friend,” I whispered.
“The guy you murdered, you mean?” he asked, looking back over his shoulder at me.
“I didn’t murder him!” I groaned, the pain in my leg sapping any fight I had left in me.
“Not what several witnesses have told us,” he said, pulling away from the kerb.
“Apparently you pushed him right out in front of that car.”
“They’re talking shit,” I whined, holding my leg.
“And you’re in it,” the officer said, and the other copper laughed.
7
Potter
I must have been mad to even consider the idea of going in search of Sophie. What was wrong with me, for crying out loud? It was like I was in some kind of emotional shoot-out or something. Part of me was glad that she hadn’t been home. But there was that other part – the part that feared for her safety. Sophie’s father said that others had come looking for her and that they’d been killers. Why would these people be looking for her? What kind of life was she leading now in this world that had been pushed ? Sophie had been the kind of girl who wouldn’t have said shit even if her mouth had been full of it – so how had she got herself into trouble? And what kind of trouble was she in?
Was it my problem? No – not really. We had been lovers once and I had been in love with her – but she had rejected me. Even when I’d left her bedroom that night, as she lay screaming and petrified of me, I hadn’t been able to forget – not at first, anyway. As I had crisscrossed the country picking up the odd job here and there and sleeping in cheap motels, I had written to her. In each letter I had explained in the best way I could – and I wasn’t very good with words – how much she had meant to me and how sorry I was for scaring her.
But Sophie never replied once. She made it clear that she didn’t want anything more to do with me.
So why should I go and get myself into a heap of shit for her now? I attracted shit like a cow’s arse attracted flies and I didn’t need it, not now. I was meant to keep my head down in this new world.
Kiera had said that – and she was right.
Kiera! What about Kiera? She needed my help more than Sophie did. I needed her help too.
Perhaps I shouldn’t have left the manor? Kiera and I were a team now – we always had been. I turned my back on Sophie’s home once and for all, knowing I would never mention that I had come looking for Sophie – whatever my true reasons had been for doing so. Then, leaping into the air, my wings shot from my back and I raced into the cold, winter sky. I didn’t head straight for Hallowed Manor; I was going to take a detour first.
Kiera had stuff that she wanted, especially her police badge more than anything. So banking right, I headed in the direction of Havensfield.
I knew Kiera’s home address, but I had never been there. She had spoken about her flat to me many times, talking about her comfy armchair placed by the window so she could sit and watch people pass by in the street below. Kiera had told me about the thousands of newspaper clippings that covered her living room wall. As I flew nearer to Havensfield, my curiosity grew about how Kiera had lived and what her life had been like before leaving for The Ragged Cove.
The streets of Havensfield were deserted, and just a few houses still had lights shining within them. It was late; I didn’t know how late, but I guessed that most people had gone to bed for the night. That suited me, as I didn’t want to be seen by anyone, especially as I was breaking into Kiera’s flat. I just wanted to get her stuff and get back to the manor.
Swooping out of the sky, I felt my wings withdraw into my back and wrap themselves around my ribcage. I’d had wings for as long as I could remember, but I could never get used to that feeling of them disappearing back into me. Every time it happened, it felt like I was momentarily suffocating. Then my lungs would expand, and I could breathe again.
I pulled the collar
“The guy you murdered, you mean?” he asked, looking back over his shoulder at me.
“I didn’t murder him!” I groaned, the pain in my leg sapping any fight I had left in me.
“Not what several witnesses have told us,” he said, pulling away from the kerb.
“Apparently you pushed him right out in front of that car.”
“They’re talking shit,” I whined, holding my leg.
“And you’re in it,” the officer said, and the other copper laughed.
7
Potter
I must have been mad to even consider the idea of going in search of Sophie. What was wrong with me, for crying out loud? It was like I was in some kind of emotional shoot-out or something. Part of me was glad that she hadn’t been home. But there was that other part – the part that feared for her safety. Sophie’s father said that others had come looking for her and that they’d been killers. Why would these people be looking for her? What kind of life was she leading now in this world that had been pushed ? Sophie had been the kind of girl who wouldn’t have said shit even if her mouth had been full of it – so how had she got herself into trouble? And what kind of trouble was she in?
Was it my problem? No – not really. We had been lovers once and I had been in love with her – but she had rejected me. Even when I’d left her bedroom that night, as she lay screaming and petrified of me, I hadn’t been able to forget – not at first, anyway. As I had crisscrossed the country picking up the odd job here and there and sleeping in cheap motels, I had written to her. In each letter I had explained in the best way I could – and I wasn’t very good with words – how much she had meant to me and how sorry I was for scaring her.
But Sophie never replied once. She made it clear that she didn’t want anything more to do with me.
So why should I go and get myself into a heap of shit for her now? I attracted shit like a cow’s arse attracted flies and I didn’t need it, not now. I was meant to keep my head down in this new world.
Kiera had said that – and she was right.
Kiera! What about Kiera? She needed my help more than Sophie did. I needed her help too.
Perhaps I shouldn’t have left the manor? Kiera and I were a team now – we always had been. I turned my back on Sophie’s home once and for all, knowing I would never mention that I had come looking for Sophie – whatever my true reasons had been for doing so. Then, leaping into the air, my wings shot from my back and I raced into the cold, winter sky. I didn’t head straight for Hallowed Manor; I was going to take a detour first.
Kiera had stuff that she wanted, especially her police badge more than anything. So banking right, I headed in the direction of Havensfield.
I knew Kiera’s home address, but I had never been there. She had spoken about her flat to me many times, talking about her comfy armchair placed by the window so she could sit and watch people pass by in the street below. Kiera had told me about the thousands of newspaper clippings that covered her living room wall. As I flew nearer to Havensfield, my curiosity grew about how Kiera had lived and what her life had been like before leaving for The Ragged Cove.
The streets of Havensfield were deserted, and just a few houses still had lights shining within them. It was late; I didn’t know how late, but I guessed that most people had gone to bed for the night. That suited me, as I didn’t want to be seen by anyone, especially as I was breaking into Kiera’s flat. I just wanted to get her stuff and get back to the manor.
Swooping out of the sky, I felt my wings withdraw into my back and wrap themselves around my ribcage. I’d had wings for as long as I could remember, but I could never get used to that feeling of them disappearing back into me. Every time it happened, it felt like I was momentarily suffocating. Then my lungs would expand, and I could breathe again.
I pulled the collar
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