I went inside and she closed the door behind me. I’d seen worse flats, but it wasn’t exactly where I would’ve chosen for her to live. There was little furniture, no real tchotchke to add any warmth or personality to the place, and the faint aroma of damp hung in the air. Why was she punishing herself like this?

  ‘What do you want?’ she said.

  ‘Where’s Dominic?’

  ‘Out walking the dog.’

  ‘I see.’ Now that I was in front of her, it was like I’d lost all my nerve. I didn’t know what to say. How to even start articulating what was in my head.

  ‘I’m not coming home,’ she said.

  ‘Edie—’

  ‘No. You lied to me to protect yourself.’

  ‘Is that what he’s told you? That I lied for myself?’ I shook my head, pulling my ponytail tighter to keep my hair off my shoulders. ‘That lie ate me up every single day. How did Dominic even find out about it? Don’t you find it suspicious he knew something that private about our family?’ The more I thought about it, the more nervous it made me. How had he found out? ‘It was a knee-jerk decision I made when I still saw it as my job to protect you from things that go bump in the night. If you’d found out a ghost had killed your dad, would you have felt as comfortable talking to a ghost like Thomas? Or would you always have been looking over your shoulder, wondering if one would kill you, too?’

  She pursed her lips, staring at a darkened patch on the worn beige carpet. I so didn’t know what had caused that. It looked like it’d been there a while.

  Whoever had decorated the flat was definitely a fan of the 1980s. That was when it looked like the carpet had last been updated it was so threadbare. And Edie was walking around on it barefoot. Disgusting.

  ‘That doesn’t make what you did right.’

  ‘I’m not saying it was right! I’m sorry for what I did, but I can’t go back in time and change it. While you’re still figuring your powers out you’re at risk. You’re safer at home.’

  ‘What use are you? You barely even have any powers! At least Dominic can still cast spells!’

  I almost told her about Fadil leeching my powers. But I didn’t, because it wouldn’t change anything. It wouldn’t make her words any less powerful. Or change that she was technically right. I was powerless. Not that that made Dominic the right person to protect her, either.

  ‘It’s not just about magical protection, Edie. What about providing somewhere healthy for you to live? Looking after you as a person?’

  There was a flicker of something across her face. I wasn’t sure what. It disappeared before I had the chance to work out what it was. ‘I’m fine here.’

  ‘This place is disgusting. And boring. It’s not you.’

  ‘You don’t know me,’ she mumbled.

  ‘And Dominic does? Do you really know who he is? Other than another necromancer? Just because you have a few things in common that doesn’t make him an angel.’

  ‘It makes him more useful than you!’

  ‘Do you blame me, is that it?’

  She waved her arms up and down. ‘Of course I blame you! You lied to me, you never taught me how to use my powers, and you kept me away from Dad! How can I not blame you?’

  ‘I couldn’t teach you how to use something I didn’t know you had. My mother lied to me far more than you seem to realise. I found out most things at the same time as you.’

  Edie snorted. ‘Don’t make this about you.’

  ‘I’m not. I’m saying I didn’t know as much as you seem to think, and neither did your dad.’

  ‘Are you really telling me Gran knew stuff and kept it from you?’ said Edie.

  ‘No. I don’t think she knew either. Not about your powers, anyway. But she could’ve helped us figure it out. I asked her multiple times. She didn’t want to know. My powers were useless, she didn’t like your dad, and so she refused to get involved.’

  Edie hesitated. She’d seen my mum ignore her, be rude to everyone, and act like the only thing that mattered was what she thought. Was that enough for Edie to believe me?

  ‘Why would she do that?’

  ‘Because my mother loves to play games. She always has. The only thing that matters to her is power.’ And anything she could do for her own entertainment and get away with. Psychopath.

  ‘Isn’t she too old to play games?’ said Edie.

  She was asking a lot of questions without seeming super angry. I was still metaphorically tiptoeing, but I hoped that was a positive sign. Like she was open to at least listening, and hopefully, coming home as a result of those answers.

  ‘Some people never grow out of it. She was one of them.’

