13 Secrets (24 page)

Rowan covered her face with her hands and started rocking again. Tanya saw Suki’s hair swishing from side to side as she shook her head vigorously.

“No. That’s not possible.”

“ ’Course it’s possible,” Sparrow said, his voice husky. “And it makes perfect sense.”

“No, it doesn’t,” Suki argued. “It makes sense for Eldritch to come after Rowan, but the rest of us? Why would he bother? We’ve done nothing to him!”

Sparrow rubbed his thumb slowly over his chipped tooth.

“True. But there are two things that would make sense. Firstly, given Rowan’s past, if she knew she needed protection, who would she be most likely to turn to?”

“Us,” said Crooks. His cockiness had dissolved, and one leg was bouncing up and down in a nervous dance. “She’d probably come to us.”

“He could be making sure you’ve got no one left,” said Sparrow. “No one to run to.”

Fabian frowned. “But he tried to capture her just now. If he was trying to get rid of everyone else first, why would he have acted then?”

“Good point,” said Sparrow. “And I agree. I don’t think he’s targeting us all. I think he found his way to the Coven and used it for information.”

“You mean he used the others to get to me?” said Rowan. “Three people are dead… because of me.”

“It’s not your fault,” said Sparrow. “I was there… I saw him, remember? He’s crazy.”

“I’d be crazy too, if someone left me in a cellar to die!” she retorted.

“He was there a lot longer than you,” Sparrow said gently. “You don’t know what sort of things he witnessed, or heard. He was probably half-mad when you arrived there.”

“Right. And then I pushed him over the edge.”

“We don’t know for sure that it’s Eldritch who’s done all these things,” said Fabian. “At the moment all we’re certain of is that he’s after Rowan. We’ve got no proof of the rest—that he’s found out about whatever these thirteen secrets are that you lot are guarding.”

Rowan, Sparrow, Suki, and Crooks shared nervous glances.

“So what
are
the thirteen secrets?” Tanya pressed. She knew she had gone too far now. This meeting, and her relaying of Morag’s vision, had surely broken Gredin’s rules about her being involved. Her heart quickened at the thought of Oberon. She hoped he was safe at the manor. “What exactly are you hiding that someone out there is willing to kill for?” She looked from face to face, but every one of them seemed to want to look anywhere except for at her. They were clearly not going to answer.

“Well, whatever they are, you’d better start thinking about whether they’re worth risking your lives for,” said Fabian, peeved at the exclusion.

Tanya averted her eyes in frustration. She noticed a small wooden bookshelf, where rows of books on the occult rested below a number of fortune-telling objects: a crystal ball, tarot cards, and a crystal-dowsing pendulum.

Tanya wondered if any of them genuinely helped Suki in her psychic endeavours, or if they were merely props.

“None of them,” Suki said suddenly.

“I didn’t say anything,” Tanya responded, unnerved.

“You didn’t have to. I can tell what you were thinking.” Suki pulled the patchwork blanket around her. “I don’t need any of them. They’re just for show. Makes people feel they’re getting their money’s worth, somehow.”

“So how do you do it, exactly?” Tanya asked.

Suki shrugged. “I’m not sure. I just get pictures and words in my head that I can’t explain. I don’t know where they come from. Sometimes I don’t even know what they mean until later. I don’t use a seeing bowl like your gypsy friend.” She paused. “Why do you think she told you about the vision?”

“She said I’d triggered it by being there,” Tanya answered. “I suppose it’s because I’m connected to Rowan—and because I care about her.”

“What about you, Suki?” Crooks asked. “Haven’t you had any inklings about what’s going on with all this? Any visions?”

Suki pulled at a piece of loose thread on the patchwork quilt. “No, no visions. But I’ve been having bad dreams lately. Strange dreams, where I’m lost in a storm. I can’t see ahead.”

“You said you felt something was blocking you when you were trying to find Jack’s mother,” said Sparrow. “And she was close by—
really
close.”

Suki nodded. “That’s the one thing that I do understand. She was hidden in an old bomb shelter—it
had a steel roof. One thing I’ve noticed about my visions is that they don’t see past or through iron. It… scrambles things, somehow.”

“So you think she was put there on purpose?” asked Sparrow.

“Maybe. If someone
is
after us, and knows about us, then there’s every chance they could know about my limitations. As for the rest, I don’t understand it either. Sometimes, if I try to concentrate too hard on something it won’t come to me. But this feels different. It’s as though everything is blocked. Like my dreams are trying to tell me something.”

“Maybe Morag can help us again,” said Tanya.

“Worth a try,” said Sparrow. “If she’s had one vision, there could be more she could help us with.” He hesitated. “Was there… anything you saw… in her vision that could help us find Cobbler and Dawn? Anything at all that you can remember?”

Tanya squirmed as she recalled the horrifying images of the dead faces. “It was fast. They were flashing by so quickly, and I… I wanted to look away. But there might have been something. With Dawn she looked pale. So pale. But it was bright, like she was in sunlight somewhere. Outside. With the other man, Cobbler, all I saw was his face. And blood in his hair. I’m sorry—I don’t remember anything else.”

“It’s all right,” said Sparrow. “It’s a start.” He glanced at Rowan and Suki. “We need to tell Tino about this. Suki, update him as soon as possible. And tomorrow, I say we go back to Cobbler’s and Dawn’s
and have another look around. There must be something we’re missing, something that will lead us to them.”

“What about me?” asked Crooks.

“You come as well, if you like,” said Sparrow, although he sounded less enthusiastic. “In the meantime, you two”—he nodded at Tanya and Fabian—“go to see this Magic Morag, and—”

“Mad Morag,” Fabian corrected.

