Threadneedle

by Cari Thomas

  ‘QUIET, ALL. This is a serious matter. It was a disturbing display that flirted with extreme danger.’ He leant forward threateningly. ‘The perpetrators will be found.’

  Anna clasped her hands together. They don’t know! They don’t know it was us!

  ‘We’ll be studying the footage in greater detail and are in discussion with local police. As the trespassers appear to come from inside the school we suspect they are students.’ He scoured the hall again. Anna heard Manda whimper quietly next to her. Darcey glowered from the stage, eyes fixed on Effie. ‘If anyone has any information they must come forward at once.’

  At lunchtime it was all anyone could talk about.

  ‘We’re dead! When they study the CCTV they’ll see it was us.’ Manda cried.

  Effie laughed. ‘They’ve got nothing. He’s just trying to scare us into coming forward.’

  ‘Attis brought the fire to life within seconds. We ran through fire. We made it rain,’ said Anna, berating herself for being so stupid. If they were caught it would not be for trespassing but for carrying out impossible feats. Magic. They would expose magic to the world. The Binders’ worst nightmare.

  ‘The CCTV is too far away. They won’t be able to make anything out,’ said Attis.

  ‘Have you guys seen the playing field today?’ said Rowan. ‘The grass has grown a foot tall and it’s covered in flowers – we didn’t exactly cover our tracks …’

  ‘Cowans have a peculiar way of explaining away the impossible. I wouldn’t worry,’ Effie said dismissively. ‘The earth is flourishing and so are we.’

  She was right. Whether it was their growing notoriety or the Beltane face wash, Anna had never received so much attention in her life. Before, any attention had always been at her expense, now it seemed as if people were simply … interested. They were drawing looks from all over the common room.

  ‘Does this mean I have a chance of getting a date for the ball?’ said Rowan. ‘I never anticipated this – do I need to buy a dress? Do I need to shave? Karim is definitely going to ask you, Manda.’

  ‘No way, I’ll die. Do you think he will?’

  ‘Probably,’ said Effie, ‘but let’s get a few more options on the table. Yoo-hoo.’ She called to a group of boys who had just entered – Peter, Tom, Andrew and a few others. ‘Peter, you haven’t asked me to the ball yet. I’m devastated.’

  Peter scowled at her. ‘If I had all the choice in the world, you’d be the last person I’d ask.’

  Effie put a hand to her chest in mock shock. ‘Oh no. How will I ever get through this?’

  ‘I’ll take you.’ Tom took a seat next to her. ‘I’ll take you all the way, any way you want to go.’

  She made a disgusted noise. ‘If I had all the choice in the world, I still wouldn’t go with you. So, Peter, are you saving yourself for Anna, then?’

  Peter ignored her and pulled up a chair beside Anna. The rest of them descended into stupid chatter. ‘I still don’t get why you tolerate her,’ he muttered.

  ‘She’s just teasing you.’ Anna smiled, hoping to soften the frown on his face.

  ‘She makes one good point though.’

  ‘And what’s that?’

  ‘Do you have a date yet for the ball?’

  Anna choked on her lunch. She coughed, her eyes catching Attis’s who was looking their way. She turned back to Peter, flustered. ‘The ball? I mean, I’m – No, I don’t.’

  ‘Good to know.’ He flicked at a fly on the table. ‘That’s if the ball goes ahead; they’re talking about shutting down the school for a week, you know.’

  ‘Well, at least it’s a week off school …’

  ‘Who are you kidding, Everdell? You love school. You’re always reading away in the library. Or hiding away,’ he teased, his eyes intent on her. ‘No need to worry, my dad is a member of the London Library, very exclusive. I could probably get us in.’ He sat back. ‘Wow, did I just offer to take a girl to a library?’

  Anna’s laugh died in her throat. Olivia entered the common room wearing dark glasses. She’d been away for a week and it was painfully clear why. Her lips were horrific – puffed up and inflated into a gruesome pout, the skin bright red and taut. They looked raw and painful. The room looked on in quiet horror. Olivia didn’t seem to notice, walking over to a group of girls who clearly did not want to engage with her. As she smiled at them, her lips split and started to bleed. She took a tissue from her pocket and dabbed it against them. Anna felt sick.

