The Crowmaster Read Free Page A

– telling me I’d get a cake if I was extra good – but I was no longer really listening.
    The bedsprings squeaked when I stepped up on top of the mattress. It was impossible to walk around the bed without having to go through Caddie and her doll, but I could go over it and reach the door without having to pass too close to them.
    I thudded down on to the other side of the bed. The closed bedroom door was just a few steps away now. My eyes remained locked with Caddie’s as I backed towards it, my hand searching for the handle.
    â€˜Raggy Maggie likes sugar, don’t you, Raggy Maggie?’ was all she said as I slipped out on to the upstairs landing.
    The door to Ameena’s room was directly across from mine. It used to be where Nan slept when she lived with us, but – apart from Christmas Day – it had been empty ever since she’d gone into the old folks’ home a few years back.
    The door wasn’t fully shut. I nudged it open and took a backwards step inside. My eyes were still on Caddie. I didn’t want to let her out of my sight for a second, in case she pulled a vanishing act like Mr Mumbles had.
    I could hear Ameena’s breathing, soft and slow. She was asleep. Not for long.
    â€˜Ameena,’ I hissed into the gloom. ‘Ameena, wake up.’
    I heard her gasp quietly. The bed gave a sharp creak as she sat quickly upright. ‘What?’ she said, more loudly than I’d have liked. ‘What’s wrong?’
    â€˜Come here, quick.’
    â€˜What is it?’
    â€˜Just come and look!’ I hissed, giving her an imploring look. She muttered faintly beneath her breath as she threw off her covers and came to join me by the door.
    She needn’t have bothered. The spot where Caddie had been standing was empty. I cursed myself for glancing away.
    â€˜Gone,’ I said. ‘She’s gone.’
    â€˜Who’s gone?’
    â€˜Caddie.’
    â€˜Yeah, four days ago,’ Ameena said.
    I shook my head. ‘No, not four days ago. Now. A second ago.’
    I marched across the landing and into my room. Empty. Ameena sauntered in behind me.
    â€˜You were probably just dreaming.’
    â€˜I’m telling you she was here,’ I said, pointing to the foot of my bed. ‘Standing right there.’
    Ameena opened my wardrobe door and peeked inside. ‘Not in there,’ she said, closing it again with a click. ‘You sure you weren’t dreaming, kiddo?’
    I flopped down into a sitting position on my bed. First Mr Mumbles and then Caddie. What was happening to me?
    â€˜I saw her,’ I said, my voice coming out as a quiet croak. ‘I saw her as clearly as I’m seeing you.’
    â€˜Maybe you just imagined—’
    â€˜No,’ I snapped, ‘she was here.’
    â€˜You didn’t let me finish. I’m not saying she wasn’t here, I’m saying maybe you imagined it.’
    I looked up at her and blinked, even more confused than I had been. ‘How do you mean?’
    â€˜Remember in the garage?’ she said. ‘When we fought Mr Mumbles. You told me you thought about a light coming on, and what happened?’
    â€˜A light came on,’ I frowned, ‘but—’
    â€˜And you thought how handy it would be to have a weapon, didn’t you? And then…’
    â€˜I found the axe.’
    â€˜Exactly,’ she nodded. ‘So what happened downstairs? Just before you saw Mr Mumbles.’
    â€˜I dropped a glass,’ I told her.
    â€˜And?’
    I hesitated, having already realised the road this conversation was taking me down. ‘And I remembered him coming through the window.’
    â€˜And I’ll bet just before your other guest turned up you’d been thinking about her too.’
    I looked from Ameena to the spot where Caddie had been standing. Though I didn’t realise it, I must’ve nodded.
    â€˜Thought so,’ Ameena said. She