“Whatever. Just see if she’s able to tell us any more about what’s happening.” Sparrow looked at his watch. “It’ll soon be time for tonight’s performance.” He jumped up. “I’ll leave you to prepare for it, and I’ll be back in the morning. Be ready. We’re leaving early.” He gestured to Rowan. “Come on. I’ll take you home.”

“But you’ll be alone when you come back,” she said.

“Don’t matter.” Sparrow attempted a smile, but it looked unconvincing.

Crooks got up. “I’ll come. Then Sparrow won’t be alone on the way back.”

“All right,” said Sparrow, but Tanya noticed that he did not thank him.

They left Suki’s caravan and set off. They saw Tino nearby, distributing masks and costumes, and then they heard Suki call out to him. Sparrow led the way, his head darting from side to side, taking everything in, but nothing seemed amiss. Gypsy children ran about, laughing and playing with each other and
the many dogs of the circus folk. Meals were being prepared on outdoor fires, while circus folk sat on the steps of their wagons, chatting and sometimes singing songs.

In the lanes leading back to Tickey End, Rowan walked close to Sparrow, jumping at every sound and movement. Crooks took up an annoying whistle, earning him several scowls from Sparrow, all of which he ignored. Tanya tagged along beside Fabian, who looked deep in thought about something. Once or twice he took out the brown, leather-bound book he always carried and hurriedly scribbled notes in the back of it.

“What are you doing?” Tanya whispered, trying to look over his shoulder, but Fabian nudged her away and closed the book.

“I’ve just had a thought about something,” he muttered. “I’ll tell you later, when I’ve got a better idea.”

Only when they were through the gates of Elvesden Manor did Rowan finally seem to relax. They paused in the shadow of one of the stone gargoyles on the pillars that stood on either side of the entrance. Crooks’s jaw dropped as soon as the house came into view.

“
This
is where you live?” He gave a low whistle. “You landed on your feet all right. The folks here adopting you?”

“Fostering,” said Rowan, staring toward the front door. “Oh, no.”

Nell was on the porch, shielding her eyes against the glare of the afternoon sun to stare at them.

“We’d better go,” said Sparrow.

“You mean you’re not going to ask us in for tea and cake?” Crooks said in a ridiculous, posh voice.

“Shut up,” said Rowan. “No, I’m not. Go on, go. I’ll see you tomorrow. And be careful.”

Sparrow and Crooks vanished into the lane beyond the manor. Tanya, Rowan, and Fabian approached the porch. Nell stood at the door like a sentry, wielding a mop and tapping one flip-flopped foot.

“I’ve just done the floors,” she said. “And I’m not doing them again, so you can all go around to the back.”

“Fine,” Rowan muttered, turning and traipsing back down the steps. They passed the rose garden at the side of the house. Further on, Warwick leaned over one of the animal pens to speak to Rose. They both looked up and waved. Rowan and Fabian offered quick waves back, but did not stop to talk. Tanya stared straight ahead, making out she had not seen.

At the back door a small, chocolate brown dog hurled itself at her legs with excited, high-pitched yaps.

“What…?” Tanya stared down in confusion. It was a puppy with rolls of fat rippling over its back. Its paws and ears were huge and outsized, and its entire lower body shook as it madly wagged its tail. Tanya’s
heart plummeted as she saw the puppy’s collar. It was so large that, as the dog jumped up at her, the collar slipped past its neck and went around the middle of its body. “Oh, no…” she whispered.

“Whose dog is this?” said Fabian, kneeling to pat the puppy. “And where’s Oberon?”

The puppy yapped and lunged playfully for Fabian’s earlobe. Fabian yelped and pried it away.

Tanya took the collar and slowly turned it in her hands. “This
is
Oberon.”

Rowan pushed past her and knelt at the puppy’s side.
“What?”

Tanya looked at her, her eyes wide and angry. “Gredin. He said he’d punish me by getting to Oberon if I defied him, and that’s exactly what he’s done!”

Oberon lavished her with licks before turning his attention to Fabian and Rowan. After enduring a few licks, Fabian escaped and went to the fridge, noisily drinking milk straight from the bottle. “It could be worse,” he said between gulps. “He makes a cute puppy, I think. Apart from the biting.”

“That’s not the point.” Tanya gathered the puppy into her arms, then released him when he began to squirm. “Gredin’s got no right to mess around with my dog! And Oberon was just about the naughtiest puppy you could imagine. My mum said she’d never get another puppy again after him.”

“What are we going to do?” said Rowan. “You’ll have to tell Gredin you’re sorry. Maybe he’ll change him back.”

“I’d rather be turned into a puppy myself than apologize to
him
!”

“Young man! Would you please use a glass?” Nell had followed them around the back, evidently wanting to keep her mopped floor pristine. She frowned at Fabian, then tipped her bucketful of dirty water into the drain and came into the kitchen, shrieking as Oberon bounded over to her.

“Where did this dog come from?” She flapped her arms. “It’s bad enough having one set of muddy paws to clean up after. Take it away, it’ll snag my tights!”

Tanya pulled Oberon away. “It’s the same dog, Nell. The fairies… they’ve turned him back into a puppy.”

Nell shrank back from Oberon as though she thought he were contagious. Then her mouth dropped open as a small, trickling noise began. Tanya looked down, already knowing what she was going to see. Oberon stood in a widening yellow puddle, still wagging his tail.

“I’ll get some newspaper in a minute,” Tanya said lamely.

Nell tutted. She turned to Rowan. “Who were those two lads with you just now?”

“Friends of mine,” Rowan answered shortly, leaving the kitchen and heading for the stairs. Nell, Tanya, and Fabian followed, and Oberon bounded after them.