by Sharon Booth
Mother's eyes narrowed and I decided a change of subject would be wise. 'So when will you be moving in?' I asked.
'Oh, it should be fairly soon,' Father said. 'The current owners are moving to Richmond. Apparently, their son has a granny annexe all set up for them at his house, so there's no chain.'
'Isn't it marvellous?' Aurora sighed happily. 'It will be so lovely to have you all close by, and I'm so happy Aither will have his family around him as he grows up.' She picked up a biscuit and said, 'Especially given his little, er, problem.'
'Now, now,' Father said, patting her hand, 'we said we wouldn't dwell on his lack of powers, didn't we?'
'I know,' she said, 'but it's awfully upsetting for him. And I'm so disappointed in my father. He's hardly bothered with his grandson since he found out.'
'It's his loss,' Father said. 'Aither is adorable. Zephyr should know better.'
'Enough of this,' Mother announced. 'We should celebrate the good news. Why don't we all go out for dinner?'
'That's awfully kind of you,' Aurora said, 'but I'm afraid we're already booked up this evening. Elvira has invited us to her house in Sussex to meet her new boyfriend and have dinner with them, so it will have to be another time.'
'And I've got a darts match at The Holly King tonight,' Castor said.
'I'm — er — I'm having dinner with Trinity,' Sirius said bashfully. 'I promised I'd take her to a swanky hotel outside Harrogate. She saw it online, and I thought ... why not?'
Mother looked delighted. 'Why not indeed?' she said, clasping her hands to her chest and beaming at him. 'Have a lovely time, darling. I like Trinity. She's a lovely girl. So — friendly.'
I thought about my conversation with Star earlier and my heart sank. I would have to confide in Mother, no doubt about it.
'So that leaves you, me and Blaise,' Mother said cheerfully. 'What would you like to do?'
'If you don't mind,' Blaise said apologetically, 'I'd like to spend the evening working. I'm doing an online course and it's fascinating. I'll be happy with anything you make for dinner.'
'One day,' Mother said pointedly, 'we should sign you up for a course in cooking. That would be most useful.'
Blaise looked appalled at the very idea and glanced at me for help.
'It's okay,' I said. 'I'll make you something quick to eat and you can get on with your course.'
'Not vegetarian stuff?' he said, looking worried.
'No,' I said wearily. 'I'll rustle you up a cheeseburger. You'll enjoy that.'
'Great,' he said, getting to his feet. 'Can you bring it up to me as soon as it's ready? I'll be in my room on my iPad.'
'Sure,' I replied, cradling my mug of tea in my hands and trying to ignore the expression on Mother's face.
'Well,' Aurora said, swallowing the last of her biscuit, 'I suppose we'd better be making a move.' She laughed and dug Father in the ribs. 'Making a move! How appropriate.'
'Where's Aither?' I asked, disappointed I hadn't seen my little brother.
'Already at Elvira's,' she explained. 'I'm jolly glad I didn't get rid of my magic. It's terribly useful, especially when you have a young baby to care for, and family scattered around Britain.'
'But not when you have a house to renovate, apparently,' Father murmured.
Aurora ignored him, and we all kissed goodbye. Castor told us he'd see us all later and went off to meet his mates at the pub. Sirius headed upstairs to shower and change for his date with Trinity, and Blaise returned to his room to continue his online course.
'So,' Mother said, 'what shall we do? After you've cooked for your lord and master, of course.'
'Don't,' I said. 'It's not his fault. It's what he's used to.'
'But he's here permanently,' she reminded me, 'and he should get used to the way things are here and now. You're making a rod for your own back.'
'I know he's here permanently,' I said. It all sounded so final. I shook my head and got to my feet. 'Better do that burger.'
'Are you all right, darling? You seem a little downcast,' she said.
I hesitated, then sat down again. 'Mother, I need to talk to you,' I admitted.
'Go on then, I'm listening.'
'But not just you. I think we need Aveta's advice, but I don't know how to contact her. Can you get in touch with her?'
She looked rather concerned. 'Sounds serious.'
'It is,' I said. 'I wouldn't ask otherwise.'
She paused a moment, then nodded. 'Make Blaise's burger and I'll pop over to Aveta's and ask her if it's all right for us both to visit. Won't be long.'
