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When they were being tracked and sniffed out to eventually kill them on the spot, the idea of Farah visiting an old witch friend in the human world no longer seemed absurd to Saul. Especially after both principals had managed, with great difficulty, to escape the clinging, manipulative clutches of Rosalind and her "entourage" in their haste to leave their native Otherworld. Panting, soiled, and hardly fully aware of the circumstances in which they had unwittingly been drawn, the friends leaned against one of the houses in an inconspicuous alleyway, trying to catch their breath. Saul stood hunched over, leaning his hands on his slightly bent knees, while Farah propped herself up against the wall, her back leaning against it tightly, staring up at the roof of the house, trying to put the events of the past few hours out of her mind.
- I hope you're joking that we're going to the witch's? - Saul asked on an exhaled breath. - How safe is it?
- Don't worry, I know her well,- Farah replied, futilely trying to catch her breath. - Besides, as you can see, not all fairies can be examples of trust.
The specialist grinned sadly, still stunned that they were both alive and standing there, almost casually discussing their impending trip to the witch's house for tea in the middle of nowhere.
- She's a good woman,- Farah assured him. - With her own,- she paused, - quirks, but a good one.
- I believe you,- Saul smiled amiably, assuming a similar body position to Farah's, now looking her straight in the eyes. Farah smiled good-naturedly back. Afterwards, she looked around hurriedly, as if assessing whether this was really the place for this kind of conversation. Perhaps she should have moved on.
- Breathed out? Saul nodded, peering cautiously around the corner.
- You don't think they'll come back here?
- They might, but there's so much dark energy, I'm a needle in a haystack. You, even more so.
- Sounded like an insult. Farah clucked her tongue and rolled her eyes dramatically, glancing at Saul with an affectionate chuckle.
In their current situation, it wasn't a bad idea to defuse the situation and gain the strength to get to the right place in peace. It was just one of the many terrific qualities that Farah liked so much in her specialist. In fact, the journey was not long at all. Farah brought them as close as she could. At the moment of teleportation, one had to think fast, and one had to do one's best to visualize Spellman's house accurately and not miss the mark. That required more time and concentration, which in the circumstances might have been more than enough. So Farah had no choice but to remember the nearby street and shop. A mistake could have cost them their freedom and their lives. But all was dispensed with. In her mind, the mind fairy estimated that they now had about a kilometer or more to walk. Wasting no time, Farah beckoned Saul to follow her, hurrying toward the witches' abode.
- When you said the house of witches, I didn't think it was that literal.
Saul glanced over at Farah, whose face expressed an impenetrable calm with a faint veneer of excitement. She could sense how much he was wary of crossing the threshold of a strange house, not because he was afraid for himself, but only because he was worried about Farah herself and the safety of her life.
As they approached the threshold, Farah wondered if she should have warned her friend about this unexpected visit. After all, they hadn't seen each other in a long time. And the fairy would certainly have done so had they had the opportunity. Knocking on the front door, Saul and Farah listened, hoping someone would be home. As soon as they heard the tapping of heels, they took a step back. The door swung abruptly open and Zelda Spellman stood before them with a cigarette between her fingers. No sooner had the stream of smoke escaping from her mouth dissipated than she immediately threw her arms around Farah in a welcoming gesture with a shout of "Dowling!". The tight embrace didn't last long, but it was palpable. Zelda pulled away and looked her acquaintance over from head to toe, frowning indefinitely.
- Have you been digging graves? - the witch asked, uncertainly, looking her guest over from head to toe.
- You could say that,- Saul replied. Spellman's piercing gaze shifted sharply to Silva. But it did not affect the man as perhaps it should have.
- And you are Mr. Silva, I presume?
- That's right, Miss...
- Zelda Spellman. Pleased to meet you.
Zelda held out her hand to Saul, which he gently shook.
- Well,- the witch said, letting out another puff of smoke, - I take it something very unpleasant happened, you showing up here uninvited and with company...
- Zelda,- Farah began, - I realize it's not exactly tactful of me to barge in on you like this, but we really had no choice. If you let us stay with you, we'd be most grateful. I promise we won't stay long.
Spellman had been staring intently into Dowling's guilty face the whole time, frowning and continuing to drawly smoke her cigarette. At the sight of Zelda, one involuntarily wanted to smoke oneself.
- Have you prepared this speech beforehand? - the witch asked sarcastically.
- Yes, we were making it up as we went along, - Saul joked in an attempt to lighten the mood, glancing at the bewildered Farah. The mind fairy pressed her lips together in response, but her eyes were clearly grateful. Silva always had a way of smoothing things over, and that was invaluable.
