Other than the fact that they were three women, the details about the Calendar Girls were shrouded in mystery. Few gained entry to their Tower, and few had ever met them. It was said that in every land mass where supernaturals resided, this same Tower existed at its centre.

  And yet Will Berry was, at this very minute, exiting the Tower. He held a pile of books in his arm, and wore a troubled expression upon his face. I stopped and stared at him, and he halted his steps and said, ‘Oh. Wanda.’ He hugged his books close so that I couldn’t see what they were. ‘I … what are you doing in Middlemage?’

  ‘I’m in search of an owl. Long story.’ There was a drawn-out, awkward silence, so I ended it by adding, ‘So, am I seeing things or did you just come out of the Calendar Girls’ lair?’

  ‘I was just … I was giving them some money my coven raised.’

  I was about to tell him how incredibly unconvincing he was, when the Tower door opened, and a beautiful woman ran out. Her feet were bare, her dark hair was loose, and she wore a long, form-fitting dress. She ran up to Will and said, ‘I forgot to give you this,’ in an un-placeable accent, before kissing him on the lips for a few seconds. She broke away, grinned at him, laughed, and ran back into the Tower, the door closing behind her.

  ‘I don’t know why she did that.’ Will rubbed his cheek, his face filled with shock. ‘This evening is the first time I’ve met her. Look, Wanda, I just told you a lie, and I hate lying to you.’

  ‘Tonight isn’t the first time you’ve met her?’

  ‘It is. But I wasn’t here to give them money. I mean, I did give them money, because every coven gives them a contribution towards the calendar but … it wasn’t the only reason I came here. I thought … well, I thought that they might be able to help with the whole Max is trapped in another dimension thing.’

  ‘Oh.’ I gazed at him, having no idea how to respond. Will and I had been avoiding each other since Max was whipped from this world, just not quite at the same time. First, Will had avoided me, afraid that I would think he was angling for romance. Then, we’d spent some time together as friends, but it was simply too hard.

  I wanted to be friends with Will, but the truth was that I always had, and always would, have deep feelings for him. I would never act on them, of course. I had chosen Max, and it didn’t matter how long it would take to see him again. So, after some weeks of trying the friendship thing, I had become the avoider in Will’s and my relationship. It was pathetic, and I knew it, but the way I felt around him had always seemed like a betrayal to Max.

  Sure, these days I didn’t feel much of anything around anybody, never mind Will. But nevertheless, I’d scurried from the scene whenever I saw him, like the grown-up that I was.

  ‘I mean, we’ve asked every seer, haven’t we?’ Will continued. ‘We’ve searched for any way to get him home, to find another one of those yellow stones Lady used to open up the doorway to that other world. But no one’s asked the Calendar Girls, because no one ever thinks of them as anything but the women who decide the calendar. But they’ve got to have awesome power, right? So … I thought I’d give it a go.’

  ‘Oh,’ I said again. I couldn’t tell him what I’d seen in the prophecy Pru Montague had shared with me. She’d made me promise not to speak about it. But what I’d seen was enough for me to know that I was going to be waiting quite the while for his return. How could I tell Will that he was wasting his time here?

  Except … what if he wasn’t wasting his time? Some aspects of the prophecy had been a confusing mishmash of so many things over so many years, and although it became more and more vivid towards the final years, and became big and bright and beautiful when I finally met Max again, the other parts weren’t all so easy to understand.

  I had no idea how I’d reached many of the points along the way. Whatever Will was doing with the Calendar Girls could be incredibly important, for all I knew – and even if it wasn’t, the simple fact that he was trying to find a way to get Max home, well … that just blew me away.

  ‘You don’t have much more to say than “oh”?’ Will laughed wryly.

  ‘I mean … thank you. For trying. But …’

  ‘But you’d rather I kept my nose out?’

  ‘No!’ I shook my head with vehemence. ‘No, it’s not that. Will, you have no idea how grateful I am that you’re doing this. It’s yet another example of you being one of the greatest guys a girl could ever know. It’s just … Look, did she say anything useful? Did any of them?’

