We were still running when we reached the end of my street and my head was buzzing so much I didn’t notice Luke until he was right in front of me. ‘Hey,’ he said, holding out his arm as if he was flagging down a bus. ‘Anna. You OK? What’s up?’
I stopped and gulped in the cold air. It hurt the back of my throat and made my eyes water. ‘Kerry,’ I gasped. ‘I… I know something.’
Luke grabbed my wrists. ‘What? What do you know?’
I blurted out what I could, with Luke shaking his head and swearing. ‘So I…’ I panted, still breathless. ‘I’m taking this note to the police.’
‘Go on, then.’ Luke stepped backwards, away from me. ‘Better late than never, I suppose.’
‘What do you mean? I’ve only just –’
‘You must’ve known something. Or you might’ve guessed. How could you, Anna? Why did you let Kerry get involved with a creep like that? No – don’t say anything. I know the answer. Because Zoe is all you’re bothered about. Protecting Zoe and her weird friends, making sure Zoe’s OK.’
Luke spun around and strode away, shouting back at me over his shoulder. ‘Go and tell the police, then. Though it’s probably too late.’
I couldn’t move. Barney whimpered up at me and so, trembling so hard his lead made rattling noises, I made myself walk on. It’s funny, I thought, wiping my eyes. Everyone tells me I have this good heart. Everyone seems to admire it. Except for Luke. And he’s the only one I gave it to.
The next morning, at the hospital, Zoe was dressed and sitting in a chair next to her bed, a cardboard box at her feet.
I gave her a hug. She smelled odd, of some sort of hospital soap. I nodded towards the box. ‘What’s that?’
‘All my worldly goods.’ Zoe leaned down and pulled out a couple of magic books. ‘All the stuff that wasn’t nicked and the only clothes worth keeping.’ She held out the books to me. ‘Here. I want you to have these.’
I was about to say no, when the thought came to me that it was more important to be kind to Zoe right now than to argue about the rights and wrongs of witchcraft. ‘Thanks,’ I said. ‘But why?’
‘I’m being sent into exile.’ Zoe gave me a thin smile. ‘Some sort of clinic. Madhouse, they mean. About as gothic as you can get, though, right?’
‘A clinic? But…’ I picked up a leaflet from the bedside table for something called The Cloisters. ‘You mean you really won’t be going home?’
‘My mum’s not fit to look after me. And I’m not fit to be with her. Win-win, eh?’ Zoe was still trying to fix a sort of a smile onto her face.
A woman wearing a blue, medical-looking trouser suit came in. ‘Ready, Zoe? Had a chance to say goodbye to your friend? We should get going. We’ve a long drive.’
‘It’s at the other end of the country,’ Zoe said. She held open her arms and I fell into them, holding her as tight as I could.
‘I don’t want you to go.’
‘Don’t make me cry,’ Zoe said, with a sniff.
‘I’ll message you.’
‘No phone.’ Zoe’s voice sounded cloudy.
‘I’ll write you letters, then. Or something. I promise.’
Zoe nodded. ‘Thanks, Anna.’
The uniformed woman gently prised us apart and took Zoe by the arm, steering her towards the door.
‘It’s not forever,’ I said, picking up the box and handing it to Zoe. ‘And when you leave this – this clinic place – what then?’
‘Who can say?’ Zoe gave a tiny shrug. ‘It’ll be… like the magic books say. A world of infinite possibilities.’
23
Chasing shadows
Back at home, I leafed through Zoe’s books. The pages still smelled of incense and I held them close to my face, breathing them in. Mum said she wished I would just put them away, but I couldn’t. It wasn’t just that they felt like my last link to Zoe. The pages seemed to be whispering to me. We had unfinished business.
I waited till Mum was out at work and then I tried to get Barney to come up the stairs with me, but as usual he stopped at the landing and set up a growl. ‘I could do with you beside me, boy,’ I said, tucking the book under my arm so I could stroke him. ‘But I won’t make you. Just sit there, OK?’
Barney sat, with a throaty whine. I patted his head and put my hand on the door. Barney whimpered again, louder, and a chill went through my whole body. But I turned the handle and pushed the door open.
I dropped the things I’d brought with me on to the bed. It was darker than it should be and it felt more than silent. It was as if something was holding its breath, listening to the thudding of my heart. Waiting to see what I would do.
I placed white candles in the four corners of the room and lit them, shushing Barney as he fussed outside. In my incense burner, I put ground basil from the kitchen and some drops of a scent from Dead Bouquet, called MyrrhMyrrh. It was the closest I could get to the book’s suggestions for psychic cleansing and protection.
Next was the hardest bit. It was always Zoe who made up our spells and I felt like I was no good at it. She was so clever with words. Mine felt a bit silly. But I was going to have a try.
I kept my voice low, to disguise how shaky it sounded and I started to chant something from the witchcraft book, with a little extra line added in, telling the presence to leave. Barney interrupted with what sounded like a sort of loud, doggy sob. I could hear him shuffling and panting right outside the bedroom door,
