~
At the beginning of the spirit showcase, Martinez brought out his own animal companion, which he had been saving for this moment. Some of the guests had seen his spirit beforehand, but many had never laid eyes on it. I found myself on tiptoes, trying to get a better look at the beast.
The Vulmessian walked beside Martinez elegantly. She was thinner than Hawthorn and narrow, with cat-like eyes, yet she was definitely fox-like. Her fur was whiter than Hawthorne’s, (probably because he had never been bathed) and her eyes were yellow.
‘This is Emilija,’ Martinez announced to the crowd. ‘One of two Vulmessians currently in existence.’
Chapter Eighteen
Infiltration
I felt my face turn pink as many eyes darted my way. A break formed in the crowd and suddenly everyone was staring at Hawthorne and I.
‘But who is she?’ a woman whispered to her husband.
‘She must be loaded too,’ her husband replied.
Suddenly I felt very stupid. Until this point I had taken Hawthorne for granted. I had not stopped to think how unique or special he was. And here I was, surrounded by people who knew much more about animal spirits than I. My story of ‘finding’ Hawthorne would soon fall to pieces. If there was only two Vulmessians in existence, Hawthorne would be worth a fortune.
I looked around at the other animals. There were birds, rodents, dogs and cats. Nothing else came close to the sheer size of Hawthorne, or Emilija.
I noticed Hawthorne’s unusual stance. He was staring at the female Vulmessian, transfixed. At first I thought he was getting ready to attack, but I was very wrong. Hawthorne bounded forward, towards Emilija and began sniffing every inch of her.
‘Hawthorne,’ I scolded. ‘Get back here.’
He ignored me. Hawthorne and Emilija circled each other, sniffing excitedly.
The guests ‘aww’ed as they watched the affection between the two animals. I felt strangely jealous while I observed the union between the two remarkable creatures. It was as though they shared something that I did not understand.
Martinez laughed. ‘I think they like each other.’
The guests chortled along with him. Jack and I were the only pair that did not smile. We did not enjoy Hawthorne fraternising with the enemy’s animal companion.
I cleared my throat loudly, which caught Hawthorne’s attention. Seeing my expression he slinked back to my side sulkily.
‘Shall we begin?’ Martinez said, clapping his hands together.
~
The showcase was tedious. Greying couples paraded around the garden when their names were called and rattled on about their animal spirits, which was, quite frankly, horrendously boring.
Every now and then I looked across the lawn at Martinez to find him staring at Hawthorne or I. It made me extremely uncomfortable and I found myself wondering if he was suspicious of us.
No, that was silly. How could he be? He didn’t even know my real name.
‘Mr. Deacon, you’re next!’ called the announcer of the event.
Jack was impervious to the calls. I had to nudge him several times until he remembered that he was Mr. Deacon.
‘Oh yes!’ said Jack, fumbling with his cap. He took R?ven in front of the other guests. I could see his brain working furiously. ‘Ahem, well. Hello, I am A-Adam Deacon and this is R?ven, my, uh, companion.’
Jack looked at me nervously, hoping for some small indication of what he was meant to say about his ‘spirit’.
A few guests began to mutter behind their hands, but Martinez came to the rescue. I felt my heart beat furiously against my ribcage at the sight of him so close to Jack and R?ven.
‘Goodness, she is lovely,’ Martinez said smoothly. ‘What does she do?’
‘Do?’ repeated Jack, ‘Um, yes, well-’
R?ven let out a long, beautiful whistle and many of the onlookers gasped.
‘Breathtaking,’ said Martinez.
R?ven’s whistle had a calming affect, similar to the effect of her voice, yet much less Powerful when she was in her bird form. The guests applauded politely and Jack quickly left the limelight, his ears rather pink. I knew, as Jack’s ‘wife’ that I would be next in line to showcase my spirit.
‘Mrs. Deacon, if you please,’ the announcer called me forward.
Stumbling slightly on the hem of my dress, I made my way to the front of the gathering, Hawthorne following closely. All eyes were upon me, but I found that I was not nervous. This was nothing. This was easy. If there was one thing I could do, it was talk about how great Hawthorne was. Also, I enjoyed lying quite a bit too.