Witch Doctors Inc: SEASON TWO (Ongoing)

Part 1.4

Why do I get all the difficult clients?

I look over my sheaf of papers at Talia, no last name. She's in her late teens or early twenties, with a heart-shaped face and surly burgundy eyes. Her hair is light, honey-coloured, and pulled back in a plait that reaches her waist.

She wears a casual ensemble - jeans, sneakers, a sweater - but my gaze is drawn to the ring on her left index finger. The stone is a cube that throws squares of green and blue light into the air. It could be opal, but there's also something metallic about it. I wonder where she got herself a ring like that.

"So, Miss...Talia," I begin. "You want us to find your brother."

Talia sets her lips in a firm line. "That's right. Owen has been gone for months now."

I fiddle with my pen. How do I say this? "You do...know where he is, though?"

Talia nods. "In Naemar."

Naemar. I know of it. The town built around a fallen god.

"Owen doesn't want to come back."

It's a statement, not a question. Talia was clear about that in her referral. She refused to give a surname, saying she didn't have one, and neither did her brother. Her brother, Owen, had moved to the town of Naemar and cut off all contact with her, his only family.

"He went to Naemar because he had to," Talia explains. "He would never go otherwise. Owen doesn't like small places. He's always been a city-dweller. Both of us are. But now he won't come back. He says he's found his true home." Talia wrinkles her nose. "He talks about Naemar like it's some kind of wonderland. He says you can smell the ocean there, and it's like breathing eternity."

I stop the sigh before it escapes my mouth. "So your brother likes Naemar," I clarify.

Talia shakes her head stubbornly. "He hates it. But he won't leave. Someone's put a spell on him."

"What kind of work does Owen do?"

"He's a crystal cutter."

A crystal cutter. I turn this over in my mind. There doesn't seem any reason for a crystal cutter to take up residence in a small outer Kadrean town made of wood. There's plenty of crystal to cut in Zilitron.

"Did he say why he went to Naemar?"

Talia shrugs. "He had some business there."

"There isn't really much crystal to cut that far from Zilitron."

"It was some other business."

Okay, Lily. One breath in, one breath out. Talia's got the pouty look of someone who's receiving very bad customer service, but it's not my fault. She's being unreasonable.

"Why don't you go visit him in Naemar?" I suggest. "He might be better able to explain his decision in person."

Talia's face gathers into an ugly pucker. "He didn't make a decision. Something's keeping him there. I know what they say about that place. No one who goes there ever leaves. I want my brother back."

I keep my face neutral. "Okay. If you have anything that's been in close contact with him recently, like clothes, soap, or a hairbrush, we'll need you to bring it in so we can test it for hexes."

"You won't find any. He was fine before he went to that place."

"Maybe not, but it's our first step. We'll test for curses too. But the thing is, Talia, we can't treat Owen without his consent."

Talia draws back, surprised. "You mean that even if that horrible place cursed him, you wouldn't do anything about it? You can't leave him like that!"

Breathe in.