The Witch’s Tears. Katharine Corr

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СКАЧАТЬ as for me “moving on”, I’ll do that when I’m damn well ready to!’ He turned and strode out of the kitchen before she could say anything else.

      Merry smacked her palm against her forehead.

       Way to go, Merry.

      She sighed, put the biscuits away in the cupboard and unlocked the back door. Switching out the lights in the kitchen she stood on the threshold, waiting for her eyes to adjust to the darkness. The night air was heavy with the heat and the scent of roses blooming somewhere nearby, so still that every sound seemed muffled. There was nothing amiss as far as she could see. And yet …

      She closed her eyes.

      And there it was, like a single wrong note in the middle of a symphony, or a dab of jarring colour at the edge of a painting. Something barely discernible, but just not quite … right. So faint as to be almost not there at all.

      There was something in one of the wisdom books Gran had given her. Something about certain times and places being … points of intersection. Points at which the boundaries between different realms of existence stopped being like solid walls and became more like Swiss cheese.

      Merry locked the back door again and went up to her room. The summer solstice had been more than three weeks ago, and if there was something odd about their garden, surely she – and for that matter, Mum and Gran – would have noticed it before now? And even if they’d all missed something, the protection put in place by the coven had been enough to keep Jack out. The runes would hold against anything.

      She was certain of it.

      Besides, Gwydion and Jack were both dead. There was nothing left to be frightened of.

      The next day Leo was out of the house before Merry was up, giving her no chance to apologise. In the daylight, she couldn’t pick up any hint of the strangeness she’d noticed last night. The garden seemed to be exactly the same as normal: suburban, ordinary, extremely non-magical.

      At least she had plans for the day: a trip into London with Ruby and Flo, which would give her something else to do other than obsess about Jack or how much she’d messed up with Leo. She’d been hanging out a lot with Flo over the last three months; it was kind of relaxing, having a mate who knew the truth about her secret life, who understood it. And they had more than witchcraft in common. Merry couldn’t help wondering whether the last few years would have been easier if she’d been allowed to train, and if she’d had a friend who was going through that training at the same time. She really wanted Flo and Ruby to get along, and so far they seemed to be hitting it off pretty well. Her own relationship with Ruby was better, but it wasn’t quite back to normal yet. Merry hoped that shopping, eating and sightseeing – with a third person to smooth over any awkward silences – might push things in the right direction.

      They caught the train from Tillingham station, and an hour and twenty minutes later got off the tube at Oxford Street. After spending the rest of the morning trying on clothes and shoes they really, really couldn’t afford, they bought some sandwiches and headed into Green Park. It was another beautiful day, sunny and cloudless. Ruby flopped down on the blanket she’d brought and stretched her legs out in front of her, face turned towards the sun. Flo arranged herself cross-legged on the grass, adjusting her huge floppy sunhat so that most of her was in the shade. Merry sat down in between the two of them and immediately rifled through her bag for her sunscreen. She squirted a big dollop of it on to her hand and began covering her arms and legs.

      ‘Blimey, Cooper!’ Ruby exclaimed. ‘Why don’t you live dangerously for once, let yourself develop a light tan? It’s the middle of July and you’re still Snow White’s even pastier sister.’

      Flo giggled.

      ‘Gee, thanks,’ said Merry, pulling a face. ‘Flo’s wearing a sunhat.’

      ‘Yeah, but she’s already a nice golden colour –’

      ‘Thanks,’ Flo beamed.

      – ‘whereas you …’ Ruby shook her head sadly.

      ‘Huh. You’re just lucky, inheriting your mum’s skin colour.’ Merry grinned, ‘Not to mention her dress sense …’

      ‘Take that back,’ Ruby scowled. ‘Right now.’

      ‘Yeah, yeah, all right.’ Merry pulled her sandwich out of her bag. ‘But while we’re on the subject, why don’t you tell Flo about your plans to take over the fashion world?’

      ‘Oooh, yes, please!’ Flo clapped her hands together and sat forward.

      ‘OK.’ Ruby put on her newly acquired, almost-designer sunglasses. ‘Well, people are always telling me I look good. Always asking me what I’m wearing. Aren’t they, Merry?’

      Merry nodded.

      ‘So, I’ve been thinking I could become one of those online fashion/make-up/hair-care gurus. Only, like, much better than the other girls who are already doing it. So I started a fashion vlog. Last weekend.’

      ‘Fab, I’ll google you. Sounds like it’s going to be epic!’

      Ruby laughed, and she and Flo began discussing the various crimes against fashion that were currently being committed around them in the park.

      Merry took a bite out of her sandwich. It was such a long time since she’d had a day like this. Looking around, she could see dozens of other people hanging out among the trees, sunbathing or chatting or listening to music. And apart from Flo, none of them knew she was a witch. It almost made her feel normal.

      Almost.

      ‘Hey! Are you still with us?’ Ruby was waving a hand in front of Merry’s face. ‘I said, do you know yet what you want to do next year? After we leave?’

      Merry shrugged.

      ‘Dunno. Something to do with sports, maybe.’ Perhaps she could really work on her fencing, even take it up professionally. Jack would have approved of that.

      ‘PE lessons –’ Flo interjected, ‘one thing I’m definitely not going to miss.’

      ‘Me neither,’ Ruby replied. ‘Can’t wait for the day I no longer have to waste an hour a week being bored on a netball court. But seriously, Merry, what are you going to do?’ She sat forward, closer to Merry, pushing her sunglasses back on her head. ‘I know the spring term was hard for you.’ Ruby glanced at Flo. ‘Has she told you about what happened?’ Flo nodded, her face carefully neutral, and Ruby continued. ‘But you seem better now. Right?’

      ‘Better?’ Merry wasn’t sure what to say. Ruby was still smiling, but there was something in the way she was looking at her – searching her face – that made Merry want to look away. She’d so wanted to tell Ruby the real reason for her weird behaviour the previous few months, for missing classes and messing up at school, for never being around when Ruby needed her. She wanted to tell her the truth about Jack and Gwydion and the curse, about being a witch and all that it meant. Apart from Leo, Ruby was her best friend in the entire world: it would be amazing to let Ruby see her for what she really was. But Merry didn’t know how to begin. Perhaps she and Flo should just … show Ruby their powers. Turn the parched turf in front of them into a bed of multicoloured daisies.

      Ruby tugged at the shrivelled blades of grass.

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