  She looked at Effie, Rowan, Manda – none met her eye; Attis’s expression was grim.

  Olivia was thinner again too, her bony face only making her lips seem more absurd. The girls turned away and she was left standing alone in the centre of the room.

  ‘What has she done to her face? To think she used to be hot,’ said Tom.

  Andrew smirked. ‘Put a bag on her head and I probably still would.’

  ‘I heard she’s booked in for a boob job next week.’

  Their table continued to dissect Olivia’s humiliation with Effie stoking the fires. Peter listened but didn’t join in. Anna made her excuses and left.

  The gardener was out on the playing field mowing the grass that had grown wild. Anna saw them dancing around the fire, white dresses flowing and disappearing in the moonlight, binding themselves together forever … She’d hoped after that night things might get better.

  Over the following days, they got worse.

  Corinne was suspended for pushing a year ten pupil into oncoming traffic. Fortunately the girl had not been seriously harmed. Corinne claimed she’d fallen. The school was investigating.

  ‘We have to do something,’ Anna urged Attis. She’d gone to the music room to clear her head but found that the music wouldn’t come. Her fingers were tense, her mind tightly coiled. ‘This has gone too far. Now teachers are beginning to talk about the Darcey–Headmaster Connaughty situation. Next thing you know they’ll be calling for an investigation there too.’

  ‘Have you spoken to Effie? Perhaps—’ Attis began.

  ‘I’ve tried speaking to Effie several hundred times. She’s too distracted by her own triumph to care and the others are blinded too. Effie’s denying it all anyway; she just says it’s nothing to do with our spell any more, that if the rumours have taken hold then it’s because they were good rumours. She’s lying! I’ve hated Darcey longer than any of them. Losing her popularity is one thing but we’re destroying her life and Headmaster Connaughty’s.’

  ‘Anna, calm down.’ He walked over to her and put his hands on her arms. The warmth of them was comforting, grounding. ‘Let’s discuss it at the coven-meet tomorrow; everyone will be together.’

  ‘Fine, but I’m not sitting around any more. I’m going to stop this, one way or another.’

  ‘You can’t stop it on your own; we have to do it together. Magic is always a lot harder to get back into the jar once it’s out.’

  They left the room and found Darcey on the other side of the hallway, watching. Anna looked at Attis. Did she hear? He shook his head a little as if he had read her thoughts. Darcey watched them go.

  When Friday came Anna was more determined than ever to speak to the others – to put a stop to what they had started. Halfway through her first lesson of the day, it appeared she might be too late. A prefect knocked on the door and informed the teacher that Anna had to report to Headmaster Connaughty’s office.

  Anna was exceptionally good at hiding her feelings but, as she walked towards his office, she knew her fear was showing. Her hands were shaking, her voice was tight in her throat, and when she saw Effie, Manda and Rowan sitting outside the office, she wasn’t comforted. They know. They know it was us. Manda was stripped of colour and Rowan didn’t look much better. Effie was smiling as if she hadn’t a care in the world.

  The secretary led them through.

  ‘Not laughing any more, are we?’ said Connaughty, hands clasped together on his desk.

  ‘Depends on what you have to say, I guess
,’ said Effie, taking a seat.

  Shut up, Effie! You’re just going to make this worse.

  Connaughty’s eyes widened and, with nowhere to go, disappeared into his face. ‘I thought I told each of you that if I saw you in my office again we would need to have a conversation about expulsion.’

  Manda squeaked. Anna reached for her Knotted Cord and tried not to think of Aunt.

  ‘And yet, here you are, all four of you at once. So many bright futures with so far to fall.’ He relished the silence as he looked at each of them in turn, leering with smugness. ‘Now, can you all tell me where you were the night of the first of May?’

  ‘At home, sir.’

  ‘At home.’

  ‘At home.’

  Effie smiled. ‘Visiting my sick grandmother.’

  ‘I have received a very serious allegation from a student who swears that you four along with one Mr Attis Lockerby were the ones who broke into the school grounds and lit a fire and—’ He stopped.

  Effie sat back. ‘I’m sure I would remember if I’d been dancing around a fire. Besides, what evidence do you have?’

