Mei raised her eyebrows at me. ‘Scarlett, the house is packed to the rafters. I don’t think you could be on your own, even if you wanted to.’
‘Please?’ I asked her, making exaggerated puppy dog eyes at her. She giggled.
‘Alright,’ she agreed. ‘I’ll baby-sit you. I promise not to leave your side.’
‘You better not, otherwise I’ll think up a suitable punishment for you.’
‘Like what?’ she asked.
‘I’d make you wear Cat’s dress,’ I muttered.
Mei spluttered into her drink spraying it everywhere. Cat looked at her in astonishment as she laughed so hard that she began to cough.
‘Are you ok?’ Ben asked, a concerned look on his face.
‘Yeah, I’m fine,’ she said. It’s all Scarlett’s fault, blame her!’
‘It was not my fault!’ I protested with mock indignation. ‘Don’t blame me because you can’t control yourself.’
‘It was your fault! You with your catty comments. You’re a complete witch!’ Mei’s face froze as she realised what she had just said. Then the two of us started laughing hard.
‘O-K,’ said Cat giving us a strange look. ‘Have you been taking something?’
That set us off again.
‘They’re not always like this,’ she assured Alistair. ‘They’re usually quite normal.’
Mei and I made our way into the kitchen to calm down.
‘I’m really sorry for drawing attention to you like that,’ Mei apologised.
‘It’s ok,’ I replied, still smiling. ‘I don’t think that you’ve blown my cover!’
‘Why do you want me to stay beside you anyway?’ she asked. ‘You never said.’
‘Why? Are you saying that you don’t want to hang out with me?’ I joked.
Mei made a face.
‘Of course I’m not! I’m just wondering what’s up.’
‘Sam gave me some attitude earlier. To tell you the truth, we had a bit of an argument.’
‘What about?’ Mei asked.
‘Sam wants me to go back to Ireland after I finish school. I told him that I was considering going to the University of Ravensborough, and he completely flipped at me. He accused me of being selfish, because I want to stay here so badly that I’m putting it ahead of us both being together.’
‘Well couldn’t he come here?’
‘Mei, that’s the thing that really bugs me,’ I said. ‘He said that he can’t leave Ireland because of his band, but when I tell him that I don’t want to leave my mother, or leave a place when I’ve already been uprooted once, he tells me I’m being ridiculous!’
‘Well you’re not,’ said Mei supportively. ‘Your reasons for wanting to stay here make perfect sense. He’s the one who’s being ridiculous.’
‘There’s more. I opened the bracelet from Gethan in front of him. He already knows that Gethan is a Pagan, and he knows that something is up. That’s why I wanted you to stay beside me, so I don’t have to talk to him right now. If we had an argument it would spoil my party.’
‘Yes, but listen to yourself,’ Mei said gently. ‘You shouldn’t have to worry that your boyfriend will upset you at your birthday party. You shouldn’t have to worry that your boyfriend will go behind your back and tell your family things that you don’t want them to know, just because you’re doing something that he doesn’t want you to do.’
‘It’s because he cares about me,’ I argued. ‘He just doesn’t want anything bad to happen to me.’
‘I’m not saying that he doesn’t care about you, not for a second,’ she said calmly, putting an arm around her shoulder. ‘But he needs to respect you enough to let you make your own decisions. I mean, I agree with him in one way: you are crazy to take the risks that you’re taking. But all I can do is tell you that and let you make your own choice. You’re seventeen years of age; you know what the right thing for you to do is.’
The phone in the kitchen began to ring.
‘Hello?’ I answered.
‘Scarlett, I’ve been trying to get you on your mobile for ages!’ Aradia said. ‘Something really important has happened. Why haven’t you been answering your phone?!’
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
‘My phone is upstairs, and I’m kind of having a party, remember?’ I said.
‘Oh yeah, with all your Rationalist friends,’ said Aradia. ‘I forgot about that. Happy birthday by the way.'
‘Thanks.’
‘Listen something has happened, something really exciting. Today is the feast day of the Daughters of Morrigan, their symbol is a raven that’s drawn a little like the one on your locket. We’ve found a connection!’