She vanished, and I sat for a moment, staring at the space she'd just vacated, wondering what exactly I would say to her, and to Aveta. I mentally shook myself and hurried into the kitchen. Blaise would be hungry.
****
Aveta was delighted to hear from us and invited us to dinner at her house.
'Where does she live?' I asked Mother, as I added a splodge of tomato ketchup to Blaise's cheeseburger, the way he liked it.
'In a rather trendy flat in Camden Town,' she replied.
I nearly dropped the sauce bottle. 'What? Seriously?'
'Yes, of course. What did you expect?'
I thought about Aveta and how I'd imagined her living. 'I visualised her floating around an ancient cottage in the shadow of Glastonbury Tor, incense sticks burning in every room and new age music accompanying her wherever she went. Either that or an apartment in a retirement development, where she learns macramé and keeps fit every morning in the communal gardens with a crowd of spandexed pensioners.'
'Celeste!'
I giggled. 'I'm joking, Mother. I suppose I pictured her in some elegant Regency terraced house in Bath, or somewhere like that. A trendy apartment in Camden seems unlikely.'
'You'd be surprised,' Mother said. 'She's had her wild moments, you know. You don't get to have six children, twelve grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren by sitting at home playing Solitaire.'
'I suppose not,' I said. 'I'll pop this upstairs and I'll be right with you.'
It upset Blaise I was going out. 'I was hoping you'd come up here and sit with me for a while,' he said.
'What? So I can watch you scrolling down your iPad?' I teased. 'No thanks.'
'I'd put my iPad away for you, Celeste,' he told me. 'I'd do anything for you. You know that?'
'Would you?'
He pushed the burger away and reached for me. I took his hand, and he pulled me to him.
'Last night—' he began.
'Honestly, it's done,' I said. 'I don't want to talk about it.'
'But I do,' he said earnestly. 'I know it ended badly, and that was my fault, but I meant what I said. I love you, Celeste, and I want to be with you. Properly be with you. I need to show you how much you mean to me. I know you've had no experience, but that's what I'm here for. Everything I've done, everything I've learned, it's all been building up to this moment. I can show you how good it can be between two people who love each other.'
I gulped. 'Great. That sounds most promising.'
His fingers stroked the palm of my hand. 'So, when?'
I sighed and sank down onto the bed. 'I don't know. Please, don't push me. I'll know when it's the right time and when I do, you'll be the first to know.'
'But you still love me? You still want me?'
'Of course I do.' I must do, mustn't I? He was Blaise St Clair.
'Okay.' He sighed and turned back to his iPad. 'I'll leave it with you. Whenever you're ready, you know where I am.'
I watched, my heart sinking as he took a huge bite from his burger. Ketchup landed on his chin and I thought desperately, He's still sexy. He's still the love of my life. Then I wondered why I felt the need to remind myself of that fact.
'Got to go,' I said, heading to the bedroom door. 'I'll see you later.'
'You will. Have a good time at your mother's friend's house.'
I hadn't mentioned to him it was Aveta I was going to see, because his memories
of her wouldn't be entirely pleasant ones. On impulse, I rushed back and dropped a kiss on his head as I squeezed his shoulder.
'I love you, Blaise,' I whispered. 'Really, I do.'
He smiled. 'I know. Go on, enjoy yourself.'
It was just adjusting to it all, I thought, as I ran downstairs. Blaise wasn't some superhero I'd pictured for so many years. He was a real flesh and blood man, and the trouble with flesh and blood men is they rarely, if ever, live up to the fantasy. How could I expect them to? I'd been unfair to Blaise. He'd struggled since he arrived in our time, and he'd fought hard to fit in and do what he could to please us. He was studying and trying his best to learn all about this strange world he found himself in. I'd been mean and thoughtless and selfish, I decided. From now on, I would try to spend more time with him and work on our relationship. How lucky was I that someone like him loved me?
A pair of acorn coloured eyes flashed through my mind and I stood still on the bottom step and bit my lip, angry at myself. This is deflection, I thought crossly. I'm using Hector to avoid getting intimate with Blaise. I'd built up that special moment so much in my mind that, now the opportunity had arisen to make that fantasy real, I'd bottled it, pure and simple. If I wasn't careful, I'd end up making Hector my next fantasy figure. At some point, I had to stop dreaming and start acting.
