Page 49 of Secrets of the Eternal Flame

‘Yeah, maybe,’ she said wistfully. ‘But I’m still not quite right.My magic is still sluggish.’ Then, sensing how her last comment had unsettled me, she added quickly, ‘I haven’t done any more of that stuff, I promise, but I don’t know if you ever truly come out the other side of it or whether it lingers. Not consciously or anything – and I’d never use it again.’

It was my turn to come clean. ‘Ernie and I have been talking about your magic. After you worked with the Flame in Hallowburn you seemed brighter, more energetic. But now… We wondered if your work with the Flame without the protection of the Guardian bond has made you a little…’

‘A little what?’ Her tone was brittle.

‘Addicted,’ I finished bluntly.

Maddie swallowed hard a few times. Her breathing had speeded up and I didn’t need to be an empath to feel her panic. ‘If you are,’ I said gently, ‘it will be okay. We know where there is another Flame. You have options.’

‘I kept having to draw on more of it to get the same effect, the same energy boost,’ she said tightly. ‘That’s addiction, isn’t it? When you need more for the same effect?’

‘Not always,’ I said. ‘But … maybe. We need to get the Flame back and wean you off using it.’

‘And we can’t dothat if it chooses me as its Guardian.’

I licked my lips. ‘I don’t know. Maybe the bond will act retrospectively and undo any damage it has caused already.’

She nodded jerkily. ‘Right.’

‘I’m sorry, Maddie. This is all my fault.’

She shot me a glare. ‘You didn’t make me work with the Flame so much, I did that all by myself. Stop shouldering guilt for other people’s actions, Beatrix Stonehaven!’

I couldn’t help but think of what Ernie had said, how I needed to make Maddie realise how grateful I was for everything she’d done for me. To make her realise how much I still needed her.

‘You know I wouldn’t have coped with what happened to Kaz without you, don’t you?’ I said, breaking the silence that was filling the car. ‘Or the hunt for the other Flame?’

Maddie dismissed my words. ‘You would have been fine. You had Ezra, Nour and Fraser. I was just a third wheel. Well ... a fifth wheel.’

‘Maddie, that’s not true at all! All the time I was living in London, the hardest thing about being away from Witchlight was being away fromyou. I never worried that you wouldn’t be able to look after the Flame or that you wouldn’t build a life without me, because I knew you could. I’ve always seen you as much stronger than me, butstrong or not, you need support. I’m sorry I didn’t see that sooner – sorry I didn’tprovideit sooner. Whether the Flame chooses you, me or some random Bob off the street, I still want you to live with me.’

She lifted a hand to wipe away a tear. ‘I think I’m finding it so hard because I had everything planned. I was going to open a shop, maybe open another somewhere in London. I had ambitions and ideas, and now that’s all gone.’

‘I know how you feel,’ I said softly. ‘I had visions of opening a proper office, expanding my business one day, of beingthePI to go to in London. And now I’m back here, still finding my feet. Magical PI work is totally different to human PI work, and I’m scared I’m not as good at it.’

She snorted. ‘You were right about Sonny, and you were right about Mrs D. You’re good at it.’ A smile tugged at her lips. ‘It’s kinda nice to hear you say so, though. It makes me feel like I’m not the only screw-up.’

‘Excuse me?’I said, dragging out the vowel sounds for effect. ‘At what point did you think I wasn’t a screw-up?’

This time, her laugh was full-bellied. After shifting the gear up, she reached across and took my hand. ‘I love you, Bea,’ she said.

‘Back at you.’

Eva gave a loud bark from the back, breaking the moment. At first I thought she wanted an undyingdeclaration of love too, but then I saw Nour had pulled over. ‘ It looks like Nour is parking up ahead,’ I said, pointing to the side of the road where Nour’s red car was reversing in front of an old camper van.

Time to accuse my new friend’s sister of theft. Awesome.

Chapter Thirty-One

Judging from the amount of smoke coming out of chimneys on such a warm summer’s day, it was safe to assume that Farah wasn’t the only witch living on the street. Nour had told me that her family all lived close by, but she had moved away because they disapproved of her relationship with Ezra. I needed to be as tactful as possible with my questioning.

‘Thanks again for bringing me here,’ I said when I joined her outside.

‘It’s no problem,‘ Nour replied. ‘But just so you know, my sister can be a bit prickly. Please don’t take anything she says to heart.’

‘Trust me, I’ve got spikes of my own if I need them,’ I said, then quickly added, ‘not that I plan on being spikey to your sister. I only want to talk.’

‘It’s fine. I know you’ve got a job to do. This is serious.’

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