Page 5 of Witch You Weren't Here

‘Loads of witches wouldn’t be here if that was the case. Probably me included.’

‘That would be sad,’ Harry said quietly, looking at her.

As they’d talked, Kay had forgotten to be nervous, finding herself comfortable with Harry in a way she wasn’t with other boys she’d liked. It made the butterflies come surging back so much harder when he looked at her for a long moment and then reached out and softly touched the bluebells in her hair.

‘Your hair looks really pretty. The flowers are a beautiful colour.’

‘Thanks,’ she managed, once she remembered how to breathe. ‘Little bit immodest of you, though.’

‘Of me?’

‘Well, your eyes are almost the same shade as bluebells, aren’t they?’

‘You think so?’ He raised his eyebrows, a strange expression crossing his face, but then his hand strayed from the flowers to twirl a lock of her dark hair around his finger. The nervous excitement buzzing inside Kay felt like it might explode at any minute. She tightened her arm around her midriff as though she could keep it under control that way. ‘Are you OK?’

‘Butterflies,’ she admitted in a whisper.

‘That can be a sign your gift is coming in. If that’s where the centre of your magic is going to sit.’ Those striking eyes of his lit up as though he was looking forward to it almost as much as her. And he was still touching her hair.

Still. Touching. Her. Hair.

She licked her lips. ‘I don’t think it’s that.’

‘No?’

She shook her head and the hair he’d caught around his finger came loose. His fingertips grazed her cheek instead as he took a deep breath and leaned towards her—

‘Kay. Harry. Get your butts out here, someone’s coming!’

Kay blinked as though she was coming out of a trance as Harry jerked away to look in the direction of the shouting.

Noooo. Had Harry been about to kiss her? Why was life so cruel?

They both scrambled up and headed outside before Jaz caused an avalanche with her yelling, Harry wiping the chalk rune off the wall as they left, so darkness fell inside the cave again.

Outside in the clearing, Jaz, Tina and Joe were all busy setting the log back to rights and hiding the bottle of wine. Kay wasn’t even sure why Joe was hiding the wine since he was eighteen and it was legal for him to drink it.

Then, Mr Ashworth arrived. She glanced at Harry beside her, her pulse tip-tapping in her throat. He’d straightened his spine so she was reminded how much taller than her he really was and was checking his shirt was tucked in, as though he was about to undergo a military inspection.

‘Harrison Ashworth. I did not expect to find you here.’ Mr Ashworth didn’t even need to raise his voice for them all to register how displeased he was. Angry would have gone too far. He was too controlled for angry, but his face was stark with disappointment. ‘Back up to the Hall now, all of you. Find your parents, please. I expect you to tell them what you’ve been doing.’ He paused, his stern, dark eyes sweeping around all of them and seeming to settle on her, stood close to Harry, before they narrowed. ‘Go on ahead of us. The wisps will guide you.’

They started up the path. Tina and Jaz linked arms, huddling together, while Joe and Kay walked behind them and then, with a longer gap between them, the Ashworths finally followed. Their soft footfalls couldn’t drown out the sound of Mr Ashworth’s clipped tones. ‘This cave is not an adolescent hangout. It’s our family heritage and – even more than that – it’s a place of power that must be kept hidden from non-magical people. What if someone had noticed the noise, or the spells I’m sure you were all playing at, and come to investigate—’

‘Isn’t it meant to be protected—’

‘There are limits, and do not interrupt me.’ Mr Ashworth took a breath and spoke more softly. ‘I need you to show me you know how to behave in a way this family can rely on. There are guests – some from the Witches Council – and one day they’ll all be your responsibility.’

Despite the gentle tone, Kay heard a touch of his power threading through the words. She slowed, glancing back with wide eyes. Adult influencers weren’t meant to use their magic on minors to directly modify behaviour, only to help them. Maybe Harry’s eighteenth birthday wasn’t far away, but still—

‘Kay.’ She stifled a shriek as Joe grasped her arm. ‘C’mon, stop eavesdropping. Give Harry a bit of dignity.’

She pulled her arm free of his but kept up as he walked faster, following the blue glowing lights that had been charmed to hover along the path once the sun set. They always winked out as soon as you looked at them directly, so it would be easy to think you imagined it, if you didn’t know better.

Once they got back up to the gardens, they grimly wished each other luck and went to seek out their parents. Kay and Joe’s mum, Tallulah, was sitting at a table on the patio by herself. As soon as they approached, she put her glass of wine down and tilted her head. ‘What happened?’

Even if there hadn’t been the risk of Mr Ashworth dropping them in it, there was still no chance they’d have been able to hide it from their mum. Kay dreaded to think what emotions were rolling off them for her to read. Guilt and nerves for definite, but Goddess knew what she was feeling, having come so close to kissing the boy of her dreams. Disappointment but, also, if she was honest, longing so fierce she wanted to crawl out of her own skin. If only teleportation was a real thing, achievable by magic, she would have zapped herself straight out of there and home to bed to hide under the covers.

Instead, between her and Joe, they offered a sanitised version of events, which their mother saw straight through.

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