suggested it would work on your binding too. It won’t last long though, and the effects wear down quickly as the binding reacts against it.’
At least this was a herb I’d heard of, even if only vaguely. ‘What does it smell like?’ I asked.
‘It’s musty and fairly odorous,’ he replied. ‘I suppose it’s similar to dried moss.’
I didn’t know what dried moss smelled like but I bet that it was similar to the whiff I’d caught when I was in the van with Marsh and close to Winter. I felt an odd tightening in my chest. I was supposed to be the one who was straining against the bonds of the binding, not Winter. Why was he so keen to keep me away? Actually, I had a fairly good idea why but, for once, I’d take Winter’s own advice and wait until I had more evidence.
‘Thanks, Iq,’ I said distantly. He murmured a response and I hung up.
Brutus had started clawing my thighs with sharp little jabs. ‘There’s no point getting comfortable,’ I told him.
His ears twitched and he swung his head round towards me. ‘Out?’ he enquired. ‘Again?’
