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Even so, part of me wished I hadn’t insisted. If I hadn’t been there Sirius wouldn’t have leapt in front of me to save me, and he wouldn’t have been wounded. His leg was a mess, although Iliana had summoned Elinora Harbottle to the island, because she was apparently a very gifted healer.
Elinora shook her head when she saw the wound. ‘Very nasty. Very nasty indeed.’ She gave us all a cheerful smile. ‘Still, it could have been a lot worse, and I’m sure I can fix it. Mind, you’ll probably have a bit of a limp, Sirius. I can do magic but not miracles.’ She winked at him. ‘I always think a man with a cane looks very distinguished, and you’ll have a war wound to boast about, so look on the bright side, eh?’
Sirius was being incredibly noble and didn’t blame me at all. Once the fever had passed, he sat up in bed and demanded to know everything that had happened with Wulfram in 1673.
‘Your guess is as good as mine,’ I said. ‘He still hasn’t told us.’
‘What do you mean, he hasn’t told you?’ he asked incredulously. ‘He must have said something.’
I shook my head. ‘He’s still processing it all, I think. Emrick told us to leave him alone and he’ll tell us in his own good time.’
‘What about the sword?’ he asked anxiously. ‘I didn’t see it when we were fighting, did you?’
I bit my lip. The same thought had been bugging us all, ever since we arrived back on the island. There was no sign of the sword and Wulfram hadn’t mentioned it. No one liked to bring the subject up, and even Keely admitted she knew no more than we did.
‘The only person he’s spent any time with is Emrick,’ I said. ‘Honestly, you should have seen him when we got back to the island. I mean, he was obviously happy to be with Keely again, but it was Emrick he kept staring at. He just sort of staggered towards him, and they exchanged this huge bear hug, and Wulfram cried.’
I swallowed. It had been an emotional sight, watching my brother sobbing in Emrick’s arms. Emrick had soothed him and told him everything was all right, and then he’d led Wulfram into the snug away from the rest of us, where they’d sat and talked for hours, leaving poor Keely feeling very disappointed and the rest of us burning with curiosity.
Sirius insisted, the following day, on heading downstairs to eat dinner with us. Iliana transported him down because she wouldn’t let him even attempt to walk, and I can’t say I disagreed with her. Gee, Sirius was a terrible patient! He kept insisting he was perfectly all right, when it was obvious to anyone that he was still in pain and that, despite Elinora’s healing, his leg was far from better. I supposed he was as stubborn as I was.
Everyone was delighted to see him downstairs, and Ewella and Iliana had pulled out all the stops, preparing a glad-you’re-well-enough-to-join-us and a we’re-so-glad-you’re-home-safe meal in honour of him and Wulfram.
It’s a good job the island knew what we needed, because the dining room would have been packed. Somehow the walls had expanded, and the table had been lengthened so everyone could sit together yet have plenty of space, and Sirius was given a special velvet chair and footstool to make sure he was as comfortable as possible.
I noticed Wulfram was sitting next to Emrick with Keely on his other side. It seemed odd to me that he’d become so attached to Emrick suddenly. I thought Wulfram had been through something extraordinary, and it had clearly had a big impact on him. For some reason he seemed to see Emrick’s presence as a comfort.
It was all well and good, but I was dying to hear about Romy and if she was okay. And where was the sword? That was something we were all anxious about. Had Wulfram failed in his mission? If he had, where did that leave us?
Emrick had made it very clear, though, that we weren’t to question Wulfram, and that he’d tell us everything when he was ready, so no one spoke of his recent jaunt back in time, or of the battle we’d just gone through. Instead we kept things light, praising Ewella and Iliana for the wonderful food, chatting about how Seren was teething already, and discussing Aither’s new nursery school which, apparently, he was loving.
We’d just finished our meal and were about to start clearing the plates when there was a knock on the door.
We all looked at each other, startled. No one ever knocked on that door.
‘Should I go?’ Ewella asked nervously.
‘I’ll go,’ Emrick said. ‘Don’t look so worried. I doubt it’s anything to fret about.’
We heard voices and exchanged glances.
‘That’s Aveta,’ Iliana said. ‘Sounds like we’re being visited by the High Council.’
‘They never knock,’ Keely said. ‘They usually just zap in here.’
‘Not when it’s official business,’ Raiden told her. ‘Sounds like this is important.’
Sure enough, when Emrick returned he was trailing the High Council members behind him. There was another person with him, too. Elinora Harbottle.
‘How lovely to see you,’ Ewella said politely. ‘To what do we owe this pleasure?’
‘We’re here to inform you of a couple of things,’ Aveta said, nodding her thanks as Ewella motioned to the four of them to sit down on the empty chairs that had just appeared at the end of the table. ‘Firstly, the Guardians have selected our new leader. Elinora Harbottle has taken the place of Zephyr Ambrose.’
There were some gasps of surprise at this.
‘No offence,’ Iliana said hastily. ‘I just assumed they’d choose Aveta.’
Aveta held up her hand. ‘Frankly, I’m relieved they didn’t. I’m too old and too tired. The last few months have taken it out of me. Elinora has proved to be a loyal and intelligent witch, and I have every faith in the Guardians’ choice.’
