Page 87 of Witch You Weren't Here

Becca grinned. ‘Harry messaged me. Thank you. It totally makes sense why it worked now. It was Harry blocking the anchor taking hold. He had to believe in himself.’

Kay laughed tiredly. ‘There’s a lot of that going around. How is he?’

‘Normal enough that he tore a strip off me for doing this.’ Becca indicated to the glasses, and then she fitted the lenses back into the frames and whispered an incantation as she blew around the edges, then smoothed her thumb over it. ‘My mum used to craft objects with magic – I picked up a few tricks.’

‘Thank you.’ Kay put the glasses back on and the slim bond, which was barely there between her and Becca, fell away entirely. ‘Can you do anything for these heels?’

‘Not without ruining them. I do have a pair of ballet flats I keep here though – round the corner in the vestibule. If they’ll fit you, you’re welcome to borrow them. The very least I can do.’ Becca hesitated for a moment and then wrapped her arms right around Kay, pinning her own arms to her side, in a tight hug. ‘Thank you. Oh, and Harry mentioned about your luggage. If you have trouble, let him know and we’ll meet up to try to track it down.’

Becca hurried back towards the reception, while Kay stepped down into the cool vestibule that she’d once run through with Jaz and Tina. She found the shoes Becca was talking about and swapped into them, thankful for the good luck that they were the same size.

She was about to head back to the party, when a light outside the small leaded window caught her attention. A tiny blue wisp. You’d have thought she’d have had enough of magical lights, but she couldn’t help opening the door to get a better look. And then following it down into the moonlit woods.

Chapter Twenty-Two

9 p.m.: sunday 31 october

The Cave of Lost Things

The night air was refreshing on Kay’s cheeks, flushed from dancing and champagne, but the temperature was surprisingly mild considering there had been a storm. Perhaps it was just in comparison to the snow and ice in Holland.

Folklore said never to follow a wisp, but that was because they often led somewhere magical, and witches had been sure to keep stories of mischief and danger circulating. She was sure this one was just a leftover from the lights the Ashworths charmed to lead the way to and from the cave. A lone wisp tending its watch. Perhaps it was being in touch with her magic again, resurrecting her curiosity, or a desire to find some calm in the quiet woods, after the overload of the reception … or maybe even a need to confront the last ghosts of the past … but she wanted to see if she was right.

Nothing much had changed in the clearing. Shadows and moonlight created a textured darkness, the trees having lost their leaves completely to the storm, but the entrance of the cave had nearly disappeared under ivy. Only a glimmer of silver gave a hint there might be stone beneath.

The log she’d sat on as she waited for Harry was still there, in the same spot. She stopped and stared at it the way someone might when finding an old photograph they had no recollection of being taken. Uncomfortable but familiar.

She sat down and took a deep lungful of the damp air, tinged with magic. The moss was saturated, her dress and bottom getting soggy. She couldn’t bring herself to care at that moment as the dragging pain of her past disappointment pressed upon her chest.

Wiping a hand under her eye, she forced a laugh. So many people had come and waited here, desperate for Biddi to return things to them. She’d just wanted Harry to meet her, like he’d said he would.

But even if he had, it didn’t necessarily mean there wouldn’t have been more heartbreak for her. She’d be naive to think that even if she and Harry had met that day, dated, and then tried to have a long-distance relationship – whether it was London or Edinburgh – they wouldn’t have struggled. Between them missing each other and their family problems, would two teenagers really have been equipped to make it work?

It didn’t stop her from feeling loss as she sat there. But maybe it wasn’t the loss of what she and Harry could have had, so much as the loss of who she’d been. Starry-eyed and optimistic. Eager and hopeful.

‘Hey Biddi, could you help me find my faith? I can offer payment in pretty shoes that I’ve bought even though they pinch my toes.’

The blue light flared within the entrance to the cave, a wink of colour among the mass of slick ivy. A small flutter of adrenaline pushed into Kay’s stomach.

Just a coincidence? It had to be.

Still, Kay couldn’t help approaching the entrance to the cave. She pushed the curtain of ivy to the side, drips of rain landing on the back of her neck, sending goosebumps cascading over her skin. Inside was the same inky dark she remembered. She fumbled for the piece of chalk, wondering if it would still be there on the little ledge, closing her hand around a lump that was dry but powdery around the edges.

Running her hand along the wall, she tried to remember the position of the rune Harry had invoked. She had to be crazy to think she’d be able to make it work, but what was the alternative? Staying in the dark? Turning around and going back when possibly the magic was calling her onwards to something important?

Her finger dipped into a groove and she traced the arrow shape, a tingle of energy reaching out to her like a fish hook, trying to connect with her.

OK, here went nothing. She placed the chalk against the stone and scraped it along the line, while calling her magic to flow through her.

The first time didn’t work. She took a breath against the initial flutter of disappointment, reminding herself that she’d known it would be unlikely to work so easily. She had a lot still to learn. But she wanted to.

She didn’t remember Harry reciting any spell when he’d done it, but maybe it would help direct the intention. She repeated it one more time, whispering the name of the rune, calling her magic to meet that which was buzzing over the skin of her hand now and imagining it catching, like the strike of a match.

There was a gentle magical tug on her abdomen and she hadn’t realised she’d closed her eyes until warm light came through her eyelids. Gasping, she opened them, dropping the chalk and standing up. The passageway was lit with glowing golden light from the torch further down. It was like the warmth of coming home.

‘Kay.’

She screamed and jumped back a few paces into the cave, heart hammering, before she saw that Harry was there. She’d not heard him come in. ‘By all the elements, what are you doing here?’ she wheezed, hand to her chest.

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