For an instant I wondered if I should turn and run. Had I been crazy to come back at all? But the Talisman lay cool and quiet against my skin, giving me courage, giving me hope. I could do this, I told myself. I could face it. I had to. Sebastian would be waiting.
“Come on, Harriet, let’s get inside. It’s cold.”
We dragged our suitcases up to the great oak front door and stepped into the large entrance hall, where a fire was blazing in an old-fashioned stone hearth. The paneled walls and the gilt-framed paintings and the cabinets full of silver school trophies were just as I had remembered. There was the smell of flowers and beeswax and wood smoke, mixed with a subtle scent of money and tradition. Students in school uniform were lingering by the fire, or hurrying down the corridors that led from the hallway, full of first-day errands and importance. As I stood there, taking it all in, a girl with curly hair and warm brown eyes threw herself at me.
“Evie! You’re back! Oh, it’s so good to see you.”
“Sarah!”
We hugged each other and smiled, though there was a lump in my throat.
“How are you?” Sarah asked quietly. “It must have been hard, having the funeral to deal with.”
“I’m okay, honestly.” I remembered that Harriet was still hanging on to my shadow like an unwanted party guest. “Um, Sarah, this is Harriet. We came on the train together.”
“Hi.” Sarah smiled. “Shall I take you to see Miss Barnard, Harriet? She’s in charge of the younger girls. Dinner will be served soon, so you don’t want to be late.”
“Yes, please,” said Harriet gratefully, and I was grateful too, to be free of her at last. Sarah swept Harriet away with a motherly air, saying over her shoulder, “But we need to talk, Evie. As soon as we can.”
I headed for the dorm to unpack, hauling my suitcase up the grand marble stairs that wound their way to the upper floors. I paused for breath near the top and glanced down over the edge of the elaborate iron banister. The black-and-white tiles of the hallway looked far below, and the height and space around the magnificent staircase were almost dizzying. For a second, my mindslipped, and the rest of the school didn’t exist, only a terrible sheer drop, with those bright tiles swirling below me like a crazy giant chessboard. I seemed to see the figure of a girl lying on the floor like a broken toy, her eyes staring up into mine, a ribbon of crimson blood spreading over the endless black and white….
A bell rang out shrilly. It was the warning bell, telling the last few parents lingering over their farewells that it was time to leave their daughters behind. I took a deep breath and looked again. There was no one lying on the tiled floor. What had it been? A memory? A prophecy? Or merely one of the tricks that the brooding atmosphere of Wyldcliffe played on my imagination?
It was nothing. I wouldn’t allow myself to be distracted from what I had to do. Find Sebastian. Awaken the Talisman. It was as simple—and as difficult—as that.
Climbing the last few steps, I reached the third floor. Long, door-lined corridors stretched out on either side of the staircase. This was the top of the building; only the disused attic lay above. I headed quickly for my dorm, hoping to find Helen there. But the high-ceilinged, cold white room was empty.
There were five beds, each with thin drapes that could be pulled around for a little privacy. The only relief fromthe room’s clinical whiteness was a framed photograph of a teenage girl that was fixed over my bed, and an elaborately carved window seat that gave a view of the grounds and the surrounding hills.
I opened my suitcase and hurriedly changed my jeans and sweater for my school clothes. The old-fashioned tie hid any sign of the Talisman hanging under my shirt. I knew, though, that I would have to find somewhere to hide my precious heirloom. I couldn’t trust anyone except Sarah and Helen, and I couldn’t risk