Vowed (21 page)

That’s when I came to live with the Blackharts. My uncle Jamie found me in the hospital and told me who I was. About my heritage. Occasionally I look back at my life before and I miss it
– the not knowing, the normality of it all. But only for a short while because I have new friends, new skills and a family who care about me deeply and I care about them. They came into my
life when I was at my lowest. They held me close and showed me how to channel the energies that’ve woken within me to help our world.

The thought and memories lull me to sleep because when I wake up, Isak’s at the door, gently shaking me awake.

I grab my bag and accept his hand as he helps me out of the cavernous car. We’re parked on the tarmac, just a few metres away from a large helicopter with our family’s stag crest
painted on the side.

I’ve never actually been in the helicopter. The last time I got to visit Aunt Letitia’s home was by way of speedboat – which you may think is a fun way to travel. But let me
just say: I fed all the fishes in the sea. I don’t travel well by speedboat or sea, which is possibly why they’ve decided to see how I would cope travelling by helicopter.

‘In you go,’ Isak says, handing me into the back. ‘Strap in. No, both straps. Like so.’ He helps me buckle myself in and hands me a set of earphones with a microphone in
front of my mouth. ‘Wear these if you want to say anything.’ Then he brings out a brown paper bag. ‘And this is if you’re not feeling a hundred per cent during the
flight.’

I open my mouth to say thanks but he turns away and climbs into the pilot seat, whipping his hat off and stowing it underneath his chair. A young woman, dressed similarly in an elegant suit,
climbs in the other side next to Isak and shakes my hand.

‘I’m Luzette,’ she says with a smile.

‘Nice to meet you. I’m Kit.’

They both settle down and go through the pre-flight checks, then the rotors start up. We lift off and I let out a faint yelp of terror when it feels as if I’m falling forward, but my
harness keeps me seated. The helicopter levels out soon enough and we speed across the English countryside towards Portsmouth and the coast. I try and enjoy the flight but there’s so much
noise that I feel completely bombarded by it all. Even so, I fall asleep for a while and when I wake up I have no idea where we are until Isak tells me over his microphone.

We fly over Portsmouth and head for one of the four peculiar buildings in the Solent known as the Palmerston Forts. The forts were built in the nineteenth century, in an attempt to safeguard the
Solent against attacks from Napoleon. The place suits Aunt Letitia well. It is literally one of the safest places for her collection of books and for her. For someone who suffers from a fear of the
outside world and who just doesn’t like people in general, the place is a haven. It is now equipped with living quarters, a pool, a helipad and the family’s remaining precious lore
books.

Isak keeps the heli low over the waves and I spot a pod of mermaids who rise up from the water and wave to us. They are both beautiful and horrifying in equal measure but I remember my manners
and wave back at them. I’m glad of the earphones that block out their voices, which I can feel brush against me in gentle waves of sound.

We come to land on the helipad of the fort with a minimum of fuss. If, that is, a minimum of fuss means that I’ve not clawed holes in my seat with my short nails. Luzette hops out and
comes and helps me with my harness.

Up close Luzette is lovely, with dark lustrous hair and big eyes. I don’t recall her from my previous visit at all and I wonder if she’s new. How does Aunt Letitia go about hiring
people?

So many questions, none of which I suspect she’ll answer.

I follow Luzette down into the building and she leads me without comment to my aunt’s study. The room itself isn’t large but it is cosy. Her desk looks like something out of
Versailles, as do the chairs, and I just hope that the library has better seating.

Aunt Letitia must easily be in her sixties but her figure is trim and she dresses like a fashion icon. Today she looks very Audrey Hepburn in a sleek pair of trousers and small jacket over a
black polo-neck sweater. A strand of pearls matches the tiny pearls in her ears. She wears a single signet ring carved out of a ruby on her right hand, and that completes her adornment. Her hair,
naturally curly like mine, is more silvery grey than black these days but there’s no sign that she’s actually ever dyed it.

‘Kit, my dear girl.’ She moves from behind her desk and inspects me briefly, before folding me into a tight hug. ‘Just look at you. So much like your mother, but those eyes
– those eyes are definitely your father’s. Take a seat and Luzette will bring us some tea.’

