A Little Touch of Magic | The Callers #1

Chapter Twenty-Four

I spent the afternoon in the study again. It was raining outside and the large grimy sheets that had been hung over the hole in the wall did little to stop the wet and chill from entering the room.

I was clearing all the books as far away from the damp as I could so Father could look through them later on. It was fascinating, looking through the tomes that Mr Ravencroft had kept. He had ordinary stories and fairy tales, then there were books about Callers and what they can do, finally he had books that I couldn't decipher. It wasn't that they were written in a different language or anything, they were just so old and faded that it was difficult to make out what had once been written on the pages.

I kept the walkie-talkie close to me while I worked, just in case Mr Ravencroft decided to get in touch, but it remained silent. I wondered if I had upset him somehow, that maybe he was ignoring me now. It was a silly thought, because they needed my information on my father.

'How are you getting on?'

I turned, expecting to see Father, but it was one of the men who always seemed to be around him. I recognised him from the previous night. He was taller than Father, with light hair and a small scar on his chin.

'I'm almost done with this side,' I replied.

'Good,' the man said. 'I'm Jacob, by the way.'

'Nice to meet you,' I said, hopping down from the step ladder I'd been on to reach the higher shelves and holding out my hand.

Jacob laughed, but took my hand anyway. 'Yes, it is.'

I frowned at him then, wondering why he was so interested in me. None of the other men who worked with my father had given me so much as a second glance.

'Found anything interesting?' Jacob asked.

I turned back to the shelves, pulling the next book off. 'This one looks like it might be, but the weather's gotten to it so the pages are all stuck and even the ones that do open can't really be read anymore.'

I handed the book to him, sad to see it in such a state. He took it gently and tried to flick through a few pages.

'I see what you mean,' he said, flicking back to the cover. 'Prophecies of the Callers. Definitely an interesting book if we could read it.'

I nodded, reaching out to take the book back so I could add it to the pile of other beyond-help books.

Jacob didn't let it go. 'How about I see what I can do with this?'

I narrowed my eyes but didn't say anything. Just nodded.

He patted me on the head as he turned to leave. I hated it when adults did that. I was practically a teenager and yet some of them still insisted on treating me like a small child. I bunched my fists and turned back to the shelves. The next row of books was a history of someone's family. I loved stories like those so I added some of them to my small pile of books to look at myself later.

I kept working until Father called me for lunch. I hadn't realised how hungry I was until the food was set in front of me.

'Anything interesting in the library today?' Father asked.

'A few books,' I replied, shovelling the food into my mouth. 'I set them aside for you.'

'And what of Jacob's book?' he said, raising his head so he could look at me properly.

'He said he was going to try and fix it. The rain got to it so I couldn't read it.'

Father's head tilted like a confused puppy, but his eyes narrowed as he considered me. 'I'll have to keep an eye on that project then. The book he has is one of the ones I was hoping you would bring to my attention.'

'I'm sorry,' I said, because I wasn't sure what else there was to say.

'It's okay. It's not your fault,' Father replied. 'I'll have a word with Jacob about bringing these things to me in the future.'

'Are there really prophecies about our people?' I blurted before I could stop myself. I hadn't meant to ask him that. I was going to ask Mr Ravencroft.

Father placed his knife and fork down on his plate and wiped his mouth on a napkin. I waited in agony while he did so. My own food lay forgotten on the plate, I wasn't as hungry for food anymore. My hunger was for information.

'I've long suspected that Ravencroft believes you are to bring about a prophecy in that book,' Father said. 'The way that he was so over-protective of your mother, even before she left me.'

He paused for a moment, looking over at me. I was staring back at him, not even blinking I was so engrossed in what he was telling me.

'I know which prophecy it is that he thinks will come to fruition,' Father stated. 'I think it's time I shared it with you, then you can decide for yourself whether you want to continue following his ridiculous instructions.'

'I'm not—' I started to protest.

Father raised a hand. 'I know about the walkie-talkie. I'm not blind.'

My face turned the darkest shade of red it had ever been. 'I'm sorry,' I said. 'But I haven't been telling him anything.'

'I know,' he said, smiling a little. 'I told you, I'm not blind.'

He motioned to the two men standing in the doorway. They started clearing the table as Father stood and held out his hand for me to take.

'Come on,' he said, 'it's time to show you the true background of our people.'

I took his hand andfollowed him out of the dining room. My heart was pounding in my chest. If whatMr Ravencroft had told me had been exciting, I could only imagine what Fatherwas about to say.

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Happy New Year everyone! I hope your start to 2017 has been amazing and thank you for taking the time to check out the newest chapter of A Little Touch of Magic.

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Only a few chapters left! I can't believe we're almost over.

Have a great week!

Heather x