Dark Spell (8 page)

Callie collected her overnight stuff. She looked hard at the scruffy t-shirt and shorts she’d worn the night before. Nope. She rummaged through the drawer. There was a brand new set of proper PJs, still in the wrapper. She picked it up, then put it down again. What was she thinking? This was Josh, just Josh.

She was getting as bad as her mother.

She settled on a white I HEART NY tee and shorts that weren’t too grotty or too smart. Good.

“See you tomorrow, puss,” Callie said as she shut the front door again.

“Do you want me to come in?” said Josh as they reached The Smithy.

“No, thanks. I think I’d rather do this on my own,” Callie replied. “I’ll be along in a bit.”

“Hello?” she called as she went in, but The Smithy was silent. There must be someone here, though; the front door hadn’t been shut, let alone locked. She looked out of one of the back windows and saw George in the greenhouse, Luath lying in front of the open door like a draught excluder.

“Hello, George. Is Rose around?”

George put down his secateurs. “I’m afraid not. She went round to Miss Rutherford’s a couple of hours ago with some flowers for her birthday – she’s 87 – and found she’d had a fall. Rose has gone in the ambulance with her to hospital in Dundee, so I’m not sure when she’ll be back.”

“Oh…”

“I take it it’s not something I can help with?”

“Not really,” Callie said, perplexed. “It doesn’t matter. I’ll catch her tomorrow or something.”

“That was quick,” said Josh, answering the door.

Callie explained.

“I think you might be right about it being the house,” she said, determined to be positive. “So tomorrow will do to tell her. It’ll be fine.”

Anna was working among a litter of papers in the sitting room.

“Some holiday,” said Callie, with a smile.

“It’s funny, it still feels like a holiday, even if I do some work, as long as I’m somewhere different,” Anna replied. “Anyway, I’m not working every day. We had a lovely time in Falkland.”

Behind her, Josh rolled his eyes.

“I’m just going to call your parents, Callie,” Anna went on. “I’d better make sure they’re okay with you and Josh staying in the same room. It’s either that or one of you on the floor in here.”

As Anna went to phone, Josh said, “I told her you’d been having nightmares and were scared to sleep on your own. Sorry; I thought it might persuade them to let us share.”

“That’s all right. It’s a good idea. As long as you don’t mind?”

Anna came back in. “She said yes. Thought someone else in the room might stop these bad dreams you’ve been having. I promised I’d keep an eye on you too.”

“Please stop being embarrassing, Mum,” Josh begged.

“I’m your mum – that’s my job!” Anna said indignantly.

Later, when they’d had supper, Josh and Callie went for a walk. Not because they actually wanted a walk, but because Josh was desperate to see some of the things Callie could do with her nearly new-found powers.

“Honestly, though, there’s not much I can show you. This isn’t like magic on the television, you know,” she protested. “It’s not tricks and it’s not Harry Potter.”

“So you didn’t have a ‘Yer a wizard, Harry’ moment?” Josh grinned.

“Eh, no. Not exactly. I had an ‘Oh no, have I just killed someone?’ moment and a table-bursting-
into-flames
moment.”

“Whoa! What table? What happened?”

“When Rose and the others told me what I was, I accidentally set fire to the kitchen table in The Smithy.”

Josh was wide-eyed. “Did you have to call the fire brigade? How come the house didn’t burn down?”

“No fire brigade. Remember, I was in the same room as four proper witches. They put it out in a nanosecond. The wood wasn’t even scorched. It wasn’t normal fire, more like static, I think.”

“Did you know before they told you?”

Callie wrinkled her nose. “I knew there was something… but I kept trying to convince myself it was all my imagination. I never thought I might be a witch until Rose said it.”

“And you never knew that she was one?”

“No way! I thought she and Bessie and Barbara and Isobel were just four old dears who liked a gossip. I never noticed anything and I’ve known them all my life.”

“So, what can you do?”

“Not much yet,” said Callie, feeling suddenly self-conscious. “I can tell what the weather’s going to do, but I can’t control it.”

“Rose and her mates can control the weather?”

“Well, a bit. They could push a shower out of the way, but not a rainstorm.”

“Must come in handy.”

“Yeah.” Callie smiled.

“That fire thing you did – show me again.”

Callie looked round. “Better go somewhere it won’t be seen then.”

“There’s that ruined cottage down by the stream.”

Five minutes later they were there, pushing aside swags of ivy to get through the remains of the doorway.

