Colton hung his head, his lips moving soundlessly.
‘What did you say?’ Betty demanded.
‘I said it wasn’t for nothing.’ Colton finally met her gaze. ‘I know what you risked to get me out, and I wish I could repay you. I honestly do.’
‘Honest?’ Betty scoffed. ‘You wouldn’t know honesty if it bit you on the nose! You’re a lying, cheating—’
‘Lying cheat!’ Charlie put in.
‘You saw what it was like in there!’ Colton cried. His eyes were wild, haunted. ‘You think it’s tough being stuck in Crowstone? Try being locked in a tiny, stinking cell day in, day out! Bitten by fleas, existing on scraps! Then you’d know what it’s really like to be trapped.’ He shook his head bitterly. ‘Two years of my life wasted in that . . . that sewer. And the worst thing? I shouldn’t have been in there in the first place.’
‘How can you expect us to believe you’re innocent now?’ Fliss asked, aghast. ‘You’ve lied about everything else!’
‘One lie doesn’t mean everything else was.’ Colton stepped towards Fliss. ‘What, you’ve never told a lie?’ He threw up his hands, as if trying to rid himself of frustration. ‘What I did wasn’t right, and I do wish I could help you, whatever you might think of me—’
‘Not a lot,’ Betty interrupted, the familiar feeling of betrayal hooking its claws in. How could I have trusted him?
‘—But I lied because I had to. I saw a chance, and I took it. I reckon any of you would’ve done the same.’ He gave a thin, tired smile. ‘You say I’ve no honour, but I’m honouring my vow to get far, far away from this place and never set eyes on Crowstone again. We all do what we need to do, princess. There’s no room for honour in this world, not when it comes to looking after yourself.’
‘Perhaps not for you,’ Fliss said softly. ‘But that’s not what I believe. I won’t.’
Colton’s eyes glinted in the darkness. ‘Maybe one day you’ll change your mind.’
‘Or maybe you will,’ Fliss replied. A chill wind blew into the cave, creeping into sleeves and around ankles, nipping like a ferret.
‘You know, there was something else about the tower,’ Colton added, looking wretched. ‘The only other thing I know—’
‘Oh, save it,’ Betty retorted. ‘Like Fliss said, why would we trust another word from you?’
‘Fine. It was just that . . . no. You’re right, fine.’ He let out a weary sigh. ‘I hope you break the curse. And for what it’s worth, I wish you luck.’
‘Yes, well,’ Fliss muttered. ‘If we had any luck, which we don’t, we wouldn’t wish it back.’ She rubbed her nose angrily, her eyes shimmering with unshed tears.
Betty unclenched her teeth. ‘So, what now? You just sail away to a new life?’ Her voice was bitter. She couldn’t quite believe that this was it: the end of the dreams and hopes she’d built up in such a short time. This liar got to leave because of them. Why should he win his freedom when they couldn’t? In that moment she hated him enough to consider anonymously tipping off the warders once they returned.
‘I’m surprised you care enough to ask,’ he said.
‘We don’t.’ Betty glared at him. ‘I just want an idea of when the warders are likely to catch up with you. That’s if you even get past the rocks.’
She was pleased to see the worry lines on Colton’s face deepen.
‘Rocks?’
‘Surely you knew?’ She watched as he hurriedly began loading the boat with sacking and food provisions. His movements were jerky and rushed.
‘I’ll take my chances,’ he muttered, more to himself than to any of the sisters. His face was tight; a muscle in his neck twitched. ‘This whole night . . . this hasn’t gone to plan.’
‘How dare you complain?’ Betty seethed. ‘Because of us, everything has gone to plan – for you!’
‘It was meant to be easy!’ Colton shot back. His bravado had deserted him, leaving only a scared boy. ‘I had it all figured out until you brought Charlie along!’
‘Brought Charlie?’ Betty snapped. ‘We didn’t want to, believe me! But like I said, she’s the only one who can work the bag.’
‘We’d never have got you out otherwise!’ Fliss added.
Colton whipped to face her, his voice hoarse. ‘I wasn’t to know that, was I?’
Understanding crashed over Betty like a wave. ‘You . . . you were planning to steal the bag, weren’t you?’