  Sad, but true. My own mother was the queen of manipulation, even in the afterlife.

  ‘That doesn’t excuse what you did.’ Her back stiffened, as if something inside of her had switched. ‘You can’t use her as an excuse to play the exact same games.’

  ‘That’s not what I did! Don’t you see that?’

  ‘No. I don’t. You can go now.’

  ‘Edie!’

  She folded her arms and turned away from me. ‘I’m not interested, Mum. I live here now.’

  ‘Look around you. Can this place ever really be your home?’

  She glanced around her but didn’t say anything. How could she? Faded paint, worn wallpaper, threadbare carpet, old furniture. It wasn’t a life anyone would choose. Not unless they were desperate.

  I didn’t know what else to say. I could’ve dragged her, but that would’ve just made things worse. It wouldn’t have gotten her to see my point of view.

  So, everything inside of me protesting, I turned away and walked out, leaving my daughter to fend for herself. If that was what she wanted, that was what she’d get. I just hoped our decisions wouldn’t backfire on me. Or her.

  8

  Edie

  ‘How dare she just turn up like that! Who does she think she is?’ I paced the living room, careful not to trip over Dave, who was chewing an antler. Right in the middle of my path.

  Dominic leaned back on the sofa, his arms spread out across the back of it. ‘Don’t you see? She’s jealous that you’re more powerful than she is.’

  I stopped pacing and stared at him. ‘You’re right. It makes total sense. Everyone around her is more powerful than she is. We’ve even met ghosts who can do more than she can. Why wouldn’t she be jealous?’

  Dominic patted the sofa beside him. I went over and joined him, leaning into his shoulder. He put his arm around me. Some of the tension from my body dissipated, but I was still buzzing with anger from my argument with Mum. She just didn’t get it. She never got it. Everything was always about her. Yet she blamed Gran and called her selfish. Pot, kettle, much?

  ‘She’ll never understand you. It’s too hard for her to see through her jealousy,’ said Dominic. ‘You and me? We’re on the same wavelength. We get each other.’

  ‘I just wish she’d act like an adult for once, you know? She’s the grownup! She’s supposed to be the mature one!’ I waved my arms in the air, fully aware I probably looked melodramatic but not caring.

  Dominic sighed. ‘If only. One thing I learnt from my parents is that people are never as mature as you think they are.’

  ‘Doesn’t it bother you? Them not being around, I mean?’

  He shrugged. ‘Why would it? I’ve got you and Dave. That’s all I need.’

  I smiled, my stomach filling with butterflies. ‘You’re right. That’s all I need, too.’

  He squeezed my shoulder. ‘Is your mum still with that witch, Ben?’

  ‘I’m not sure.’ I shifted in his arms so that I could look up at him as I spoke. ‘Fadil seemed to suggest they’d stopped speaking, but he didn’t seem to know why.’ It was weird. Things had been really good between them when I’d left. How soon after had she and Ben fallen out?

  Whatever. I didn’t care. She deserved it.

  ‘Maybe her jealousy is coming back to haunt her,’ Dominic suggested.

  ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘Your family has a Book of Shadows, right?’

  I nodded. ‘Yeah.’

  ‘Well, that means there’s a witch somewhere in your ancestry. Your mum is probably jealous she’s got that but she can’t use half the spells in it,’ he said.

  ‘Yeah, maybe,’ I said.

  ‘It makes sense, doesn’t it? They must’ve fallen out pretty soon after you moved out.’

  ‘It’s a shame. I like Ben. He’s a nice guy,’ I said.

  Dominic tutted. ‘Isn’t that your mum’s pattern? To ruin relationships? Your mum, your dad, her second husband, Ben, you…’

  ‘Yeah,’ I said with a sigh. A part of me really did miss Mum. I’d spoken to her every day since I was born. Ignoring her incessant text messages was hard. But I had to draw boundaries so that I could process what had happened. If she didn’t respect them, that was her problem. I wasn’t going to give her what she wanted just to make her feel better. It was my life; I was entitled to my own space.

  Dominic was helping me to get that space and he was the only person who seemed willing to teach me how to use my powers. I had to take that opportunity. I had no idea if I’d ever get another one. Plus I liked his company.

