Chapter 2 Part 3 - Echoes of Delphinium

**Quick note... for some reason, Prose is cutting off the pieces I'm pasting directly from my manuscript, making it difficult to paste full chapters. I'm not sure what the word count is, but I'll try to fit in at least 1,000 per chapter part... Even if there are 2,000-3,000 words per chapter in the manuscript. I appreciate your patience, and message me if you'd prefer the raw manuscript on documents!**

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“Perfect holes? Really?” Alastair sat across from her, chin resting in his hands and elbows propped on the table. “What could’ve done that?”

“That’s what I’m researching,” Constance pulled a pen from her leather flap and uncapped it with her teeth, underlining something in the book she had before her. It was thick, with a brown cover and aged pages with a tan hue. “What thing could create perfect holes?”

“Maybe it’s a person, and they’re just using some sort of tool?” He tilted his head.

“Ah, but why would it scratch at the walls, then? And why bother making such particular circles? No, not even a human hand could hold a tool that steady–” Constance continued to scribble away, flipping through the pages of her creature-encyclopedia. “Here!” She placed a finger on a particular name in the book. “Pamin.”

“Pamin? Have you faced one before?” He leaned over the table to get a better look.

“No, not in the slightest,” she ran her finger along the page, reading the words aloud. “A certain type of pixie that eats away a house’s foundation, similar to termites. Finds entertainment in torturing those that live within it.” She heaved a sigh. “Signature sign, perfect holes in the walls for their convenient transportation. They’re neat freaks, so if the holes aren’t perfect, they’ll go berserk.” She closed the book. “This’ll be fun.”

“Was that meant to be sarcastic?” Alastair narrowed his eyes and leaned back.

“A mixture. Faeries are easy enough to deal with; it’s the aftermath that bothers me.” She opened her briefcase, placed it on the table, and tucked the book inside. “Some clients don’t like their house being destroyed from the inside out.”

“There’s no other way to deal with them?” He patted his hands on the seat. “They’ll just destroy it no matter what?”

“By the time they find out I’m going to banish em’, and there’s usually more than one– They flip out and try to take as much with them as possible. I haven’t found a better way so far.” She stood, clicking the suitcase shut again and sighing. “Anything interesting in the afternoon paper?” She tapped her fingers on the table and raised her hand to rub her throbbing forehead.

“Not that I saw. Maybe you should check it out yourself. You’ve always had an eye for the unnatural.” He shifted over in his seat and pulled himself into a standing position. “What’ll it be for lunch today, other than a few aspirins?”

“Gods, so many choices– Probably the same I always get.” She was surprised he even asked at this point. It may be required, but he had been breaking the café etiquette since her first constant week coming in– Sitting beside her, bringing over food without asking– She could never tell with him. “How’d you know about the headache?”

“Hunch,” he grinned, brushing his hand along his shoulder as he walked back to the kitchen.