All Hallowed Out Read online

  ‘You know why, Wanda.’ She pulled me into a hug. ‘You’re the only one with that kind of power. He only woke up and freed us all from the dream last time because you woke him up.’

  My eyes flitted to Max, who was working his way through the crowd, coming towards me with Wolfie by his side. Yes, I’d woken Will up last time. But I’d had to do it with a kiss. How would Max feel if I had to do that again? How would I feel?

  ‘You’re getting ahead of yourselves, all of you!’ Dizzy squeaked. ‘Will can’t be the one who’s doing this. How could he? He was in a coma when accidentally he did it before. Now, he’s out of that coma, under the watch of a gazillion guards – and the Queen of the Sióga’s keeping her eye on him too. And what would he want with Ariadne, Veronica and Hailey Byrd anyway?’

  Dizzy had a point. There was no connection between the sleepers, and other than the fact that Will and Veronica shared a coven name, none of the sleepers had a connection to him.

  ‘The squeaky bat is right,’ said Tigger. ‘We’re missing some connecting dots here. Ariadne didn’t even know this Bill Berry.’

  ‘Will,’ Dizzy corrected.

  ‘Right. Him. Either way, this has nothing to do with what’s-his-name. This is down to Thomas Flowers, maybe even Cecily Fox, too. I … I don’t know why they would have targeted the little girl as well as Ariadne. And I don’t know why they’d send Veronica to sleep, either. But … hmm. I’ve lost my train of thought. Could someone Kapow Meow me?’

  While my dad gave Tigger some energy milk, Max slid in beside me. He had a lunchbox and a flask with him, and he gave my mother a smile of pre-apology before saying, ‘I’m going to take Wanda out for some fresh air for a minute, is that okay Beatrice?’

  My mother and the others moved aside, and Max walked me out to a nearby balcony, with Wolfie following. It wasn’t cold out there, but I put my hat on anyway. Tigger had followed us too, and was wrapping himself around my legs, while Dizzy stayed on my shoulder.

  ‘How did your loan application go?’ I asked.

  Max snorted. ‘It didn’t. Rover called me when I was on the way to Sickle Sensible – he asked me to meet him instead. So I ditched my meeting at the bank.’

  ‘But I thought you didn’t want a loan from your boss.’

  Max shook his head. ‘I know. But it wouldn’t be a loan. Every penny we make from the kennels can go straight to the rescue dogs. Rover wants to be my partner – he’s been hoping I’d ask him all along. When I didn’t, he bit the bullet and made the offer. It kills him as much as me that wonderful, loving dogs just get dumped, or abused.’

  ‘Like me.’ Wolfie was suddenly looking at us. ‘Jasper dumped me.’

  Oh dear. ‘Yes and no,’ I said. ‘Jasper left you at Max’s old kennels to protect you. He thought you could be hurt because one of his many ex-girlfriends was killing everyone he loved. But y’know what? I’m happy he did leave you there. Because now we get to have you in our lives.’

  ‘Exactly,’ said Max. He patted Wolfie’s head, looking at me. ‘Me and Wolfie are going to spend the night at the Water Bowl with Rover, hashing things out. But my new business is hardly what we should be talking about, is it?’

  He opened the lunchbox he’d brought with him. There was a sandwich – veggie bacon, lettuce and tomato – and an apple. ‘I know you haven’t had lunch, and I don’t think you should go visit Will Berry on an empty stomach. There’s some squash soup in the flask.’

  I smiled gratefully at Max. Only he could know exactly what I needed at a time like this. ‘And you’re okay with it? With me visiting Will?’

  Max shrugged. ‘I’ve been filled in on what’s going on. And I guess it could sound like last time in some ways – but in most ways, it doesn’t. Wanda, I don’t think Will is behind this.’

  ‘So … you don’t think I should go see him?’

  ‘I think you should, actually. Because otherwise, no one’s going to be able to move past the idea that it’s him. And yeah, before you ask – I also think it has to be you.’ He reached a hand out to me, pushing a strand of hair behind my ear. Kissing my forehead gently, he said, ‘And when I get back to Riddler’s Cove tomorrow morning, you’ll have solved the mystery, and then you and me can get on with having the best Halloween ever.’

  I kissed him briefly before saying, ‘I love you, Max.’