‘And you’ve only just worked this out now?’ I asked.
‘I wasn’t the one who worked it out,’ she said. ‘Liv just called over to my house now, she was the one who put the pieces together. And, with it being the feast of the Daughters of Morrigan, today is the perfect time to find out just what your locket and book are for.’
‘Liv? What has Liv got to do with this? She hates me!’ I said incredulously. ‘Why would she think I’ve anything to do with this? And anyway, it’s eleven o clock, today is nearly over. This information may have been helpful earlier.’
‘No, we still have time. Pagan feast days run from sun-down until sunrise. We have until dawn.’
‘To do what?’
‘To get you to the Morrigan temple, what else. We need to leave as quickly as possible.’
Doubts started to kick into my mind. ‘Look, I don’t know if I want to do this, it all sounds a bit strange.’
‘Do you want to continue worrying about whatever it is possibly coming after you?’
‘No. Of course not. But...’
‘Then come with us. When will your party finish up?’
‘I don’t know, around twelve?’
‘We’ll collect you at the end of your road at one ok?’
‘How can you get into the area at that time?’
‘Don’t worry about that, Gethan knows a couple of ways in,’ Aradia’s voice was light.
‘Gethan’s coming?’
‘Yeah, I guess he wanted to see you on your birthday!’ Aradia teased. I’ll see you at one.’
‘You haven’t wrecked my birthday,’ I sighed. ‘See you later.’
‘Is something wrong?’ Mei asked as I hung up the phone.
‘I probably shouldn’t tell you this, but I need to tell someone.’ I went through the conversation I had just had with Aradia.
‘Ok, she wants you to go to a Pagan temple in the middle of the night?’ she said scrunching up her face. ‘I swear that this isn’t the Rationalist in me speaking, but it sounds kind of dangerous. I’m sure I’ve seen that in some horror film.’
I closed over the kitchen door, even though the chances of anyone overhearing anything with the music turned up so high were pretty slim anyway.
‘ Aradia thinks that it might shed some light on what exactly is going on with me,’ I said. ‘I have to find out what it is.’
‘Can I come?’ Mei asked suddenly.
‘What?! You cannot be serious, Mei. You’re a Rationalist! You’re constantly telling me to be more careful around Pagans!’
Mei shrugged and leaned her head on her hand. ‘Yeah, but it sounds exciting. As long as you don’t broadcast the fact that I’m going with a crowd of Pagans then that will be cool. Plus, I’ve never been to a temple.’
‘What about Jian?’
She laughed. ‘He’s taken a bit of a shine to Jane and has offered to walk her home. I’ll tell him I’m sleeping here. So, can I come?’
I smiled. ‘Why not?’
‘Good. Now let’s get back to the party!’
The rest of the night followed in a bit of a blur. Thankfully everyone left before twelve. When Mum and Rupert came back we were beginning to tidy up.
‘Did you enjoy yourself sweetheart?’ Mum asked.
‘Yeah, it was great. Thanks for letting me have people
over.’
‘No problem at all. Night Mei, night Sam.’
‘Night.’
As soon as Mum went upstairs I was immediately more grateful for Mei’s decision to stay with us. It meant that Sam couldn’t question me about Gethan’s gift.
I smiled and tried to placate him. ‘Did you enjoy the party?’
‘I did yeah. Your brother is a sound guy,’ he said to Mei.
‘Sound being the operative word,’ she said drily. ‘He’s never off those drums, we all live with a perpetual headache at home.’
‘The drums are a cool instrument to play, though!’ said Sam.
‘Yes, when other instruments are playing along with them,’ said Mei. ‘On their own, well, they’re just a load of noise.’
‘I think that’s the worst of it,’ I said chucking the last load of paper plates into a bin liner. ‘It’ll need a vacuum tomorrow, but it’s too late to start it now. Thanks guys.’
‘No problem’, Mei said. ‘Why is it that I never mind helping to clean up other people’s houses but I can’t be bothered cleaning up my own room?’