Callie picked up a stick and looked at it. Obediently, it burst into flame immediately, all along its length. She waved it like a conductor’s baton.

Josh reached out to touch it.

“Careful!” Callie pulled it away from him. “You’ll get burned.”

“Why doesn’t it burn you?” Josh asked, fascinated.

“Because I made the fire, and it knows I’m the boss. I kept getting burned when I was learning this, though; I’d be so pleased I’d managed to set light to something that I’d forget to control it.”

She slid a hand along the length of the burning stick and the flames were gone.

“That’s so cool,” said Josh, shaking his head. “Show me something else.”

“Tomorrow,” Callie said. “I can’t give away all my secrets at once.” She was enjoying having something to show off about. It was an unfamiliar sensation.

“You might just be the most interesting person I’ve ever met. I’m definitely sticking around to see what else you can do.”

Callie flushed with pleasure, turning away to hide it. “Better wait and see what happens tonight,” she said, sobering. “Your mum might have forbidden you to see me again by tomorrow, or you might not want to.”

Josh lay awake for a long time that night. Long after Callie’s breathing told him that she was asleep in the other bed, he lay looking at the dim grey square of the window, his mind racing as he tried to sort out the day’s events.

That Callie was a witch was actually crazily easy to accept, given her ancestry and her undeniable oddness. The stuff with the fire would have convinced him anyway, if he’d had any real doubts.

As to what was happening in her house… He was far less confident about that than he’d made himself sound. If something weird did happen during the night he hadn’t a clue what he was going to do. Run away yelling, probably; if lumps of rock started falling out of the ceiling and the wall sprang a leak, definitely. Cool, logical explanations didn’t seem quite so convincing, lying here in the dark.

He closed his eyes and tried to think of safe, dull, ordinary things that had nothing to do with witchcraft.

Something hit him in the face. With a sharp intake of breath he opened his eyes to find Callie, tousle-headed,
sitting up in the other bed. It was broad daylight. Morning.

“Did you just throw something at me?”

“You were snoring. I had to stop you somehow. Anyway, it was just one of your socks.”

“Yuk. I’m surprised you even wanted to touch it.”

“Wanted
? No. But it was the only thing I could reach without getting out of bed.”

“Sleep okay?” Josh asked.

“Yeah. A perfectly ordinary night’s sleep.” A smile lit Callie’s face. “Maybe you’re right and this isn’t my fault.”

“So now all we have to do
is
work out what is going on and how to stop it. Simple. Breakfast first, though. I could murder a bacon roll.”

“Ooh, yes please.”

Anna was reading the local paper in the sitting room.

“Bacon roll, Mum?”

She looked up briefly. “No thanks.”

Callie and Josh sat on the sofa and flicked absently through the TV channels as they ate.

“Well, here’s an opportunity you don’t get every day,” said Anna, reading from the paper. “‘Ever cuddled a lemur or stroked a skunk? Now’s your chance! Fife Animal Park will be visiting St Andrews with some of our furry, feathery and scaly friends.’”

“Let’s see,” said Josh, cramming the last of his roll into his mouth. “Skunk stroking… Don’t they make you smell terrible?”

Callie craned to see what Josh was reading. “Only if they’re frightened, I think. Very gentle skunk stroking,
maybe? A lemur, though… I’ve never seen one close up, and they look really cute on TV. Oh, it’s today that they’re in town!”

“Wanna go?”

“Yeah. Why not?”

“Okay, Mum?”

“Of course. I can even drive you in. I want to do some shopping.” Anna reached over the back of the sofa. “Now give me back my paper. I’ve still to read about the Scout jumble sale.” She paused. “What did you do to your wrist, Callie? That’s a nasty bruise.”

“Nothing,” said Callie, self-consciously hiding the black mark on her wrist with her hand. “It’s fine.”

Anna went back to her paper without further comment. Josh looked curiously at Callie, but she pretended she hadn’t noticed he was watching her, finished her roll and went to get dressed.

“What about going to tell Rose?” Josh asked when she came back.

“Let’s go and see the animals first. It’ll be a nice break from all this. I’ll tell her when we get back.”

When Anna dropped them at Kinburn Park in St Andrews, the animals hadn’t arrived yet, so they strolled along Market Street to the sweet shop to stock up on trash, then walked slowly towards the park.

“Jelly snakes, mmnn…”

“You can’t possibly think jelly snakes are better than white mice.”

“Ten times better.”

“Must be some weird witch thing.”

Callie made a face at Josh. “I could turn you into a white mouse.”