  Dominic rubbed my arm. ‘It’s not your fault. Don’t blame yourself.’

  ‘It’s hard not to when her problem is with me, you know?’

  He nodded. ‘Despite what everyone preaches, parents don’t always know best. Adults just like to brainwash us with that so that they can tell us what to do. But the older I get, the more I realise just how many of them are making it up as they go along.’

  ‘Really?’

  ‘Oh yeah,’ he said, sitting upright. He wiped at his nose with the back of his hand. It was covered in blood.

  ‘Are you all right?’

  He rolled his eyes. ‘Could you get me a tissue, please?’

  I scurried into the kitchen, grabbed a bunch of kitchen roll, and gave it to him.

  Dave nudged Dominic’s side, as if he knew something was wrong. It was one of the few times I’d seen him show any interest in someone. Dominic put one hand on his dog, and used the other to hold the tissue to his nose.

  ‘What do you think caused it?’ I asked.

  ‘Just moved funny,’ he said a little too quickly. I was pretty sure moving funny didn’t cause nose bleeds, but I let it go.

  He’d been tired a lot lately, and seemed to be really sweaty and bruise easily. I'd never noticed it before, but I suppose it was harder to hide when you lived with someone. Was something wrong with him? Maybe he hadn’t told me because he really did want to help me instead of burdening me with his problems. He was being selfless, unlike everyone else in my life.

  I got him a glass of water, then sat back down beside Dave, who refused to move from his spot next to Dominic. I stroked the border terrier’s coarse fur absentmindedly. Dave didn’t even acknowledge my touch. Weird dog.

  ‘What was I saying? Oh. Yeah. Adults making it up as they go along. They preach like they know everything, but it’s bullshit. They’re just acting like that as a way to control us. Most of them don’t know any more than we do.’

  ‘Then why lie about it?’

  He sipped his water, then put the half-empty glass on the worn carpet beside the sofa. ‘Pride, probably. And copying what their parents did. They don’t know any better, right? It becomes a vicious circle people don’t want to break out of. They like the illusion of power that comes with pretending they know everything. But it’s all bullshit. It’s all a facade.’

  I nodded, twisting to face him and sitting on my leg. ‘Yeah, that makes sense. It’s so stupid. And feels like a lot of effort to keep up.’

  ‘Well, yeah, but it starts with Santa and ends with—’

  ‘Lying about how your dad died?’

  Dominic stifled a laugh. ‘I’m going to guess and say most people’s examples aren’t that extreme, but yeah. Once someone gets away with a small lie, it doesn’t take long until it spirals into something else. Even if the origins are innocent enough.’

  ‘But lies always come out, and they’re never that innocent by the end of it, are they?’

  Dominic shook his head. ‘Nope. Never.’

  9

  Niamh

  Without Edie around, I felt hollow. I’d spent nearly half my life raising her, and it’d all been thrown in my face thanks to a manipulative narcissist. Could Edie really not see what he was doing to her? I just hoped he was teaching her to use her powers for good and not to hurt people. That was my biggest fear. If he taught her how to use her powers to hurt people, who knew how much damage she could do? Or if she’d be able to stop herself when the lure of her powers became too strong?

  I turned the corner into our street and noticed something unusual outside our house. A man was staring into our living room window.

  No, not a man. A ghost.

  I shuddered, hoping it was a misunderstanding and he’d previously lived there or something. He was dressed in the scruffy shirt and trousers I’d come to associate with the ghosts from First Pit, the mine in town that had collapsed in the early 1800s. Although I knew my house hadn’t been built then, that didn’t mean something else he was gravitating towards hadn’t been there two hundred years ago.

  After checking no one else was around to see me talking to air, I walked over to him. ‘Hello.’

  He didn’t move. Not even twitch. There was no recognition from him whatsoever that he’d heard what I’d just said.

  ‘Hello?’ I repeated.

  Silence.

  I tilted my head so that I could get a better look at him. His expression was vacant.

