Kitty
Shivam shoos me out of the Society building after my shift’s over. He says he wants to get home, and I’m not allowed in there without him, so I guess I really won’t be getting too much of a chance to explore. I try to tell myself I’m not disappointed. He glances back at the door before casting the counter spell over Talia and bringing her back into sight. I can’t help grinning when I see her.
“What did you think?” I ask her and Matt when we’re sitting in the car.
They glance at each other. “You realise there’s something weird going on with the whole thing, right?” Matt says.
“Other than it being a secret magical society,” Talia adds.
I frown and sit back. I can’t help but feel a bit deflated. “It’s just new, that’s all,” I say, and I resist the urge to pout.
“Yeah, no,” Matt says with a snort. “New is learning all the rules about who buys coffee, which fridge you put your lunch in, and where the loos are. This place is sus.”
“I will learn those rules too, and things are bound to be different in a magic place, after all. It’s not like getting a job at a supermarket.”
“Come on, Kit,” Matt says, and I hate when he gets so patronising. “I know you’re naive, but—”
“But you also know I’m not an idiot,” I snap. “Give me some bloody credit.”
There’s silence in the car. I lean my elbow against the window, and Matt huffs and throws his hands up.
There’s a creak that pulls my attention round. Talia’s hands are white-knuckled around the steering wheel, a muscle twitching in her jaw. Her eyes are wide and glazed, fixed on the road ahead. “You all right?” I ask, distracted from Matt. He leans forward too.
“Yeah,” she says quickly, nodding. “Yeah, of course.”
She’s obviously not, but I sit back. Her shoulders have dropped a little, at least. They were almost up around her ears. “You think it’s dodgy too, don’t you?”
“I don’t. I mean, I think whatever you guys think. It’s all fine.”
Matt laughs. “What’s wrong with you?”
“Nothing,” she snaps. Her face flushes pink, a little blotchy. “I’m fine.”
I sigh again and cross my arms, leaning my head against the window. I’d wanted it all to be perfect. I’d wanted it to solve all my problems like it was already solving money and the pulls that came at any time of night.
“I’m not dumb,” I say quietly. I turn to give Matt the puppy eyes. “Am I?”
“Of course not,” he says promptly. “I’m sorry. I know I can be a bit…”
“Of a twat?” I finish with a grin.
“Patronising,” he says, narrowing his eyes. “I didn’t mean to imply that you were dumb. I’d never think that. You just like people too much. You want everyone to be as good as you are, and they’re not. Nobody is.”
I grin. “And I think you have too little faith in humanity. I’m looking at two pretty good people right now.” Matt and Talia give me twin sceptical looks, and I roll my eyes at them. “Look, I’m not as trusting as you think I am. No, really,” I say when Matt opens his mouth. “I’m not blind. I know there’s something off. But it’s the closest I’ve come to an answer, isn’t it? I haven’t seen Mum in days, and I’ve read all her books. What if they’ve got a library there? What if Shivam knows something that can help bring you back? It’s worth a try, right?”
“It’s not worth it if you’re in danger,” Matt says.
I smile at him fondly. He’s wrong, of course. He’s worth much more danger than this.