LETTER
Word spells are not secure; they are too open to interpretation and misuse. A Binder must only ever employ a single word of power and even then it should only be written or spoken in anagrammatic form.
Binders’ Magic, The Book of the Binders
Flies knocked against the windows of the school. Anna held her Knotted Cord tightly as she walked down the corridor. That morning she’d watched one crawl out from inside a girl’s ear in assembly. Yesterday she swore one had flown out of the innards of a phone.
Anna had tried to deny it to herself, but she knew – it was their spell. It was all their spell. She’d expected it to have lost its power by now but it was getting worse – growing and spreading like a voracious mould, taking on new forms … As the weeks passed it was starting to become harder to know what was rumour and what was real any more.
Olivia seemed to be changing, becoming a grim caricature of Darcey. She was getting skinnier, her hair lighter – she’d grown it out of her bob and was styling it exactly like Darcey’s. Corinne genuinely seemed angrier, although of course it could be no more than the fact that the rumours were driving her crazy. And then Darcey … Anna had been watching her during assembly and could have sworn she kept giving Connaughty lingering looks. Did she really spend two hours in his office last night or was that just a rumour?
A fly circled about her head. Anna tried to escape it but it returned, buzz, buzz, buzz, sticky as static. What if it’s me? What if there’s something wrong with my magic? My curse is bleeding into the spell?
At lunch their own table was buzzing with more than flies. As Darcey’s standing had fallen, Effie had made sure theirs had risen – people surrounded them. Even the school’s most popular had begun to switch allegiance.
‘The evidence is undeniable.’ Effie laughed, handing around her phone. It was a picture of Darcey looking longingly at Headmaster Connaughty, cartoon hearts rising from her head. I’m not the only one who’s noticed then …
Manda giggled and passed the phone to Lydia. Anna noticed just how much make-up Manda was wearing. She’d had Effie cut her hair short too, permanently this time.
‘That’s so gross.’
‘Maybe she likes them old?’
‘Maybe she likes the headmaster’s cane …’
‘I heard she didn’t leave after the student council meeting last week …’
Anna caught Attis’s eye. He was the only other person who didn’t seem riveted by the conversation. He knew Anna was worried about the rumours – he’d been coming to the piano room more and more to watch her play and to talk. She’d become used to his presence and found the music flowed from her just the same, more even.
‘Peter!’ Effie called. Anna looked up and saw that he had just entered. He looked disdainfully at Effie but assessed their table, seeing that it was full of his friends. ‘Don’t worry, I’m not going to make you sit on my lap. I thought you could sit over here – by Anna.’
A few people sniggered. Anna glared at Effie, feeling the blood rush to her cheeks. Peter approached their table cautiously. ‘Effie. Still causing havoc and destruction?’
‘Still refusing to join in with the fun?’ Effie replied with a provocative sneer. ‘To be fair, you might need to get rid of that girlfriend of yours first. We were just talking about her.’
‘I’d rather you didn’t.’
‘Come on, mate, it’s just banter,’ said Tom.
Peter shook his head and took the seat next to Anna as the rest of them continued on with a new line of gossip. Peter turned to her. ‘I’m sorry about this lot.’
‘I’m sorry about Effie.’
They smiled at each other. They had only spoken a little since Anna had asked for his help with the game against Rowan. That seemed a long time ago – their own game had taken over and the stakes were much higher.
‘We’ll just have to stick together, hey?’ He nudged her, just slightly. ‘That’s a terrible choice of dessert there, Everdell. Everybody knows the rice pudding is more gloop than rice, plus there’s a fly in it.’ He scooped it out with a spoon. ‘There you go.’
‘Thank you,’ she said, feeling instantly guilty and finding it difficult to look into his searching eyes.
‘Bloody pests, I thought they were meant to have been dealt with by now.’ He slapped another out of the air and dusted it onto the floor. ‘We should eat lunch at the café. I never see you there – you’re so elusive.’ His smile deepened and Anna felt herself blushing profusely.
‘I’ll see what I can do,’ she said.
‘Uh-oh,’ Anna heard Effie say amid sudden laughter. Anna looked up to see that Darcey had entered. Her eyes landed on Anna – Peter – Effie’s smile. Several flies buzzed towards her and the laughter grew louder. She looked at them with a venom so potent that Anna could feel it, laced with hatred and rage. Darcey spun on her heels and left. Their table burst into laughter again.
‘I’d better go,’ said Peter, but his voice was flat and impatient. ‘See you soon, Everdell.’
Anna had been looking forward to the coven session that evening, where it would only be them, but when she opened the sewing-room door, she staggered backwards in dismay. The room had always smelt stale, like a stagnant pond, but now it smelt as if they had sunk to the bottom of it. The altar was festering with flies.