- How smart of you! - Zelda remarked with affected arrogance, then added with a kindly air. - Of course I'll let you in, Farah! Won't leave you here to be eaten by demons. Then there'll be blood to clean up after you...
Zelda stepped back, graciously allowing the guests to enter the ominous and alluring mansion.
- Oh, come now! - Zelda exclaimed with obvious hesitation, almost spilling the contents of her glass on the floor. - Just like that?
- Yeah, - Farah nodded, taking a sip of the tart whiskey.
- And she didn't even check to see if she really killed you?
At the mind fairy's negative reply, Zelda burst into a loud, almost deafening laugh that seemed to shake the whole house.
- Oh, Satan! - Wiping away the tears from her laughter, the witch continued giggling. - You'll drive me to an early grave with your stories about that Rosalind. That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard. Is that how much she underestimates you?
A moment later, Hilda flew into the room, stopping in mid-sentence. She gave the guests a frantic look and turned to Zelda, with a hint in her eyes and intonation to explain what was going on.
- I already thought you needed help,- Hilda said with a chuckle, continuing to regard Farah and Saul with undisguised interest. - Who are our guests?
Zelda put her glass on the table and leaned back in her chair.
- This is an old acquaintance of mine,- the witch explained, barely pointing towards the woman opposite. - Farah. She is, just don't faint, fairy.
Hilda gasped enthusiastically, shifting her spellbound gaze to Farah, who smiled a friendly greeting, backing up the action with a nod of her head. Hilda moved forward, extending her hand to the fairy. Farah shook it gently.
- I've heard that fairies are very gentle natures and not at all fond of witches,- the younger Spellman stated.
- That's a rumour,- Farah assured her.
- Do you mean the first or the second? - Zelda asked curtly. Farah pursed her lips and tilted her head to the side, squinting at the witch's eyes.
- And you...? - Hilda shifted her gaze to the man sitting next to the fairy, who was watching with undisguised amusement the witch and fairy's amusing negotiation.
- Saul,- the man answered briefly, shaking Hilda's hand affectionately. - I am the headmaster of specialists at our school.
- You have your own school?
There seemed to be no end to Hilda's admiration.
- That's it, - Zelda rolled her eyes. - Now you're not going to get away with asking questions. Just don't torture them, Hilda, please.
- What kind of school is this? - ignoring her sister's remarks, the witch asked, peering alternately at her friends' faces.
- Alfea,- Farah said. - Saul teaches specialists and I teach fairies. More accurately, taught.
There was a brief pause, after which Hilda generated a ton more questions on top of the one she already had.
- Enough, Hilda! - Zelda preceded her sister. - They were tired. It hadn't been an easy day for them.
Hilda rolled her eyes in frustration at her older sister's further remark.
-You're right, Hilda - your sister is a nuisance,- Farah said, smiling conspiratorially.
Spellman Jr. gave the fairy an overly surprised look, not knowing what to say.
- Ah, careful with your emotions and thoughts, sister, - Zelda cautioned, lifting her index finger. - Our Farah is a mind fairy. Your emotions read as quickly as I read my morning papers.
The younger Spellman snorted back and smiled widely at the fairy. Hilda, who had never bumped into fairies before in her life, sat silently not far from her sister with undisguised natural curiosity, continuing to look over the guests from head to toe.
- So are you... - Zelda looked thoughtfully around at the friends seated before her, and pointing her finger in their direction, took her glass in her hand again, - married?
Farah tilted her head forward slightly, chuckling and feeling Saul beside her glare. The mind fairy was well aware of the witch's bouts of joking indiscretion, so such a question didn't stump her at all. That could not be said of Hilda, whose inquisitive gaze so sparked with genuine interest.
- Not yet,- Silva hastened to reply, saving them both from an awkward pause. - Our working days are too busy for us to make time for it. Especially lately.
- Too busy,- Farah said, nodding her head vigorously and barely hiding a chuckle. - We're always trying to make time for it, but it never works out.
- Thank you, - Zelda said in a slightly disappointed tone. - I understand that you two are on the same wavelength in your humor.
Saul and Farah chuckled with a restrained glance. They raised their glasses, nodding to each other as a sign of an unspoken toast, and sipped their drinks. The perfection of this tandem observed by the Spellman sisters did not go unnoticed. The expression "husband and wife live the same life" was on their tongues.
- Are you sure you're not married? - Hilda asked just in case, which brought another chuckle to the lips of the two friends.