  Connaughty clasped his hands tighter, looking as if he’d rather they were around her neck. ‘The student who has come forward is a highly respected, senior figure on the student council. Her word would be taken extremely seriously. She claims she was working late and saw the five of you walking the corridors after hours.’

  ‘She was at the school late, was she? Practising her ballet steps?’

  Connaughty’s beetle eyes scurried around the room. ‘I will not reveal the identity of the student in question. However, I do have further questions—’

  ‘I’m sure it wasn’t Darcey but it would make sense if it was, wouldn’t it? She’s often here late at night, working hard on her ballet. Just yesterday I was here late and she was still going at it in the dance studio …’

  Connaughty’s hands fell apart. His cheeks trembled.

  ‘I’m not entirely sure, but were you helping her, Headmaster?’

  Anna looked back and forth between Effie and Headmaster Connaughty. The air was tense. The red of Connaughty’s large nose had begun to spread across his face as if it were melting. He dabbed his handkerchief at his forehead.

  ‘I was not there and I am not aware of Darcey Dulacey’s movements after hours.’

  Effie frowned. ‘So funny, I swear I saw you—’

  ‘So.’ Connaughty squirmed in his seat, his eyes avoiding theirs. ‘You all say that you weren’t on the school grounds on the night of the first of May?’

  They nodded their heads.

  ‘This will be taken into consideration. You may now leave. I will call you to my office again if any further questioning needs to take place.’

  ‘Looking forward to it.’ Effie stood up and took a sweet from the dish on his desk.

  As soon as they were released they hurried to the empty toilets.

  ‘What in thirteen dark moons was that?’ Rowan cried.

  Effie laughed. ‘Did you see how much he was sweating?’

  ‘How did we just get away with that? Did we just get away with that?’ Manda gripped the sink as if to stay upright.

  ‘Because of me. Watch what I filmed yesterday.’ Effie presented her phone. They gathered round and she pressed play.

  Anna wished she hadn’t watched it. For the rest of the day she could not erase it from her mind. All she could see was Darcey and Headmaster Connaughty – together – against the wall, his hands around her, their mouths hungry for one another.

  The sick feeling wouldn’t go away this time.

  At lunchtime Darcey made her way towards them. Anna tried to shake her head at her, to warn her off, but Darcey would stick the knife in even while she was bleeding. ‘How was your trip to Connaughty’s office?’ Her smile was unbalanced, no Olivia or Corinne to laugh at her digs any more. ‘It’s time that everyone realized what you all are.’

  ‘And what is that, Darcey?’ said Effie with feigned interest.

  Darcey’s mouth opened and closed, looking for a word that could give shape to her suspicions. ‘Sick. Twisted. Satanic. Strange things have started happening since you joined this school. Your disappearing tattoo. You broke my shoe heel – I know it was you! I’ve watched the party video over and over. Destroying my reputation; flies and lies – you’re all behind this and you’ve tricked everyone else into believing you—’

  ‘Darcey,’ said Attis appeasingly. ‘You know this makes no sense.’

  Darcey snarled at him. ‘I’m the only one who makes sense in this whole school and don’t give me that smile of yours, Attis, you don’t fool me any more. I know you’re in on it too!’

  ‘Why? Because he wouldn’t sleep with you?’ Effie laughed. ‘And neither will Peter now either. I heard he has his sights set elsewhere for the ball …’ She looked over at Anna pointedly.

  ‘Oh.’ Darcey smiled at last. ‘But I think Anna might be too busy with Attis. I thought he’d be taking you but they spend so much time together these days. The number of times I’ve seen them coming out of that music room alone …’

  Anna felt her cheeks burn as Effie glanced between them, for the first time knocked off balance. But then Effie laughed. ‘I have many options, Darcey. I’m still thinking them all through.’

  ‘I think that’s the problem, isn’t it? Perhaps Attis is looking for something less used.’ Darcey looked Effie up and down. ‘Anna sure has that purity thing going for her. Pretty and sweet – everything you’re not. She might be a nobody but she’s got some sense of self-worth left, which is more than I can say for you – but you know already, don’t you? That you don’t deserve him …’

  Stop talking, Darcey. Stop talking.

