She took a deep breath.Right.She needed to do this. She needed to stop lying by omission. She needed to?—
‘Kieran,’ she blurted, ‘you know how weird things have been happening?’
His brow creased. ‘Weird how?’
‘Lights flickering. Odd noises. Music starting up on its own. The pinball machine doing things that defy every known law of physics, and possibly a few unknown ones.’
‘Right,’ he said slowly. ‘And you think … what? That your pub is haunted?’
‘No!’ Beth winced. ‘Well, sort of. Not haunted. More … occupied.’
‘Occupied,’ Kieran repeated. ‘By…?’
Beth opened her mouth. And of course – ofcourse– that was when the pub lights flickered, the jukebox inside the bar whirred to life and the first ominous bars of ‘I Put a Spell on You’ blasted through the open door.
Kieran’s head jerked round. ‘Did you?—’
‘No,’ Beth said quietly. ‘I didn’t.’
‘Then who…?’
A small puff of sapphire smoke drifted into the beer garden, curled in a perfect spiral over Kieran’s flask, and shaped itself – unmistakably – into a chubby, glowing hand giving a jaunty wave.
Kieran froze.
The hand vanished.
‘Right,’ he said faintly. ‘That wasn’t steam, was it?’
Beth felt her stomach drop. This was it. No backing out now.
‘Kieran, I need to tell you something. I’ve been dealing with it for weeks, and it’ll sound mad. Completely bat-shit mad. Please don’t run away, call a doctor or suggest I take up meditation.’
He stared at her, wide-eyed, waiting.
‘I…’ She swallowed. ‘There’s a genie in the pub.’
Silence. Actual, honest-to-God silence.
‘A genie,’ Kieran said.
‘Yes.’
‘As in magic lamp, wishes, Aladdin.Thatkind of genie?’
‘More sequins, less Disney,’ Beth muttered. ‘But yes.’
Kieran blinked at her. Twice. Then he rubbed his face with both hands. ‘Beth…’
‘You think I’m joking,’ she said miserably.
‘No,’ Kieran replied, surprising her. ‘I think I’m having a stress-induced hallucination. But if I’m not… Could you possibly clarify what you mean by “a genie” before I lose my bloody mind?’
She took a breath. Time to rip off the plaster.
‘He lives in the pinball machine. His name is Gigi. He granted me a wish. A few wishes. Sort of. It’s complicated. And he might have … occasionally … interfered in your head.’
‘Interfered in my—’ Kieran’s eyes widened still further. ‘The voice!’