  He sighed. ‘They told me they’d call me back if there was anything they could do to help, or if there was anything useful they could tell me, and they gave me some books to read which … well, they seem to be all about the years they’ve named in the past … sort of history books, I think. I’m supposed to show them to no one else, though, other than the Queen of the Sióga. I have no idea why one of them came out like that and … you know …’

  ‘Kissed you?’ An unbidden grin formed on my face, as I recalled the first time I’d met Will. I’d been completely overwhelmed by his looks, and especially by his dimples. If I’d been as confident and gorgeous as that Calendar Girl, I probably would have just gone for it and kissed him, too.

  ‘What?’ Will reddened. ‘Why are you grinning? Do I have something on my face?’ His hand went to wipe his lips and his chin.

  ‘No. You look perfect, as always.’ My smile fell away as I realised: in the mishmash of moments, I had seen this very one.

  When Pru shared her vision with me, Will had featured more than once. And in one of those confusing flashes, I’d seen him standing in front of a rounded wall – a wall I now knew was the Tower wall. It was a quick, barely-a-glimpse moment that consisted of him simply wiping his chin.

  This was important, somehow, to getting Max back. I only wished I knew how, and I wished I could tell Will about it, too – about seeing this very moment in the prophecy. But I’d been sworn to repeat it to no one.

  ‘Are you all right? Wanda?’

  Swallowing, I gave him a nod. ‘Em, yeah. Thank you, Will. What you’re doing for me right now, it means more to me than you’ll ever know. But listen, I’ve got to get off now and see about this owl, so I’ll see you soon, okay?’

  As I walked away, he called after me. ‘Do you want any help?’

  I barely turned my head and replied, ‘Nah. Nah, I’m good. Thanks again, Will, I really mean it,’ as I rushed through the village, heading to the Beast’s Hollow.

  8. The Terrible Twosome

  I moved into the wooded area separating the temple from the Hollow, following a well-trodden path. This area had been filled with werewolves like the Beast once, but now not a single wolf came here, even during full moon. There was an eerie feeling about the place, like something was lurking, lying in wait.

  I shivered as the Hollow came into view in an area surrounded by forested hills. I could already see the Beast’s Toadstools – ankle height and glowing yellow, even though the night was dark. Their dangerous magic was palpable, but I kept my distance and looked around. In the Hollow itself, there were at least a dozen abandoned stone houses, but there were some more houses around the perimeter, on this side of the danger zone. Most looked long abandoned, just like the houses in the Hollow, but one of them had lights blazing from its windows. Making sure to stay clear of the toadstools, I headed for the house.

  ≈

  The front door was ajar, so, calling out, ‘Hello,’ I walked straight in.

  ‘I’m both surprised and impressed,’ said Minerva as she looked up from her desk. Yes, I said her desk. There were two desks in the open-plan area, one large and one little. Minerva had a miniature version of everything on her witch’s desk – smaller books and quills to make for easier reading and writing, and a smaller chair with a bar stretched across the armrests, which she was currently perched upon.

  She had corkboards and whiteboards arranged on the walls around her little desk, with pictures of the key players in her witch’s death. I was there, and it seemed she had managed to take my photo while I was on my way into the exam hall for the first of my Potions’ exams. I did not look pretty in the picture. She had used various highlighters and coloured pins on her evidence boards, all in miniature just like the rest of her accessories.

  I knew she wouldn’t thank me for telling her how absolutely adorable it all was, so I kept my mouth zipped on that subject, and instead said, ‘Why are you surprised and impressed? It didn’t take a genius to figure out this is where you’d be.’

  ‘Of course not. What impresses me is that you were interested enough to come and find me. Judging by your appearance lately, I assumed you’d given up on life.’

  ‘I haven’t given up on anything!’ I retorted (what – you think I doth protest too much?). ‘I’m taking exams, aren’t I? I’m still working.’

  ‘Well, yes. But … the outfits.’

  ‘Hey. I got dressed up tonight. Kind of.’ I was wearing a baggy dress over some thick tights, and an enormous cardigan and some chunky boots finished off the ensemble.

