Black Wood (A Witch Rising) (6 page)

“All right.” Sam sat up with a
sigh. For a moment, they both kept quiet. The scratching was faint
but still audible. “What’s that?”

“I told you there was
something.”

“It’s probably just a branch,”
Sam mumbled.

“You go and have a look. I’m
staying here.”

Sam’s voice raised a notch. “No
way am I going on my own.”

“Why not? You’re the big
brother.”

“But it’s your room. Whatever’s
out there obviously came for you.” Sam pulled the covers around
him. “You either tag along, or I’m staying here.”

Emily heaved a big sigh. “You’re
such a sissy! All right, I’m coming with you, then.”

Sam pushed the sheets aside and
followed Emily down the corridor to her room. She heard him swallow
a gulp of air before he strolled in, his head darting to the left
and right. “You said it was coming from the window?”

Emily nodded, her stomach in
knots. The scratching seemed to have stopped.

Sam peered into the blackness
stretching over the backyard. “There’s no one there.”

“I can see that.” All was dark
as far, the trees and bushes contorted into hideous shapes, and far
away on the hill Urquhart Castle rising high against the background
of the moon. And then the scratching began again from beneath the
window.

“It’s coming from the ground
floor.” Sam’s voice sounded choked as he listened, his head titled
to one side.

Emily pressed her nose against
the window to get a better look, but nothing moved below.
“Downstairs is the living room.”

“I think it’s trying to get in
through the glass-sliding doors,” Sam said, and Emily gasped. Maybe
someone was trying to break in. Sam turned to face her. “Let’s get
Dad.”

Without waiting for her answer,
he bolted for their father’s bedroom when Emily pulled on his
pyjamas. “No! Wait ’til the morning.”

“Why not just tell Dad?” Sam
said.

“What if it’s nothing? Besides,
Mum’s coming tomorrow, and I don’t want Dad to look tired. They
need to fall in love with each other again.”

Sam seemed to consider her words
for a moment. “I get your point. All right, we go check it out, but
you go first.”

“Don’t I always?” Emily mumbled
under her breath as she walked down the stairs. She stepped into
the living room with Sam a few feet behind her, her gaze wandering
to the glass sliding door. No one was there.

Taking one slow step after
another, she reached the door and pressed her nose against the
glass as she peered out into the night.

The creature appeared from
nowhere, its face almost level with Emily’s. She jumped back,
tripping over Sam, and opened her mouth to scream, but the sound
remained trapped in her throat.

Emily’s legs froze to the spot.
At first, she thought the black shape was some sort of large bin
bag, but when her eyes met the creature’s red gaze, she knew this
was nothing she had seen before. She tried to swallow the lump in
her throat when the moon moved from behind a cloud, throwing a
glowing cast on the creature, and revealing a shaggy fur and long
fangs in a surprisingly human face. Its skin was pale and wilted,
the ears dangling just above its shoulders. The long nails looked
like rusty razorblades.

She whimpered, glad the door was
locked.

“Holy cow! What the heck is
that?” Sam’s voice asked from behind.

“No idea,” she whispered.

Suddenly, a black cat scurried
past Emily and Sam toward the glass door, hissing at the creature,
its fur standing on its back.

“No!” Emily bent forward to pick
up the cat. No way would she let that thing get her pet.

The creature’s mouth opened and
it let out a low guttural sound before it turned to disappear in
the bushes.

“Did you see those nails?” Sam
shouted, shaking Emily’s shoulder.

Emily gasped for air. “What was
it? What did it want?”

“I don’t know but what if it
comes back?” Sam shook his head. “I’ve never seen anything like
that.”

They exchanged looks. Sam
grabbed Emily’s hand and pulled her up the stairs to his room. He
locked the door and shut the curtains.

“I think we should get Dad,” Sam
said, his face as white as a ghost’s.

“Not before Mum arrives.” Emily
pushed her chin out defiantly. Nothing, not even the weird creature
out there, was going to spoil her plans to get her parents back
together.

Sam’s lips trembled as he
plopped down on the bed. “What do you think it wants?”

“I don’t know.” Emily let out a
long breath. “But I saw it in the backyard a few days ago.”

Her brother’s eyes popped wide
open. “Really? You can sleep here tonight, okay?”