  ‘He’s not the one getting late-night ballet lessons from Headmaster Connaughty,’ said Effie – slowly, coldly. ‘Is he taking you to the ball?’

  Darcey fell forward, her hands catching on the table to hold her up. Her eyes went wild, her rage temporarily unhinged and flailing; she searched for words but, finding nothing satisfactory, turned and ran.

  Effie smiled and put her hand on Attis’s.

  THESE ARE THE CULPRITS. THEY ARE MEMBERS OF A SATANIC CULT. DO NOT TRUST THEM.

  Darcey had finally flipped. Rowan had showed Anna the posts in Biology – pictures of them, accusatory words emblazoned beneath, burning with fury. It had all gone too far – the rumours, their horrific consequences – and now Darcey was as good as calling them witches. Anna still couldn’t get the video out of her mind.

  She paced outside the sewing room, drumming up the courage to go in. It reminded her of the first time she’d stood outside the door, trying to decide whether to join the coven or not. When she finally opened it, the room stank – the altar was ruined, overflowing with rot. No one even tried to clean it any more. The mannequins were turned away.

  ‘This spell will give her a bout of severe acne. Perfect. Karim won’t look at her twice.’ Manda showed Effie the book she was reading.

  ‘What’s that?’ Anna tried to get a look at it.

  ‘Karim’s girlfriend won’t stay away. Effie says it’s time to take care of her. We can cast it tonight before my date with him tomorrow. We’re going for a drive.’

  Rowan’s mouth dropped open. ‘That sounds less like a date and more like a hook-up.’

  Manda giggled. ‘We’ll see what happens.’

  ‘I’d get it over and done with,’ said Effie. ‘What do you think, Anna?’

  ‘I thought you said you wanted to wait, Manda?’

  ‘Love doesn’t wait,’ said Manda, as if Anna could not possibly understand. ‘So long as we get rid of his ex …’

  ‘I don’t think we should cast any more spells until we’ve stopped this one.’

  Effie swatted at a fly, ignoring her. ‘It’s horrible in here. Shall we go somewhere else?’

  ‘No.’ Anna stood her ground. ‘Why don’t we stay here and deal with what we’ve done? This.’ She waved at the altar.
‘Out there. That video. It’s because of us. There was something wrong with that spell and we have to fix it.’

  Effie went to speak but Anna stopped her. She had to get this all out.

  ‘It’s gone too far. You all can’t deny it any more; the rumours have become reality. Corinne pushed someone into a car!’

  ‘I heard they fell,’ muttered Manda.

  ‘We have a video of Headmaster Connaughty and Darcey – together. If that got out it would ruin their lives. It’s sick. They clearly don’t have any control over their actions. We’ve had our fun; we’ve scared the shit out of everyone, Darcey most of all. We have to delete that video—’

  ‘Why would we get rid of our one piece of leverage?’ Effie countered. ‘That video would bring Darcey down once and for all.’

  ‘We can’t really share it though,’ said Rowan. ‘If that’s our spell Headmaster Connaughty is implicated.’

  ‘IF?’ Anna cried. ‘It definitely is our spell. We need to erase it and stop the spell now before it spirals further out of control. If we started it, we can finish it.’

  Manda looked down at her feet. Rowan winced. Effie continued to stare at Anna.

  ‘Anna’s right,’ said Attis, coming through the door to stand beside her. ‘The spell was darker than we thought. I’ve been looking into a few anti-rumour spells we can do and there’s—’

  ‘There was nothing wrong with the spell!’ Effie snapped. ‘If it’s out of hand, it’s because there was something wrong with the magic.’

  Rowan put a hand on Effie’s arm. ‘Maybe we should hear out Attis’s options.’

  ‘Why?’ Effie snapped. ‘If they’re not hounded by rumours you know what’ll happen? The Juicers will re-form, they’ll take over, they’ll start making your lives hell again. You’ll lose everything you’ve gained. You think Darcey has learnt her lesson? You’re her number-one enemies now and she’ll be coming for you.’

  ‘Why should we feel guilty?’ spluttered Manda. ‘I suffered at her hands for years. If the video gets shared and she gets expelled and her perfect future is in tatters, well, so be it. Otherwise she’ll spend her whole life bullying people. We’ve done the world a service.’