The Midnight Carnival (24 page)

‘
Wiccan Oscillation and Kinetics
by Nefarious Wilderblaum,’ the man shouted back without hesitation.

Adie blinked.

‘I guess… that sounds right.’

‘Weird Science section, back row, top shelf.’

With no ladder in sight, Adie used some larger volumes to make a crude set of stairs, reached the book, and scrambled back down. Delilah took the book.

‘This is brilliant,’ the small girl said. ‘There’ll definitely be something in here.’

Delilah plonked down cross-legged in the open space beyond the bookshelves and began scouring the pages. At the counter, Adie could see Mr Pamuk gently placing packages in a brown paper bag. She took out the wad of notes
that were the sum of all the girls’ savings.

‘Would you like the suede-effect gift bag for the Chi orb?’ Mr Pamuk asked. ‘It’s only another €7.’

‘No, thanks,’ Adie said. ‘Just the orb.’

‘And a square of violet silk embroidered with catgut, and two stalks of lime grass,’ Delilah called from her spot on the floor.

Mr Pamuk looked to Adie.

‘Yep,’ she said, ‘those too. Oh, and the book, of course.’

‘Ah, that is a first edition. Quite expensive.’

‘Oh,’ Adie looked through the small amount of change she had left.

‘Let us call the book a loan,’ the man said, ‘for a favourite customer. You may return it when you have… when you are ready.’

‘Thank you, Mr Pamuk.’

‘You are welcome,’ he said, handing her the paper bag. ‘Best of luck, my dear witchlets.’

The town was quiet and dark. Dunbridge Park was empty but for one huddled figure sat on a tree stump.

‘He’s still here,’ Jenny said, as she and Grace made their way into the park. ‘He must be pretty worried about you.’

‘He’s worried about all of us.’

‘I’ll give you a fiver if he remembers my name.’

Drake slipped off the tree stump as they walked towards him and, as the moonlight shimmered across his scaly skin, Grace felt the urge to run forward and hug him. It appeared he almost did the same, but he held back at the sight of Jenny, and there was a cringeworthy moment where they both hurried forward, then both pulled back. Grace thanked the dark for hiding her blush.

‘I’m Jenny,’ Jenny said, sticking out her hand.

Drake gave her a quizzical look.

‘I know.’

‘Oh,’ Jenny said, smiling at Grace. ‘Just checking.’

‘Sorry we didn’t come looking for you sooner,’ Grace said, trying to ignore the growing glow in her cheeks. ‘There were a few things we had to do.’

‘Where’s the straw doll?’ asked Drake.

‘Our teacher has it. She’s locked in her house. We were locked in there too, but Jenny got us out.’

Drake let out a long slow breath.

‘I’m sorry about your teacher.’

‘We haven’t given up, we’ll get her out. But we have to deal with Murdrina first.’

Drake looked like he’d been smacked in the face.

‘Murdrina? She’s here? How? What–’

‘Our friends summoned her by accident, trying to find out what the hex was,’ Grace said. ‘There’s no point getting worked up about it now. It’s done, and we have to sort it out.’

‘I wasn’t gonna blame your friends,’ Drake said. ‘It’s ’cos of the hex, it’s our fault.’

‘Justine’s fault, and the ringmaster’s. We know what you and the doctor did for us. I’m so sorry I didn’t trust you.’

‘You didn’t have no reason to.’

His eyes were warm and forgiving, and Grace felt a wave of gratitude that he held none of her mistakes against her.

‘Anyway,’ Jenny loudly broke the moment, ‘it’s been lovely catching up, but we’re actually here to ask a favour. Well, when I say favour, you really owe us. You know, the whole hex thing.’

‘Which Drake and the doctor tried to save us from,’ Grace said through gritted teeth.

‘Sure, sure, tried and failed. But never mind. We need help to send this Murdrina cow to hell. Are you in?’

Before Drake could answer, there was a shriek from across the park.

‘Drake! Drake, mein schatz!’

Agata’s powerful frame came thundering across the grass. She grabbed the boy with both arms and hugged him so ferociously that Grace could swear his eyes were bulging. Keeping one arm around his shoulders, Agata swept his hair back from his forehead.

‘You are okay?’

‘I’m good, Agata. You don’t gotta worry. I’m sorry I had to break out of there without you, but I had to try–’

‘No, no,’ Agata dismissed his apology, ‘is no need. You are sweet boy, always.’

Drake hugged her back.

‘So they let you go, but what about the doctor?’

‘They vont to kill him.’

‘He’s still caged?’

‘No, no,’ Agata waved her hand again, laughing this time. ‘He let go fireworks and blew doors off. It vos funny. He is here also.’

She pointed, and through the dimness Grace could see the unnerving silhouette with the trenchcoat, hat and the burning ember of a cigar glowing in the night. He took his time strolling up the park, silently smoking his cigar.

‘Evening, witches,’ he said. ‘Drake, you’re well?’

