Every Bookshop Needs a Cat (Fleckney Fields Series, Book 2)

At the End of Her Rope

I'm posting on my phone, so pardon any typos. But aren't you glad you didn't have to wait for this chapter? ;)

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Anya stepped to the machine and studied all three orbs. They were made of glass, uneven, with many air bubbles caught inside. The middle one was of slightly clearer glass, and she wondered if it had been replaced at some point. He laughed quietly behind her - and she realised how close he was.

"You never take anything lightly, do you, älskling?" he murmured.

Anya slowly raised her hand, and it hovered over the half-sphere on the left.

"But is it– It's all nonsense, right?" she said. "I mean, it's just an old carnival gizmo to pilfer village idiots, drunk on Pimms."

She gave Millicent a doubtful look over.

"'Those who don't believe in magic will never find it,"' he whispered, right next to her left ear; and she jolted. "Don't forget to close your eyes and to concentrate really, really hard, Anna." His breath tickled her earlobe. "Or it won't work."

"What do you–" The continuation of the sentence stuck in her throat.

She lowered her palm on the 'wish orb' and closed her eyes.

"Clever," he commented, with a low chuckle. "Who needs questions? Always so prudent, aren't you, älskling? And now make your wish."

Anya inhaled deeply. Before she could concentrate, a thought flashed through her mind.

Klaus.

No, no, that's wrong, she immediately corrected herself. Varya being well. Varya having a long, healthy, happy life. Getting everything she ever wanted. Facing difficulties, overcoming them, unscathed, coming out stronger and more confident.

She felt his fingers, the very tips of them, brush at the side of her forearm, down, onto the round bone on the outside of her wrist - and he slid his palm under it. She suddenly thought that now, he would surely guess how much he affected her, considering how frantically her pulse was beating against his palm.

He lifted her hand and placed it onto the lever.

"And now pull."

He sounded raspy. Anya obeyed, almost forgetting what she was doing, only aware of his proximity. It was as if she could feel his warmth with her back, all her strength going into stopping herself from leaning back against him.

The loud clicking made her jump up, her eyes flew open - and his hand was gone from her wrist.

A series of clicks ensued - Millicent was batting her long lashes. Something loudly clanged inside her; and a metal ball started rolling down a spiral track like out of a capsule vending machine. It landed in a funnel-like receptacle at the bottom of Millicent's chamber, fell through, and showed up on a wire rack, like out of a bingo spinner. A bell jingled somewhere inside the machine's belly - and Klaus bent forward, his chest pressing into her shoulder blades; and his long arm stretched by her. He picked up the ball and held it in front of her. She wondered if he noticed that her hands shook.

She untwisted the two halves of the ball. There was a small piece of paper inside, and she pulled it out.

"You're looking in the wrong place," he read quietly.

Anya squeezed her eyes shut. Just do it. Turn your head and– And damn with it all! He's right here! Her cheekbone - only one, the one three centimetres away from his face - was heating up. And it was hard to breathe, and her skin tingled.