“No you couldn’t.”

“Maybe one day…”

“I can imagine Bessie turning someone into something.”

Callie laughed. “I know what you mean, but she’s all right, just a bit crazy. And, honestly, we can’t turn people into anything.”

Josh gave a theatrical sigh. “Another let down,” he said morosely. “To change the subject,” he went on, “we should be trying to work out what’s happening at your house. We know now it isn’t you making things happen, so why there and why now? When did it start?”

“It was two nights ago: the first day we went body boarding and then I went for my lesson with Rose and the coven. I heard hammering in my room that night, but no one else heard it.

“Then the next night.” She shivered. “Same but worse, and a figure under the desk. It all stopped when my dad came into the room. The cat was going mental – that was what Dad heard, not the hammering. At least if Chutney Mary hears it, it’s not just my imagination,” she added thoughtfully.

“What sort of figure?” Josh asked, trying to sound matter of fact, though the hair was standing up on the back of his neck.

“I couldn’t see it clearly. It was as if it was made out of darkness, darker than everything else around it.
It was human, though – well, human shape. I saw arms reaching up just before it disappeared… Can we stop talking about it for a bit?” Callie asked as they arrived back at the park. “Anyway, look; the animals are here.”

They joined a queue of excited children and curious adults.

“Wow, look at that,” Josh said as they got nearer. “It really is a skunk.” He sniffed. “And I can’t smell anything.”

They shuffled forwards with the queue until they were close enough to listen to a talk about the animals. They stroked the skunk and a cockatoo, and fed grapes to a sleepy-looking black and white lemur. No cuddling, though: it held tightly to its keeper and didn’t look as if it was ever going to let go.

“I wonder just how bad skunk smell really is?” mused Callie. “There was a tiny bit of me hoping I’d find out.”

“Well, I just hope I’m not with you if you do,” said Josh firmly.

A bit later, Callie got round to asking the question that had been on her mind for hours.

“Josh, can I ask you a favour?”

“Yeah, what?”

“Will you stay at my place tonight? I want to have one last try at dealing with this… whatever it is, without getting Rose involved. Getting a good night’s sleep last night makes it all seem… a bit silly really. I think it’s been a combination of witch power leaking out – sort of like
static – and bad dreams, and everything getting out of proportion because I haven’t been sleeping properly. It doesn’t seem nearly as bad now looking back at what actually happened.”

Josh looked doubtful. “You’re sure it wouldn’t just be easier to talk to Rose about it? You were all set to do it yesterday.”

“I know. And yes, I’m sure it would be easier. But I must be feeling braver today or something. I really want to do this. Will you come?”

“How could I resist?” Josh said, with a certain amount of irony. “Remind me – have I ever told you you’re crazy?”

“Of course.” Callie was already texting as she spoke. “I should warn you – I’ve just said we’ll cook tea. It’ll stop Mum going overboard trying to entertain you. I’ll try not to let her ask you too many questions.”

Josh laughed. “It’s okay. Honestly. So what are we cooking?”

“Not a clue.”

They got back to Callie’s house mid-afternoon, carrying prawns and dressed crabs. They picked strawberries and raspberries from the garden and made a summer pudding, then lay in the sun, having already checked that Callie’s room was okay.

“So, what do we do tonight? Try to stay awake or try to sleep?” Josh asked, shading his eyes.

“Things have started when I’ve been asleep before,”
said Callie after a few seconds thought. “So I suppose if we actually
want
something to happen, we should try to sleep. I’m going to go up in a minute, though, and try to put a protective spell on the room.”

“Can I watch?”

“Yes, but don’t expect it to be exciting.” She got to her feet, bent down to pick up a pinch of soil and put it in her pocket. “You’ll see in a minute,” she said, to forestall Josh’s question.

Passing through the kitchen she collected a glass of water and a box of tea lights.

“What should I do?” asked Josh once they were in Callie’s bedroom.

“Sit on the bed and don’t say anything. I need to concentrate.”

Callie put a candle in each corner of the room, one in the doorway and one on the windowsill, and lit them with a snap of her fingers, ignoring Josh’s wild-eyed grin. Next, she picked up the glass of water and went from candle to candle, sprinkling a few drops onto the flames. The flames sizzled, but instead of being extinguished, they grew tall and translucent, more like molten glass than fire now. She went round once more, sprinkling a few grains of soil from her pocket onto each candle, and Josh saw the flames turn to the colour of dried blood.

