Page 58

Your mum didn’t knit that hat. I did. I made it for her when she fell pregnant with you. I wanted to make her something special. I unwound something unique I’d been keeping. It was a jumper from the first woman to climb Everest: it had the most fearless energy I had ever felt with my powers. Bold, ready for anything, incredibly strong. I enchanted the yarn with a few other things, a bit like a fairy godmother, I suppose, so you would always have a connection to the magic you’d come from. With a bit of a fiddle, I managed to cloak that magic so your mum would never know it was there, or you in time. I knew she wouldn’t want my help, in whatever form it came in.

It was supposed to be a baby hat, but I’m not so good at following knitting patterns (too much like maths homework, if you ask me) so it came out all baggy. I never knew if your mum liked it, let alone used it for you. Seeing as we haven’t spoken in all this time.

That must be why the spell amplified in the way it did, and why you couldn’t reverse it the other night: because you weren’t wearing the beanie. You’ll have to try it AGAIN, Temperance. With the hat, with the Malibu, and take your sister too – she was there that night. You can’t leave any magical stone unturned.

The frying pan spat an angry drop of hot oil onto Temperance’s wrist. ‘Fuck,’ she whispered, barely feeling the pain.

***

‘Fuck!’

‘Chug it down, Tee! Jesus, it’s just a bit of rum. What is a small hangover compared to removing a jinx over our heads?!’

Temperance could feel the sand whipped up by the dawn’s blustery wind getting between the silk bodice and her ribs, scratching and tickling her with every slight move she made. She held the glass bottle up to the weak light. ‘I know, I know! I just wish it didn’t have those bits floating in the bottom. Ugh. Fine.’ She put her lips to the rim and swallowed two gulps, retching slightly as she came up for air.

‘Big baby,’ Susie muttered, passing her a water bottle.

‘Could I get a bit of support here, or what?! I know this whole thing is my mess, but I’m also bricking it that I’m not going to be able to clean it up. Now: checklist.’

Susie bit her lip. ‘Wedding dress, check. Robe tie, check. Beanie – with hidden magical powers apparently – check. All inside out, check. Malibu, campfire, beach, sunrise. What else did we do that night?’

‘Stevie was there.’

‘Yeah, but she can’t have contributed to it, can she? Being normal and everything.’

‘Good point. So . . . we held hands and danced around the fire,’ Temperance said reluctantly.

‘We were such tools.’

‘We are such tools. Come on.’ Temperance clambered up off the beach towel, feeling several layers of lace and boning plus the fate of her community pulling at her shoulders. She scrunched up her fingers and let her magic take some of the weight. ‘We just need to do this, and mean it. Abel needs to be free to go home and go back to Cass.’ She shivered. ‘It’s a cold one today.’ She put out her hands, after relaxing her grip and dusting them off on the ivory skirt.

Susie took them and held firmly. ‘I’ll mean it, all right. I’m taking no chances when it comes to our home, or the pub. And you’re going to really mean it too, right?’ She gave her big sister a hard stare.

‘What does that mean?’

‘No lingering hope that if Abel hangs around for longer, that he might remember the good old days more, warm up a bit, forget all about Bath and Karen . . .’

‘It’s Cass. And God no, Suse! He needs to be gone, for both our sakes. I want him gone.’

Susie nodded. ‘OK. Good. Just checking. So, what did we say last time?’

‘It’s too much of a blur. I think we should keep it short and sweet. Punchy, to the point.’

Susie looked up to the sky striped with powdery blue and baby pink, the sun starting to feel its way into the morning air. ‘Abel Gulliver we release you.’

‘Perfect.’ Temperance started moving clockwise around the fire, forcing Susie to amble into the dance too.

‘I feel like such a dick.’

‘That’s not in the chant. Let’s not accidentally cast for an army of giant penises to wash up on the beach, OK? Focus.’

Susie spluttered out a laugh and Temperance couldn’t help but match it for a minute before she cleared her throat and started the chant for real.

‘Abel Gulliver we release you. Abel Gulliver WE release you. Abel Gulliver WE release YOU.’

They moved round and round, both sisters closing their eyes. Temperance felt something click into place and a swirling warmth start to build in her palms, between Susie’s, locking them in. It was like they had put two perfectly matched jigsaw pieces together at long last. They could join their magic and do anything, as a sisterhood. The feeling tingled sharply and spread up her arms, into her shoulders. There was a discreet prickling under her hat, as if now that its powers had been named it was happy to get involved and play its part. Temperance felt a heat circle her hairline and surge along her cheekbone and jaw. She focused on painting the outcome she needed, sent all that tingling heat into her mind’s eye.

She started to imagine Abel walking towards her – why did he have to be half naked in his wetsuit, even in her own mind?! – and now she should let him stroll right past and hop into his van and drive far, far away. She should.