Effie clapped her hands together, catching one. ‘Attis, can you go and find some spray or something?’
‘Hell’s feathers!’ said Rowan, flicking the lid off one of the smoothie cups. Inside it had filled itself with sludgy grey water. ‘Where in Mother Holle did that come from?’
‘Is it our spell?’ said Manda.
Effie shrugged. ‘It’s working and if things get a bit wild, so be it. Nature’s justice is wild.’
‘Darcey’s gone into hiding,’ said Rowan gleefully, tipping out the smoothie. ‘Although did you see what she’s saying about us now? It’s so pathetic.’
‘What?’ said Anna.
Rowan handed Anna her phone. Darcey had posted a picture of them along with the caption: DO NOT TRUST THESE GIRLS. THEY ARE EVIL. THEY ARE TRYING TO RUIN MY LIFE.
Anna gripped the phone tighter. ‘Do you think she knows what we’ve done?’
‘What? Magic?’ Effie laughed. ‘Oh, she suspects us – of something. But what? Spreading rumours? That’s hardly a crime.’
‘Evil has quite strong implications.’
‘Everyone just thinks she’s losing her mind, Anna,’ Rowan reassured her. ‘And no one seems to care what she has to say any more. I still can’t believe people actually want to sit with us. Not just people. Boys. Karim was definitely giving you eyes today, Manda.’
‘He was not,’ she retorted. ‘Wait – was he?’
‘Manda, you need to start being seen going out if you want to seal the deal with him,’ said Effie. ‘Come out this weekend.’
‘I’m there!’ said Rowan.
‘Same,’ said Manda. ‘I’ll find a way.’
‘I thought popularity was for the feeble-minded, Manda?’ said Anna but Manda looked annoyed.
‘Look, for the first time I’m not being actively shunned by everyone and I’m going to enjoy it, OK? This is our chance.’
‘Don’t be jealous, Anna,’ said Effie. ‘We’ll get Peter to seal your deal too. We’re almost there.’
Anna found herself flustered. ‘I really don’t think Peter is interested in me. Anyway, you taunting him all the time doesn’t help.’
Effie laughed. ‘He’s in my Politics class – what else is there to do? He loves it really, beneath all that moody seriousness. Anyway, come on, admit it: you want it.’
‘Of course I want it – him,’ Anna snapped. ‘But he’s with Darcey, so—’
‘Can’t find any bug spray,’ said Attis sharply from behind her.
‘Gah, begone!’ Effie spun around and clapped her hands once – hard. Every fly in the room dropped dead.
Anna watched them twitch on the floor. ‘Effie. When do you think this spell will end? The rumours have worked already.’
‘When it decides justice has been served.’
‘What if it gets worse?’
‘All the better.’ Effie smiled. ‘Can we move on?’
‘Did the original spell come with any warnings? Can we see it?’
‘No, a revenge spell from the seventeen hundreds did not come with warnings and you can’t see it because the book has gone back to the Library.’
‘So you took it back?’ said Anna accusingly.
‘No. It left of its own accord.’
‘The Library takes its books back once it’s decided they have served their purpose,’ Rowan explained. ‘So useful, actually, as I always forget to return them. I’ve been banned from the school library – twice.’
Anna wondered about the Everdell book beneath her bed – why had the Library not taken that back?
‘Now, can we drop this?’ said Effie. ‘We’ve got magic to do.’
At the end of their session, Anna was sitting with Attis, who had been teaching them some of the different magical properties of metal, when Effie approached. Even though Anna was still annoyed at her, she had to know if she’d discovered any more about Nana. ‘So, have you guys found anything out about you know who?’
Effie understood what she meant. ‘Nope. Well, I’ve heard plenty of rumours but none of them helpful. A friend of mine from the Wild Hunt said their father knew of her, that she’s mad and you’ll never find her.’
‘That’s that then,’ said Attis.
Anna shot Attis a look. She had no intention of giving up that easily – the Binders were due to visit, her Knotting was looming. ‘Rowan!’ Anna called. Rowan skipped over, untangling a cord she’d managed to knot into her hair. ‘Have you ever heard of a witch called Nana Yaganov by any chance?’
‘Yaganov, Yaganov … Yaga. Nov. No. I know a Yosovich?’
‘Do you think you could ask your mum?’
‘Sure. Who is she?’
‘Just someone I need to find. Unfortunately I don’t have any more than a name.’
‘Hmmm,’ Rowan considered. ‘If you only have a name you could try sending a letter.’
Anna narrowed her eyes. ‘But I don’t have an address.’
‘You don’t need an address with a Futhark Stamp.’
‘What’s a Futhark Stamp?’
‘Rowan, you’re a genius!’ said Effie, grabbing her shoulders.
‘Well, obviously.’
‘What’s a Futhark Stamp?’ Anna repeated.