Callie returned to the centre of the room, ignoring him completely now, her face serious.

“I call on the elements to protect this place and all those in it. I call on Air, I call on Earth, I call on Fire, I call on Water. Meld yourselves into a shield about this place. Let nothing wicked pass.” As she spoke, the
colour of the flames grew more and more intense, until they were like tongues of molten metal. “I draw you together with my power. Shield this place according to your natures.
Let it be so.”

The flames grew so bright that Josh had to screw his eyes up, then they were gone, leaving no sign that the candles had ever been lit, not even a wisp of smoke.

Callie turned to look at him expectantly. “Well?”

“Looked pretty impressive to me, but what would I know?”

She sighed. “Well, it’s all I can do just now.” She looked at the clock. “I hope you’re ready for the onslaught. The parents will be home soon.”

“What do you miss about Edinburgh when you’re here, Josh?” asked Julia, continuing her cross-examination.

Callie was mortified, but if Josh minded, he gave no sign of the fact.

“Nothing, really, when the weather’s good. But if it rains I miss the indoor stuff you can do: bowling, cinemas, you know. And I miss the buses for getting around. I mean, I know you’ve got buses here, but at home they come much more often.”

Callie was trapped between squirming embarrassment for Josh, and concern for her father, who had hardly said a word since he came in, and was now staring morosely at his crab and prawn salad, as though it was a particularly discouraging horoscope.

“You okay, Dad?” she asked, while Josh and Julia
were engrossed in twenty questions. David roused himself with a look of surprise.

“Yes. Fine. Just a bit down about life,” he said with a sad smile.

Callie had never heard him say anything like that ever before. He never got depressed about anything. She felt a small, cold knot of anxiety develop in the pit of her stomach.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, just ignore me.”

What could have happened? As if there wasn’t enough to worry about already.

Callie had persuaded Julia that having Josh in the same room the night before had helped her sleep and that they should share here as well, although Julia had frowned when the question was raised.

“You said it was okay last night at the cottages,” Callie reminded her.

“I thought it was just a one-off: some company to take your mind off these dreams. And it would have looked rude if I’d refused – as though I didn’t trust Josh’s mum. I’m not sure you ought to.”

“Oh for goodness sake! We’re not… there’s nothing…” Callie could feel her face getting hot just thinking about the words. “I wouldn’t even dare
ask
if… Look, we’re just friends. I keep telling you that. Surely you can see?”

Julia gave her a long look. “Oh, all right. Josh’s mum obviously thought everything went okay last night.”

“Thanks, Mum,” said Callie, with relief.

Callie finished shoving the pillow into its pillowcase and tossed it to Josh.

“Are you sure you don’t mind a sleeping bag?”

“No. It’s fine. Look, you’ve given me a mattress. That’s practically luxury. I’m always sleeping on mates’ floors at home.”

They heard the sound of raised voices from downstairs. “What do you mean, it’s my fault? You’re the one who…” The rest of what David was saying was lost in the sound of a slamming door.

Josh tried to act as though he hadn’t heard anything, but when he sneaked a glance at Callie’s face it was obvious she knew he had.

“I don’t know what’s wrong with them. They don’t usually argue, but recently… And there was definitely something wrong with Dad at teatime. Did you notice how quiet he was?”

“Yeah, but I didn’t know if he was usually like that or not. Maybe it’s their work. It must be pretty stressful being a doctor.”

“I hope that’s it. I wish they would tell me what’s going on, though, instead of acting as if I haven’t noticed.”

“Have you actually tried asking them what’s wrong?”

Callie shook her head. “I was hoping it would stop, but it just seems to be getting worse.” She forced a smile. “Anyway, we’ve got other things to worry about just now. Bedtime?”

Josh glanced at Callie’s alarm. Eleven forty. “Bedtime,” he agreed. “Who knows, maybe it’ll be like last night now you’ve put that spell on the room.”

“Maybe.” But Callie didn’t sound convinced.

The sound of raised voices continued for another ten minutes, to be replaced at last by simmering silence.

Chutney Mary came scrabbling through the window, jumped onto the bed and settled down, purring.

“She seems happy enough,” Josh said.

“Let’s hope she stays like that.”

They lay down to sleep.

Chutney Mary’s hiss woke Callie instantly. She lay as still as a stone, breathing into the darkness, eyes wide, ears straining.

There was silence apart from the gentle
whuff whuff
of Josh’s breath from the floor at the side of her bed. As far as she could tell, he was still asleep.