13 Curses

by Michelle Harrison

  Red pulled the bracelet from her pocket.

  “Silver charms,” she said. “To go on this. She collects a different one every year.”

  “But it’s bare,” the shopkeeper said, peering at the bracelet.

  “It was stolen,” said Tanya, thinking quickly. “The bracelet was recovered, but all the charms were gone. We’re trying to find replacements.”

  The man scratched the bald spot on his head.

  “We don’t do much of a trade in silver charms,” he said. “Gold, yes. But silver, only a few, and most of those are secondhand. Shame really, as it’s what we used to specialize in.”

  “Can we see what you have?” Fabian asked politely.

  The man nodded and bent down behind the counter. They heard a drawer open and close, and then he bobbed up with a velvet tray of six or seven silver charms.

  There, in its center, a silver heart was pinned to the velvet. It was duller than the rest and appeared much older. Engraved into its surface was a tiny pair of wings.

  “Any of those take your fancy?” the shopkeeper said, clearly wanting to hurry things along.

  Red exchanged glances with Tanya and Fabian. They were both wide-eyed.

  She pointed to it with a trembling finger.

  “That one. The heart. How much is it?”

  The man leaned forward, prodding at the charms.

  “Don’t remember that,” he said. “Funny. It doesn’t seem to have a price.”

  Beside her, Red heard Fabian gulp.

  “Let me check my books.” The man vanished through a doorway into the back of the shop.

  “We’re such idiots!” Fabian hissed the moment they were alone. “We don’t have any money to buy the stupid thing! Unless either of you do?”

  Red and Tanya shook their heads.

  “That’s settled then,” said Red. “We’ll just have to steal it.”

  “Wait,” said Fabian. “Look.” He pointed to a handwritten sign behind the counter. WE BUY TO SELL, it said.

  In a flash, Fabian took off his watch and laid it on the counter, just as the shopkeeper came back through.

  “I don’t know where that came from,” he said, shaking his head. “There’s no record of it coming in. Looks like you’ve got yourselves a bargain, kids.”

  “Will you take an exchange?” Fabian said, pushing his watch forward.

  The man narrowed his eyes and stared at them suspiciously. For an awful moment, it looked as though he was going to refuse.

  “I think we all know that the watch is worth more than the charm,” he said. “Wouldn’t you rather come back with the cash?”

  “We don’t have the cash,” said Fabian. “And it’s important.”

  The man shrugged. “All right. It’s for a present, you say? I’ll get you a box.” He scooped Fabian’s watch up and took it with him into the back.

  “Are you sure it’s one of the charms?” Fabian whispered. “I mean, it looks like it, but…”

  “It is,” said Tanya. “I’m certain of it.”

  “Let’s ask him to put it on the bracelet, then,” said Red. “No point having a box.” She reached out to unpin the charm from the velvet tray with her thumb and forefinger, the bracelet tucked into her hand. As her fingers skimmed the charm a curious thing happened. There was a small, metallic clink, and the charm vanished from the tray. Red dropped the bracelet in surprise.

  “Where did it go?”

  “There,” said Tanya, pointing to the bracelet in amazement. “It’s attached itself to the chain.”

  “It must have been drawn to it, almost like a magnet,” said Fabian, his wide blue eyes even huger behind his glasses.

  “Then there’s no doubt,” Red said in a low voice. “This is it. We’ve found the first charm!”

  “Let’s get out of here,” said Fabian.

  They called their thanks to the shopkeeper, who was still rummaging around in the back, and then left the shop.

  “What about the box?” he said, coming back into the empty shop. Through the grimy windows he saw the three children vanishing from view. He stood shaking his head for a moment, then put on his coat, ready to shut up shop for the second time that evening.

  Outside, it had started to rain. Tanya, Red, and Fabian ran to the bus stop, their spirits lifted with their find.

  “I can’t believe we figured it out,” said Fabian, whooping as they headed to the back of the bus and sank into the seats. “We actually did it!”

  “Yeah. We did it,” said Red, but she could feel her smile fading on her lips as the thrill of the find wore off. It had just hit her that this was only the beginning: the first charm.

