Page 111 of House of Ruin
What a tricky way to set the price. But Alecto didn’t let herself hesitate as she scribbled enough zeros to hopefully make Gill generous. There was something Alecto needed from them after all.
Of course, the moment Gill saw the zeros, they knew it too. They arched an eyebrow, waiting.
From her bag, Alecto fished out the notebook she’d found in her attic and placed it in front of Gill.
“What’s this?” Gill asked. From their face, it didn’t look as if they recognized the notebook. But Gill’s face rarely revealed anything.
“This is a family relic,” Alecto said, carefully watching Gill’s face. “It’s protected with the old magic, and I can’t open it because I don’t speak or read Helish.”
“And?”
“And I was hoping you could tell me what spell it is and how to break it. I was told you’re fluent in Helish.”
For a long moment, Gill just stared at the notebook. Alecto was starting to get nervous.
“That’s a lot of money to open an old rusty notebook,” Gill finally said.
Alecto shrugged, hoping her face was neutral enough for Gill not to read her. “I’m very sentimental, you see.”
Gill hummed, pursing their lips. They traced a finger over the snake and frowned. “It’s my spell.”
Alecto couldn’t hide her surprise. “Oh? Well, that’s great, isn’t it? Then you definitely know how to break it.”
Still frowning, Gill looked at Alecto. Their eyes briefly dropped to Alecto’s throat, where the pearl necklace rested, and then back again to her face.
Whatever thoughts Gill had about the notebook or Alecto, they didn’t share them. “Wait here.”
Gill disappeared into the back again, this time leaving their crow behind with Alecto. The bird eyed her with its black eyes. Then it croaked, ruffled its wings, and settled comfortably right next to the notebook.
“Okay then,” Alecto murmured to herself.
A few moments later, Gill returned with a red card holder in hand. They placed it on top of the notebook and pushed it towards Alecto.
“It’s a translated spell,” Gill said. “But you’ll still need to chant the words in Helish. So you better make sure you learn them or have someone with you who knows the correct pronunciation.”
Alecto nodded, stuffing the notebook and the spell in her bag.
“Things can turn real nasty if you fuck it up.” Alecto looked up to find Gill’s dark eyes on her. “Don’t mess up the chant.”
“Okay,” Alecto promised.
She was about to turn away and leave, but then she remembered another thing.
“I’m running out of good graces, girl,” Gill warned.
It was a fair warning. Gill’s foul mood was famous around Avalon Hills. Once, they’d turned the local politician into a wild hog because the man kept bothering Gill about the youth serum.
Still, Alecto was desperate enough to press her luck.
“This necklace,” Alecto said, playing with the pearl necklace on her neck, “was bought here, I think. You have one just like it on the display there.”
Gill glared at Alecto’s neck for a long moment.
“You probably don’t remember. Never mind.”
Gill clicked their tongue. “I remember every single piece of jewelry I make, every single spell I create. Of course I remember your necklace. Every pearl is handpicked by the mermaids of the Black Sea, and each one is enchanted with a custom protection spell by me.”
“Do you also remember who bought it?” It was a long shot, but Alecto was desperate enough to have the guts to ask and hope for an answer.
