Witch Doctors Inc: SEASON TWO (Ongoing)

Part 2.6

The sun is still shining when we reach Merrivale. The sky is a comfortable grey-blue, the gardens bright with flowers and birdsong. Cobblestone houses nestle in the greenery, their half-open windows drinking in the afternoon breeze. In the space between some bushes and a wooden fence, a mini hippopotamus - small squidgy creatures the size of a cat - nibbles on a rose.

"It's so cute," Addy gushes. "Is it someone's pet?"

I shake my head. "They're all over the place here. They're wild. They eat roses, so you'll find them in your garden, destroying your favourite rose bush. Any time now someone's grandma is going to come out of the house to yell at it."

Addy tilts her head, thoughtful. "I could never yell at such an adorable creature," she decides.

The house Maya's secured for us is actually a house this time, rather than a mansion in disguise. I regard her with surprise. "I expected magic fountains and singing doves," I admit.

"Accommodation in the suburbs is modest," Maya tells me. "They don't get many tourists. I hope it's to your liking though."

It's definitely to my liking. A nice, normal house with windows and bedrooms, and a door to let me in. That's all I need. No magical hoo-ha.

The first thing I do is choose a bed, flop down on it, and bury my face in the pillow.

Addy puts her hand on my shoulder. "I can't imagine how hard this must be for you," she says. "Not only do you have to confront memories of the mother you lost, you have to listen to false accusations too. A homecoming shouldn't be like this."

I raise my head from the pillow. "Sadly, you can't choose your family," I say.

Addy rests her chin on the pillow next to me. "If I could choose my family, I would still choose Hami, Lima and Dami. But I would also choose you and Onyx."

I don't know what to say to that. Addy, being Addy, knows that I don't know, and doesn't prod for a reply.

I rest before heading out to my old house. I need to have a strong grip on my emotions for this. I don't like it when my emotions slip out. They don't serve any purpose. I like them locked up inside, where only I can see them.

It's even more important now that the dark power comes to me unbidden. If I lose my cool, I could cause irreversible damage. I could make things disappear. I could make people disappear.

I insist on going alone. This is my family, and my case. My friends are safer away from me, at any rate.

The streets are quiet. Two kids toss a ball back and forth. A mini hippopotamus grazes in the shade. The trees whisper with sunglow.

A middle-aged woman in a sundress in arranging bluebells in her front yard. She lights up with recognition when she sees me. "You're Harmony Hartfeld's daughter," she remarks.

"Lily," I introduce, holding out my hand.

She shakes it with both of hers.

"You might not remember me," she admits, "but I'd know your face anywhere. I'm Lissa Bradbourne. Your mother and I were good friends."

"It's nice to meet you, Mrs Bradbourne."

"Call me Lissa. You remind me so much of Harmony."

That takes me by surprise. My mother was warm and had no trouble getting along with people. I never thought of myself as being like her.

"What brings you back to Merrivale?"

I toe the ground nervously. "My stepmother called me back," I explain. "She's having some...trouble."

Lissa's smile transforms into a scowl. "The disgraceful things she's been saying. It's an insult to your mother's memory. And to accuse her own daughter..." She closes her eyes, as if to coax the anger back inside. "Even in death, she won't let Harmony alone."

"They were friends once, weren't they?"

Lissa gives a quiet, bitter laugh. "Friends. I wouldn't say that. Emmeline was always trying to get the better of your mother in high school. Harmony did very well in school, and Emmeline couldn't stand to be outshone. Whatever Harmony did, Emmeline had to do it better. That's how they ended up in many of the same clubs and study groups."

I frown. "Emmeline had always made out that they were friends before my father came in between them."

"She could hardly tell you they were enemies. When Harmony met Robert, she couldn't let that be either. She came back with a plan to steal Robert. That's why your mother was so angry that day. I'd always said that Emmeline would be the death of her, and in the end she was."

A cold, buzzing lump rises in my throat. It was Emmeline's fault. My mother was dead because of her.

A butterfly lands on Lissa's hand. I start. It isn't black, I realise, and relief pools in my stomach.

"Don't let Emmeline get under your skin," Lissa advises. "You're a wonderful girl - Harmony's girl. No one here believes otherwise."

I smile at her, and there's warmth in it. "Thank you, Lissa. I won't let her get to me."

The butterfly twitches its wings and takes off. It's a monarch, deep orange like the setting sun. I say goodbye to Lissa, and follow it into the twilight.