  Somewhere out there, twelve more charms were waiting.

  Back at the manor, Red, Tanya, and Fabian worked into the night in Tanya’s room.

  “We must be on the right track,” said Fabian. “The clues must lie with the owners of the bracelet—it makes sense if we found the first charm in the place the bracelet was made.”

  Soon, there were more discoveries.

  “Just after the Elvesdens were married, they were robbed while out in their coach one day,” Tanya recounted. “Elizabeth’s bracelet and some other valuables were taken. After Elvesden offered a reward, the bracelet and most of the other things were discovered hidden in the chimney of an inn a few villages away. The landlord was then exposed as a highwayman.” She tapped an open page of the phone book. “The pub is still there, and to this day it’s known as the Highwayman.”

  “Good,” said Fabian. “What else?”

  “When the rumors of witchcraft started flying about, the townsfolk drove Agnes Fogg away,” said Red. “They also accused Elizabeth of keeping a witch’s familiar: the black cat that Agnes had given her. Soon after, it vanished, and she knew it had come to harm.”

  She looked up from the page she was reading. “She discovered her husband was reading her diaries. That’s why she started hiding them. Then one of the maids heard the plans to put Elizabeth in the asylum and told her in secret. So she tried to run away.

  “She knew about the escape tunnels under the house. The evening before she was due to be taken away she acted as if she didn’t know anything. In the night she went into one of the tunnels, the one leading to the church. She walked for two miles underground, until she came to the fake gravestone… but something had gone wrong. Elvesden had found out somehow… he was waiting for her at the other end.”

  “And we know the rest,” Fabian said grimly. “She died in the asylum.”

  Tanya gathered the diaries together.

  “I think that’s enough for tonight,” she said. “Now that we’ve finished the diaries, we should move on to the next stage: what happened to the bracelet after Elizabeth died.”

  It was past midnight when they decided to turn in for the night. Tanya went to the kitchen for a glass of water before going to bed. It was only then that she realized she had forgotten to feed Oberon earlier that evening. But as she heard him gobbling his biscuits in the corner, she knew that someone else must have fed him. He thumped his tail when she scratched his head, then she went wearily back out into the hallway, more than ready for bed.

  Red awoke to the sound of a door closing. She lay for a few minutes, wrapped in her fox fur and some blankets beneath Tanya’s bed, then, unable to get back to sleep, she got up and peeked through the curtains. It was early, and a thin mist crawled over the land outside the manor. A small movement attracted her attention. A figure was hurrying out of the back garden, away from the house. Though she could not see her clearly, she could tell it was a plump, middle-aged woman.

  Thinking quickly, she strode over to Tanya and shook her awake.

  “Red?” Tanya whispered.

  “I’ve just seen someone in the garden, running away from the house.”

  Tanya got up sleepily and stumbled to the window.

  “It’s Nell,” she said. “Our housekeeper. Looks like she’s heading for the woods!”

  Hurr
iedly, Tanya grabbed the previous day’s clothes from the floor. She wriggled out of her pajamas and pulled on rumpled jeans and a jumper, which she turned inside out. She finished by pulling on her sneakers and stood up, remembering the compass just in time. She pulled it out from its hiding place and pocketed it.

  “I’m going after her,” she said quietly. “Coming?”

  Red nodded. “What about Fabian?”

  “No time. And anyway, we’d have to go past my grandmother’s room to wake him.”

  They crept down the stairs and into the kitchen.

  Oberon looked up from his food bowl and gave a soft belch.

  “That’s odd,” said Tanya, peering into his full bowl. “Maybe Nell is the one who’s been feeding him.”

  “He needs to go on a diet,” said Red. “I swear he’s got fatter since I’ve been here.” She ignored Tanya’s hurt look and unlatched the back door. “Hurry up.”

  They stepped out into a chilly autumn drizzle, leaving the house and the rest of its inhabitants shrouded in sleep. Once they were beyond the garden walls, they scanned the land between the house and the forest.