He hesitated, unable to look at either of them. ‘Yes. But that was before. Until tonight I thought anyone could use it. I didn’t know Charlie was the only one of you who could. It’s the truth, I swear.’
‘Oh!’ Fliss sniffed, looking outraged.
Betty’s skin prickled. She wanted to scream at him, to thump him, but her body remained rigid. What a fool she’d been to let herself be taken in, when she had seen how badly he wanted to escape. Her own desperation had blinded her to his. ‘Don’t pretend you actually care what happens to us. For all we know, you might have thought of making Charlie take you somewhere to save your own skin!’
He gave a short, choked laugh. ‘I may be a thief and a liar, but I’m not a murderer! I wouldn’t make Charlie take me away from Crowstone, or any of you. I couldn’t. I’ll have to take my chances out on the water.’
‘Sounds like my kind of plan,’ a voice growled behind them.
Betty spun on her heels, her breath caught in dread.
Jarrod stood a little way into the cave’s entrance, one hand clamped over a squirming Charlie’s mouth.
‘No!’ Fliss gasped.
He grinned, displaying his checkerboard teeth.
Colton stepped forward. ‘Y-you can come with me,’ he said hoarsely. ‘We’ll leave in the boat together . . . just let the girls go.’
‘I wasn’t talking about the boat,’ Jarrod scoffed. ‘I was talking about the bag.’
Chapter Sixteen
Gone
‘NO!’ BETTY CRIED, HORRIFIED. ‘YOU can’t take the bag!’ After what they had lost, she wasn’t about to lose this, too. She darted forward and snatched it from a crate where Charlie had left it. Curiously, Jarrod didn’t seem bothered.
‘Of course I can.’ Jarrod cast a wolfish look at Fliss. ‘I can do anything I want now.’ He gave Charlie a little shake, like there might be money rattling inside her. ‘Pumpkin here can take me anywhere.’
‘She can’t.’ Fliss’s voice was low, terrified. ‘We can’t leave Crowstone. If we do . . .’
‘It’s true,’ Betty added, struggling to speak above a whisper as the danger of Jarrod’s intentions set in. She had thought things couldn’t get any worse – another mistake. ‘If we leave, we die. We’re—’
‘Cursed,’ Jarrod cut in, his voice dripping with sarcasm. ‘I heard.’ He smirked. ‘It’s amazing, the things you can learn just by keeping quiet.’
Jarrod had been busy, thought Betty. Not just wriggling free of his bonds, but listening, too.
‘If it even exists, did you really believe this fool could help you break it? He lured you here with lies,’ Jarrod said cruelly. ‘And you fell for them. Luckily for me, he’s too much of a coward to use the bag – but I’m not.’
‘You’re not having it,’ Betty said in as fierce a voice as she could manage. But instead of sounding like a tiger she sounded like a feeble kitten. ‘Take the boat and take your chances on the water.’
Jarrod grinned down at Charlie. ‘I’d say my chances are very, very good.’
He’s got no intention of letting us go, Betty thought. Hopelessness seeped through her. Jarrod knew his freedom would cost lives, and it was a price he was happy to pay.
‘Did you hear anything we just said?’ Colton’s voice rose. ‘She’ll die!’
Jarrod tilted his head to one side, considering. ‘How soon would she die?’
‘By sunset,’ Fliss said hoarsely.
He nodded. ‘Good. That gives me a whole day to get as far away as possible. Plenty of snappy little journeys, so I’ll get my use ou
t of you.’
‘But she’s just a child!’ Fliss gasped. ‘How could you?’
Charlie stopped struggling and glanced at Betty, then Fliss. ‘Will it . . . will it hurt?’ she asked, trembling.
This can’t be happening, Betty screamed silently. It can’t . . . but it is. And all because of me.
Tears streamed down Fliss’s face. She reached out to comfort Charlie, but Jarrod snatched her away.
‘You’re despicable.’ Colton took a step towards Jarrod, his eyes blazing. ‘And you’re not leaving this island with her. I won’t let you.’
‘Nor will I.’ Betty stepped closer to Colton, feeling something that was almost gratitude. He might be a lying swine, but she could see from his own horror that he wasn’t evil. Jarrod towered over them both, but perhaps if they fought hard enough, together, Charlie might be able to scramble free.
‘Brave talk.’ Jarrod’s voice hardened. ‘But in the time it’d take for you to reach me an arm can easily be snapped.’