  He grinned. ‘I love you too, Wanda. Now come on – eat your lunch. I put a tiny bit of sea salt on the tomatoes, just the way you like.’

  9. All Of Those Moments

  ‘Are you sure you want to go in there alone?’ asked Walt. ‘I’m surprised Bea didn’t insist on coming with you.’

  By in there he meant the large, see-through cube in which Will Berry was imprisoned. The only place he had privacy was his small bathroom. But the cube itself had cheered up a bit since I’d last seen it. There was a small desk, where Will had some drawing and writing materials. He seemed to have a radio now, too – I could hear a song by Minx playing. And he had a chair to sit on, in case he got bored by his bed. Okay, so maybe saying that the place had cheered up was going a bit too far. In truth, looking at Will in there was deeply depressing.

  I turned away from the cube and looked at the burly prison guard. ‘I’ll be fine, Walt. And you’re right – my mother did insist on coming. So did the rest of my coven. But … I felt better about doing this alone.’ I laughed dryly. ‘Well, by alone I mean with you and your dozens of guards watching every single movement I make.’

  He shrugged unapologetically. ‘We’ll be watching like a hawk, Wanda. And the second he makes a funny move, I won’t hesitate to subdue him.’

  I smiled wanly, reaching for the sign-in book. Will had a visitors’ register all to himself, seeing as he was considered the most dangerous man in the prison. It didn’t have a lot of names in it, unsurprisingly. The Queen of the Sióga came regularly, as did some senior members of the Berry coven. There was one name, though, which sent me into somewhat of a spin.

  ‘Miles Master has been to visit Will twice this week?’ I stared up at Walt in shock. ‘And one of those times was this morning! Why is he visiting Will?’

  Walt looked at the ground. ‘Afraid I can’t say.’

  ‘Can’t say? Does Christine know about this? Does my mother?’

  As the Wayfarer Commissioner and Minister for Magical Law, if anyone ought to know, it was them. Then again, wouldn’t they have told me? And … wouldn’t Melissa? She and Miles were partners. Surely she must know about this.

  ‘Y’know I’d tell you if I could, Wanda,’ said Walt. ‘But I will say this – Christine and your mammy only get the visitors’ log once a week.’ He gave me a meaningful look. So they didn’t know. Yet.

  ‘And legally,’ Walt went on, ‘what happens between Will and his lawyer is protected. Neither of them have to inform anyone what they’re up to, unless they go to court. And we’re not allowed to record the conversations they do have, in the meantime.’

  ≈

  As I walked in, Will jerked his eyes from the pad he’d been drawing in. He’d been so deeply engrossed that he hadn’t noticed me outside. His sea-green eyes rounded as he stared at me, and his limbs began to shake. He stood up on unsteady legs, swallowing deeply. ‘Wanda … I …’

  I took a seat on the edge of the bed. ‘Stay sitting, Will.’

  His body folded instantly into his chair. ‘Is it really you?’ His left hand moved forward, but he snatched it back.

  I nodded. ‘It’s really me. Sorry I haven’t come before. I just …’

  He blinked at me for a few seconds before speaking. ‘You’re apologising for not visiting? Wanda, why would you visit me? I forced you to live inside a Forget Me Knot spell, a dream that I controlled, a dream you almost didn’t escape from. I put you and everyone else you loved in mortal danger, and I took away all of your choices.’ He shook his head, and when he spoke again, his voice sounded raw and cracked. ‘I’m not wondering why you’ve not come before, Wanda. I’m wondering why you would come at all.’

  I wished I could say something in return. Something to acknowledge what he’d just said. Something to lighten the mood, even. But, while his voice had been cracked, mine seemed to have left me entirely. Why had my coven thought I should be the one to come here? I mean, I hadn’t even been able to go to Will’s trial, but I was expected to deal with this. Never before had I felt so utterly at a loss.

  Just looking at him hurt. My heart ached, and a mixture of anger and loss bubbled in my belly. He was being reasonable. Apologetic. He was being the person he used to be, before the Whisperer took him over. Suddenly, the memory of the last time I was in this cube was the only thing I could think of – Will, looking pleadingly into my eyes, begging me to kill him with the Elemental Sword.