“That’s because you’re afraid
alone,” Emily said with a sneer.

“That’s not true!”

Emily snorted. Of course, it
was. He just wouldn’t admit it. Now she had something to taunt him
for the rest of their short time in Scotland.

***

In spite of the freaky incident,
Emily fell asleep as soon her head hit the pillow. The next
morning, she woke up to something licking her face. She opened her
eyes and, to her amazement, found the black cat from the previous
night cuddled up next to her.

“Oh, it’s you again. What’s your
name?” Emily whispered, stroking the cat’s chubby head. The cat
gazed at her through intelligent eyes. “What’s that?” Emily parted
the fluffy fur to reveal a dirty silver tag wrapped around his
neck. “Sol—ace. You’re Solace. What a beautiful name. Pleased to
meet you.” The cat meowed in response and snuggled closer. “Well,
Solace, shall we find you something nice to eat, then?”

Emily jumped out of the bed and
went to her room. After she put on a clean shirt and a pair of
jeans, she climbed down the stairs to the kitchen. There was no one
about. The house seemed a little too quiet for a Sunday morning.
Where was everyone?

She prepared two bowls of
cereal, one for herself, the other for Solace. The cat lapped up
the milk. Emily took only a few bites and then pushed the bowl
aside when she saw the note on the kitchen counter. She jumped up
and walked over to read it.

Went grocery shopping. Be back
soon. Behave. Dad

Okay, so her father wasn’t here,
but where was Sam? And where was her mother? Emily frowned and
tossed the note in the bin when she heard the entrance door slam
shut and heavy footsteps moving toward the kitchen.

“Good you’re awake,” Sam said
upon entering. He plopped down in a chair and took a mouthful of
cereal.

“Where have you been?” Emily
asked.

Sam chewed and swallowed before
speaking. “Next door. Had to borrow a game to try out my
PlayStation.”

Emily blinked. PlayStation? So
Sam got what he wanted. Why wasn’t Mum here, then? She walked to
the cupboards and opened one in which her father usually stored the
baked beans cans. They were gone.

“By the way, Clifford wants to
know whether you’ve had another try with the mirror yet,” Sam said,
finishing the last of her cereal. “Hope you’re going to soon ‘cause
I really want my own diary.”

“Did he say what’s behind the
portal?”

Sam shrugged. “Who cares? He
said there’s magic and I really want some of my own. I won’t stop
bugging you until you get me a diary.”

Emily opened her mouth to say
that it could be dangerous and she didn’t trust Clifford, but the
ringing telephone cut her off.

“I’ll get it!” Sam bolted out of
the kitchen, almost stomping on the cat. Solace hissed.

Emily scooped him up. “Are you
okay? Don’t mind him. Sam can be such a pain sometimes.” She
scratched Solace behind his black ears, lost in thought. What went
wrong? She had summoned Sam, so why hadn’t it worked with her
mother too? She had used the same words in the same particular
order, had even begged the diary to make her mother magically
appear. Could it be that the diary only fulfilled three wishes like
the genie in Aladdin? She counted on her fingers: make Sam appear
and disappear and then appear again—that was one wish, wasn’t it?
Then, a PlayStation for him and fish and chips instead of baked
beans. That was three. Muttering, she slapped her forehead. She had
used up all her wishes. Maybe she could send the fish and chips
back for an exchange? Her mother took stuff back to the shops all
the time.

“Mum just called,” Sam said from
the door, interrupting Emily’s thoughts.

“What?”

“I said, Mum just called.
Apparently, she decided to pay us a visit last night, and now she’s
snowed under at some Swiss airport. Seems like your plan’s not
working, is it?”

Emily scowled. “But I don’t
understand. You just appeared.” She snapped her fingers. “Just like
that. Why does she have to take the plane?”

Sam shrugged and opened the
balcony door to let Solace out. “How would I know? Listen, I’ll set
up the PlayStation while Dad’s shopping. If he asks, Mum got it for
me and it arrived with the morning post.”

“But we don’t get any post on
Sundays.”

Sam winked. “Dad doesn’t know
that. Busy as he is, most of the time, he doesn’t even remember our
names anymore.”