‘Yeah, I’m good.’

‘Excellent. Well, since you young ladies are currently without terrible affliction, I must surmise that you did not find the doll.’

‘Their teacher’s got it,’ Drake replied. ‘It’s locked up her house with her inside.’

‘Ah,’ the doctor said, taking another puff of his cigar, ‘now that is a shame. But one life lost is better than half a dozen.’

‘We’ll get her out,’ Grace said, ‘after we’ve–’

‘They’ve,’ Drake cut in suddenly, ‘eh, got another problem.’

‘Already?’ the doctor replied. ‘How industrious.’

‘Murdrina is here, in this town. They… she was summoned
accidentally. They have a plan to get rid of her.’

‘Permanently,’ Grace said.

The doctor lowered his shaking hand and Grace saw the cigar fall from his limp fingers and smoulder in the grass.

‘Yeah,’ said Jenny, ‘so we’re gonna need your help with that. You all in?’

23

Demon Goalies

The doctor agreed to take part in Grace’s plan, but he said little more before leaving. Agata, at first taken aback by the news, recovered quickly and was soon quizzing Jenny on her progress with the weights. Never one to be modest, Jenny immediately flexed her biceps and described, in minute detail, her training and nutrition plan. Weary of the muscle discussion, Grace wandered off towards the edge of the park. Drake followed.

‘That is some scheme you’ve come up with,’ he said. ‘You don’t even seem scared.’

‘I
am
scared. I’m terrified.’

She had said it without thinking, and realised it was true. She was right to set up the new coven, and she had absolute faith in herself and her friends, but there was no denying
what they were up against.

‘Well,’ said Drake, ‘just so you know, I’m scared too.’

She nodded, her nose stinging with the threat of tears.

‘Okay.’

They stood side by side, shaded from the moonlight by the trees, and a single tear rolled down Grace’s cheek. In the dark, she felt his fingertips reach for hers and hold them gently. It helped, so she firmly grasped his hand with both of hers and rested her head on his shoulder.

‘Grace,’ she heard Jenny call from across the park, ‘we gotta go. We’ve got people to corral and potions to make.’

‘See you at the school then,’ said Drake.

Grace took a few steps, turned back, looked up into his lovely eyes and kissed him. He was warm, despite the bitter cold, and his skin was so soft she could trace the barely perceptible cracks. Something fluttered madly in her stomach and when she pulled back, he smiled.

‘What was that for?’

‘For luck,’ she said.

She gave him another peck on the lips, making him laugh, then she left the park, her brain spinning with what had just happened and what lay ahead of her.

‘Forty-five minutes to go.’ Jenny patrolled the desks in the P block lab like a security guard. ‘Who’s falling behind?’

‘Me,’ said Adie, urgently scraping at the powder in a metal bowl she had balanced above a Bunsen burner. ‘It’s all clumping together.’

‘It’s too damp,’ Delilah said, handing her a jar. ‘Grind in a little yarrow.’

‘Thanks. I’m really bad at this.’

‘You’re not. We should be ageing these potions over days – this is the speedy version, so it’s bound to be a little messy.’

‘I’ll take over from you, Adie,’ Grace said. ‘You’ll have to go soon.’

‘Yeah,’ Adie sighed. ‘I know.’

The desk at the centre of the room was quickly being covered in a selection of small, cloth bags and porcelain containers.

‘We should just keep going ’til all the ingredients are gone,’ Jenny said, counting the baggies and cups. ‘This whole thing will be for nothing if we run out of stuff to keep the demons under control.’

On the teacher’s desk, at the top of the room, Delilah had two potions on the go. Turquoise liquid bubbled in a round-bottomed flask, flashes of pink popping through it as it boiled and, on a thick-bottomed plate, a soldering iron sat propped up with its burning end lodged in the centre of the plate. Rust-coloured powder swirled around the soldering gun like iron shavings around a magnet; once the powder burned orangey red, it moved to the edge of the plate, circled,
cooled, and moved back in for another shot.

Grace checked both potions while Adie packed up her things.

‘This,’ Delilah said, noting Grace’s interest, ‘is for the expulsion spell. You’re going to have to throw this in her face, sorry.’

‘That’ll make her mad.’

‘Yes, but the good news is she’ll probably be mad already. And this is the powder that’ll guide her soul into the Chi orb. It’s really easy to use–’

‘I just scatter it around myself and hold up the orb,’ Grace interrupted. ‘Yeah, I’ve used that stuff before.’

‘Great.’ Delilah was delighted. ‘Then everything should go smoothly.’

Grace nodded through a brief wave of nausea.

‘Right, I’m off.’ Adie stood at the door with her jacket on. There was an apprehensive silence. ‘Well, don’t all wish me luck at the same time.’

There were cries of ‘sorry’ and ‘good luck’. Adie waved them away and smiled.

‘Not before four o’clock,’ Grace said.