The words stopped Betty and Colton in their tracks.
‘Won’t do it!’ Charlie snarled tearfully. Jarrod grabbed her collar as she went to bite him again and shook her.
Fury, red and blazing, seared through Betty’s fear at the sight of her little sister being handled like a rat and the threats being made. ‘Don’t you dare hurt my sister!’
Jarrod looked bored. ‘No one needs to get hurt as long as they do as I say.’
‘I won’t take you anywhere!’ Charlie cussed, using words she could only have heard from Granny. ‘And if you break my arm I can’t work the bag, can I, stupid?’
‘True,’ Jarrod agreed. He glowered down at Charlie, who glowered back up at him equally as fiercely. ‘But I never said it would be your arm.’ His free hand shot out and seized Fliss, twisting her arm behind her back. She cried out, knees buckling.
Charlie stopped squirming and held still. ‘Let her go. Please!’
‘That’s better.’ Jarrod relaxed his hold on Fliss a little. ‘So, now I know how to get this little savage to do as she’s told, we’ll have some extra company. Sweet cheeks here can keep the brat under control.’ He paused, chuckling. ‘Although she’s mighty nice to look at, too.’
‘Then take me as well!’ Betty cried, for the thought of her two sisters being whisked away to their fate and leaving Betty alone was too terrible to take.
‘I don’t think so.’ Jarrod eyed Colton. ‘You keep the one with the smart mouth. If she’s as clever as she thinks she is, she’ll break the curse before sunset, won’t she?’
‘No!’ Charlie yelled, reaching for Betty. ‘No, no, no!’
‘Now. Let’s try this the nice way, shall we?’ Jarrod ruffled Charlie’s hair in an almost fatherly gesture. ‘When you’re ready, pumpkin. Take us to Windy Bottom.’ He held out a hand to Betty, motioning for the bag.
Gritting her teeth, Betty handed it over.
His voice changed, becoming harsher. ‘Any mischief, taking us back to the prison, or somewhere else you’ve dreamed up . . . anywhere but where I’ve said, and it won’t be your pretty sister’s arm I snap. It’ll be her neck.’
Charlie’s bottom lip trembled. Strands of tangled hair stuck to the tears on her face. ‘Betty?’
Die now, or die later. Betty stared back at her sisters helplessly. We can’t win, she realised. If we leave Crowstone, we die. If we don’t obey Jarrod . . .
‘Just . . . just do it.’ Her voice broke. ‘Just . . . take him wherever he wants to go.’
‘B-but . . . the curse,’ Fliss began.
‘Do as he says,’ Betty whispered. ‘It will be all right.’ As she said it she felt hopeless, as though something inside her had broken beyond repair. Nothing was all right. If only she had never listened to Colton. Her sisters were going to die because of her. And . . . Granny. Her heart ached. How would she ever tell Granny what she had caused?
‘It’s not all right.’ Fliss was fighting tears, holding them back – just – for Charlie’s sake, Betty was sure.
‘I’ll figure it out.’ Betty was babbling now, grasping at the thinnest of hopes. ‘I’ll put all this right. I swear it.’ She gave Fliss a meaningful look. If Fliss could keep her wits about her, then there was a chance she could use the mirror to tell Betty where they were. And then, somehow, Betty would have to find them, though she hadn’t the first clue how. All she knew was that she didn’t want Fliss and Charlie to give up, which meant she couldn’t, either. Betty took a deep breath and addressed Jarrod. ‘As for you, when I catch up with you – and don’t think I won’t – you’ll pay for this.’
Jarrod smiled, not threatened in the least. ‘Promises, promises.’ He bent down to Charlie, who glared at him hatefully. ‘Now listen, pumpkin,’ he said softly. ‘When I hand you this bag, you’re going to take us to the place I just told you about. Do you remember what it’s called?’
‘Windy Bottom,’ Charlie growled.
‘Very good.’ He straightened up with a warning look at Betty. ‘Stand back.’
She refused to look at him, instead focusing on what might be her last look at her two sisters. Too late, she realised she had spent her life wishing for bigger things, for what could be bigger than family? Than love, and being loved? What use was adventure with no one to share in it? Along with Granny, her sisters were all she had. Her whole world, which was about to be torn away . . . and opened up to the curse, the very thing they’d been trying to undo. Now, with one command, Jarrod was about to set the terrible event into motion.