He had a point there. Emily
sighed and went about tidying up the kitchen. When she finished
putting away last night’s dishes, she climbed up to the attic,
taking a small bucket of water and a cleaning cloth with her.
Clifford said her magic diary drew its magic from the world behind
the portal. Maybe it needed recharging or something, like a good
scrub. If the diary couldn’t get Mum here fast enough, maybe she
could open the portal and find herself a diary that worked better.
At least she could try.

The large, open space was dark
and dingy. With jittery knees, Emily knelt in front of the mirror
and began to scrub at years’ worth of dust and grime. It took her a
while to get the ornaments sparkly clean. Eventually, she rose and
brushed her hair out of her eyes, marvelling at the mirror’s
beauty. Maybe now the words would work.

“Porta, manifeste et fac quod
vis!” she whispered.

Nothing happened. Emily repeated
the words. On the second attempt, the mirror creaked. She jumped
up, startled by the sudden noise. Another creak, then a soft groan,
and the attic grew darker. The floor shook.

A thick, grey fog gathered at
Emily’s feet, and the mirror’s shiny surface turned black. Gasping,
Emily took several steps back until she bumped her back against the
wall.

The air smelled of damp wood and
autumn leaves. Behind the blackness, something stirred moving
closer until Emily recognized the shape of a tall, slim woman. A
bejewelled hand emerged first, then a slender leg clad in a long,
red brocade dress, followed by a beautiful face with pale skin,
glossy black hair and the greenest eyes Emily had ever seen.

“Goodness me, just look at this
mess!” the woman said in a dulcet, high-pitched voice as she took
in the room.

Emily jumped up, barely able to
speak. “Who are you?”

The woman turned her emerald
gaze toward her and smiled. “I’m Muriel. And you’re—” Muriel’s eyes
turned in their sockets. She raised her hands, golden sparks flying
from her palms. “Emily.”

“How did you know?”

Muriel laughed. “I’m a queen, my
dear. I know everything.”

“Clifford said the mirror could
open a portal to another world.” Emily couldn’t avert her gaze from
the beautiful woman. “My magic diary doesn’t want to bring my
parents back together. You said you know everything. Do you know
how to get my parents back together?”

“I do, but, you see, dear,
traveling weakens me. I’ll need a little rest.”

Emily nodded. Now she understood
why Clifford had told her and Sam about the portal. If the magic
diary wasn’t strong enough to perform such a miracle, then the
portal would get them someone who was. “You can stay in my room,”
Emily said, quickly. If this woman would help, she could stay
anywhere she wanted.

“A child’s room shall suffice as
a queen’s chamber. For now.” Muriel spun in a circle. “Ah,
Ravencourt Manor. How long’s it been?” She stopped and gestured
toward the door. “Chop, Chop, then! I need my strength back.”

Emily jumped in front of her.
“Wait! You can’t bark downstairs just like that. Dad would start
asking questions. I’ll go first and you follow once the air’s
clean, got it?”

Muriel tilted her head to one
side. “As you wish.”

Holding her breath, Emily
climbed down the stairs, listening for any sounds. The house was
quiet. She turned and motioned Muriel to follow.

As soon as they reached Emily’s
room, Muriel plopped down on her bed. “Do get me a drink, dear. I
haven’t had a good cup of tea in the last hundred years.”

“Okay, but don’t let Dad see
you.” Emily ran down to the kitchen to do as she was told. Anything
for Mum and Dad. When she returned, Muriel was asleep on top of the
covers, her open mouth and loud snoring carrying through the
quietness of the room. Emily placed the cup on the bedside table
and went in search of her brother, locking the door behind her.

She found him in the living
room, punching away on his PlayStation. “You’re not going to
believe it! I summoned the mirror. And a woman stepped through it.
And she’s the most beautiful person I’ve ever seen.” She paused,
but Sam didn’t react. Emily frowned. “Hey, are you listening?”

“What did you say?”

Absorbed as he was in his
videogames, nothing could bring him back from his stupor. He would
have enough, eventually, but it could take hours.

“Never mind.” Scowling, she
opened the balcony door and walked out into the garden.

The sun stood high on the
horizon, partly hidden behind heavy clouds. A strong breeze, chilly
and charged with the promise of an oncoming storm, blew a few stray
hairs from her ponytail into her eyes.