Page 145 of Destiny of the Witch

‘You’d have thought it would have dressed in all its finery to welcome us back,’ Wren said, laughing. ‘What sort of poor show is this?’

‘I’m just glad it’s here,’ I said. ‘Although, I hope it’s not so derelict that we can’t gain access to the crypt.’

‘Are you absolutely sure that’s where you saw the sword?’ Phoenix asked as we neared the building that we’d been in so recently and yet so far in the future. ‘It was definitely in the crypt?’

‘The vision was really clear,’ I said. ‘As soon as we went into the crypt to look at Bob’s body I recognised the place instantly. The woman—whoever she was—told me it was there. Not in so many words but… I can’t explain it. There was the strongest feeling it was there. You were both there with me, I realise that now. And you told me to take it because it was my destiny.’

‘Idid?’ He raised an eyebrow. ‘Oh well, at least I know my lines now.’

We exchanged amused glances, even though we were both anxious. So much rested on finding the sword. If I was wrong…

No. I couldn’t be. Failure wasn’t an option. It had to be there.

I saw my sister cast a nervous glance to the side of the chapel, but she needn’t have worried. There was no graveyard here. How could there be? She and her husband were the first to be buried here, and that was fifty years in the future from now. She wouldn’t see anything she shouldn’t.

We pushed open the door which was hanging off its hinges. It creaked and groaned, and I worried for a moment that it was going to fall to the ground. Luckily it hung on, and we sidled past into the building itself. Or what remained of it.

There was little more of the roof left than in our day, though the walls were perhaps slightly more substantial, but there were still no windows. I supposed it didn’t really matter. When we needed the chapel to look stunning it never disappointed. Let it keep its secrets for now. Well, some of them.

Please, please, if the sword is here, don’t hide it from me. I have to find it.

‘Where’s the door to the crypt?’ Wren asked in hushed tones. ‘I’ve never noticed it before.’

I looked around, hoping against hope that the door would reveal itself to me. It hadn’t always, I recalled.

‘I can’t see it,’ I said, growing increasingly worried. ‘I think it was over there,’ I added, pointing to the far wall.

‘You think?’ she asked. ‘Or you know?’

It was hard to get my bearings since I’d only seen the door once before, and the chapel had looked so very different then.

‘There’s no door now,’ Phoenix said. ‘What should we do?’

‘Maybe press against the walls?’ Wren suggested. ‘What’s left of them anyway. See if we can get them to reveal their secrets.’

‘But that’s just it,’ I said. ‘Look at them. There isn’t enough of any wall standing to hold a full-size door even if it were visible. What do we do now?’

We gazed around in dismay.

‘There must be a way,’ Phoenix said calmly. ‘We just need to put our heads together and think.’

Suddenly we heard the flapping of wings and a familiar cry. We all spun round, and I’ll admit I stupidly expected to see Bran, Belasko, or Branwen, the ravens who belonged to Raiden, Celeste, and Hector.

‘Beautiful,’ Phoenix breathed. ‘Look at you!’

The glossy black raven swooped round us and settled on Phoenix’s shoulder. He gently stroked its head, and it sat patiently as if it were perfectly happy to be by his side. As if it already knew him.

‘I think you’ve found your raven,’ Wren said. ‘Isn’t he gorgeous?’

‘She,’ Phoenix corrected her, his voice breaking with emotion. ‘Wren, Wulfram, let me introduce you to Nightwing.’ His eyes filled with tears. ‘How did you find me, my old friend? How did you travel all the way from Castle Clair to here? And more importantly, why would you want to, after everything I did?’

Nightwing nuzzled his face and I saw tears rolling down Phoenix’s face. He really loved that raven, and he’d clearly missed her a lot.

‘Didn’t—didn’t she attack you?’ Wren asked nervously. ‘I seem to remember Celeste mentioning it.’

‘Never,’ Phoenix said. ‘Jennet’s raven, Merle, attacked me, and quite rightly. But Nightwing here—she simply sat and watched. She didn’t approve of my actions, but she couldn’t bring herself to hurt me. I’m so sorry, Nightwing. I let you down so badly. I’ll never do that again, I promise you.’

The raven seemed quite happy with that, judging by the way she rested her face against his. I’d never seen such an affectionate raven. She’d been waiting for his return a long time. I was so glad they’d found each other again.

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