Callum walked down the hill away from the ruined church with Melissa quietly striding beside him. He could almost feel her brain churning over a fresh argument about being more actively involved in their new mission. He decided it was safer not to talk to her about it for the time being. He had enough on his own mind right now. In any case, they had another task to deal with first . . .
The porch light of Gran’s cottage beckoned them back through the cold woodland. Callum could just about make out the figure of his gran in the window, perched on the edge of her armchair in the nook under the stairs, waiting for Callum anxiously. She could see directly up the road out of the sitting room window from that vantage spot, and these days it seemed she was sitting there more and more.
Gran’s radio-cassette player was a pretty good indicator of her mood. As Callum opened the front door, he could hear the radio tootling a nervous jazz riff, over and over. But when Callum stepped into the room, the radio gave a burst of static and then went silent. Callum could tell right away that Gran was annoyed with him. It was visible in her thin-lipped, humorless expression.
‘That was a very long walk,’ Gran said stonily. Then, with a weary effort at politeness, she added, ‘Oh, hello, Melissa.’
‘Hi, Mrs Scott.’
‘I went right up to the edge of the housing estate,’ Callum said evasively. ‘And then I bumped into Melissa. And, uh, I thought I spotted the cat. I thought maybe he’d strayed off.’
‘Cadbury’s asleep on the stovetop,’ said Gran. ‘You know he likes it there when it’s still warm. You could have checked. And you could have told me how long you were planning to be out. You know I like to know where you are, especially when it’s this late, and especially when . . .’
She let the rest of the sentence go unfinished.
Callum finished it for her. No point in avoiding the issue. ‘I know. Especially when the Shadowing has begun.’
‘It’s begun?’ Gran repeated anxiously. ‘Already? How do you know . . .?’
She trailed off, suddenly glancing at Melissa nervously.
‘Don’t worry about it,’ Callum said curtly. ‘Melissa already knows about the Shadowing. Look, Gran, let’s just be honest. There’s no point in me hiding – I have a duty now.’
‘Oh, Callum,’ Gran said, unable to keep the concern from her voice. ‘You’ll do nothing but put yourself in danger. You’re a schoolboy, for heaven’s sake. How do you expect to save the world? It’s like . . . it’s like a war, Callum, and it should be fought by trained soldiers who know what they’re doing. You’re not strong enough. You don’t know enough.’
Callum noticed Melissa was smiling faintly – it was almost the same lecture she’d had from Jacob a quarter of an hour ago. But he wasn’t amused.
‘Gran,’ Callum said. ‘The problem is, there are no trained soldiers. I’m the last chime child. This whole thing is falling on my shoulders, and I haven’t got a clue what’s expected of me. If you hadn’t kept all of this a secret from me for so long, I’d be a hundred per cent better equipped for dealing with it.’
The accusation stopped Gran in her tracks. She braced herself with her hands gripping the armrests of her chair, her feet flat on the floor. She looked a bit like an old soldier herself, with her short, close-cut iron-grey hair and grim, determined expression.
‘Don’t be angry, Mrs Scott,’ Melissa cut in diplomatically from behind Callum’s shoulder. She took a few steps forward and glanced from Gran to Callum, adding earnestly, ‘Look, it’s bad enough thinking about the Shadowing without us all lying to each other. It’s pretty obvious Callum wasn’t looking for the cat – he was looking for me. We’ve had an idea about how to make up for some of that lost time –’
‘I need my books,’ Callum said bluntly.
Gran blinked. ‘Your books?’
‘The chime child books,’ Callum said. ‘I need to learn what’s in them.’
‘Callum, no, you can’t just –’
‘Gran, I hate to say this, but if you don’t hand them over, I’m going to have to just take them.’ Callum folded his arms and looked at his grandmother expectantly. Gran matched his gaze for a moment, before finally sighing hard and pushing herself to her feet. She dragged a chair across the room to the high shelf where she had hidden the ancient books behind a bland selection of gardening manuals.
‘I don’t know how you’re going to learn what you need to in the time you’ve got,’ Gran muttered grimly. ‘Try the scrapbooks first, maybe . . .’
Callum exhaled and smiled at his gran gratefully.
