Chapter 21

Chapter

Twenty-One

I was three feet away from the door when the repelling force of the ward pushed against me. I was forced to slow down until I was moving so slowly that it felt like I was swimming through sludgy treacle. It was beyond hard, but despite the massive effort it required there wasn’t any pain. That realisation spurred me on.

I clenched my jaw and gave it everything I had, even though my energy was being sapped and sweat was dripping down my face. I would do it; I would get past the ward. I held my breath and, with one final heave, slammed my body through. One second I was pushing with all my strength, and the next I was hitting the wooden door with a thud.

I exhaled all the air in my lungs in one relieved whoosh, then spun around and grinned triumphantly at Hugo, Hester and Otis. They were staring at me, wide-eyed. ‘See?’ I stretched my arms. ‘Easy-peasy! You guys wait here and I?—’

I didn’t get chance to finish my sentence. Behind me, there was a faint creak as the door opened and I turned my head just in time to see a hand lashing out towards me. Fingers latched around my forearm with a vice-like grip, I was yanked into the house – and the door was slammed shut after me.

Before I could say or do anything, a heavy wave of air magic pinned me against the now-closed door. The face of a young woman with wild eyes swam in front of me. ‘Who the fuck are you? And how did you get past my ward?’

I tried to speak, but the air magic made it impossible for me to form any coherent syllables. It didn’t help that my eyes were streaming with tears, which made the woman’s face blurry; even so, there was no doubt about her anger and her fear.

I reached inside myself, searching for my own power and a way to use it without harming her. The best I could do was to conjure up a bucketful of water and send it blindly forward. A second later, when I heard a splash and her sharp cry, I knew I’d hit my target.

The air magic vanished and I dropped with a thud to the kitchen flagstones. I could hear Hugo yelling my name on the other side of the door. I raised my fist and thumped three times on it before shouting as loudly as I could, ‘I’m fine! Don’t worry!’

The woman gave an unladylike snort. ‘You’re not fine and you should worry!’

I heaved myself upright, wiped the tears from my eyes and blinked rapidly until my vision was restored. I was certain this was Lady Rose, although her red hair was messy and her features, which had been glowing in the painting, were grubby and tear stained. Somehow that made her look younger. Her clothes were far from what I expected from an elf in her position: she was wearing a shapeless gown that hung like a sack.

I gazed at her face and felt an odd twinge inside me. Huh. ‘You don’t look much like your portrait,’ I blurted without thinking.

It was clearly the wrong thing to say. Lady Rose’s scowl deepened into a vicious snarl. She picked up an object from the kitchen island and pointed it threateningly at me.

I stared at the shotgun in her hands; I had the distinct impression that she would be more than happy to shoot me in the head and worry about the consequences later. I resisted the temptation to reach for Gladys; I needed to de-escalate this situation, not make it worse.

I raised my palms. ‘Please,’ I said. ‘I need you to listen to me. My name is Daisy?—’

Lady Rose flinched. That wasn’t a good start. I tried again. ‘My name is Daisy and I have been magically transported here from the year 2024.’ I tucked my hair behind my ears. ‘Strange as it might sound, I’m from the future. As you can see, I’m an elf.’ I gestured to my eyes. ‘If you look at my irises, they have a ring of silver around them because I’m a spider’s silk user. I think the drugs in my system helped me to get past your ward.’

Lady Rose didn’t say anything; neither did she lower the shotgun or alter her expression.

‘I’ve seen your portrait,’ I said, ‘because in thirty years’ time, I will break into this house to look around. I do that because in a few days you are going to disappear and you will never be seen again.’

The shotgun jerked slightly. ‘Don’t threaten me,’ Lady Rose whispered. Her bottom lip trembled; I really wasn’t sure whether she was about to shoot me or dissolve into a puddle of tears.

‘I’m not threatening you, I promise I’m not. I know it sounds far-fetched but it’s the truth. I don’t know what happens, or why you vanish – nobody does. But I’ve been here in 1994 for a few days and I know that the fiend called Athair is after you.’ I drew in a breath. ‘My companion out there worked out that your ward is blood magic. If you’re using that kind of power, that might be why?— ’

‘I’m using blood magic because I’m desperate,’ she snapped. ‘Not that it’s any business of someone who decides to break into my home.’ She glanced out of the kitchen window. ‘When you were outside, you said that Hugo Pemberville was with you. Hugo Pemberville is two years old and an annoying brat.’

‘The version outside has time travelled from the future, too.’ I hesitated. ‘But sometimes he’s still an annoying brat.’ I tried – failed – to sound light-hearted.

Lady Rose looked me up and down and I felt like an insect under a microscope. She examined me for several long seconds and her expression tightened still more.

‘I know what you’re going to say next,’ I said.

She raised an eyebrow. ‘Oh, really?’

‘You’ll ask me to prove that I’m from the future. There are some world events that will happen soon that I can describe to you.’ Probably: I was a bit hazy on some of the dates. ‘The trouble is that you might have to wait a few months – uh – years before those events happen. However, I have a phone in my pocket which is from 2024. That should help my case.’

