"Why aren't the others with you?" the little girl asked.
Jamal smiled as he turned towards her, a bouquet of flowers in his gloved hand. "We don't want to overwhelm you," he replied. In his other gloved hand, he held a giant, stuffed animal, an ox. Earlier that day, Daimone had been generous enough to tell him that she was fond of ox, so he had a child-sized stuffed toy of an ox made before sifting to the room the little girl roomed in.
Looking closely around the room, he realized there wasn't a door visible anywhere. Brows narrowing, he was about to ask her about it when he noticed she was staring pointedly at the stuffed animal.
"Do you want to meet her?" he asked, extending it towards her.
She glanced at his face before she nodded. He stepped closer and handed it to her. She gently took it into her hands and stared at it.
"It's not the same as last time," she said, giving it a little shake as if she wanted it to move or speak.
"Ah, sorry little girl, but that doll is lifeless. I can't conjure and animate things like Daimone and Ellerslie can," he explained.
She frowned but tucked the ox into bed at her side. "Then what can you do?" she asked.
I seduce everything, but I won't tell you that, he thought. Before he could give the milder version of that, her brows scrunched together, and she voiced, "Seduce?"
He gave a light chuckle as if she had said something funny meanwhile making sure the barriers guarding his mind were up and secure. He would do well not to forget she could eavesdrop on him if his mind was careless.
Her small frame sagged, and she looked worn as she asked, "What does seduce mean?"
He recalled the conversation he had with Daimone, when he had suggested that maybe the little girl had already seen the dirty underbelly of the world and slowly said, "It means making a person do what you want. When I seduce a person, they will eventually follow what I wish them to do."
"Because you're beautiful?" she asked.
He paused, sensing there was an underlining statement the little girl was trying to confirm. Testing the waters, he answered, "Yes, it's because of that. Don't you find me beautiful?"
She didn't look at him when she said, "Beautiful people can hurt other people."
When she didn't say anything more, he set the flowers aside and sat on the floor so that they were at eye level. "Are you talking about someone close to you?" he asked kindly, even though he already had an idea of who she was speaking about.
She looked at him in surprise. "How did you know it was my mom?"
His spine straightened in surprise. He had been picturing Tammy Farlan when he had asked that question. Had she possibly picked up on that? He re-checked the locks on the barriers of his mind as he gave a small smile to the little girl.
"I think you know the answer to that already," he said vaguely. Behind the bolted barriers of his mind, he recalled the memory of investigating Tammy Farlan and left it there at the gates. If she had indeed snuck past the defenses of his mind and decided to do that once more, she would find that memory waiting for her and, therefore, would find the true answer to her question.
Realization dawned in her eyes, and he clenched his gloved fingers in anticipation. "Ah, I forgot I was dreaming," she said, shattering his expectations. "Of course you would know who I was talking about," she continued, a toothy smile of relief appearing on her face. "You're a part of me."
Disappointment swirled through him.
So, the kid thinks we are a figment of her dreams, he thought. Well, it makes sense given it is always night when we show up. Whose idiotic idea was it to show only at night? Ahh, of course, it was Daimone's… He sighed. Will this work in our favor, or will it set our plan back?
He fell silent, thinking through all the disadvantages and advantages he could think of. He was snapped out of his thinking when something cottony slapped his cheek. He hadn't even noticed that the little girl had climbed out of her bed to stand in front of him.
"Are you REALLY part of my dreams?" she asked, holding the stuffed ox to her chest. She was holding its front legs out towards him, and he realized she had used it to slap him.
So surprised was he at being slapped by a stuffed ox and doubted by the little girl that what came out of his mouth was, "Er—I, uh—" Should he go along with the dream idea, or confess they were indeed a part of her physical world?
When he couldn't decide quickly enough, she lifted her chin and spun away, commenting, "You're boring."
He watched, immobilized with shock, as she climbed back into bed with her back faced towards him, clearly rejecting him. Boring? This little girl called him…boring? Did that happen with Daimone? Or was it just him she was treating that way?
Forgetting that he needed to decide about something, he picked up the flowers and extended it to her back. "I brought you flowers," he quickly said, hoping to re-spark her interest.
When she continued to stay silent, he began to evaluate his self-worth. "Don't all girls like flowers?" he asked out loud, more to himself than her.
"No," came her voice in response.
He stayed silent, hoping she would continue talking. After a few seconds, she did, but what she said next made him realize something. "My mom always throws the flowers she gets from them away."
They were re-routing back to Tammy Farlan, and Jamal had a sinking feeling that no matter what they talked about, it would always end with Tammy Farlan.
Clearly, the mother is neglecting her, he remembered Daimone saying.
He raised his head and looked around the room, suddenly realizing it wasn't a room at all but an attic. He tried to find any signs to a door leading out, restraining the pity and anger he felt slowly rising within him. While his eyes traveled around the room, he asked her in a light tone, "What about you? Do you like them?"
She didn't answer for a long while, and he dragged his gaze to her form, a little worried she had fallen asleep in his presence. Then she murmured, "Yeah. I like them."
A light feeling unexpectedly warmed his chest, and he smiled, regaining a bit of his confidence.
"You should replant them so they don't die," she continued.
How considerate, he thought. Without skipping a beat, he asked, "Should I replant them outside your window, so that you can look upon them anytime you wish?"
"No!" she answered sharply, lunging up and twisting towards him so quickly that her blanket shifted with her. She gave him a look that could have condemned him. "If you want to do that, do it at your own house!"
His self-worth would have continued lowering had he not noticed the part of the floor that had been uncovered when the blanket was pulled away from it. It was only the corner edge he saw since her bed was laying on top of the rest, but he immediately recognized it as the "door" he was searching for. Since it was laid onto the floor, he supposed it was more of an access door to be lifted rather than an actual door with a knob to be pushed open.
"I'll…do that," he said, focus still on the door hidden beneath her bed. Was this truly her room?
He felt her stare at him a while longer before she huffed and curled back into bed, her back facing him again.
Should he ask her whether her mother locked her up every night? No…he couldn't ask a child that. He thought for a bit. Her bed was positioned over the access way. Was she trying to hide it? Or… he stopped thinking, a chilled fury running down the length of his back.
"Darrow?" he called.
He waited for a response, but her steady breathing told him she had fallen asleep. He stepped closer to inspect her, just in case the little girl had mastered the art of faking sleep. When he confirmed she was truly in a deep sleep, he looked at the stuffed ox clutched tightly in her arms. He only hesitated briefly before pulling it away from her embrace as gently as possible.
For now, he would let the little girl think that he and his brothers were simply a part of her dreams. He would have a talk with his brothers, and then all three would decide on how to continue approaching Darrow. He glanced at the access way on the floor, and cold fury iced his veins once again.
Until they reached an accord, he would do a thorough investigation on Tammy Farlan. A very thorough one.