Page 41 of A Little Red
Slowly, Scarlet stripped down to her underwear and bra.
“Well, my,” said her grandmother coming out with a basketful of supplies under one arm and a night gown in the other hand. “Aren’t you fancy?”
“It’s the Christmas season,” said Scarlet, attempting to be dignified.
“In your pants apparently,” said Diana, her eyes twinkling. “Take your things into the laundry room and wash up. I’ll warm up your nightgown on the stove.”
“Thanks,” muttered Scarlet, taking her wet things into the wash sink. She scrubbed up and came back pink cheeked and shivering. Diana pulled the nightgown off the pot-bellied wood stove and handed it over. Scarlet pulled on the long, old-fashioned nightgown and turned to see what her grandmother was doing to Liam. He was now sitting in a circle of salt and looking most put upon.
“You pop in there with him,” said Diana. “Give him a bit of a rub down with this.” She handed over a dish full of lavender smelling oil and an evergreen sprig. “He’ll probably hate the smell, but it’ll do the trick while I smudge him up. The warlock’s magic is usually bacterially based. It can change body chemistry. It’ll take him awhile to clear up once we’re done, but he should be OK.”
“Bacteria,” repeated Scarlet wrinkling her nose. “So, they’re like the chemical warfare of magic?”
Her grandmother let out a surprised laugh. “Yes. I hadn’t thought of it like that, but yes, I suppose so. Their goal is usually to cleanse the earth of the demon races and of course keep women in their God-ordained role of servitude. Blah, blah, blah, men are great, look at our penises, the usual. They founded the Spanish Inquisition and sided with the Nazi’s, so you can imagine what kind of people they are.”
“Witch killers,” said Scarlet, frowning in disapproval. “Why didn’t you tell me about them?”
“I’ve told you about the inquisitions and the evil forces. They have called themselves different things over time. And there haven’t been that many around here for the last ten or fifteen years or so. The local Temple had some financial trouble and sort of flamed out. And just when I might have started telling you how to deal with that kind of magic, you went off to college. So, there’s that.”
Scarlet splashed oil on Liam rather more vigorously than necessary and he gave her side-eye, which from a wolf was quite strong.
“Ochre went to college,” Scarlet muttered.
“Ochre’s major aligns more closely with magic and he’s just…”
“Just what?” demanded Scarlet.
“More traditional.”
“What’s so great about being traditional? Traditional got us right where we are and it’s not going to get us out. We have to think new thoughts and do new things.”
“Possibly, but we don’t have to do dangerous new things that could get us killed.”
Scarlet hesitated. “I’m not trying to get anyone killed.”
“You’re going to getyoukilled, if you’re not more careful,” said Diana.
“I am careful!”
“How? When?”
“Generally, I’m very careful,” protested Scarlet.
“Really?” Diana gestured to Liam. “This doesn’t look careful. That protest wasn’t careful.”
“Azure’s spell wasn’t going to accomplish anything,” said Scarlet. “I would have talked to her about it, but she ignores me. And as a result, the last I heard, several Blackpool employees have moved to that town and filed complaints against Blackpool and the logging company. The town has filed an injunction to protect the trees. People are coming together. What I did worked.”
“You risked your life and Azure and Ochre’s lives. You should have been more careful. And obviously, you’re not being any more careful in the city.”
“I will admit that I could have… tried harder to talk to Azure at the protest,” said Scarlet. “But I’m not unsafe in the city. Things are usually fine. I really don’t know how I’m responsible for warlocks attacking my boyfriend.”
Diana sighed. “I’m not saying you are. I’m saying the city itself is unsafe.”
“Meh,” said Scarlet. “Bad things happen everywhere. I have a vision, Grandma. I don’t mean like a second sight thing like Azure. But a goal. I think the world can be changed. I think we can fix things. I think the humans can care like we care. I think they can reconnect to the Earth. The results of the protest are proof that I’m right. And I want to do more of that. But I can’t do it from here on the farm. I need to be out there with humans.”
“And your wolf boyfriend?” asked Diana drily, as she laid out her tools on a piece of beige felt.
“Well, OK, so I did not realize he was a wolf at the time we met,” said Scarlet. “But I’m not speciesist, so it doesn’t matter to me.”
