The Demon Curse Read Online Free Page A

wanted and—”
    â€œAnd for a while, you did.” A voice cut in. “But only for a while.”
    Harry turned, the warmth still lingering in his face. He watched Billie move away from him toward one of the Islanders, an elderly woman with children clustered behind. Billie stepped forward and then hesitated, waiting.
    â€œChild, you have come back.” The elderly woman spoke. “My fears are at an end.”
    She walked up to Billie, her cotton dress stirring in the breeze, her gray hair tied under a plain lace bonnet. She looked down, intricate wrinkles spreading out from her eyes. Wrinkles spread over her hands too—hands that she placed on Billie’s head.
    â€œI’m sorry, Auntie May,” Billie whispered. “I tried to explain to you…”
    â€œYou did! So many times! And so many times, I told you my reply! When we took you and your poor mother in that day, this home became yours! And when all was lost…” The old woman pushed her fingers through Billie’s hair. “Why, then our village became your home more than ever. And a home is not something to be lightly thrown away! Don’t you see, Li’l Billie?”
    â€œI do…” Billie’s voice faltered. “But I had no choice. You hardly had enough food for your own children then and—”
    â€œIt’s true, it was a difficult time. But we Islanders have known plenty of those, and we always will.” Harry noticed the old woman’s eyes, just for an instant, move off in another direction, back toward the city. But then they returned to Billie. “Somehow, we would have found a way. I told you that plain at the time. Not that I believed for a moment that you’d listen.”
    â€œI beg your pardon?” Billie looked up.
    The old woman was smiling. The wrinkles on her face shifted their positions, and the corners of her mouth curved upward. Harry saw that, behind her, the other men and women were gathering, and he saw that they were smiling down at Billie too.
    â€œA tough little customer, you’ve always been that.” The old woman tutted. “It was what made me fond of you in the first place, so I can hardly complain, can I? Even if I did, you probably wouldn’t listen to that either.”
    â€œI…but…” Billie blustered.
    â€œDon’t worry, Li’l Billie.” Auntie May beamed. “You may be tough, but you’ll always be true too. Not everyone who comes across us Islanders trusts us, understands our ways, our practices. But you did. I knew you’d never forget us. And so it has proved, Li’l Billie, so it has proved.”
    Her arms swooped around Billie, and in a single move, the old woman was embracing her. Other Islanders joined, and soon Billie was lost in a mass of encircling arms, and when Harry glimpsed her, he saw a single tear shining on her cheek. At the same time, he realized that Arthur was touching his shoulder.
    â€œWho would have thought she’d never have mentioned any of this?” Arthur whispered. His eyes, Harry noticed, were shining too.
    â€œIt’s like she said—some stories aren’t so easy to tell. She’s probably been thinking about it the whole time we’ve known her,” Harry said. “We might never have found out about it if we hadn’t ended up here.”
    â€œI guess so.” Arthur hesitated for a minute. “Maybe it’s that last bit that’s slightly…strange.”
    â€œArthur?” Harry turned. He noticed his young friend’s head was slightly tilted to the side as he stared at Billie and the Islanders.
    â€œIt’s just—what on earth is this Order of the White Crow organization up to?” Arthur tapped Harry’s pocket, in which the pale green letter could just be seen, protruding. “Knock-out drugs, locked suitcases, mysterious instructions about an investigation. Not only that, but it’s brought