‘It is so good to see you, Aunt Letty,’ I say, sitting down in the world’s most uncomfortable chair. ‘Thank you for making arrangements to have me brought over so
quickly.’

‘I understand from Andrew that you’re working directly for Suola. If the Queen of Air and Darkness has taken a personal interest in this matter, child, then it’s best for us to
play her game to the end.’

‘It’s all very weird,’ I say. ‘The way she’s gone about all of this.’

Aunt Letty takes her seat again. ‘Faeries,’ she says, as if it explains everything. ‘They always have an agenda, even when they tell us they don’t.’ She shrugs her
elegant shoulders. ‘Don’t ask me. I sit here on my island and ponder the many ways the world is destroying itself around me.’

Which is a complete lie. My face clearly tells her I don’t believe her and she sighs dramatically.

‘I think the case of the disappearing children is very curious, though. Why has there not been more of an outcry? The newspapers should be full of it. There’s a definite pattern for
these disappearances. Even the police should have noticed this. Why aren’t the parents making more of a fuss?’

I lean forward, happy to see that she’s thinking the same way as I am. ‘Exactly. It doesn’t make sense. How many people would whoever’s doing this have to pay off when it
comes to the cops?’

‘Not that many, actually. Like all organizations, the police rely on chain of command and hierarchy. It’s compartmentalized, so if there’s a communication breakdown between two
levels, it’s unlikely to be spotted higher up or lower down even.’ She squints her grey eyes in thought. ‘And they’re human, Kit. People don’t want to make waves or do
more work than is necessary to get by.’

I try not to let my anger rise at her words. It makes horrible sense and that fact really makes me itch in anger.

Luzette quietly places a tray with china on the table and pours us each a cup of tea. She’s arranged delicate-looking biscuits on a plate and places that between us.

‘Anything else, Ms Letitia?’ she asks politely.

‘Thank you, Luzette. Can I ask you to light the fire in the main library room? The place is colder than Gaia’s nose in the middle of winter at the moment. We can’t have Kit
freezing to death, can we?’

Luzette smiles and moves off, her gait loose and easy.

‘Has Luzette been with you for long?’ I ask my aunt, wrapping my hands around the delicate china cup.

‘Both Luzette and Isak came to me in their early teens. Luzette travels extensively on my behalf. She’s got a good eye for curiosities, maps and antique books. Isak was waiting for
her to get back from Italy when you rang earlier today. She’s brought back some interesting reliquaries that will look great in my
Kunstkammer
.’ Aunt Letitia takes another sip
of her tea. ‘But now, back to your case. It could be that there’s magic involved but not the flashy kind you might expect. Also, it will be a powerful kind of magic. An old type of
magic.’

I crunch on a biscuit and immediately know it’s brownie baked, because omg it is the most gorgeous thing I’ve tasted in months. I accept the napkin I’m handed without a word
and quietly wipe the tears from my eyes, taking a deep breath. Brownie-made food is food for the soul.

‘Thank you.’ I take a deep breath. ‘An old type of magic? Why would you say that?’

‘I don’t know. It just feels it.’ Here she rubs her middle finger and thumb together in a gesture reminiscent of testing fabric. ‘There’s something that’s not
modern about this whole thing, I feel.’

‘Let me tell you what we’ve got so far.’ I haul my file out of my bag and spread it open carefully so as not to bump my tea or damage the biscuits; really, that would be a
disaster from which I might not recover.

The library welcomes me into its golden embrace. I sit behind a large desk complete with a Tiffany lamp that sheds just enough light on the desk to cast the rest of the library
in a soft haze of rich colour. To my side stands a statue of Thoth, the Egyptian god of wisdom, who also acted as scribe to the gods. He holds domain here, Aunt Letitia explained when I mentioned
the statue – knowledge is power. And power lies in truth, which is why research is an essential part of what the Blackharts do, to enable us to find that truth.

She spoke the words so resolutely that I felt a bit freaked out by the sentiment. Sitting in this library, where I can feel the press of ages on my shoulders from the books and scrolls stored
behind their cases, I wonder about doing this alone. I usually do the minimum of research because Kyle loves it, and it allows him to build on his already extensive knowledge of esoteric lore. He
therefore always insists on hitting the Internet highway or books to come up with the knowledge. Yet here I am, by myself, in a place that’s as foreign to me as any place I’ve ever
been.