  ‘Yes. You got out of sweatpants and into … whatever that is.’ She laughed dismissively. ‘Well done, you.’

  ‘Yeah, well, when purple eyebrows and blue pince-nez are in fashion, then you can give me tips, all right?

  I walked around the room, peering at the tables of experiments Athena had been doing before she died. There were boxed-up bottles labelled ‘Toadstool Tumour Cure’ as well as neatly written lists and a blackboard filled with indecipherable scribbles. The magical models were a little on the disturbing side – holovisual representations of witches, vampires, werewolves and so many more were all neatly lined up, at various stages of testing.

  ‘Wow,’ I said. ‘Athena had an entire laboratory here. I thought that she was working with Florence on this.’

  ‘She was. We both were. But we like to double-check everything for ourselves. In fact, we would much rather do most things by ourselves, hence this cottage. Florence is an admirable witch, but she is bound by bureaucracy. And Anton, well, he adores my witch and I so much that he tends to interrupt with snacks and offers of help a little too often. We can do things in a much faster manner when we’re left to our own devices. Or … we could.’ She put on a brave smile. ‘Still, I shall soldier on for Athena, as I know Athena would do for me.’

  I picked up one of the bottles of the cure, looking at the instructions: Three teaspoons per day, each to be taken before mealtimes. Witches must take the cure for three weeks, vampires, werewolves and weredogs for two weeks, magical animals for one week …

  ‘Is there a bottle missing?’ I pointed to a box. ‘It says there are twenty-four in the box, but there’s an empty space in this one.’

  I’d already had one first today – meeting an owl with purple eyebrows. Now, I was experiencing a second first – meeting an owl whose cheeks blushed pink. ‘No,’ she said. ‘It was … it was probably just …’

  While she struggled to come up with an excuse, I said softly, ‘She took her cure, didn’t she? Before it was ready?’ It would also explain why she had it boxed up and ready to go – Athena had every confidence in this potion.

  Minerva’s feathers grew ruffled, and she gave me a steely glare. ‘Of course not. But … would it be so bad if she did? She was dying, Wanda. You could hardly expect her to wait for Florence’s gazillion checks and balances, could you?’

  ‘I understand that, but–’

  ‘But nothing! Can we just drop the subject, please? If you make it all about this, then no one else is ever going to take me seriously, are they? No one is ever going to believe it was murder, when I know it was.’

  ‘I believe you,’ I assured her. ‘I mean, you’re still alive, aren’t you? That could only happen if your witch was murdered, or if your bond wasn’t a true one. But if I’m going to help you, Minerva, then you need to tell me everything. I’m going to try and get an autopsy done on your witch, okay? It’ll be hard, because Anton doesn’t want one, but we’ll convince him. In the meantime, you can’t leave out a single thing that might be important.’

  She held her beak in the air. ‘You assume I want your help, Miss Wayfair.’

  ‘No.’ Cautiously, I approached her. ‘I assume that you loved your witch so much that you’ll do anything to catch her murderer, even if it means working with someone like me.’

  Her feathers ruffled a little more, and she said, ‘Well, now that you mention it, I was thinking that your contacts might be useful to me. Especially seeing as I have no idea who I can trust. Even Anton is–’

  As she broke off, I arched a brow. ‘Even Anton is what?’

  She spun her head in a one-eighty turn so she could look away from me. It was equal parts creepy and marvellous. ‘Well, there were rumours, you see. But none of it was true. He loves Athena completely. He would never mess around with his patients, or with Carmel Plimpton.’

  I walked around to the other side of her chair, forcing her to look at me. ‘Anton was having an affair with Carmel Plimpton? But … she’s with the dean.’

  Her purple brows drew together. ‘She’s with anyone who she can use, that woman. But Anton wouldn’t have gone there, I know he wouldn’t.’

  ‘Well, I know that she worked with your witch,’ I added. ‘At the Maze. You never told me that.’