Careful not to make any sudden movements, I reached for it and held it up for Lady Rose to see. There was no signal and certainly no internet access, but I hadn’t touched it for a while so it still had some charge. I hoped she would see enough on the screen to believe me.

Unfortunately, she didn’t even look at it. ‘That’s not what I was about to say.’ A tear trickled down her cheek, but she didn’t remove her hands from the shotgun to brush it away. ‘I was going to say that you can trot back to that bastard and tell him that this will not work. Even if you are not a trick, I will not be swayed. Get the fuck out of my house and don’t ever return.’

Confusion overtook me. ‘Lady Rose?—’

She lifted the gun and squeezed the trigger. I ducked instinctively, although that wouldn’t have helped if she’d really been aiming at me. The sudden loud crack was followed by a cloud of dust and plaster; she’d shot the wall above the kitchen door.

Hugo, Hester and Otis started yelling from outside again as I turned my head to see the hole the shotgun shell had created. It was exactly the same as the one I would notice when I broke in in thirty years’ time.

‘Get the fuck out,’ Lady Rose said to me, more in sadness than in anger.

I stared at her, then I did exactly as she asked.

The only one of us who seemed happy was Hester. ‘She didn’t shoot you in the head,’ she said. ‘I’d take that as a win.’

Hugo’s arms were crossed tightly over his chest; he was still annoyed that I’d gone into the house on my own, even though he knew I’d had to try. ‘She admitted using blood magic?’ he asked.

I nodded.

‘Daisy, that’s not good.’

‘I know,’ I said quietly. ‘She’s so young, Hugo. She looks desperate.’

‘She was nineteen years old when she vanished,’ he said. ‘But youth is no excuse. She’s a high elf – she has to know the risks. She has to know what blood magic will lead to.’

I sighed as I thought about everything she’d said. Who was the bastard she’d told me to trot back to? She could only mean Hugo – or Athair. ‘She was really upset. There’s a lot more going on here than we understand.’

Otis flicked his eyes nervously between us. ‘Is Lady Rose a bad guy?’ he asked in a small voice.

‘No,’ I said instantly .

‘Maybe,’ Hugo muttered.

Otis’s wings flapped harder, indicating his growing anxiety. ‘What do we do now?’

Hester gave him an irritated look. ‘Duh. She won’t accept our help and there’s been nothing so far that suggests we can change what happens in the past. We get some decent snacks, you lot camp out for a couple of days and watch what happens so you can tell Gordon. Then we go home to 2024 and everyone is happy.’ She paused. ‘Apart from Lady Rose. But we can only do so much.’

‘You won’t camp out, too, Hes?’ Otis asked.

She pointed to Hugo. ‘He’s got money. He can book me into the nearest five-star hotel where I will wait until the answers are revealed.’ She smiled toothily at her brother. ‘You can stay with me, if you like.’

‘Hester,’ Otis said, ‘you?—’

Hugo interrupted him. ‘Shh. Listen. Someone’s coming.’

We all froze as we heard a car approaching from the other side of the vast house. I looked at Hugo. Lines of strain were visible across his face; there was a good chance that the car belonged to his parents. We knew that they were supposedly the last people to see Lady Rose alive before her disappearance – and just this morning Athair had asked them to visit her.

I nodded towards the far side of the house. ‘If we go that way, we can see who’s out there without them seeing us.’

Hugo hesitated, clearly desperate to glimpse his parents, but there was also fear in his eyes. There was still a flicker of doubt deep inside Hugo that his mum and dad had been involved in Lady Rose’s disappearance.

‘You can stay here,’ I whispered. ‘I can go alone.’

He shook his head, as if speaking aloud were suddenly too dangerous. I reached for his hand and squeezed it hard. He squeezed back and mouthed thank you . Holding hands, we jogged around the house until we could see what was happening.

There might no longer be any staff at the house, but whoever used to take care of landscaping here had done a sterling job. I was particularly impressed with the massive potted shrub placed handily at the corner of the mansion; it was the perfect size to hide behind and it was angled so that Hugo and I had a clear line of vision to the front door.

I took a quick peek to confirm that it was indeed Lord and Lady Pemberville who had arrived. Hugo was holding his breath, bristling with tension. Most of the time, he brimmed with arrogant confidence – but when it came to family, it was a different story.

We were all bound to family, whether by blood or by other means. Even as adults, it could be hard to accept the idea of your parents as individuals in their own right and not loving superheroes who could do no wrong. Athair’s face flashed into my head and my stomach tightened; nobody wanted their mum and dad to be evil.

I stepped aside to give Hugo the best view. I didn’t say anything; I didn’t need to. He knew I was there for him, no matter what.

Lord and Lady Pemberville looked at each other then walked up to Lady Rose’s front door. ‘She still has that damned ward in place,’ Lord Pemberville muttered. ‘She’s utterly paranoid.’

