Ravensborough (28 page)

Ok, it was a little on the flippant side, but how else was I supposed to deal with it?

‘Oh, I don’t believe this,’ he said angrily. ‘You actually find this whole thing
funny
?’

‘Oh, come on Sam.’

‘You need to leave here. The people you’re hanging around with are dangerous. Especially that Gethan guy. I think you should come back to Ireland. Like I said, Lindsay said you could stay with her. I think that would be safer.’

‘But I’m needed here,’ I protested. ‘I’m the only Daughter left. . .’

‘Oh come on,’ he sneered. ‘You don’t even know what the Daughters do.’

‘Well then, maybe I need to stay here and find out,’ I said calmly.

‘Maybe it’s all a load of nonsense. There is no such
thing
as magic. It’s just a ruse. The dangerous thing is that
they
think it’s real. It’s like a cult you’ve gotten yourself involved with. They’re making you believe their crazy stories. You need to get as far away from them as it is humanly possible to get. Ireland is a good first step.’

‘If they’re so crazy what happened last night then?’ I asked angrily. ‘How do you explain that Sam?’

‘A bunch of crazy birds saved our asses, and you got it into your head that you should wave a book trying to be a hero.’

I paused, stung.

Mum walked into the kitchen fully dressed. ‘Morning all. We don’t have long before we have to leave for the station. Have you got your bag ready Sam?’

‘I’ll go and get it’ he said moodily, walking out of the kitchen.

‘What’s up with him?’ Mum asked.

‘I think he’s just cranky because he didn’t get much sleep last night,’ I said. It wasn’t quite a lie.

Mum made herself a cup of coffee and turned on the news. ‘Police in Ravensborough have confirmed that the body of a female has been found in the locked down area of Darkfield,’ said the newsreader in a clipped voice. ‘It is not known how the girl got into the area, and no identification has yet been made. The girl is believed to be of Pagan affiliation.’

‘Isn’t that terrible,’ said Mum, shocked. ‘Just so sad.’ I just nodded mutely. She was
dead
. I couldn’t believe it. And what if the police connected us to it?

The drive to the bus station was strained. Mum pulled the car into the car park.

‘Will I wait for you?’ she asked me as I got out of the car.

‘No, it’s ok. I’ve got some things to do in town before I head home,’ I told her

‘Ok. Have a safe trip home Sam.’ Mum waved and pulled out of the car park. Sam and I walked over to the kiosk in silence where he bought a ticket for Northport.

We sat down on a bench as we waited for his bus to start boarding.

‘So will you come home?’ he asked staring into the distance.

‘This is home now,’ I answered.

We were silent for a minute or so.

‘Sam, I think, well. You and me...we’re over.’

He didn’t look surprised, but he still had that cold look in his eye. ‘I came over here for you, I came to visit you...’

‘I know’, I said, my eyes brimming with tears. ‘I’m sorry.’

He put his head in his hands for a moment. His face was resigned. He’d had enough.

‘Is there anything I can say to change your mind?’ he asked gruffly.

I shook my head.

‘Is there someone else?’

I was unable to hold his gaze, looking instead at the ground.

‘Right,’ he said bitterly. ‘I see. Nice, Scarlett. Real nice.’

He looked away, staring into the middle distance. His jaw was tight and clenched. I hated hurting him like this.

The Northport bus pulled into the boarding bay.

‘I’ll tell your Mum, you know,’ he said to me, his voice shaking with emotion. ‘And Rupert.’

‘Then I’ll tell my friends,’ I replied. ‘And they’ll come after you.’ I didn’t want to part like this – hell, I wasn’t even sure if they’d
do
something like that – but it was the only way I could think of that would stop him causing trouble for me.

Sam stood up and picked up his bag. ‘Bye Scarlett.’ Without looking back he walked over to the bus and got on. He sat on the opposite side of the bus so he didn’t have to look at me. After a couple of minutes the bus pulled out of the station. Tears rolled down my cheeks. I hated hurting anyone, and I knew that I’d never see him again.