‘Brilliant,’ Callum said, but then he hesitated, sure that his next news wouldn’t go down well. ‘Melissa’s actually going to get started with them. We thought – our idea was that Melissa could read the books first, since she already knows a little about what to expect and what she’s looking for, and then she could tell me which bits to focus on.’
‘But only if it’s all right with you, Mrs Scott,’ Melissa put in hastily, her gaze as imploring as a puppy’s. Callum wanted to tell her that Gran wasn’t the sort to be easily won over, but his grandmother was already doing that for him.
‘Well, I fail to see how that would work,’ Gran said, pausing by the shelf and putting her hands on her hips.
‘Uh . . .’ Melissa mumbled. ‘Well I was hoping to take them home and get reading, so that –’
‘Take them home?’ Gran said, her voice incredulous. ‘Absolutely not.’
‘Gran –’ Callum began.
‘Absolutely not,’ Gran said again, her arms folded now. ‘Those books do not leave this house.’
Callum set his jaw. He wasn’t going to back down – two could play at that game. ‘Gran, we have to do this. If Melissa can’t take the books home, then she’s going to have to come here and read them. Starting tonight.’
He held Gran’s gaze for what felt like an eternity before she finally sighed once more. Climbing on to the chair now by the window, she silently reached up to the top bookshelf behind the low ceiling beam and began to take down the front row of books. Callum let out his breath lightly as she began handing down the first of the ancient books.
‘Fine,’ Gran said through gritted teeth. She paused. ‘Callum, you must know, I’m not doing this willingly. If there was any way I could think of to make sure you didn’t have to be involved –’
‘Gran . . .’ Callum said, shaking his head sadly. Even though he was still angry, he knew this was hard for her. ‘I am involved. There’s no way around it. Look at the mess we got in when you tried to keep me out of it all. Trust me, this is for the best. If Melissa can give me a digested version of what’s in the books, it’ll leave me more time to try and get up to speed with training to fight . . . whatever it is I’ll need to fight.’
Gran pursed her lips. Callum could tell she wanted to say something about his training, but she stopped herself short. ‘Well, at the very least, two heads are better than one,’ she muttered.
Callum thought the look on her face seemed to suggest she wasn’t entirely convinced when it came to Melissa’s head.
‘Great, thank you, Mrs Scott . . .’ Melissa said as she took the books from Gran. Then she paused. Callum could tell from the glint in Melissa’s eye that she had some other scheme brewing, but he was shocked by what she said next.
‘You know – seeing as I’ll be coming here to look at the books anyway, maybe it would help if you would teach me some magic too?’
Gran dropped the book in her hand, startled.
‘What? Melissa!’ Callum exclaimed.
Melissa rushed over to pick up the book, ignoring both Callum’s and his grandmother’s surprise, and looking up at the older lady expectantly.
‘Callum told me you know some, Mrs Scott, and I just thought –’
‘No. No. It’s much too dangerous,’ Gran said to Melissa. ‘You may think you’ve been dabbling in witchcraft with your gothic clothing and your crystals, but believe me, magic is not a game. None of this is. You have no idea what you’re up against.’
‘That’s my whole point,’ Melissa said. ‘You do! Once I start reading these books, I’ll start to get an idea too, but I could do more. You’ve spent the last thirteen years protecting Callum from evil. Think how much stronger your protective spells could be if there were two of us working together!’
‘I didn’t even let Helen – didn’t even ask Callum’s own mother to share any of this burden with me!’ Gran exclaimed. ‘You think that if I wouldn’t take that risk with my daughter-in-law, I’d ever take such a risk with someone else’s child? You don’t know me well, but you know me better than that, young lady!’
‘Aren’t you worried about the idea of Callum facing the Shadowing all alone?’ Melissa fired back at her. Callum was impressed at Melissa’s perseverance – and her stretching of the truth. ‘How can helping me with some magic be more dangerous than that?’ Melissa continued. ‘What harm can it do to teach me? At least then I’ll be protected, if nothing else. Make sure Callum’s not having to worry about me not being able to handle myself –?’
‘What harm can it do . . .?’ Gran repeated almost to herself, shaking her head. Slowly, she began to stack the gardening manuals back in place, out of habit. The cottage consisted of a small sitting room and kitchen downstairs, and two tiny bedrooms and a bathroom upstairs. Gran kept everything in strict order, including the books.