‘I’ll find you,’ she promised, stumbling back. Though it was meant with every fibre, they all knew that finding them would not be enough. Even if she could save them from Jarrod, the curse would still kill them. ‘Wherever you go, I’ll find you.’
In a voice that suddenly sounded weary and much older, Charlie spoke quietly: ‘Windy Bottom.’
In an eye blink the three figures were gone. The only proof they had ever been there were their footprints in the sand.
Betty’s vision blurred. And no matter how hard she tried to stop crying, or to tell herself that tears wouldn’t bring her sisters back, she was helpless to do anything but sob.
Her sisters were gone and the curse had been triggered. Unless Betty found a way to break it, Charlie and Fliss would be dead by sunset.
Chapter Seventeen
The Devil’s Teeth
A MINUTE PASSED, OR PERHAPS two. She couldn’t tell. And yet time was more important now than ever before. Time was her sisters’ lives, and it was ticking away. Bringing them back before sunset wouldn’t save them . . . unless Betty found a way to undo the curse. But at least she’d get to see them again. Perhaps that was the best she could hope for.
She was crying so hard that she never saw Colton moving closer to her. The touch of his hand on her arm came as a surprise. She blinked away her tears, sniffing. He patted her awkwardly, the actions of someone who had forgotten how to be near people, but the fact that he was trying brought her some small comfort.
‘I’m sorry,’ he whispered. ‘I’m so, so sorry. This is all my fault. I should never have brought you here. I lied, but I never wanted any of you to get hurt. You have to believe me.’
‘I do,’ she managed, between sobs. Colton had acted despicably, but she knew he had done so out of desperation and, despite the fact he had tricked them she had seen his disgust when Jarrod had announced his plan. More than that, he had tried to stop it. For this, she couldn’t hate him, even if she didn’t forgive him. It was Jarrod who had triggered the curse, not Colton.
It’s not over yet, she thought. There’s still time before sunset . . . time to at least get my sisters out of Jarrod’s clutches and stop him getting away with this. And snivelling in a cave wasn’t going to save any of them.
She stopped crying and steeled her voice. ‘I need that boat.’
Colton gaped. ‘The boat? Surely you’re not . . . ?’
‘I’m going after them.’
‘But you can’t le
ave Crowstone! You know what that would mean. You could go back to your granny, try and get help from the warders, tip them off somehow—’
‘There’s no time,’ Betty snapped. ‘It’s hours before the first ferry! I have to help my sisters and break the curse before it’s too late. If it even can be broken.’
‘My father once told me that everything that’s made can be broken,’ Colton said softly. ‘And most things that are broken can be mended. There has to be a way.’
Betty nodded wretchedly. Why couldn’t I have just lived with staying in Crowstone? she asked herself. Charlie and Fliss could have. But because she hadn’t accepted it, they might not live at all. Deep down, she couldn’t let go of the hope that the Widdershins curse could be undone. ‘The question is, can I do it in time?’
‘We.’ Colton exhaled shakily. ‘Can we do it in time?’
‘We?’ she croaked.
‘I’m coming with you.’
‘But . . . why?’
‘You know why. I’m responsible for this. If your sisters die, I wouldn’t be able to live with myself.’ He shrugged helplessly. ‘Besides, there’s only one boat.’
Betty bit back a sarcastic remark. She didn’t doubt Colton’s guilt, but saving his own neck was still his driving force, though she couldn’t really blame him. Crowstone punishments were always harsh. The penalty for escaping was death. Helping someone escape meant prison time, usually followed by banishment to Torment.
‘All right.’ In her mind’s eye she pictured the maps she had spent so many hours poring over. Finally, they had paid off. ‘Windy Bottom is north, not too far from Marshfoot on the other side of the water. Once we’re across we’ll need a faster way to travel, but I’d say we can make it by late morning.’ If we make it across the water alive, she thought grimly. ‘The question is, will Jarrod still be there? With the bag he could be anywhere in an instant.’
‘If that was the first place he thought of then he must have links to it,’ Colton said thoughtfully. ‘Perhaps he grew up there, or had family. My guess is he’ll hide out for a while.’
A Pinch of Magic Page 14