A couple of kids at a vending machine were looking at me strangely, so I wiped away my tears and walked out of the lot. A seagull was perched on top of a railing...which gave me an idea.

I pulled out my mobile phone and rang Gethan’s number.

‘Hello?’ a sleepy voice answered.

‘Oh, I’m sorry!’ I apologised. ‘I forgot you’d probably be asleep.’

‘It’s ok. Have you gone to bed at all?’

‘No’, I said sadly. ‘I’m not really tired.’

‘Well, why are you calling me anyway?’

‘I was wondering if you’d drive me somewhere, but it’s ok if you’re resting.’

‘No, its fine, where are you?’

‘I’m at the bus station.’

‘Okay, I’ll be there in twenty five minutes.’

I went over to a shop across the road and bought enough bread to feed a large family for a month. Then I went and waited at the bus stop. Soon I saw Gethan’s car turn down the road. I got in.

‘Where’s Sam?’ he asked as I fastened my seatbelt. He had circles under his eyes and his hair was mussed.

‘On a bus to Northport.’

‘And where are we heading?’

‘To the stone circle where you and Aradia took me, please.’

‘Alright,’ he said.

We drove westwards in silence, but it wasn’t the uncomfortable strained silence that had existed all morning between Sam and I. This silence was comfortable, companionable.

‘Can we pull in here?’ I asked as we passed a large field near the circle.

We both got out of the car.

We broke up the bread and threw it all over the field. Ravens began freewheeling down from the sky, angrily squawking at each other in case they didn’t get enough food.

‘What made you decide to do this?’ Gethan asked.

‘I don’t know. They saved our lives last night. I felt I should give them something back.’

‘You saved our lives,’ Gethan corrected.

‘With their help. They watch over me. I never noticed it before, but they’re always with me,’ I said. ‘They protect me.’

‘Have you listened to the news?’ he asked.

I nodded, tearing up. He put his arms around me.

‘I feel kind of responsible,’ I started, but Gethan cut me off.

‘No. You were defending yourself. She wanted to kill everyone inside that temple. You did what you had to do,’ he said firmly.

‘So...Sam is gone?’ he asked, changing the subject.

I nodded, my eyes still on the birds flying overhead.

‘Are you going back?’

I shook my head. ‘I broke up with him at the bus station Gethan’, I said, pulling away from him.

‘You broke up with him to be with me?’

‘I broke up with him because I was being unfair. If I had feelings for you, I obviously wasn’t happy with him.’

‘If?’ he asked softly.

Balls of white began to fall down from the sky. I put my gloved hand out and they fell on my hand, melting slightly.

‘Cool, more snow’ I said enthusiastically. ‘It doesn’t snow much in Ireland, just rains.’

‘Scarlett, you’re killing me here’, Gethan said.

‘You know I have feelings for you,’ I said quietly. ‘I just didn’t want to presume that you’d still feel the same way. After everything’s that’s happened.’

‘I still do,’ he said taking my face in his hands.

I closed my eyes, waiting for his kiss but it didn’t come. I opened my eyes to see what the problem was. He was staring at my throat.

‘Oh,’ I loosened my scarf and unfastened my locket, slipping it in the pocket of my jeans. And he kissed me then, as the ravens and snowflakes twirled in the looming grey sky above.

THE END

Christine Murray is a bestselling contemporary fiction & fantasy author from Dublin, Ireland. Before embarking on a writing career, she studied history at university and has a master’s degree in medical history. She also worked as a freelance journalist and ghost-writer.

When not writing, Christine enjoys reading, watching spy thrillers and spending too much money at make-up counters. She loves both coffee and cocktails, and thinks that the espresso martini might just be the most underrated invention of all time. You can find out more about her on her website, or alternatively you can find her on Twitter and Facebook.

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