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Pavel walked over to the other side of her and gazed down. “This is something far beyond. . . something sacred and profane.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means that you need to wake up. Shake your head or—”
“Hold on. If I need to wake up, then this is a dream—”
“It is not—”
“Then, what is it?” I bared my teeth at him. “Stop talking in riddles!”
Pavel didn’t flinch at my outburst. Also, his gaze never left Emily. “You are in her mind.”
“My mouse’s mind?”
“Yes.”
I shook my head. “Impossible.”
“You are talking to a ghost right now—the part of my spirt that chose to haunt you—”
“Correction. You are a figment of my imagination—a metaphor for the guilt that I have over killing you.”
“Correction?” Pavel sneered. “Stubborn fool. This is why you are here in the first place, and somehow you have dragged me into this mess. Wake up!”
Before I could attempt to form a response, a movement caught my eye.
I looked to my right.
There, in the shadowed corner of the basement, stood a little girl.
I froze in further horror.
She was the spitting image of the child from Emily’s painting. She had these two long, thick braids and wore jeans and a blue shirt with a gray mouse on it.
My hands shook. “The. . .little girl.”
She whispered, “You should wake up.”
Pavel spotted the little girl and backed away. “This is not, okay, Kazimir. We must go.”
The little girl remained in that corner and nodded. “And you cannot touch her again.”
I swallowed. “Why not?”
“Because. . .” The little girl shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe, it would be bad if she woke up.”
Pavel bobbed his head. “Perhaps, you would get stuck in her mind.”
“But. . .” Slowly, I rose and then backed away from Emily. “How can I be inside her mind?”
Pavel finally turned to face me. His expression turned grave. “Remember the witch, and the drink she gave Emily? Whatever magic was in that concoction. . .it passed through to her breast milk.”
My thoughts shifted to that night in Delphine’s basement and what she had said.
“Love your mouse, Lion. That is it. However. . .” She lifted one finger up and wagged it. “Do not drink her breast milk. No matter how much you want to.”
Maxwell slowly turned my way. “Man, I know you haven’t been drinking her milk. Right?”