  “There she is.” Tanya pointed into the distance. Nell’s stout little body was just visible, approaching the stream. “Come on, or we’ll lose her!” She started to run, and Red followed.

  They reached the edge of the stream a couple of minutes after Nell had vanished into the woods.

  “We can still catch her,” said Red. “We’re quicker than she is.”

  “I can’t believe she’d come back into the woods again,” said Tanya. “Of all the stupid things to do!”

  Red opened her mouth to reply, but at that moment, they both heard it. A shrill voice was calling out ahead of them.

  “Carver? General Carver? Where are you?”

  “She’s looking for that bird of hers!” Tanya said furiously.

  They followed Nell’s calls deeper into the woods.

  “Careful where you walk,” Red whispered. “The forest floor’s still rife with fairy rings.”

  Tanya nodded. “I think we’re safe with our clothes inside out—it’s Nell I’m worried about. If she’s not careful, she could end up getting carried away by fairies again.” She paused. “There she is. She’s right by Mad Morag’s caravan!”

  “Time for you to call her back,” said Red. “I’ll have to stay hidden—I can’t let her see me in case she tells Florence….” But as she crept behind a tree to hide, she stumbled and tripped, falling with a cry and landing in view. Nell turned with a surprised squawk.

  “Why are you following me?” she said guiltily. She peered at Red. “And who are you?”

  Red didn’t reply. Instead, she regarded Nell as familiarity swept over her.

  “I followed to make sure nothing happens to you,” Tanya was saying pointedly. “Like the last time. I can’t believe you’d come out here and put yourself in danger again. When are you going to accept it, Nell? Fairies are real.”

  Nell shifted uncomfortably.

  “I know,” she said quietly. “I mean, I believe what I saw.” She gestured to her clothes, and for the first time Red and Tanya saw they were inside out. “Florence gave me a few tips, see?” she said. “But all the same, I can’t stay there. As soon as I find my bird, I’m leaving. Florence can stick her bleedin’ pay rise!”

  “So that’s it?” Tanya snapped. “You’re just going to leave? You’re running away after the mess you’ve created? Warwick’s missing because of you and your stupid parrot!”

  “Wait a minute,” said Red, edging toward Nell. “I know you. You worked at the children’s home in Tickey End!”

  Tanya looked from Red to Nell in surprise. “You know each other?”

  Nell squinted at Red, taking in her appearance. “I don’t recall…”

  Suddenly, her face drained of color. “I do remember you,” she whispered. “Your hair was longer. Long and red. Your brother was one of the children who vanished. You said it was… that it was… fairies. No one believed you. And then you ran away.” She looked down, and to Red’s surprise and Tanya’s, her plump shoulders shook in a huge sob. “It was true!” she whispered, sudden tears streaming down her face. “It was all true, and nobody believed… and now I know… oh, now I know what I did!”

  “Know what?” Red said sharply.

  “It’s my… my f-fault!”

  Red’s pupils narrowed to pinpoints.

  “What do you mean, your fault?”

  Nell sank to the ground, wringing her hands in her lap.

  “I was on duty the night your brother disappeared. I was meant to be looking out, keeping everyone safe. And then the little boy vanished, and you were hysterical afterward…. All I remember you saying is that he should have been protected because you’d put a red tea towel over him.”

  “I did,” said Red, remembering. “And when he was taken, afterward, the tea towel was gone. There was no sign of it in his crib.”

  “It didn’t make much sense to anyone,” Nell sobbed. “We all thought it was just the shock of what had happened… but… but when Florence was telling me ways to protect myself from fairies in the house, she told me about the color red being a deterrent. I remembered then, I thought of you when she told me!”

  “Go on,” said Red. “And stop sniveling.”

  Nell wiped a pudgy hand across her face, streaking it with dirt.

  “It… was… me,” she whispered. “Just before midnight, I looked in on you and James. You were both sleeping. I remember him looking so peaceful, like a little golden-haired angel.”

  Red’s eyes clouded with tears.