  ‘Hah!’ scoffed Minerva. ‘Worked with my witch, indeed. Annoyed my witch, more like. Carmel insinuated herself into the Maze. Nobody asked her to volunteer, and nobody wanted her there. Well … at first. Anton had recently begun to defend her position, which made very little sense to me.’

  Unless, I thought, he was having an affair with Carmel. But I would keep that theory to myself for now. ‘She collapsed today, you know? She wouldn’t let Florence run tests, and she seemed right as rain when I saw her, but … it’s strange, considering.’

  ‘She’ll have been putting it on,’ Minerva insisted. ‘Mark my words on that. There is something I should tell you, though. I think … I think Anton might have been here, shortly before Athena’s death. I smelled his cologne, and my witch’s laptop was closed, when I know it was open beforehand.’

  I pointed to the laptop on Athena’s desk. ‘Can I take it? The Wayfarer tech wizard will be able to find out what he was doing with it.’

  ‘Well … all right,’ she conceded. ‘I’m useless with computers. All talons, me.’

  I giggled at her surprise joke. ‘You’re funny.’

  She ignored my compliment and said, ‘Look, sit down, will you, Wanda? You’re making me nervous. Now. Athena would always offer people refreshments but the milk has gone off, so unless you fancy a mouse …?’

  ‘I’m fine, thanks. I’ve eaten.’ I hadn’t, really. I’d managed some hot cider and nibbled on a couple of crisps at Gretel’s place, but that was about it. Even if I was starving, I wouldn’t fancy a mouse.

  ‘Oh!’ She perked up. ‘Actually, there is a box of chocolates in the fridge. A present from Emily Caulfield.’

  I rushed to open the fridge. There was some gone-off milk, some iffy-smelling cheese and a withered banana, and a box of handmade chocolates from Caulfield’s.

  I spun on my heels to face the owl, who had flown over behind me. ‘Emily Caulfield gave these to Athena?’

  The owl’s feathers ruffled once more. ‘A goodbye present. A thank you, you know, as Emily was leaving the Maze. Athena was really a very excellent counsellor. It wasn’t unusual for her patients to give her presents. Of course, she won’t have actually eaten any. She wasn’t a fan of chocolate.’

  ‘Sure. Like that’s a thing.’ I peered at the box. It had definitely been opened. ‘So why do you sound so defensive when you say it? And why are half the chocolates in the box gone?’

  ‘Well … she might have eaten a few. But only as a symbol of forgiveness.’

  ‘Forgiveness for what? What aren’t you telling me, Minerva?’

  The owl sighed. ‘None of this has anything to do with the murder, you understand? Not the alleged affair, and not the accusation against Anton.’

  ‘Spit it, Minnie.’

  ‘Fine. The thing is … it was Emily who came to Athena to report two things. The first was that Anton had put his arm around her in an inappropriate manner, and said some things which made her feel uncomfortable. The second was that she had caught him kissing Carmel Plimpton.’ Minerva was blushing again. Even her eyebrows seemed to be developing a deeper colour.

  ‘Anton, he … well, he denied it, of course. But then … then he suggested that Emily was making it up, and that she ought to stay in the Maze for a much longer period. Anton was merely on the management side of things, though, it was Athena who had the final say, as Emily’s counsellor, and in the end she decided Emily was ready to be released. But … it seems that she got the wrong impression. For some reason, she thought Athena was going to keep her in the Maze indefinitely. She had a huge fight with my witch about it, and afterwards she grew closer to Carmel Plimpton. They were always whispering together, plotting. The Terrible Twosome, I called them.’

  ‘Minnie, this is big,’ I said. ‘This is the kind of thing I meant when I told you you can’t leave anything out, you know?’

  ‘Oh, I know, but … I was afraid you’d focus on the wrong things. This supposed affair – which never would have happened, believe me. Anton worshipped Athena. Their love was immense. Something else was going on there, I just know it, but whatever it was, it was not hanky-panky. And he would never have taken advantage of a patient like Emily, either. To tell you all of this would have been mere distraction. Because whenever I heard Emily and Carmel talking, they weren’t talking about my witch. They were talking about you. How much they hated you, how much they would like to see you suffer.