by Isobel Bird
“Thank you for your song, and for your dance.”
Everyone looked around to see where the voice was coming from. Suddenly Nora stepped from behind the throne and stood beside her sister. Seeing her, Bryan and Fiona Reilly started to step forward, but Nora held up a hand and they froze in place.
“Don’t come near,” she said, her voice harsh.
“Nora,” Mrs. Reilly said.
Nora laughed. “In body, perhaps, but that is all. I am Mary O’Shea, and tonight is my night. I have waited many years for this moment, and thanks to all of you, it has come.”
Nora looked down at the form of Lucy Reilly. “Tonight I will take what was taken from me by my sister on that Midwinter’s Eve so long ago. Tonight I will come to my full power. You have called the blackness in for me. You have raised the energy I need to complete my task. For that I thank you,” she said, smiling wickedly.
Nobody moved as Nora bent down next to her sister. It was as if they really were all frozen, held captive by the spell of winter and powerless to do anything to stop her. She lifted her hands over Lucy and began to speak.
“Cold of winter, kiss of death,” she intoned. “Blackest hour, frozen breath.”
A mist appeared around Lucy and she stirred slightly, her head moving to the side. Nora ran her hands over Lucy’s body and the mist rose, surrounding her hands. Lucy seemed to be having trouble breathing.
“Sister in this frozen hour,” Nora cried out in a voice filled with both anger and triumph. “Give to me your magic powers.”
The mist around Lucy began to shimmer with a cold silver light. Her face contorted, as if she were in pain. The light moved into Nora’s hands, and her face took on an expression of pleasure.
“Yes,” she said. “It is working.”
Lucy began to writhe on the floor. As more and more of the silver light poured out of her, her body began to fade, as if she were being drained away. Sasha, Annie, Cooper, and Kate watched in terror as she grew fainter and fainter. But still they couldn’t move, could do nothing to help their friend.
“Sing.”
A faint voice broke the silence. On the throne, Sophia’s lips moved slightly as she said again, “Sing. Call back the light.”
For a moment there was no response. Then Cooper’s voice came through the stillness, faint and strained, as if she had to sing through ice or through the howling wind. “Spark of light, return to us,” she said. “Break the spell of winter’s cold. As the longest night must end, come and warm the frozen world.”
As Cooper sang, her voice grew stronger, as if the cold that surrounded them was melting away. Soon others began singing as well, joining their voices with hers, and the room filled with the sound of people calling to the light.
Nora looked up, an expression of anger on her face. The silver mist began to recede, resettling around Lucy’s body.
“No!” Nora said. “I won’t allow this.”
She began to speak her chant again, her invocation of dark and cold cutting through the song being sung by the people in the circle.
“Cold of winter, kiss of death,” she said.
“Spark of light, return to us,” countered the singers.
On the floor, Lucy began to stir. Seeing this, Nora looked around frantically. “Sister, in this frozen hour!” she cried. “Give to me your magic powers.”
Suddenly the candles surrounding the Queen of Winter’s throne flared up, becoming brighter than ever. Nora threw back her hands to cover her face.
“Sister,” said a voice. “It is over.”
Alice appeared before the candles, her ghostly form illuminated from behind by their glow so that she seemed filled with fire. Seeing her, Nora stood up.
“You cannot come into this place,” she said. “You have no power here.”
“They give me power,” Alice said, indicating the singers around them. “They give me strength—the strength of the returning light.”
Nora looked back at Lucy, who was starting to sit up. She lunged at her, but Alice leaped forward and caught her in an embrace. When she put her arms around Nora, Nora screamed as if she were being burned. Then she collapsed beside Lucy.
A moment later a ghostly form rose from the body of Nora Reilly. Mary O’Shea stood before her sister. She looked down at her insubstantial body and an expression of hatred and defeat came over her.
“It is over,” said Alice.
Sophia rose from the throne and stepped down. Facing the two ghosts she said, “The light has returned. The darkness is driven away. Go now, both of you.”
The flames of the candles seemed to come together, forming a doorway of flame. Alice turned to it and smiled. Mary backed away.
“No,” she said. “I will not be defeated this way.”
Alice turned to her sister. Reaching out, she grabbed Mary’s wrist. Mary pulled away, but Alice held tightly. Then she stepped forward into the doorway of light. Mary was pulled along with her, crying out in anguish. But as the light touched her, she faded away. A moment later the flames died down again and the candles flickered gently in the stillness.
The singers stopped singing and stared at Sophia. She looked around the room. “Tonight the light has won,” she said. “I know many of you do not understand what has just happened, but know that because of you a long darkness has been lifted.”
She knelt down beside Nora and Lucy Reilly, both of whom were struggling to sit up. Their parents rushed to them and helped them, holding the girls in their arms.
“What happened?” Lucy asked, looking around.
“I don’t really know, honey,” said her father, hugging her to him.
“Lucy?” Nora said, rubbing her eyes. “Is Lucy all right?”
“Yes,” Mrs. Reilly said, stroking her daughter’s hair. “You’re both all right.”
Cooper, Sasha, Annie, and Kate ran forward to join Sophia and the Reillys. Sophia put her arms around them. “I wasn’t sure we were going to pull that off for a minute there,” she said. “But you guys did it.”
“We all did it,” Kate said, looking around at the assembled faces, some of whom seemed very perplexed by the incidents of the past hour.
“We’ll explain it to them later,” Sophia said. “Right now we have some partying to do.”