‘Not before four a.m. I’ve got it.’

‘Good luck, Adie.’

‘You too.’

She disappeared into the P block corridor.

‘Right,’ Jenny yelled, making the others jump, ‘the countdown 
is at thirty minutes, people, and this table isn’t full.’

‘Ever consider a career in a sweatshop, Jenny?’ Una said. ‘You’d be really good at it.’

‘Are jokes going to get the job done any faster, Una?’

‘They might.’

‘I don’t think so. Get to it.’

Rachel gave her a mocking salute as Jenny continued her patrol.

Moving from foot to foot at the back entrance of the school, Grace couldn’t stop shaking. She told herself it was the cold. She stood with Una and Delilah, waiting for the people that would act the part of demon goalkeepers. Ms Lemon arrived first, only minutes after Delilah had called her, looking fit to burst.

‘What did I tell you?’ she snapped. ‘You’re to stay out of this, that’s what I said. And Delilah, I’m disappointed in you. I thought you were in bed.’

‘Miss,’ Una said, casually tying her short black bob into tiny pigtails, ‘this is happening. You can get on this crazy train and help us out, or you can wait until we’re all killed, and then wonder for the rest of your life if it was your fault.’

Ms Lemon opened and closed her mouth like a goldfish, apparently too shocked or angry to speak.

‘Ms Lemon, we’re decided on this,’ said Grace. ‘We know
how dangerous it is, but we’re already a part of it and we have to try. We’ll do it with or without you, but we’d much rather with.’

‘So, what do you say?’ said Una.

Ms Lemon huffed and stared up at the stars in indignation. Finally, she spoke.

‘Well, that doesn’t leave me much choice, does it?’

‘Cool!’ Una clapped. ‘Welcome to the plan, Miss.’

‘And what is the plan, may I ask?’

‘I’ll go through it,’ Grace said, pointing at the figures coming through the back gate, ‘when everyone else is here.’

Grace had explained the purpose of the baggies and the porcelain cups twice, and Agata still had a pained look on her face. She pointed to the bags.

‘Before or after in de body?’

‘Before. Before, that’s…’ Grace took a deep breath. ‘If you see a demon, and it hasn’t touched anybody yet, you open the bag over it. The powder will burn it up.’

‘Umhmm,’ the woman nodded. ‘And dis?’

‘If the demon touches somebody, it will possess them, but that can take up to a minute. You’ll know it’s happening because the person’s eyes will glow a strange colour.’

‘Ja, ja, I see.’

‘You smash the cup at the their feet and say–’

‘Exitus, exitus, exitus.’

‘Yes, that’s it. The stuff in the cup will turn to smoke, and you have to make sure the person breathes it in. That’s really important.’

‘Must breathe smoke.’

‘Yes.’

‘Ja, okay.’

Grace turned to Drake and the doctor.

‘Is that all clear?’

‘Yeah, we got it,’ Drake replied, though he looked worried.

‘I’ll go through it with you a few more times,’ Ms Lemon offered. ‘And Grace, some of these baggies need to be retied with a highwayman’s hitch or they’re not going to open easily.’

‘I’ll help with that,’ the doctor said.

‘Good, thank you. And if you could also take charge of the potions when it all kicks off,’ Ms Lemon went on, ‘I’ll try to watch the well, and track what’s happening to everybody’s eyes. If I see a demon possession beginning, I’ll yell. Between us, we’re sure to spot any danger.’

The teacher seemed to have put her anger to one side for now, and Grace was very grateful.

‘Here come Jenny and Rach,’ said Una as their friends emerged from the woods. ‘And look, they got creepy Bob to come.’

‘Don’t call him that, Una,’ Grace chided.

‘Sorry. They got nice Bob to come.’

The hood of Bob’s black slicker shadowed his pale, withered complexion. He marched towards Grace, with those heavy and purposeful steps that had once terrified her. His expression was stern and his eyes – one blue, one pearly white – focussed fully on her face. He stopped barely a step from her and she could feel his breath on her forehead.

‘Where do I stand?’ he said.

She was confused for a moment.

‘Inside,’ she said. ‘We’ll all be in the P block, by the demon well. You’re going to be the bait, you see, Adie–’

‘I know the plan,’ he said, stepping around her and through the emergency exit into the school.

‘We talked on the way here,’ said Rachel. ‘He’s not as gruff as you’d think.’

‘I think he’s relieved.’ Jenny nodded, as the others gave her skeptical looks. ‘Seriously, I think he had no idea how to beat Murdrina.’

‘So everyone’s here now,’ said Grace.

‘Everyone’s here.’

‘Then let’s get this show on the road.’

Adie turned the key as quietly as possible, she didn’t want to wake her father and brothers if she could help it. She shut the door and glanced through the hall where she saw a figure
standing at the kitchen window. All the lights were off and Murdrina stood in silence. She looked less like Adie’s mum than ever before.