stuck in. She fluttered her fingers cautiously and glanced down at her feet as she walked on. No bits of her hurt yet⦠Then she shrugged crossly. She was worrying herself for nothing. Katie was truly horrible, but being able to spot peopleâs weaknesses didnât make her a witch. There was no magical excuse for any of this. Katie was only normally nasty. Emily and Rachel had to not let her get to them, that was all.
And I wonât , Emily said to herself firmly, snatching back the hand that was fingering the torn spot on her scalp. I just need to work out how.
âYouâll be all right?â Rachel said to her anxiously as they came up to the house gate, where Robin was waiting, hopping from foot to foot impatiently.
âFine,â Emily gave her a tiny smile.
Rachel nodded. She looked very determined, though still a bit white around the mouth. âWe wonât let her keep doing this sort of stuff, I promise.â
âCome on.â Robin glared at Emily, and she shifted her school bag on her shoulder uneasily. He could tell she was hiding something, and he wanted to know.
âBye!â she called to Rachel, and hurried up the path, hunting for her key, with Robin trotting behind her. The mermaid door knocker on the front door flicked its tail, and then the brassy little face twisted and peered down at her curiously. Maybe it wasnât only Robin who could sense what had been happening. Her parents had strengthened the door spells after Emily accidentally blundered through, so she supposed it was like an extra-sensitive burglar alarm now. The whole house was guarding her. Emily wasnât quite sure how she felt about that.
âSsshhh!â Robin hissed at her, shutting the front door very quietly.
âWhat?â Emily blinked at him, surprised, and he pulled her up the stairs after him. He stopped when they were round the turn in the stairs, and sat down, staring at her determinedly.
âWhat happened?â
âI donât know what you mean,â Emily murmured, but she glanced away from him. His dark blue eyes were suddenly so water-like that they seemed to swirl and ripple, and she would have told him anything if she had looked at him much longer.
âYou shouldnât be able to do that,â Robin said crossly. âI was trying to spell you, and you broke away! Youâve lived with us for too long, thatâs what it is. Youâre too used to magic.â
âReally?â Emily asked him, feeling rather pleased. When sheâd first begun to see the odd things in the house, sheâd wondered if maybe she had some strange sort of powers. It had been a terrible disappointment when she found out that actually, she was the only one of them who didnât. So it was good to know that at least the little scrap of magic that had grown inside her was useful for something .
âReally. It must be because youâve been around me and Lark and Lory so much. Youâve got an immunity. Because when I looked at you like that you should have been completely hypnotized, and told me exactly whatâs been going on !â
Emily sighed, and decided that Robin wasnât going to leave her alone. Sheâd have to tell him â after all, if she didnât, heâd just go and find out about it from someone at school.
âKatie Meadows was teasing me, thatâs all. You know what sheâs like.â
Robin blinked thoughtfully. âOh. That girl who looks a bit like a slug?â
âDoes she?â Emily frowned. âI donât think so.â
âTo me she does. Sheâs slimy. What did she do?â
Emily was silent for two seconds too long. âShe was just mean,â she said unconvincingly.
âAnd?â Robin hugged her, and then he whispered sweetly in her ear, much more sweetly than he ever usually spoke to her. âI can make you tell me, you know.â
âOh, all right!â Emily snapped.
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