Page 33 of The Little Shop of Curiosities, The Music Box Part 2

“It’s like they were alive,” Chan explains.

“Alive?”

“They were moving, then they kind of parted, and there was Prickles in some sort of trance,” I continue. “He didn’t know where he was or how he got there.”

Tristan stares at Harrison. “Is that true?”

“Pretty much sums it all up,” he says tiredly.

“Hang on a minute,” Dusty interrupts. “Go back to the fox.”

“The fox, really?” I reply. “You’re not concerned about the creepy, seemingly sentient shadows?”

“Not really. Places this old and with the kind of history this building has are often crawling with shadow spirits. Usually, they’re pretty harmless.”

“Harmless?” I scowl. “He was one step away from hypothermia when we found him.”

“But he’s fine now.” She waves her hand. “Go back to the fox.”

“There’s not much more to tell,” Chan says. “It looked real enough, then appeared and disappeared like a ghost.” His eyes narrow. “Are there ghost animals?”

Dusty shakes her head. “It’s a grey area, and not my area of expertise.”

“I’d have thought your area of expertise would be seventies disco songs,” Tristan mutters.

“Or Bruce’s dick,” Chan adds.

“When you two have quite finished.” Dusty rolls her eyes. “I don’t think this fox is a low-level spirit creature.” She purses her ruby-painted lips thoughtfully. “There’s a couple of things it could be.”

“Like what?” Harrison asks. “The first time I saw it, I wondered if it was a familiar.”

“A familiar?” Chan repeats.

“Like a witch’s familiar. True witches, I mean those with actual magic, can attract a familiar to them if they’re powerful enough.”

“Prickles is right.” Dusty nods. “And we’re not talking your average kitty or puppy, but actual entities that take the form of animals and have powers of their own.”

“Do you think that’s what this was?” Harrison asks.

“I don’t know without seeing it myself.”

“When did you first see it, Prickles?” I ask.

“Outside the bookshop, close to the eclipse.”

“Outside this place? Viv’s bookshop?” I clarify, and he nods.

“I’ve only seen it twice. The second time was at Vivienne’s funeral,” he admits, and there’s something in his eyes that I can’t put a name to.

“So it could be Viv’s?” Chan says.

Dusty shakes her head. “There’s no way she would have been even close to powerful enough to attract a familiar. Familiars choose their companions, not the other way around.”

“Well, what else could it be?” Tristan asks. “You said there were a couple of things.”

“It’s possible it was a physical manifestation of a much more powerful awareness,” Dusty muses.

He blinks. “A what now?”