Aunt Letitia instructed Luzette to help me with the books. After handing her Kyle’s list and explaining to her what I was after, I was installed at the desk, several foreign-language
dictionaries to the right of me.

Luzette, now dressed more casually in jeans and a warm jumper, strolls around the large library, pulling books off shelves. Some of the books look old, with bindings of beautiful leather. There
are a few scrolls too, in what looks like actual papyrus. The library is in the north side of the fort and covers three floors. It’s more as if I’m sitting in Saruman’s tower, I
decide, as I listen to the instructions Luzette gives me.

‘These are studies of faeries and the Otherworld from Victorian times,’ she says, heaving three large leather-bound books onto the table. ‘Here, we’ve got some German
fables and fairy tales. These are French folklore bits and pieces.’ She touches the other books on the carrel. ‘Here are some medieval texts, in Latin and French. I also have a book on
Egyptian-Arabic lore here. But call me if you need help with these. Start here, first, I think. Find the most recent lore, then we can go back and find the origin tales.’ She smiles at me.
‘Are you okay? You look a bit nervous.’

‘This is not usually what I do,’ I admit, gesturing to the books. ‘I’m more the go out and clobber someone over the head to get info kinda girl.’

Her laughter rings through the library. ‘I understand, trust me, I do. But really, this is where you need to be right now, doing the research yourself. Kyle’s emailed to say
he’s looking into kids disappearing over the past five to ten years. He doesn’t have time to help you with this, so it’s up to you to do it.’

I’m really aching to hit something and looking at the stacks of books makes me feel trapped.

‘I’ll do my best,’ I say, knowing how forlorn I sound. ‘But I don’t think I’m going to find much. I don’t have the knowledge or the skill Kyle does, or
even Megan and Marc.’

‘Research is fun. You just open the books and jump in. You’ll see.’

I really don’t believe her and grimace unhappily. She pats my shoulder sympathetically. ‘I’m heading up to my desk to do some tidying up of the catalogue. If you need anything,
just shout.’

I watch her climb the stairs to a small desk on the third floor before turning my attention to the books she has put on the desk for me. I creak open the first one and start reading, flipping my
notebook open next to me.

Research can be fun.
This is what Kyle’s told me in the past. As I sit here hours later, my notepad scribbled full of notes, with my nose itching from all the
dust and my eyes sore from all the reading, I admit to thinking he’s nuts. There is, however, a sense of satisfaction.

I push my chair back and stretch, groaning. Luzette’s gone from her desk on the third floor and I don’t even remember her leaving me alone in the library. I load the books back onto
the carrel and wander out to find a loo and food.

I’ve lost all track of time and haven’t bothered looking at my phone once to check the time, so when I do and see it’s almost midnight, I halt in surprise. Aunt Letitia meets
me in the passage as I walk out of the bathroom; she smiles at me.

‘Did you find something?’

‘I found loads of things,’ I say to her. ‘Can I run a few things past you?’

‘Get your notebook and meet me in the kitchen. Luzette’s prepared a light dinner. I’ve not eaten yet as I wanted to wait for you.’

I join her in the kitchen with its futuristic feel and we sit at the chrome, steel and glass table. Dinner is a stunning quiche and a mixed salad followed by a rich dark chocolate torte and
fresh cream. I eat every single bit and drink every single lick of chocolate milk I’ve been given and afterwards I feel both sleepy and replete.

‘Right, so talk to me about your list of creatures.’

‘Lilith. A nakki from Finnish lore. The Jersey Devil. A kelpie. A Tengu creature.’ I count them off on my fingers. ‘There’s more too.’

Aunt Letitia lights up one of her cigarettes and blows a perfect smoke ring.

‘I think you can discount all of them, except for Lilith. None of them is strong enough to steal children consistently, not from modern habitation at least. If we were talking about
Victorian times or earlier, then maybe – but not now. What else have you got?’

I flip through my notes. ‘Aliens. The Pied Piper of Hamelin,’ I say, more flippantly than seriously, and to my consternation Aunt Letitia looks both impressed and interested. She
nods.