Page 55 (1/2)
"Is thatyou?" Sarah stared at the walls in aCorra as she flew along the Tha beside the witches who had taken ic There was Goody Alsop, the coven’s elder, with her fine features and stooped shoulders; thewitches Catherine Streeter, Elizabeth Jackson, and Marjorie Cooper
As for the artist, that was clear without a signature Jack had painted these i the lines and color so that they beca Se, they had somehow retained their beauty
"We are fortunate to have such a roo been a source of inspiration for London’s witches Co at the bottolances snapping and crackling against athering in 1591, but these witches were not devoid of talent
"Here is our Diana Bishop, coht her aunt with her, Sarah Bishop, and her mother-in-laho I trust needs no introduction"
"None at all," said the most elderly of the four witches "We’ve all heard cautionary tales about Mélisande de Clermont"
Linda had warned s She had handpicked the witches ould help us: firewitch Sybil Bonewits, itch Tamsin Soothtell, and itch Cassandra Kyteler Linda’s powers relied heavily on the elee," Ysabeau said crisply "If you would like lance at her felloitch "Diana asked for you to be here when she cast her spell We will all h soave a curt nod
"Make way for the maps if you please, ladies!" Leonard said, his arms full of tubes He dumped them on a rickety table encrusted ax and beat a fast retreat up the stairs "Call " The door to the crypt slammed shut behind him
Linda directed the place we had found that the best results cae map of the British Isles surrounded by individual county maps The map of Great Britain alone took up a section of floor that was around six feet by four feet
"This looks like a bad eleraphy project," Sarah htened a map of Dorset
"ItMaster Haber Fernando had devised a protective sleeve for it using one of Gallowglass’s clean socks It was ot out my phone, too, and took a few shots of the murals on the wall They made me feel closer to Jack--and to Matthew
"Where should I put the pages froiven custody of the precious sheets of vellu to Sarah You hold on to the one with the two dragons,"
I said
"Me?" Ysabeau’s eyes widened It had been a controversial decision, but I had prevailed against Sarah and Linda in the end
"I hope you don’tpicture caed to Andrew Hubbard I thought we could balance the spell by keeping them in witch and vaht decision
"Of c-course" Ysabeau’s tongue slipped on the faave her ar opposite, and Linda and Ta about the spell Ysabeau can take care of herself" Sarah handed me a pot of red ink and a quill pen s
"It’s time, ladies," Linda said with a brisk clap She distributed brown candles to the other members of the London coven Broas a propitious color for finding lost objects It had the added benefit of grounding the spell--which I was sorely in need of, givenof county maps, and they all lit their candles hispered spells The flaht--true witch’s candles
Linda escorted Ysabeau to her place just below the south coast of England Sarah stood across from her, as promised, above the north coast of Scotland Linda walked clockwise three tied witches,salt to cast a protective circle
Once everyone was in her proper place, I took the stopper out of the bottle of red ink The distinctive scent of dragon’s-blood resin filled the air There were other ingredients in the ink, too, including more than a few drops ofI dipped the quill pen into the ink and pressed the chiseled silver nib onto a narrow slip of parch to er than it would have in Elizabethan London
Letter by letter, working from the outside of the parchht
T, N, J, O, W, T, E, S
T J WESTON
I folded the parchment carefully to hide the name Noas my turn to walk outside the sacred circle and work another binding After slipping Master Haber with the parchan a circular perambulation from the place between the firewitch and the itch I passed by Tamsin and Ysabeau, Linda and Cassandra, Sarah and Sybil
When I arrived back at the place where I began, a shi the witches’ astonished faces I turned my left hand palm up For a er, but it was gone before I could deterleaold, silver, black, and white lines of power that pulsed under the skin The streaks twisted and twined into the orobouros-shaped tenth knot that surrounded the proap in the shi line and drew the circle closed The power roared through it, keening and crying out for release Corra wanted out, too She was restless, shifting and stretching insidecarefully over the salt and onto the land Each step took me closer to the spot that represented London At last s with a snap of skin and bone and a cry of frustration
"Fly, Corra!" I commanded
Free at last, Corra shot around the rooues of flaained altitude and found air currents that would help to carry her where she wanted to go, the beating of her wings slowed Corra caught sight of her portrait and cooed in approval, reaching out to pat the ith her tail
I pulled the coht hand The folded slip of parchment went into my left My arms stretched wide, and I waited while the threads that bound the world and filled the Greyfriars crypt snaked and slithered overout the cords that had been absorbed into thened and expanded, filling my whole body with power They knotted around my joints, created a protective web aroundveins and the pathways forged by nerves and sinews
I recited e Author wants it to look vaguely rectangular in shape]
Missing pages
Lost and found
Where is Weston
On this ground?