Page 24 of Witches of Dubious Origin
Claire studied Eloise. I could see two frown lines deepening between her brows as she was clearly trying to figure out how Eloise, who didn’t look a day over fifty-five, could possibly be old enough to have partied the night away in the sixties and seventies.
Claire looked at me in confusion, but I pressed my lips together and said nothing. This was Eloise’s story to tell and I was not going to get more involved than I already was.
The room was silent except for the ticking of the antique pewter clock on the wall. It seemed inordinately loud and Iwas overly aware of it, as if each tick of the second hand signaled that something ominous was about to happen.
Olive strode into the room. She was dressed in a black tunic sweater and black leggings, over which she wore a crocheted black vest that was so long it almost reached her black Dr. Martens. Her hair was scraped back from her face and braided into a thick plait. The style accentuated her arching brows, deep-set eyes, sharp cheekbones, and square jaw.
Miles and Tariq followed her, looking much as they had the day before. Professionally dressed in dress shirts and pants but not in anything so remarkable that I would be able to remember it an hour from now. Not like Olive.
Olive’s glance darted to me as she stood beside a vacant chair. One eyebrow, the one with the slit in it, rose in surprise. “Here to accept the job?”
“Um…no.” I cleared my throat. What was it about this woman that intimidated me so? The feeling that she could kill me without hesitation and then suck the marrow out of my bones? Yeah, that, definitely that. “I…um…have an acquaintance I’d like you to meet.”
Miles and Tariq looked from me to Eloise to Olive to Claire as if trying to figure out what was happening without any context clues.
“Eloise Tate, this is Olive Prendergast, Miles Lowenstein, and Tariq Silver. They work in—”
Claire shot me a cautionary glance and I remembered that Agatha had said the only reason I’d been allowed in the BODO was because I’d been vetted by her. I nodded before I continued, “—a special collection at the museum.”
“How lovely.” Eloise took them in one at a time.
Miles and Tariq took two of the available seats, but Olive didn’t move. She didn’t take her gaze off Eloise. She crossed her arms over her chest and her dark eyes narrowed as she asked, “How long?”
“Excuse me?” Eloise asked. She didn’t even flinch under Olive’s cold regard, for which I would have given her mad respect at any other time.
“How long have you been undead?” Olive held Eloise’s gaze without blinking and I thought I might faint…again.
9
“How lovely of you to ask, dear.” Eloise beamed at her. “Why, it’s been—”
“No!” I cried. “No, no, no, no. This is not a thing. She is not deceased. This”—I paused to gesture at Eloise—“is not real. I brought her here for you to snap her back to reality, not to go along with her delusion.”
Olive turned to look at me. She sank gracefully into one of the armchairs and said, “But sheisdead.”
“No, she isn’t,” I insisted. My teeth were gritted, but I couldn’t help it. My jaw was clenched and no amount of deep breathing would loosen it. It was at that moment that I realized how deeply I’d been clinging to the notion that Eloise was a fraud.
Olive turned to Miles. “This confirms our speculation about Toni Donadieu.”
“What speculation?” I demanded, even though I knew. They were now convinced that Mamie was a necromancer, with the skill the Donadieu coven was known for. I wanted tosqueeze my temples with my fingers to push back the headache that was building.
Miles studied me from behind his glasses and his soft brown eyes were kind. “I imagine this is all a bit of a shock.”
“No, it isn’t, because she’s wrong.” I turned to Olive, who looked at me with a bored glance. “Why do you say she’s undead? Why would you even think such a thing?”
“I have to admit I’m with Zoe on this,” Claire said. “I certainly didn’t suspect anything of the kind.”
“That’s because you have no magical ability,” Olive said to Claire. It wasn’t said meanly, just factually. Claire nodded, accepting Olive’s blunt words without taking offense. “If you look closely, you’ll note that Ms. Tate—”
“Oh, do call me Eloise, please.” Eloise smiled even as she interrupted Olive.She. Interrupted. Olive.She was either very brave or very foolish. I wasn’t sure which.
“Eloise”—Olive said her name with great emphasis—“is not breathing, for one thing. Living people require oxygen. Her pallor indicates there’s no blood pumping through her heart to her extremities, and I suspect if we listen closely, she has no heartbeat. Lastly, there is a peppery smell about her, which indicates a very strong magic is binding her corpse—”
“I preferbody,” Eloise interrupted again. This time, I decided she was definitely foolish and I was surprised the heat of Olive’s glare didn’t sear Eloise’s hair to the roots. Olive closed her eyes for a moment.
“Of course you do,” Olive acknowledged. “But that doesn’t make it so. Your…vessel?” Olive asked, and Eloise nodded, agreeing to the term. “Your vessel is bound by a magic sostrong it allows you to retain the form you had on the day you died.”
“Quite right.” Eloise turned to me. “Your grandmother was very powerful. It’s just a shame she passed before she could return me to the other side.”