Time to grow up, Celeste, I thought determinedly. Blaise is the man for you, so stop dragging poor Hector into this mess. Maybe tonight would be the night I finally moved mine and Blaise's relationship to the next level. If I could talk things over with Aveta, maybe all my worries would disappear — or at least seem a little less frightening. Then I could give Blaise the attention he deserved. Definitely tonight. Or tomorrow night. Well, some time this week at the latest, for sure.
Chapter Twenty-Two
It turned out that I wasn't so off the mark about Aveta's flat as I'd thought. Yes, it was a flat in trendy Camden Town, but it definitely had a Glastonbury vibe to it when we entered, and it amused me to see Aveta, who usually looked so elegant and authoritarian, was wearing a baggy pink t-shirt, black calf-length leggings and white trainers, and confessed she'd been working out to her Lorraine Kelly fitness DVD.
'Would you like us to come back later?' Mother enquired. 'Only, you said eight o'clock.'
'Oh, don't be silly. It will take seconds to rustle us up something to eat. I'll just pop and have a shower. There's wine in the fridge and glasses in the cupboard above the dishwasher. Help yourselves. Pour me one while you're at it.'
I tried to make myself comfortable on her blue sofa, over which she'd draped various throws, and which had so many cushions crammed on it there was barely any room to sit. Piling them all at one end, I settled back and tried to quell my nerves, while Mother poured the wine and brought three glasses through into the living room.
Aveta was back within minutes, wearing a purple kaftan and looking as serene as ever.
'Thank you,' she said, taking the glass Mother held out to her. 'I'm ready for this.'
'I'm not entirely sure what this is about,' Mother admitted. 'Celeste simply said—'
Aveta held up her hand, causing the three large bangles around her wrist to fall almost to her elbow. 'Not now, dear. Let's eat first, shall we? So much more civilised to discuss problems after food.'
'I suppose so,' Mother said, almost reluctantly. I knew she was dying to hear why I'd been so desperate to talk to Aveta and thought food was way down on the list of priorities.
We had vegetable quiche, salad and new potatoes, and it was all exceptionally tasty. I enjoyed it and, what with that and the copious glasses of wine I somehow seemed to keep finding in my hand, not to mention the scented candles that burned on Aveta's fireplace, and the gentle strains of Enya playing in the background, I had a peculiar feeling of contentment that, somewhere in the back of my mind, I recognised wasn't entirely natural.
'Now,' Aveta said at last, as she waved her hand and banished the empty dishes to the kitchen, 'shall we get down to business?'
I gave her a sleepy smile and nodded. 'If you like.'
'Good heavens, Aveta,' Mother said sharply, 'what have you done to her?'
'Don't worry,' Aveta assured her. 'I've not harmed her. I merely sensed how uptight and nervous she was feeling, and I've helped her to relax. This will enable her to speak her truth without fear, that's all. She can reveal her thoughts to us without worrying what we'll think or how we'll judge her.'
'I'm not sure I approve of that,' Mother said thoughtfully.
'Oh, Iliana! Shame on you! Who was it who did the exact same thing to that poor chap with the red hair, just because you wanted to know if he fancied you or Cybele the most?'
'That's hardly fair! I was fifteen at the time. Good grief, your memory is far too sharp for my liking.' Mother turned to me and explained, 'Cybele is Aveta's youngest daughter. She was my best friend at school, and that boy was an idiot. Turned out he fancied Rhea Philips in the year below us, so a fat lot of use that spell was.'
I gave her a happy grin, and she reared back and tutted in disapproval.
'She looks drunk. You may have overdone the relaxation spell there, Aveta.'
'She'll be fine,' Aveta assured her. 'Now, Celeste. I'd like you to tell me everything that's worrying you. No judgment here, my dear.'
'Well,' I slurred, 'you say that, but what sort of girl brings her dream man three hundred and fifty years through time to be with her, and then discovers she actually fancies another chap?'
They both stared at me and I hiccupped.
'Did I say that out loud?' I said, clapping my hand to my mouth.