  Suppressing a shudder, I ran inside. Tilly jumped up, barked at me, went to the lounge window, then back to me. Even though she was too short to see through the window properly, she could sense the ghost’s presence. And she wasn’t happy about it. Bad sign. I felt even more guilty for leaving her. What if the ghost had hurt her while I was out?

  I picked her up and checked her over. I’d never forgive myself if a ghost hurt her while I was gone. At least Spectre was already dead, so they couldn’t do any further damage to him. Tilly wriggled in my arms, as hyper as ever, and there didn’t appear to be a scratch on her. Phew.

  Spectre walked in, looked up at me, and trotted back into the living room. He’d noticed the ghosts too, then.

  As much as I didn’t want to go into the living room, I also wanted to close the curtains so that whoever the ghost was, he couldn’t see anything.

  I put Tilly down, ran into the living room, and slammed the curtains shut. It was impossible not to see the ghost’s face staring into my lounge in the split second that I’d been in front of the open curtains, though. It was even creepier when standing directly in front of him. His eyes were unblinking, his mouth slightly open. He didn’t move even the slightest.

  ‘Javi!’ I called. If anyone could talk to a ghost, it was a dead necromancer.

  ‘You rang?’

  I jumped, turning to see Javi floating on the other side of the living room. I hadn’t expected him to appear that fast. Or for me to be so jumpy.

  ‘What’s wrong?’

  Was I that transparent?

  Don’t answer that.

  Tilly sat at Javi’s feet, her tail wagging and her tongue hanging out. He was one of her favourite people even though she hardly saw him and he couldn’t even fuss her. Go figure.

  ‘Go look outside.’

  Javi frowned, but stuck his head out of the living room wall anyway. It was a strange sight, his bottom half sticking through the wall. Seeing half a ghost as they went through a wall never got any less weird. Especially when they appeared as opaque as Javi did.

  He pulled his head back in. ‘Now that’s strange. When did he appear?’

  ‘While I was out. I wasn’t even gone that long. Did he say anything to you?’

  Javi shook his head. ‘Not a word. Didn’t even move. It’s creepy. Like he’s there but…not there.’

  ‘Another zombie ghost?’ I suggested. I’d been attacked by one at school and Javi had helped me exorcise him, so he was all too familiar with the concept.

  ‘Could be.’ He floated around the room, his ghostly version of pacing while he thought. ‘But why just stand there, staring in? It’s not like someone can see through the ghost’s eyes to you.’ His eyes went wide. ‘Can they?’

  ‘I don’t know. That’s what unnerves me.’

  Javi pursed his lips. ‘How did it go with Edie, anyway?’

  ‘How much did you see?’ My body exhausted, I sat opposite on the coffee table. Tilly jumped up and curled into me. Spectre materialised and hovered above the arm of the sofa opposite.

  Javi rubbed the ghost cat behind the ears. ‘Enough. I’m worried about her.’

  ‘Me too. I don’t know much about this Dominic kid, but I know enough to not trust him.’

  Tilly nudged my hand. Her little hint that she wanted some attention. Too soft to say no, I bent down and rubbed her back. It didn’t take her long to roll over for a belly rub. Laughing at her despite everything going on, I did as she asked. She didn’t need to suffer because everything else was falling apart.

  ‘There’s something shady about him,’ Javi agreed. ‘But I can’t seem to find out what.’

  ‘That concerns me,’ I said. Javi had always been a good judge of character. If he disliked someone, there was usually a good reason. Which just made me even more nervous that she was not just hanging around with Dominic, but living with him. What was he doing to her? How much was he brainwashing her?

  ‘Can you believe she kicked me out? Me! Her own mother! Who does she think she is?’ My voice went up as I spoke, turning into a shrill shriek by the time I said the last couple of words.

  Javi stifled a laugh. I glared at him. ‘Sorry.’

  As he should be. I wasn’t trying to be funny. It was not the time to be laughing or finding anything remotely funny. Our daughter was being brainwashed by a stranger. We didn’t know the full extent of his magical powers. Or his powers of manipulation. But the latter alone seemed pretty damn strong from everything I’d seen so far. Why else would she have moved out?

 

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