As if confirming her statement, there was a flicker of light and suddenly the electricity came on. A cheer went up from the crowd as people rushed to turn on more lights. Then Cooper looked out one of the windows.
“The storm is over,” she said. “The snow has stopped.”
Nora and Lucy were standing up now, supported by their parents. The girls went over to them.
“How are you guys?” Annie asked.
“I don’t remember much,” Nora said. “I feel like I’ve been asleep for days. What happened?”
“Later,” Lucy said, yawning. “Let’s just say you owe me big time.”
“Now what?” Sasha asked Sophia.
“Now we party,” answered Sophia, smiling as the drummers began to play once more.
Morning dawned clear and sunny over the hotel. When Kate, Sasha, Cooper, and Annie went downstairs for breakfast they found Nora and Lucy sitting together at a table. After getting their own plates, they joined the sisters.
“Lucy told me what happened,” Nora said, sounding embarrassed. “I’m really sorry, you guys. I feel like a total idiot. I should never have believed what Mary told me.”
“It’s okay,” Kate said. “Ghosts can be pretty persuasive.”
“And pushy,” added Sasha, making them laugh.
“Do you think we’ll see either of them again?” Lucy asked.
Cooper shook her head. “I think last night was the big good-bye,” she said. “Wherever they are now, they’re on their own.”
“But look on the bright side,” Annie said. “You still have the murdered honeymooners to talk to if you get bored.”
Lucy and Nora looked at one another. “I think we’ve had enough of ghosts for a l
ong time,” Nora said.
“You’re not giving up on magic altogether though, are you?” Sasha asked.
Again the sisters looked at one another for a moment. “No way,” they said in unison.
“Well, here’s a little something to get you going,” said Cooper. She placed Alice’s tattered notebook on the desk. “This baby contains all the spells Alice did. I bet you can learn a lot from it.”
“Thanks,” Lucy said.
“Consider it a belated birthday present,” said Cooper. “We didn’t really get to do a real birthday last night, you know.”
“I got the best gift I could ever get, though,” Nora said, putting her arm around her sister. “I got Lucy back.”
“And I got you back,” Lucy said. “And none too soon. Let me tell you, Mary was really starting to get on my nerves.” She looked at the others. “So, what’s on the agenda for today now that the ghost business is cleared up?” she asked.
“Well,” Kate said. “We don’t leave until tomorrow, and we’re pretty much done with our path work. So I was thinking maybe we could build a snow fort and have an all-day snowball fight.”
The others glared at her.
“Just kidding,” said Kate. “Geesh.”
“Give me that spell book,” Nora said, taking it and flipping through as the rest of them erupted in laughter. “There’s got to be something in there we can use to turn her into a newt.”
Follow the
with Book 12:
Written in the Stars
“The stars are so bright tonight,” Annie remarked to Kate and Cooper. “Look at that one just below the moon. It’s like someone turned on its high beams or something, especially for New Year’s Eve.”
“That’s not a star,” said a woman who had come outside with Archer. “It’s a planet. Jupiter, actually.”
“Everyone, this is Olivia Sorensen,” Archer said as the others looked at the woman. “She’s going to be teaching class for the next couple of weeks as we study astrology.”
“You’re an astrologer?” Kate asked.
“And an astronomer,” Olivia answered. “I work for the planetarium. A number of years ago I was asked to write a paper debunking astrology. Unfortunately for the journal that asked me to write the paper, I became a believer instead. Now I do both.”
“Olivia is amazing,” Archer told the girls. “I have her do my chart every year, and she always surprises me with how on target she is.”
“Well, it is a science,” Olivia said. “Although I admit that it takes different skills to read an astrological chart correctly. You have to be willing to go beyond the realm of numbers and formulas and see the larger pattern they’re a part of.”
“Are you a witch?” Sasha asked Olivia.
“Me?” Olivia said, sounding surprised and a little embarrassed. “Sort of. I mean, I’m not officially a witch or anything. I don’t belong to a coven. But I’m interested in Wicca.” She paused for a moment. “I guess you could say that I’m witch lite.”
Annie laughed. Olivia glanced at her and smiled shyly, then laughed, too, as if sharing a private joke. The others looked at them in mild amusement. Then Cooper looked at her watch.
“It’s almost time for me to be in bed,” she said, standing up. “Who wants a ride home?”
“I do,” Annie said.
“Kate?” asked Cooper.
“Sure,” said Kate. “Let me get my coat.”
The girls stood up to say good-bye to their friends. “I guess we’ll see you on Tuesday,” Annie said to Olivia as they shook hands.
“I’m looking forward to it,” Olivia replied.
Follow the Circle:
Book 1: So Mote It Be
Book 2: Merry Meet
Book 3: Second Sight
Book 4: What the Cards Said
Book 5: In the Dreaming
Book 6: Ring of Light
Book 7: Blue Moon
Book 8: The Five Paths
Book 9: Through the Veil
Book 10: Making the Saint
Copyright
The House of Winter
Copyright © 2001 by Isobel Bird
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For information address HarperCollins Children’s Books, a division of HarperCollins Publishers, 1350 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10019.
EPub Edition © 2001 ISBN: 978-0-061-75638-2
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 2001116352
ISBN 0-06-447368-6
First Avon edition, 2001
AVON TRADEMARK REG. U.S. PAT. OFF. AND IN OTHER COUNTRIES, MARCA REGISTRADA, HECHO EN U.S.A.
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