Mother looked most interested. 'Go on,' she urged. 'Tell us more.'
'Thing is,' I said, 'Blaise wants to have sex with me.'
'Oh,' she said icily. 'Does he indeed?'
'And the problem is, I'm not entirely sure I want to have sex with him. Not any more.'
'That is a problem,' she agreed.
'And the other thing is, I know those dark eyes of his are all hot and flashing and sexy, but there's a lot to be said for kind, gentle eyes the colour of acorns, don't you think?'
'I'm not sure what to think,' she admitted.
Aveta tutted. 'Is this what you wanted to talk to me so urgently about?' she demanded.
'Nope,' I said gaily. 'S'got absolutely nothing to do with it, whatsoever.'
'Aveta,' Mother said desperately.
Aveta handed me a glass of water. 'You'd better drink this,' she said, 'or this evening will turn into an episode of Loose Women.'
I gulped down the water and sat up straight. 'Oh, lord,' I said. 'Did I say what I think I just said?'
'We'll talk about that in the privacy of our own home,' Mother said grimly. 'In the meantime, what is it you wanted to talk to Aveta and me about?'
'Okay,' I said reluctantly. 'Here goes.'
For the next half hour, I told them all — or most of — my worries. I told them first about Blaise's revelations.
'So not only was Bevil without magic, but Jennet was a powerful witch, and a raven,' I explained. 'So, I was thinking, the prophecy — the first part of the prophecy that is — didn't refer to Blaise and Bevil at all, but to Blaise and Jennet. Blaise says he didn't fall. Jennet blasted him over the castle wall. She distracted him by getting her raven to attack him. So that whole first part wasn't what we thought at all, which is worrying enough, but now I'm fearful of the second part.'
'That explains those scratches on his face,' Mother said thoughtfully. 'I wondered how he'd got those.'
'That is quite a revelation,' Aveta agreed. 'I think we all assumed the two brothers were the ravens. I knew ravens went where the power was, so if Jennet was a witch as gifted as Blaise says, it doesn't surprise me at all she had a raven as a familiar. As for the second part of the prophecy, we've got witches all over the country keeping their eyes and ears open for signs of a disturbance in the timeline. Any strangers to the magical world are being watched and vetted.'
&
nbsp; 'But the threat might not come from a witch,' I said desperately. 'And if you're concentrating on witches, you might miss someone else. Someone important.'
Aveta and Mother exchanged glances.
'It sounds as if you have someone specific in mind,' Mother said.
'I do,' I admitted. 'Trinity Jones.'
Mother looked staggered. 'Trinity! Sirius's Trinity?'
'Sirius's Trinity?' Aveta enquired. 'I thought Trinity Jones was Jethro Richmond's editor?'
We both turned to look at her. 'How did you know that?' I asked.
She tutted. 'My dear child, do you honestly think we haven't been watching what's happening in Castle Clair? You brought back a man from the seventeenth century — although, given your earlier revelations, the least said about that the better. Time was disturbed, and the prophecy began to play out. We've been monitoring the comings and goings in the town — and in your family, in particular.'
Mother looked appalled. 'You mean, you've been spying on us?'
'We're trying to keep you safe, Iliana,' Aveta pointed out. 'Would you prefer we left you at the mercy of any threat the prophecy foretold?'
'That's another thing,' I said. 'The prophecy. Mother Clipson.'
I told them what Blaise had told me about her, and they looked deeply sympathetic.
'Poor woman,' Mother said. 'I'd love to know what became of her.'
'I think Blaise would, too,' I said. 'She delivered him into this world, and he seems very fond of her.'
'Yes, well, we have more pressing concerns,' Aveta reminded us. 'What are your particular worries about Trinity Jones, Celeste?'
'You mean apart from the fact that Sky thinks she's messing around with Jethro?'
'She's what?' Mother nearly dropped her wine glass. 'Are you serious? Jethro? Never.'
'That's what I would have said, if ...'
'If what? What are you keeping from us?' Mother drained her glass and immediately topped it up to the brim. 'I don't think I have enough wine to get me through this,' she moaned.
'There's something you should know,' I said reluctantly. 'About me. My powers. Something weird's happening.'