Unbroken Ties (Keeping Secrets 2)

Chapter 4

They closed Haven for the rest of the day after Pratchett decided he couldn't concentrate on selling books. Temperance was glad; she was afraid he was so excited he'd tell anyone who came into the bookshop about the hidden city beneath them.

Her father twirled beside her, his wizard robes flaring out around him like a cape. He was chattering so fast his words began to run together until it was almost like he was speaking his own bewildering language. Temperance grabbed his elbow and urged him to calm down. She took deep steadying breaths with him. Pratchett gulped down the air, but he still watched her with frantic eyes. He nodded after a few minutes and she let go of his arm.

"So, when exactly did you make your discovery?" Pratchett said.

Temperance bit her lip. "Around Christmas..."

"So long!" He shot her a reproachful look. "I would have told you ages ago, Temperance." He fell into a short sulk then his face broke into a wide smile. "Oh imagine! We could open up another shop down there!" He clapped his hands together. "I can't wait!"

"Don't rush into anything," Temperance said.

It was hard enough to shield her parents from the harsh realities in their world. It would be even more difficult to protect them in Carwick below.

When they reached their front door, her father placed his hand on her shoulder. It trembled. She looked up at him and waited.

"You know what this might mean?" Pratchett's face was pale, his bright eyes darted around the garden and he leaned in closer to her. "Maybe they can help me! They'd have magic. Is it worth a try?"

He looked so innocent just waiting for her to tell him it was possible. He didn't usually mention his problems. She'd always been the one forced to tell him the truth; that no one else could see Borris, his ghost spider, or that he wasn't well enough to leave the Candlewick Mill and go home yet. She didn't have it in her to explain to him that the people in the faey world were the ones responsible for all of his problems in the first place; it was because of their meddling that he had the unstable ability to see things that no one else could. Years of seeing the same horrific hallucinations had driven his mother mad too.

"Maybe," she whispered.

He gave her a hug that swept her off her feet. When he set her down, he dashed off to find Adora. Temperance could hear her mother humming in the kitchen. With a sigh, she backed up outside, closing the front door and slumping down onto the front porch. Once Pratchett told Adora, there would be no stopping them. If she tried to forbid them from going down to Carwick below, they'd just go when she wasn't around, like tonight.

A large part of her didn't want to go with Emery to the nightclub, but she knew she had to. It would also force her to face the truth; she was still waiting for Halvard. She spent too much time thinking about him, worrying about him. She had to stop at some point.

She glanced at her watch; she wasn't leaving herself much time. She tightened her coat and glanced over at the potting shed. There was a small light shining at the very back, near the mottled sofa bed. Some people attracted stray animals, she specialised in stray people. She was glad Weston had accepted.

The heat hit her like a wave when she entered the house. Locking the front door, she turned as her mother's old makeshift Wiccan cloak arched over the top banister to land on the bottom step of the stairs. A loud chorus of laughter followed.

Temperance dropped her keys onto the side-table beside a pile of post. She flicked through the bundle. There was one blank envelope, with no name or stamp. She turned it over and opened it with a frown. There was a small piece of paper inside with red ink splashed across it.