  And there was more. There was worse than that memory rushing through my mind. There was the all-encompassing need to gather him in my arms. Not in a romantic way. But just to hug him, and tell him I was sorry. Sorry for not visiting him before now. Sorry for not noticing much, much sooner that the Whisperer was possessing him. Instead of saying any of that, I looked around the room. To the left of the bed, I saw a scratching post, and a couple of bowls.

  ‘They’re for Fred,’ said Will, his voice still cracked. ‘My lawyer … he says he can come stay with me whenever he wants. I’m not sure how I feel about it, to be honest. I mean, Fred is my familiar. I miss him like I’m missing a limb but … he did nothing wrong. He shouldn’t have to be in here with me. But it’ll just be a week here and there so … maybe it’s okay. I don’t know. What do you think? I just don’t know, myself. I don’t know anything anymore. I … I’m rambling. I’ll stop now. I should stop now.’

  He didn’t stop. He kept right on rambling. And through it all, I still want
ed to cross the room. To hug him. To comfort him. But I also wanted to hit him, and shout at him and … it was all so, so confusing. Eventually, I cleared my throat and said, ‘Will. Will, I need to talk to you.’

  His head snapped up, and his eyes met mine. ‘Yes. But … but first let me tell you, Wanda, that I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. Even if you can’t forgive me, I need you to know that.’

  I wiped away a tear – I hadn’t even felt it start to fall, but there it was.

  ‘Wanda, why are you crying? Please don’t cry. You’re a joker, not a crier. That’s what you do in uncomfortable situations – you make light of it. You make quips – occasionally sarcastic, but always funny. So … do that, please. Do anything except cry. Because I … I can’t do anything to make you feel better. The only thing I can do is keep saying sorry.’

  For a moment I was silent, but then it all came out – everything I was thinking, in a long, sobbing ramble. ‘I guess … I guess I’m crying because nothing you did was you. It was the Whisperer. And now … now he’s gone. I guess I’m crying because it seems unfair, that’s all. When I woke up from that dreamworld you created, back then I told myself you were where you belonged. Because you still had all that power, even though the Whisperer was gone. In your subconscious, without even knowing it, you could control people, you could kill people. But now … now I’m sitting here, looking at you. Looking at you stuck in here, knowing that it all started because you wanted to protect me from your father. And I think … I think it sucks, Will.’

  Oh, dear goddess! Why hadn’t I at least taken Dizzy with me? That little bat always knew when I needed a flurry of kisses for comfort. But never mind me – there was nothing I could do to make any of this better. I certainly couldn’t change Will’s situation, no matter how much I hated it. Me, sitting on his bed and snivelling like an idiot was no use to him. So I sniffed back my tears and wiped my face with my scarf, while he stared awkwardly my way.

  When I’d settled down somewhat, he gave me a half-smile. ‘It sucks more for the people I hurt, I’ll bet. You were right back then, Wanda. I am in the right place. I’m not sure why everyone keeps trying to tell me differently.’

  Everyone? I was about to ask him if by everyone, he actually meant Miles. But then he held up a drawing. It was a pencil sketch of me, standing in front of Will, while he sat on a bench with a bottle in his hands. We were both dressed to the nines.

  ‘I guess what with it being almost Halloween, it’s been on my mind,’ he said softly. ‘Do you remember it? It was the Halloween Ball, a couple of years back. You were there with Gabriel Godbody. I was with Mandy.’

  I groaned at the memory. ‘I can’t believe how long it took me to see through him.’

  Will shrugged. ‘He had you under a love potion. You would never have fallen for him otherwise. You’re way too good for a creep like him. Anyway, I’ve been thinking a lot. About all of those moments when things could have gone differently. When I could have reached out to you, and told you why I was putting distance between me and you. And this … this was one of those times. I asked you to sit next to me on that bench outside, but you wouldn’t. And I couldn’t blame you, either, after how awful I’d been. But that night, I was drunk, and I was tired – so tired of hiding the truth from you. I wanted to tell you everything.’

  My body moved automatically. Without thinking about it, I was at the desk beside him, shuffling through the rest of the sketches, standing so close to him that I could hear his heartbeat, and smell his nervous sweat. Or was that my nervous sweat? It had a definite tinge of squash soup to it.

