Page 18 of The Little Shop of Curiosities, The Music Box Part 2

“What the hell?” Sam mutters. I break the staring match between me and Byrnes to look at Sam. “Can you feel that?”

“Feel what?” I ask, wondering if he sensed the shift in the air too.

“The atmosphere in here suddenly feels really heavy, and I’ve got a strange metallic taste in my mouth.”

That’ll be a yes then.

“It’s magic.”

Sam’s eyes widen in alarm, and he looks around, as if the killer is sitting right behind us. I place my hand on his knee and squeeze. When he glances at me, I nod towards the front of the room.

To where my dead mother hovers near her coffin.

“Jesus,” Sam breathes, obviously getting his first look at what the magic did to her soul.

Her eyes are unfocused, staring into some kind of void neither of us are aware of. Every inch of her exposed skin is covered in those strange markings that I couldn’t quite see the night she appeared to me in my room. I stare at the symbol etched into the skin where her mouth should be, fixing it in my memory so I can try and decipher its origin later on.

My heart hurts as I watch her stand there, trapped between worlds. I feel Sam’s hand grasp mine and squeeze. When I turn to look at him, he brushes his thumb over my cheek. It’s then I realise I’m crying.

Where I feel overwhelming sadness, not just for what was done to her but for all the missed opportunities I had to know her, Sam looks enraged. I pity the killer when Danny and Sam find out who they are.

Holding a long-stemmed pale pink rose, Tristan rises from his seat in the front row. Danny also has one, and I watch as they approach the coffin and lay them gently on the lid. For a moment, I wish I had my own offering to leave.

My eyes are fixed on Vivienne. Silvery threads wind down her arms, and she slowly tries to raise them, like she’s attempting to touch Tristan, even though she’d not making eye contact with him. Every time she reaches for him, the silver cords pull tight and restrain her. I can see the silent war she’s waging. To me, she may as well be screaming.

Eventually, she breaks through for a second, and her hand shoots forward, gripping Tristan’s wrist. I hear him gasp from here, his eyes widening and his skin turning pale. I’m halfway out of my seat when Dusty pulls Vivienne’s hand back, and she releases Tristan, who falls back against Danny, his eyes filled with shock and pain.

“What the fuck?” I hear Sam exclaim next to me.

“That shouldn’t be possible,” I mutter in disbelief.

“What shouldn’t?” Sam whispers.

“She shouldn’t be able to touch him, let alone affect his physical being.” I swallow hard. “Did you see his lips turn blue?” I turn to Sam, whose expression is as concerned as mine probably is. “This magic is far more dangerous than we thought.”

Tristan and Danny retake their seats, and before I know it, the coffin is rolling back through a curtained area and it’s done. I choke down everything I’m feeling and rise along with the others, filing out of the small room in numb silence.

As soon as we get outside, Sam pulls me aside while the others head over to look at the flower arrangements. His eyes are filled with concern, so I can only imagine how bad I look.

“Are you okay, Prickles?”

“It’s just…” I break off and swallow, feeling how dry my mouth is. “That’s not what magic should be used for. It’s an abomination, beyond cruel, to bind a soul like that.” I close my eyes and shake my head, trying to dispel the image of her that’s now seared into my mind. “She has to be in so much pain.”

“Prickles,” Sam whispers. I look up at him. “We’ll find a way to help her. I know we will.”

I nod, not trusting any more words coming out of my mouth. I want to tell him the truth.

“I just want to go home. Besides, I got a good look at the symbols. It would help if I had a physical record of them, but I think I remember enough to identify them in one of my books.”

“Harrison,” he says, and I know he’s serious because he’s using my name, not the teasing nickname that I secretly enjoy. “That can wait. Why don’t you come with us? I think everyone is going back to Tris and Danny’s for a kind of wake.”

I shake my head. “I can’t,” I mutter. “I don’t feel very well. I don’t think being around that kind of magic is very good for me.” Which isn’t the whole truth but is certainly not untrue.

His expression flips from concerned to alarmed. “I’m fine.” I reach out without thinking and grasp his forearm. “I promise. I just wasn’t prepared. Not a mistake I’ll make twice.”

“I’ll come with you.”

“No.” I give his arm a little squeeze and then let go. “You go with the others. They need you.”