‘I’ve heard of them, but I’ve never actually used one,’ said Effie.
‘There’s certainly no harm in trying,’ Rowan continued. ‘Except, you know, if she’s dead and the letter invites her spirit back into the world, or you get a hex in return, or something like that.’
‘It’s madness,’ said Attis. ‘You can’t just go around sending letters with a Futhark Stamp if you don’t know who you’re sending to.’
‘We used to send all sorts of things when we were kids and nothing happened.’ Rowan shrugged. ‘Except that one incident when my brother received a letter back with some sweets that took his voice away for a month.’
Anna held up the cords threateningly. ‘I’m going to silence you all in a moment if someone doesn’t tell me what a flipping Futhark Stamp is!’
Rowan took a deep breath. ‘It’s a runic symbol that draws on the magic of the Runic Witches. With it your letter can contact anyone within the magical world – you don’t need an address, just the stamp, a name and a clear intention. It’s considered a little dangerous because it doesn’t just deliver letters to our world—’
‘Who are you trying to contact?’ asked Manda, wandering over.
‘Just an old relative.’
Anna ignored the suspicion in Rowan’s eyes.
‘I have letter-writing paper and envelopes in my bag,’ Manda offered and then added in response to Effie’s eye-rolling, ‘What? You never know when you’ll be required to write a thank-you note. Do you need a pen?’
‘Futhark Stamps require nothing more than your blood,’ Effie taunted, making Manda yelp.
‘She’s kidding,’ Rowan reassured Anna. ‘Although people do sometimes form them with their blood, for added force.’
‘I’ll just go with ink,’ said Anna, taking herself off to one of the desks to write it.
Dear Ms Yaganov,
I am Anna Everdell, daughter of Marie Everdell. I was given your name by a man known as Pesachya who lives in the Library. He informed me that my mother went to see you before she died, sixteen years ago. My father strangled her to death when I was just a baby and then killed himself, if that rings a bell. I wondered if you had any useful information that might help me to understand what happened that night.
Please.
Yours sincerely,
Anna Everdell
She folded the paper over and put it into the envelope. She wrote the name ‘Nana Yaganov’ in big letters on the front. ‘So, how do I do this?’
‘You need to make this symbol on the back, like a seal. Here.’ Rowan had sketched it out for her to copy. It was similar to the letter R but the lines were more severe, the top of the R triangular.
‘A runic R,’ Rowan explained. ‘Can’t remember what it means.’
‘Raidho. It means journey,’ said Attis, his voice flecked with irritation.
Anna drew out the symbol carefully. ‘What do I do now?’
‘You post it, of course,’ said Rowan.
‘What? A normal postbox?’
‘Well, sort of. It needs to be an old one. Come on. I think there’s one near Dulwich Village.’
The letterbox was certainly not easy to spot. They made their way down a cobbled side street off the village centre and there it was, buried behind some brambles and embedded into the stone wall. It looked quite normal, although old and weathered, its red paint peeling, its delivery hole narrow, like an eye half-closed against the wind and rain.
‘How do you know it will work?’ asked Anna, looking it over.
‘You see that,’ said Rowan, pointing to the V and R engraved along the top, the English crown stamped between them.
‘That’s Queen Victoria’s royal cypher,’ said Manda.
‘Yeah, but look more closely at the R,’ said Rowan and Anna scrutinized it, finding it was not like the V on the other side, but more spindly and pointed, like the R Anna had drawn on the envelope. ‘See – a Futhark Letterbox. They’re all over London, hiding in plain sight.’
‘Cool,’ said Anna, tracing the symbol. ‘So I just post it?’
‘What do you think?’ Rowan smiled. ‘You do a ritual dance around it?’
‘It’s highly possible.’
‘Kind of wish I’d said that now.’ Rowan laughed as Anna stepped forwards.
She peered into the hole but was met with nothing but darkness. Where would the letter go? She made a firm intention in her mind: Please send this to Nana Yaganov, the woman who can help me learn about my mother and the curse. She pushed the letter into the box and turned around.
‘Right, that’s done.’ She didn’t want to think about it or get her hopes up. ‘Wait,’ she said alarmed. ‘How do I get a letter back?’ Aunt would be suspicious of any post delivered to her directly.
‘Don’t worry. These letters don’t use the front door.’ Rowan shook her head, as if Anna had suggested something absurd. ‘If she sends one back, it’ll come to you. Only to you.’
Manda was studying the letterbox slot, searching for signs of magic.
‘I wouldn’t get too close,’ Effie whispered in her ear, making Manda cry out again.
But Anna was distracted by Attis’s vexed expression. She turned away, refusing to indulge him. He took his role as coven protector far too seriously for someone who rarely took anything seriously at all. Anyway, she didn’t need his approval – she just needed a reply.