  All of the pictures were of me, and Will. Moments we shared. Arguments we had. Kisses we stole. I paused at the picture of us, in a hidden corner at Winter Solstice, under the mistletoe, our faces masked. I remembered that moment. That kiss.

  I quickly moved to the next. This one was just me, standing in the carpark of Berrys’ Bottlers, nervously awaiting my job interview. It was the first day I met Will. His drawing had somehow managed to capture everything I felt that day. Back before I knew I’d received my power. Back when I’d resigned myself to life as an accountant, far away from the magical world.

  I put the picture aside, pushing the whole pile away from me. He was right. There were so many moments when things could have gone differently. But all of those moments were gone. ‘Will, there’s a reason I’m here today,’ I said, before letting it all out in a nervous rush, describing what had happened to Ariadne, Hailey and Veronica.

  When I’d finished telling the story, his face fell. ‘And people think it’s me. Don’t they? That’s why you’re here.’

  ‘No. Yes. Maybe. No one thinks anything for sure yet, Will. It’s just … it’s so very like what happened last winter.’ I carefully studied his reaction. He looked horrified. Ashen. The one thing he did not look was guilty. And in my gut, I knew – he wasn’t capable of such a thing. Sure, I could still feel the vast amount of power he’d acquired. But there was something softer about that power now. It had a different edge to it. A kinder edge. A kindness that felt like the Will I first knew.

  Swallowing, I moved from the desk. ‘But you were in a coma when you did that. You’re not now. And you have no connection to any of the sleepers, either, so I know it’s not you. It’s got to be something to do with Ariadne, and maybe this book she tried to destroy.’

  He stood up, shaking his head at me. ‘You hope it’s not me, Wanda. This is serious, and you know it. They sent you in here because you’re one of the very few who can kill me, right?’

  I gazed at the floor. ‘Possibly,’ I admitted. ‘But just because that’s why they might have wanted me to come, it doesn’t mean it’s why I actually came. I came because I’m afraid there’s more going on here, Will. Things we can’t see just yet. I came so I could go back and tell them it’s definitely not you. Because once I do, maybe they’ll finally stop blaming you and looking for the actual solution.’

  His head cocked to the side. ‘There’s something you missed out, isn’t there? You told me about the sleepers, and the book, and the cat who’s trying to stay awake to save his witch. You told me no power is being drained from them. You told me all of it, but … there’s something … something off. The world has changed, Wanda. I can feel it. There’s something new. Or old. Or …’ He reached a finger out and touched the air. ‘Something … stagnant.’

  I stared at him, thinking of the lack of a breeze, and all those leaves no longer falling. ‘Yeah. Yeah, there’s something weird in the air at the moment,’ I said. ‘The leaves have stopped falling. No, scratch that – some of them even reattached themselves to the trees. It’s weird as heck, Will. This is a mystery I can’t solve. But you know dark magic. Do you know of anything that could do all of this? Can you see a connection that I can’t?’

  He winced, his hand going to his head, pulling at his hair. ‘You know that feeling you get, when something really important is just out of your grasp?’

  ‘I get it frequently,’ I admitted. ‘Frankly, I have no idea how I’ve managed to solve as many mysteries as I have.’

  He let out a wry laugh, letting go of his hair and settling back down onto the chair. ‘Look, I read a whole lot of bad books when the Whisperer had control over me, Wanda. And even before then, when I was trying to break the spell that bonded my father’s life to yours, I studied some incredibly dark stuff. And I’m trying to mentally filter through them all, somehow. But to do that, to figure out what kind of magic could be at work, I need to know more. I know Veronica’s not especially powerful. What about Ariadne Albright? Is she as powerful as Hailey Byrd?’

  ‘I’m not sure. Not that I’ve heard of, though.’

  Will bit his lip, thinking. ‘I’m going to go out on a limb and guess that she isn’t. I don’t think she and Veronica have been chosen for their magic. There must be another connection. I really do feel like there’s something just in the corner of my mind. Something that rings a bell about all of this. I …’

  He trailed off, as there was a tapping on the glass. We both looked over to see the Queen of the Sióga waving in at us. On her bare feet, she moved to the door and walked into the cube. ‘Sorry to interrupt, but what with everything that’s going on, I thought I’d better check up on you, Will.’ She smiled at me. ‘It’s so nice to see you here, Wanda.’