Page 87
‘Stinks worse than a jack-o’-lantern left out till Yule!’ another agreed.
‘What?’
‘I warned you about your energy, Aiden.’ Ophelia stooped to pick something up and smacked it into his palm. ‘Because this is what happens when you don’t control it. Didn’t you feel the door guardian trying to warn you?’
Oh hell. ‘That’s what the hazelnuts and threads were?’
‘What the bat dung is going on?’
He stared at the thing she’d shoved into his hand. It looked like a crystal ball… apart from the dark, smoky crack down the middle of it. ‘I did that? Ophelia, I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to… How did I…?’
‘You… a gifted person… walked into Glimmers… a magic shop, Aiden, where everything is heavily charged and magically receptive… in a stinker of a mood with your energies wide open. If you weren’t someone the store usually welcomes, Glimmers might have actually attacked you!’
‘Really?’
Do you think we would joke? Mist had slunk out of the door and was pressed tightly against Ophelia’s legs, her fur puffed up and ears flattened as she watched him.
‘I’m so sorry.’
‘I know you are.’ Ophelia sighed. ‘Like I said… you have to watch your energies. Are you going to tell me what’s going on?’
‘I can’t.’ He didn’t even know how to start explaining everything – but he did know he wouldn’t betray Mia again.
‘Suit yourself. Clear off then.’
‘Ophelia, I’m really sorry…’
‘I know you are. It happens. Rarely, thankfully, but it happens. You need to recentre yourself and your energies. You’re no good to me or Rayenne like this.’
‘How do I do that?’
‘Take a walk. Meditate. Paddle in the river and let it wash this funk away. But clear your head, Aiden, because you cannot work like this. Not in Glimmers.’
‘Right. OK.’ He started trudging away.
At least he was stopped before he made it to the kitchen. I only dread to imagine the carnage he would have caused in the heart of his power.
‘Good point. Aiden, I strongly suggest you don’t try baking anything in the café either. In fact, you should stay away from kitchens in Hudsbury entirely until you’ve got your head on straight!’
He nodded and pulled his collar up.
Mia’s week was getting weirder. When she got up that morning, she found the green mug that Aiden had used the last time he’d stayed over sitting by the kettle next to hers, as if waiting for him to return. She picked it up and studied it, confused, then shook her head and put it away. She must have forgotten moving it.
When she went into the bathroom, she could have sworn – just for a moment or two – that she could smell the familiar scent of wood, spice and leather. But the ghostly fragrance disappeared as soon as she started the shower. Without her glasses or lenses she couldn’t be entirely sure, but as the glass started to steam up, she thought she saw the faint outline of a heart. But she didn’t want to deal with it, so closed her eyes and let the water cascade over her.
It didn’t work for long. When she poured milk over her cereal, it briefly swirled into the shape of a heart that matched the foamy one floating on top of her cappuccino. She stirred both rigorously, until they started behaving more normally, and carried on getting ready for work. She did well ignoring the oddities, methodically scraping the frost off her car while refusing to acknowledge the pattern of hearts that had decided to embellish her windows.
It carried on throughout her day: when she tripped over her handbag – which she was convinced she hadn’t left where it waited to trip her up – she was barely even surprised when the bruise that bloomed on her knee was a purple heart-like mark.
And, of course, when a patient had pressed a cup of tea and a biscuit into her hands during a home visit the china had been adorned with hearts and the biscuit a jammy dodger – complete with its red, jammy heart.
As her day wore on, she started to feel like she was being watched. Not in a creepy way – not exactly – but if she didn’t know better, she would have sworn she wasn’t entirely alone for most of the day. It was probably the sparrows. They seemed to have had an explosion in numbers and it was starting to feel like she couldn’t go anywhere without seeing their cheerful little faces. There were even some in the reception area that morning, cuddled up together on the doormat, apparently enjoying the warm air from the heater. There were more perched on her car when she went to start her rounds that day, and she had to shoo them away before she could safely drive.
It took Aiden another day, but he eventually managed to settle his energies enough to feel fairly confident about returning to Glimmers.
He parked his bike in the usual spot, and made it halfway down the street before something pinged off his nose. He looked around, then shrugged. Two more steps and the stinging hit his ear. ‘What the hell…?’
Three pumpkins sitting on the wall outside the library were grinning at him – far too innocently. He looked around and spotted fat white seeds on the floor. ‘Do you think that’s funny?’
