The House of Winter by Isobel Bird

Author:Isobel Bird [Bird, Isobel]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
ISBN: 978-0-061-75638-2
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2001-06-30T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 11

The next morning, when Kate arrived at the room where the Water path was meeting, the first thing she did was look for Lucy. She saw the girl standing by the windows, gazing out of them with a peculiar look on her face. Taking a deep breath, Kate walked over to her, thinking, Here goes nothing.

“I need to talk to you,” she said.

Lucy shot her a sideways look. “Why?” she said. “So you can think I’m even crazier than you already do? I don’t think so. You’ve made your choice. You’re on Nora’s side.”

“No,” Kate said, shaking her head. “Not anymore. We asked her some questions last night and her story didn’t check out.”

Lucy looked at her again. This time there was a spark of hope in her eyes. “What did you ask her?” she said.

“Cooper found out some things,” said Kate. “About Mary.” She paused before adding, “And about Alice.”

“You know about Alice?” Lucy asked, turning to face Kate for the first time.

“Yes,” Kate said. “We know about the accident in the tower room.”

“That was no accident,” Lucy said.

“I know,” said Kate.

Lucy studied Kate’s face for a moment. Kate looked back at her, her gaze unwavering. She knew that if she showed the slightest sign of being nervous Lucy would know she was lying. She had to make the other girl think that she really was on her side now and not on Nora’s.

“What else did Nora tell you?” asked Lucy, clearly testing Kate.

Kate swallowed. This was the make-or-break moment. “She told us about the talisman,” she said. “The one Alice made to keep Mary from working any magic.”

Lucy’s eyes flickered for a moment before her steely expression returned. “Mary can’t be allowed to come back,” she said quietly. “If she does, everything will be ruined.”

Kate nodded. “I know,” she said. “That talisman is the key.” She paused a moment before asking the question that was at the heart of her charade. “Do you know where it is?”

“Maybe I do,” answered Lucy. “But why should I tell you where it is? As long as Nora can’t find it and return it to Mary, everything is okay.”

Kate and the others had anticipated this response, and they had come up with a story they hoped Lucy would buy. “We think the talisman may be weakening,” Kate told Lucy.

Doubt flashed in Lucy’s eyes. “What do you mean, it’s weakening?” she said breathlessly. “That talisman has worked for over a hundred and twenty-five years. Why would it weaken now?”

“I don’t know,” Kate told her. “But Mary’s ghost is getting stronger, so something is happening.”

Lucy looked away, staring out the window again. For a minute Kate thought that everything was over and that the other girl had decided she was lying. But then Lucy looked back at her. This time her eyes were sad.

“If I tell you where the talisman is, what are you going to do?” she asked.

“We’ll try to strengthen it,” answered Kate. “Cooper, Annie, and me. We’ve done a lot

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