‘She’s a young woman living on her own, Charles,’ Lady Pemberville said gently.

‘If she hadn’t fired all her staff months ago, she wouldn’t be alone.’

‘I’m sure she’s got her reasons.’ She raised her hand and knocked hard. ‘Maybe you should let me do the talking. ’

That was a good idea; Hugo’s mum clearly had a lot more empathy for Lady Rose than his dad.

I expected that Lady Rose would treat them in the same way as she’d treated everyone else: either ignore them or throw magic to drive them away as quickly as possible. Several long seconds passed, then Lady Pemberville knocked again. I was almost certain that Rose wouldn’t respond when Hugo’s mum called out loudly, ‘Rose? It’s Charles and Tash. Please open up. We only want to chat.’

Several more seconds passed then, to my surprise, the front door opened.

We couldn’t see Lady Rose from our hiding spot. She obviously wasn’t planning to go beyond the house walls because that would mean stepping across the magical blood ward.

She must have known that we were still there because when she spoke, it was obvious that she wasn’t only addressing Hugo’s parents. ‘I don’t want anybody here,’ she said. ‘You must all leave immediately. This is my land and you don’t belong, no matter who you are pretending to be.’

Hugo’s dad was obviously astonished. ‘We’re not pretending be anyone.’

His wife’s voice was softer. ‘You know us, Rose. You know who we are.’

‘Where’s the boy?’ she snapped.

‘You mean Hugo? He’s at home. It’s time for his afternoon nap.’

Lady Rose snorted. ‘Because he’s a toddler?’

‘Well, yes.’

Lord Pemberville was staring at her with an expression that I knew well; it was the same expression Hugo displayed when he was talking to Duchess and his frustration was getting the better of him. ‘You don’t look very well, Rose. Why don’t you come out for some fresh air? ’

‘You’d like that a lot, wouldn’t you?’ Her voice dripped with sarcasm. ‘You’d love it if I left my house right now.’ She spoke more loudly. ‘I’m not going anywhere! You hear me? I’m staying right here and there’s nothing you can do about it! Get into your time machine and fuck off!’

‘Time machine?’ Lord Pemberville shook his head. ‘What’s wrong with you?’

My mouth was dry; all this felt like my fault. If I hadn’t forced my way inside and spoken to Rose, she wouldn’t be so frightened; she certainly wouldn’t be babbling about time machines and giving the distinct impression that she was crazy.

‘Oh Rose.’ Hugo’s mum sighed unhappily. ‘Why don’t we call your doctor and get him to pop by again?’

Lady Rose roared and followed up with a blast of fire magic that she directed at the couple’s feet. ‘Fuck off !’ she screamed. ‘Fuck off! All of you!’

Lord Pemberville was already hauling his wife towards the car. ‘We’ll do that,’ he said. ‘But you need help, Rose. You know you do.’

‘Get out of here and don’t ever come back!’ she shouted. ‘Leave!’

Lady Pemberville wasn’t giving up. She pulled away from her husband and spread out her hands in an entreaty. ‘You know our phone number. If you need anything, or if you want to talk, all you have to do is call. We’re only around the corner. We can help.’

‘Nobody can help me!’

‘Rose—’

There was another rush of magic. She invoked air this time, sending a surge that was strong enough to lift the Pembervilles’ car a foot into the air. ‘Leave,’ she said, ‘before I do something I might regret.’

The car slammed down to the ground and Hugo’s parents jumped aside to avoid being crushed by it. Lady Pemberville stared at Rose with a mixture of fear and concern. Her husband glared and muttered something, then they climbed into the vehicle. The engine spluttered into life, the wheels skidded on the gravel and, with a high-pitched squeal, the car left with the white-faced couple inside it.

As they were driving away, Rose raised her voice again. ‘The rest of you need to fuck off, too!’ She heaved the door shut and silence reigned again.

‘Well,’ Hester whispered, ‘your mum and dad didn’t help her, but they didn’t kill her.’

A muscle ticked in Hugo’s jaw; there was relief in his eyes but something else was flickering there too. ‘They should have done more. She’s obviously on the edge – she needs help.’

I thought of my spider’s silk addiction: it was incredibly hard to help people who didn’t want to be helped. ‘We’ll find a way to help her.’

He stared at me balefully. ‘How exactly will we do that?’

As I sighed and pushed back my hair, I registered the clammy sweat on my forehead. I didn’t have a clue. ‘Er…’

Otis shot up into the air. ‘Somebody else is coming.’

I turned towards the driveway. He was right; yet another vehicle was trundling towards the mansion. For a recluse, Lady Rose certainly received a lot of visitors.

Hester wrung her hands. ‘It could be Athair.’

Hugo shook his head. ‘That’s not his car.’

We stayed where we were and watched a flashy Porsche head smoothly into the space Hugo’s parents had just vacated. The windows were tinted so it was impossible to see who was inside.

I licked my lips – and that was when my skin started to itch.