‘Does Jian really like Jane?’ I asked her. ‘It would be cute if they got together. We could call them JJ.’
‘Oh stop!’ said Mei, a look of horror on her face. ‘I hope they don’t start going out. Jane is a bit intense, and kind of shallow. I don’t want to spend more time with her than I have to.’
Sam yawned and stretched. ‘I’m pretty tired; I’m going to hit the hay. What about yourselves?’
‘Yeah I think we’ll head to bed now too. Night, see you in the morning.’ I kissed Sam and went upstairs with Mei.
‘We’ve only got twenty five minutes before we have to leave’ Mei whispered urgently as we ran up the stairs. ‘Do you think he’ll be asleep by then?’
‘I doubt it. I guess we’ll just have to be as quiet as we possibly can.’
‘You’ll need to change out of those boots’, Mei said sitting on my bed. ‘They’re lovely, but they don’t exactly look very practical.’
‘Not all shoes are meant to be practical. Some exist only to look pretty.’
‘Yeah well stiletto heeled boots definitely fall into that category. Let’s get you into something flat.’
I pulled on a pair of jeans and a heavy cable knit jumper. Taking Mei’s advice, I changed into some flat boots and a pair of thick socks. It was the Avalonian winter after all. I’d need plenty of layers.
‘Do you want to borrow a pair of jeans or something?’ I asked.
Mei shook her head. ‘I’ve tights on. And my coat has loads of insulation.’
At five to one we crept out of my room and sneaked down the house. Because the house was old the floorboards creaked a lot. We crept into the hall and put on our coats. I began to punch in the alarm code on the keypad.
‘Where are you both going?’
I looked up on the stairs and Sam was standing there with his arms crossed across his chest. Oh no, I thought. How was I going to explain all this to him?
‘Look, Aradia has a bit of a problem, and she needs some help. I didn’t tell you about it because I know that you feel that Pagans are the wrong side to back. I didn’t think you’d want to come.’
‘Well that shows how well you know me then, doesn’t it? I’ll get my coat.’
‘Are you sure? I mean...’
‘I’m coming Scarlett. End of story,’ he said sternly.
He stalked off to get his jacket. ‘I know he’s your boyfriend and everything, Scarlett, but that guy has got a serious attitude problem,’ Mei observed.
‘This is a nightmare. I haven’t told him anything about the locket, or anything like that. Not to mention the fact that Gethan is going to be here. Mei, what do I do?’
Mei just gave a helpless shrug in response.
Sam came back into the hall dressed in his coat. We walked outside. It was dark, but the stars weren’t visible under a blanket of cloud. Small gentle flakes of snow were falling now, coating the cars and trees like frosting.
We trudged towards the end of the road in silence.
‘What do we do now?’ Sam asked.
‘We wait for someone to pick us up.’
He sighed. ‘Are you going to tell me what’s going on?’
‘To be honest I only know the bare outline myself, Aradia will probably explain it better than I can when she gets here.’
Just then the hum of an engine could be heard getting louder. A transit van came around the corner, its headlights glinting off the fresh snow. The back door swung open and Aradia popped out.
‘Oh...you have other people with you.’ Aradia didn’t seem too pleased to see Sam and Mei.
Mei stepped forward and reached out her hand towards Aradia. ‘I’m Mei, nice to meet you. I hope you don’t mind me coming along.’
Aradia shook her hand, looking taken aback that a Rationalist was volunteering to climb into a van full of Pagans.
‘It’s cool,’ she said. ‘Do you all want to climb in?’
There were no seats in the back of the van, just a few rugs covering the metal floor. There was some rope, and a couple of shovels left from a previous dig. Liv was up front driving the van with a man I didn’t know. Gethan was sitting leaning against the side of the van. He nodded curtly at Sam as introductions were being made, and Sam did the same back. Great, that’s all I need.
I sat down opposite Gethan and Sam sat protectively beside me. Mei sat beside Gethan, who looked surprised to see a stranger in the back of the van. Aradia slammed the door hard and leaned against it. The engine started and the van took off sending us all knocking into each other like skittles. Beams of orange light from the street lights travelled through the van, travelling as lines of light across the bodies and faces of us, illuminating features for a second then passing on. Every time we turned a corner we were thrown in another direction.