  “Then I saw the tea towel,” Nell continued. “And I wondered what on earth it was doing there, in his crib. It wasn’t even clean. So… so I took it away with me. Put it in with the laundry.”

  Red closed her eyes. A tear fell and landed on her cheek.

  “I’m so sorry,” said Nell. “I didn’t know. And now I’ll never forgive myself.” She buried her face in her hands and wept.

  “That makes two of us,” said Red. “Because I’ll never forgive you either!”

  Nell looked up, her face puffy and bloated. At Red’s words she gave an anguished howl and clambered clumsily to her feet. “I’m sorry,” she repeated.

  “Sorry isn’t going to bring my brother back, is it?” Red yelled, pink in the face with rage. Her hands were balled into fists at her sides. “All this is your fault! It’s your fault he’s gone, you interfering, meddling old busybody!”

  Nell cowered at her words, sobbing uncontrollably.

  “Red,” Tanya said softly. “That’s enough.”

  Red turned away, her tirade over with. Her throat ached with unshed tears. She knew it wasn’t really Nell’s fault. She hadn’t understood what she was doing.

  The only sound in the clearing was Nell’s muffled sobbing. Then an ear-splitting screech made them all turn.

  “What was that?” said Red.

  “Skullduggery, that’s what it is!” said a familiar voice.

  “It’s the General!” Tanya exclaimed. “It’s coming from Morag’s caravan—she must have found him!”

  Nell looked up, sniffing. She shuffled to the caravan door and knocked; there was no answer. The General squawked again from inside.

  “There’s something else,” said Nell, pressing her ear against the door. “Like a sort of… mumbling.” She knocked again, then tried the handle.

  None of them expected it to open—but it did.

  Tanya rushed forward.

  “Hello?” she called, peering inside the darkened caravan.

  “I can hear it too, now,” said Red. “Someone’s moaning in pain!”

  “I’m going in,” said Tanya, stepping inside. As the light from the doorway streamed in, it revealed a cage on the table. Inside, the General was perched halfway up, and had puffed his feathers out to twice his normal size. Outside the cage, Morag’s smoke-gray cat was sitting still as a statue, staring in hungrily. Its yellow
eyes glinted as they entered.

  “How rude,” said General Carver.

  “Oh, look…” Nell sniffed, calming a little at the sight of her bird. “He’s wearing his… suit of… armor!” She swatted the cat away. He hissed and fled for the open door.

  “Tanya!” Red called. “Over here, quickly!”

  At the rear of the caravan, past a dresser of dozens of bottles of liquids and powders, was a dark velvet curtain. Red was standing before it, her hand outstretched. Tanya came up behind her. The moaning was coming from behind it.

  With a quick flick, Red flung the curtain back to reveal the rear portion of the caravan.

  In a single bed propped against the wall, Morag was huddled beneath the bedclothes. In an instant, it was clear something was terribly wrong. The old woman’s eyes were rolling about in her head and her hair was slicked to her face with sweat. Even though she was radiating heat, she still shivered and shook beneath the bedclothes, and she was murmuring and moaning incoherently under her breath.

  “What’s wrong with her?” Tanya cried. “She looks delirious!”

  “And it looks as if she’s been this way for a while,” Red said. “Get her some water, quickly!”

  Tanya ran back into the kitchen area.

  “What’s going on back there?” said Nell, her voice quivering. She had circled her arms around the General’s cage as though to protect him.

  “I don’t know,” Tanya muttered, fumbling with some tumblers on the draining board. She grabbed one and filled it with cold water and then ran back to the bedside. Red took it from her and tilted the glass to the old woman’s dry lips.

  “Drink,” she instructed.

  Morag took a little and her eyes slowed for a fraction of a second before flickering again. In the moment they were still, they rested on Tanya, and she flung her hand out, knocking the glass from Red’s hand as she reached past her.

  Tanya knelt down and took the old woman’s hand.

  “What’s she saying?” she said, leaning closer to Morag’s face.

  Red shook her head. “I don’t know. I was trying to listen but couldn’t make out the words—she’s speaking too quickly—it’s all distorted.”