Did that happen to you?I scrawled.
All I can say is that you’re on borrowed time. Look at your ring.
I glanced down at my ring, which was fizzing away. Hang on – had another of the moonstones started to dull?
‘Look at you taking notes,’ said Rosie. ‘We haven’t even started yet.’
‘Just trying to capture the mood,’ I said uneasily, twirling my pen in my hand.
‘All right, let’s do this before the skies open and our dessert spread gets ruined!’ Mom, who never missed an opportunity to be in charge, blew her whistle.
A few onlookers ran to fetch umbrellas and ponchos from the sundry store – just in case.
‘Let the chaos begin,’ shouted Lara, topping up her punch. ‘Rosie, you’ve outdone yourself with whatever’s in here. The entire bottle shop, by the looks of it.’
‘You’re not far off,’ said Rosie with a giggle. ‘Charlie always made me dilute it, but what he doesn’t know won’t hurt him. Sorry, love!’ she called to the sky as she sipped her drink.
I smiled. Closing Josephine’s diary, I turned back to my notepad, trying to focus on the match and not the increasingly angry skies overhead. My fingers tightened around my pen as I prepared to jot down my observations. Ugh,whyhad I decided that staying up all night drinking was the smart move?
For everyone else lounging on their towels or nibbling their way through the grazing table, the match was just a Summerween staple – an excuse to drink cider and bask in the lingering warmth of summer as it transitioned over to the cooler months. At worst, they’d get drenched by a storm, although there were probably enough people with magic around that they could ward off the worst of it.
For me, it was higher stakes.
Not only did I have this article to deliver for Eddie, but now I had the added issue of Finn’s bet.
If Finn’s team won, I had to kiss him.
And if Noah’s team won … then what?
Unlike Finn, Noah would never propose a wager whereIwas the prize. Although, watching him play, I had to say that I didn’t particularly mind the prospect.
Fortunately, the article gave me an excuse to channel my attention elsewhere. This was a relief, because both the players and the audience members were making it their full-time job to whisper and nudge about Finn’s teasing offer.
Although, as the game went on, the whispers focused less on that and more on the sky. It hurt my poor hungover head to stare for too long, but I could see that what had been a few bruised clouds had become a giant scarf of purple draped overhead.
‘Is my hair starting to frizz in the humidity?’ muttered a college kid with voluminous curls, twisting their hair betweentheir fingers. ‘I bought some of that serum from Deep Cuts, but I don’t think it’s working.’
I touched my own hair, making sure that it wasn’t repeating its antics from the other day. No, it was still looking good.
‘Is it safe to carry a beach umbrella in a storm?’ a girl in a striped romper was asking. ‘Wouldn’t it channel lightning? Itismade of tree parts.’
‘I’d be more worried about the metal spike,’ her friend replied.
‘I’d be worried about being stabbed with it if I were Finn,’ said the girl in the striped romper. ‘Noah looks like he’s trying to kill him with that ball.’
She was right. Although it was getting harder to see what was going on with the skies getting darker and darker with every kick, it was impossible to ignore the drama on the pitch. The tension between the Tucker boys was so strong you could just about cut it with one of Mom’s cheese knives – they were battling for the ball with such intensity it was a wonder no bones had been broken. Yet.
Mom blew the whistle to signal the end of the period, and the two teams retreated into small knots, grabbing water from the cups that Lorraine was passing around. Finn and Noah glared at each other for the full three-minute break, and it was a relief when Mom signalled the start of the next period.
Finn’s team was kicking off this time. I bit my lip as Finn squared up against Noah, then kicked off so violently that the sound of it echoed across the beach.
‘Um, is it just me, or is this game getting a bit heated?’ whispered Lara, nodding towards the pitch.
Now Noah was coming in for the ball. There was such violence in his tackle that he almost knocked Finn to the ground. Sand scattered everywhere as Finn fought for his balance, his face twisted in anger. Recovering fast, Finn gained control of the ball, kicking it down the pitch so viciously that I was surprised he didn’t pop it. Had he used magic?
‘Don’t get me wrong, Molly, I love this for you,’ said Lara. ‘But … I think it’s going to end with you administering gauze to a broken nose.’
‘I didn’t bring any gauze,’ I said, trying to keep my tone light even though the anger between the two boys disturbed me.