‘I’ve bruises in more places than I can talk about in polite company’, Mei said as Liv took a sharp tight turn. Everyone laughed, and it broke the tension in the back of the van.
‘So, not that I’m not loving the Scooby Doo and the Mystery Machine feeling of this, but where exactly are we going?’ Sam asked.
‘Not very far’, Liv called back. ‘We’re going to a part of the city known as Darkfield.’
‘Darkfield? You mean the, part of the city where the bomb went off last year?’ Mei asked incredulously. ‘You’re joking, right?’
There was a screeching noise as Liv pulled sharply into the side of the road. She got out of the cab and the guy shifted over to the driving seat. Liv walked around the van and came into the back compartment.
‘Ah, Liv! We’re squashed enough back here as it is!’ Gethan complained.
‘Stop being so grouchy, at least everyone will be warmer with another body back here. Anyway, we need to make a plan.’
‘A plan for what?’ Sam asked. ‘What the hell is going on here? And what’s this about a bomb?’ I could hear a note of anger in his voice. Why oh why did he have to come? This whole thing, whatever it turned out to be, would be so much easier without him.
‘Scarlett was given a protection locket and a spell book, we don’t know who from. It was in a silver box that only she could open, that’s how we knew that it was meant for her. The locket and spellbook both have engravings of a raven on the front. I saw the locket at a gig a while back, and I knew that it looked familiar. I searched a bit online, and I found a link. The badge of a Pagan group known as the Daughters of Morrigan is a raven drawn in a very similar style to the one on her locket. So we need to talk to them at their temple, which happens to be in the middle of Darkfield.’
‘And the bomb?’ I asked. I knew I should probably know this, but I didn’t.
‘A bomb went off there around a year ago,’ said Liv. ‘A few people died, and the government claimed that the area was a prime target for more violence. They said that they knew this because of ‘secret intelligence’, though they’ve never shown us any pr
oof. Anyway, they decided to close down the entire area. It was primarily a Pagan area, so the decision caused uproar among Pagan communities.’
‘This is getting too weird’, Sam protested angrily. ‘I think you should drop us back to Scarlett’s house now. This is getting dangerous. You’re brainwashing her.’
‘Sam, calm down. You were the one who insisted on coming,’ I pointed out. ‘They’re not brain-washing me, they’re my friends and they’re trying to help me.’
I couldn’t fully see his expression in the dark, but I could feel the waves of anger emanating from him.
Gethan caught my eye as a streetlight illuminated his face.
‘The Temple of the Daughters of Morrigan is somewhere in that area,’ Liv continued.
‘Somewhere in that area?’ Sam asked. ‘You mean to say that you don’t know exactly where it is?’
‘All maps of the area were taken and destroyed, and were blocked online for ‘security purposes’,’ said Liv. ‘None of us here had ever spent much time there before it was declared out of bounds, so we’re going to have to look until we find it.’
‘So, if this part of the city is such a big deal that the security forces won’t let anyone live there, and have destroyed all maps, how are you guys planning get in?’ Sam asked. ‘I mean, they’re not just going to let a group of teenagers waltz in, are they?’
‘Probably not, no,’ she admitted. ‘But we’ve discovered a possible way in.’
‘A possible way in?’ Sam asked sarcastically. ‘Well that’s a relief. And what happens if you get caught? Are you going to terrify them into submission with a good luck spell and a dreamcatcher?’
‘Maybe we don’t just have good magic at our disposal’ said Gethan glaring at Sam. A second later Sam winced and cried out in pain.
‘Gethan stop it!’ Aradia shouted.
Sam looked at him. ‘You did that? You created that pain inside my head? You’re dangerous!’
Gethan smirked. ‘Relax, it was only for a second. And I’m not really that dangerous’, he said to Mei as if nothing had happened. ‘But sometimes I just can’t help myself.’
‘Oh believe me, I can understand the temptation’ Mei muttered.
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