‘I’m not trying to treat you like a child, Melissa,’ Gran began again quietly. ‘But I just don’t believe you understand the risk – how much danger even a small amount of magical knowledge can be, to yourself especially.’
She finished stacking the books and climbed down. Callum moved the chair back into its place at the table. In this, at least, he and Gran and even Jacob were united – not one of them thought Melissa should get mixed up in the supernatural any more than was absolutely necessary.
Melissa stood clutching four of the dusty chime child books close to her chest, watching Callum and his grandmother. Her jaw was set determinedly.
‘I’ll go online.’
Callum also knew it was something that neither he nor his grandmother could counter or keep a check on. They didn’t have a computer. Callum used the internet at school, of course, and at the library – but he didn’t have the money to make constant use of Marlock’s only cyber café. He wouldn’t be able to keep up with Melissa, or to find out what she was doing.
Gran, who Callum was sure knew pretty much zilch about technology, surprised him with her own objection to Melissa’s threat.
‘The internet is inaccurate and unsafe,’ Gran said coolly. ‘There’s a reason it’s called the “web”. It lures you in and ties you up. Even if you’re researching a straightforward subject, it’s sometimes impossible to untangle the misinformation from the real thing, is it not? Try figuring out the history of the radio, or the date of a Shakespeare play, and you could get ten different answers. If it’s a risky source for simple historical facts, imagine what it’s like for magic. Don’t do it.’
Callum looked from his grandmother to Melissa and back again. They were staring at one another unblinkingly.
‘Mrs Scott, I don’t think you can stop me,’ Melissa said carefully.
Gran’s jaw clenched. Callum found himself holding back a smile at how Gran’s disapproval of his own involvement in the Shadowing had been so quickly overtaken by this new problem.
‘Melissa, you can’t force this,’ he said.
‘I know,’ she replied. ‘It’s fine. The internet may not be the best resource, but it’s all I’ve got apparently.’
Callum sighed, exasperated. ‘Melissa, you’re going to be enough help as it is. Seriously, can’t you just –’
‘Bring a notebook,’ Gran interjected. Both Callum and Melissa turned to look at her, surprised.
‘Sorry?’ Melissa said.
‘Bring a fresh notebook,’ Gran repeated. ‘Tomorrow after school. And be prepared to listen to absolutely everything I say, without question.’
Melissa gasped. ‘Thank you a million times!’ she exclaimed. ‘Look, I know you don’t want to do this. I know you don’t trust me to do the right thing, and that makes me even more grateful. I won’t let you down.’
Gran let out a wry, mirthless laugh and shook her head. ‘I’m not doing this for you. It’s for Callum’s protection. I can’t have him around someone who’s been getting information from goodness knows where, trying to use rogue magic. Your best defence is to learn from a reliable source. I have no choice but to do it myself.’
Melissa nodded in silence, then looked down to study the cover of one of the chime child books sheepishly. She cleared her throat. ‘OK. Well, if I’m going to be back tomorrow I think I’ll wait until then to start reading these too. Uh, thanks again, Mrs Scott.’
Melissa turned to go.
‘See you, Callum.’
In spite of himself, Callum couldn’t help but return her triumphant grin as he saw her to the door. As he closed it behind Melissa, Callum sighed. After everything that had happened that evening, he felt suddenly exhausted.
‘I’m going to bed,’ he announced. ‘I’ll see you in the morning, Gran.’
He started up the narrow spiral stairway.
‘Callum, you don’t seem bothered by any of this,’ Gran said crossly.
‘I’m bothered by a lot of things,’ Callum said wearily, too tired to argue. He paused. ‘Listen, you can trust Melissa, you know. She may be a bit off-the-wall, but she’s honest. At least she’s not hiding anything.’
‘She’s determined, I’ll give her that,’ Gran said, her hands on her hips, ignoring his dig. ‘But she’s going to have to learn to take the danger seriously. Both of you are. You’re up against the Netherworld.’
Callum nodded and headed up to his room. But he heard Gran still muttering as he reached the top of the stairs.
‘I wish you both knew what you’re getting yourselves into . . .’