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‘Don’t push us,’ Harley warned him. She glared at Simon. ‘You here again? Can’t keep away, can you?’
Simon gave her an appraising look, while John’s mouth fell open in horror.
‘Harley! You can’t speak to my friend like that. He’s—’
‘A liar,’ Harley said. ‘That’s what he is.’
John dropped onto the sofa and we both stared up at them incredulously.
‘What are you doing?’ I demanded, deciding I’d be falling out with my sisters unless they issued a full apology and left our house immediately.
‘Saving your bacon,’ Keely said grimly. She turned back to Simon. ‘You’ve lied to Romy ever since you met her, haven’t you? All this stuff about you and John being friends for years. We both know that’s not true, don’t we? It can’t be true.’
John and I exchanged stunned glances.
‘Romy, have you any idea what they’re talking about?’ he asked weakly.
I wished I could say I did but they’d lost me. I mean, I’ve lived with those two for most of my life, and I’m used to their odd ways and stubborn natures, but this was on another level. They’d barged into my home, been rude and obnoxious to both me and Johnnie, and were now being incredibly rude to our guest.
‘I think you should leave,’ I said. ‘We’ll discuss this another time.’
‘We’re going nowhere,’ Keely said. ‘So go on, Simon, if that’s your real name. Tell us just how come you’ve managed to be friends for years with someone who’s only existed for less than four?’
‘What is she talking about?’ John asked me anxiously. ‘Has she been drinking? Does she do drugs?’
Simon sighed. ‘Well, I can see you’ve realised the truth. However, I would ask that you leave here now and forget all about this. I can fix it for John. This will be all forgotten, and we can continue as we were.’
‘And leave him with our sister?’ Harley demanded. ‘You’ve got a bloody nerve. Who are you anyway?’
‘As I told you, my name’s Simon,’ he said. ‘There’s no need for you to know anything else. Now, I must insist you go home to Castle Lodge right away. Leave this to me.’
How did he know they lived at Castle Lodge? This was getting more surreal by the minute. And what did he mean, he could fix it for John?’
‘Sorry, but you can insist until the cows come home,’ Keely said. ‘It’s not happening. Harley!’
Before I could begin to formulate what they planned to do, I found my arm firmly grasped by Harley, even as I heard John give an indignant cry, as Keely dragged him to his feet and hooked her arm through his.
I heard Simon shout, ‘No, wait, you don’t understand!’
Then he, and our entire house, were gone.
Chapter 2
Lowen
As I sat in the living room of Castle Lodge talking to Jethro, Iliana, Castor, and Killian, I wondered—not for the first time—how my life had come to this. It was only a few months ago that I was an ordinary solicitor, albeit not a very good one, working for Carpenter, Carpenter & Fitch in the little Cornish town of Gerrenporth.
Now, here I was in an Elizabethan manor house, in a North Yorkshire town renowned for its magical legends, chatting to a bestselling fantasy novelist, two witches, and a descendant of old Irish gods. Not to mention the fact that I was apparently not Lowen Ericson after all, but Wulfram Pendragon, descendant of Arthur. The Great Guardian. And to top it all, lying at my feet was a Norwegian Forest cat called Frey, who could communicate with me telepathically.
It had to be a weird dream, right?
But no, it was real enough, and as I listened to Killian explaining to the others Trinity’s reasons for being in Whitby, I thought surely life couldn’t get any more bizarre than this.
I really should have known better.
No sooner had Killian finished than there was a commotion on the stairs and the living room door burst open to reveal a breathless Sky and Celeste. They looked terrified, and my heart sank. Now what?
‘It’s Blaise! He’s back! I mean, he never went away, obviously—well, he did, but only to another county.’ Sky shook her head, impatient with herself. ‘We know where Blaise is!’
