than this. You’re not really trying. I’ve been very fair up to now, very fair. Just remember little Crystal,’ he went on. ‘You wouldn’t want any harm to come to her, would you?’
Effie jumped as if a small electric pulse had jolted her. ‘Don’t hurt Crystal!’
‘There we go. A reaction. Good. Now, Effie, just imagine Crystal out there in the mines—’
‘No!’
‘… out in the mines, knee-deep in mud, freezing cold and dressed in rags. Snakes slithering round her ankles. Rockgoyles as her bosses! She’d be so scared, Effie. Rockgoyles are evil creatures. And she’d be lonely. Miserable. She wouldn’t die – at least not straightaway – but she’d be unhappy and get sick, she’d be hungry and—’
‘Be quiet! Don’t say those things!’
‘I’ll be quiet when you start using this!’ He pointed to the strange ice thing. ‘Tell me what it’s saying!’
Suddenly the dangling objects on the icicle began to jiggle and bounce. They produced a faint tinkling melody.
‘Is it a fortune?’ Grint asked. ‘Come on, Effie! You’ll be in trouble if you don’t look. I swear you will! I’ll see that daughter of yours off to the mines if you don’t do this. Or there’s still a skweener to scare her with. I’ll—’
With what seemed an enormous effort, Effie leaned over the table and put her eye against the end of the crosspiece.
‘Is it a pastune or a fortune? Look! ’ Grint raked his hands through his long hair. ‘Can’t you make a picture come? I’m sure you could if you tried. Those damned ice pixies didn’t have any problems using these things. I saw them doing it.’
‘Pixies?’ Effie sat up.
‘Oh, it doesn’t matter. I was just remembering, back up there, on top, the pixie creatures that made these things. They could see so much, backwards and forwards in time. You’re not trying!’
With a sigh, Effie slowly leaned over the table so she could see into the horizontal tube again. A tear dribbled down her cheek.
‘This is a pastune,’ she said quietly. ‘I can see Molly Webber in her garden. She’s planting carrots.’
‘For crying out loud!’ Grint roared. ‘Carrots! Molly Webber! I’m not interested in gardening. I want to know what important things are going to happen!’
There was silence in the room for a whole minute then another tune rippled across the ice sculpture.
‘Fortune. John Carter,’ Effie said. Her voice was flat and expressionless and Crystal realized that her mother had no idea what she was saying because she would never give out information about Stella’s father like this. ‘He’s plotting against Morton Grint. He wants to be the new leader. He is going to challenge Morton Grint. He has not forgiven Morton Grint for putting him down in front of the others. He plans to surprise him at the next meeting.’ She spoke as if what she said had no meaning and was of no importance.
Grint, however, leaped up and clapped his hands.
‘Ha! I shall be ready! Well done! It’s good. It’s good. What else?’
‘A pastune,’ Effie said, staring into the ice tube. ‘Mrs Wilkins made a love potion for Mary Smith to make Jim Collett fall in love with her—’
‘Love potions are forbidden! That’s witchcraft. I’ll stop that. She will be punished.’ He wrote down the names quickly in a small notebook.
Effie’s flat voice went on. ‘This is a fortune: there will be more trouble from the Barnaby Andrews family. They don’t understand how you found out he was going to rebel … They blame Sam Smith. There is unrest. Trouble is coming to Morton Grint.’ Her voice was getting weaker and weaker.
‘Good, good! As long as we’re forewarned we can win. This is no trouble at all for me. More. Come on, give me more. Crystal’s happiness is at stake here, Effie. Remember that!’
‘Another fortune. I can see … something going on at the Wall, at the West Gate. I don’t understand what it is, Morton Grint … It looks like … I can see
Effie jumped as if a small electric pulse had jolted her. ‘Don’t hurt Crystal!’
‘There we go. A reaction. Good. Now, Effie, just imagine Crystal out there in the mines—’
‘No!’
‘… out in the mines, knee-deep in mud, freezing cold and dressed in rags. Snakes slithering round her ankles. Rockgoyles as her bosses! She’d be so scared, Effie. Rockgoyles are evil creatures. And she’d be lonely. Miserable. She wouldn’t die – at least not straightaway – but she’d be unhappy and get sick, she’d be hungry and—’
‘Be quiet! Don’t say those things!’
‘I’ll be quiet when you start using this!’ He pointed to the strange ice thing. ‘Tell me what it’s saying!’
Suddenly the dangling objects on the icicle began to jiggle and bounce. They produced a faint tinkling melody.
‘Is it a fortune?’ Grint asked. ‘Come on, Effie! You’ll be in trouble if you don’t look. I swear you will! I’ll see that daughter of yours off to the mines if you don’t do this. Or there’s still a skweener to scare her with. I’ll—’
With what seemed an enormous effort, Effie leaned over the table and put her eye against the end of the crosspiece.
‘Is it a pastune or a fortune? Look! ’ Grint raked his hands through his long hair. ‘Can’t you make a picture come? I’m sure you could if you tried. Those damned ice pixies didn’t have any problems using these things. I saw them doing it.’
‘Pixies?’ Effie sat up.
‘Oh, it doesn’t matter. I was just remembering, back up there, on top, the pixie creatures that made these things. They could see so much, backwards and forwards in time. You’re not trying!’
With a sigh, Effie slowly leaned over the table so she could see into the horizontal tube again. A tear dribbled down her cheek.
‘This is a pastune,’ she said quietly. ‘I can see Molly Webber in her garden. She’s planting carrots.’
‘For crying out loud!’ Grint roared. ‘Carrots! Molly Webber! I’m not interested in gardening. I want to know what important things are going to happen!’
There was silence in the room for a whole minute then another tune rippled across the ice sculpture.
‘Fortune. John Carter,’ Effie said. Her voice was flat and expressionless and Crystal realized that her mother had no idea what she was saying because she would never give out information about Stella’s father like this. ‘He’s plotting against Morton Grint. He wants to be the new leader. He is going to challenge Morton Grint. He has not forgiven Morton Grint for putting him down in front of the others. He plans to surprise him at the next meeting.’ She spoke as if what she said had no meaning and was of no importance.
Grint, however, leaped up and clapped his hands.
‘Ha! I shall be ready! Well done! It’s good. It’s good. What else?’
‘A pastune,’ Effie said, staring into the ice tube. ‘Mrs Wilkins made a love potion for Mary Smith to make Jim Collett fall in love with her—’
‘Love potions are forbidden! That’s witchcraft. I’ll stop that. She will be punished.’ He wrote down the names quickly in a small notebook.
Effie’s flat voice went on. ‘This is a fortune: there will be more trouble from the Barnaby Andrews family. They don’t understand how you found out he was going to rebel … They blame Sam Smith. There is unrest. Trouble is coming to Morton Grint.’ Her voice was getting weaker and weaker.
‘Good, good! As long as we’re forewarned we can win. This is no trouble at all for me. More. Come on, give me more. Crystal’s happiness is at stake here, Effie. Remember that!’
‘Another fortune. I can see … something going on at the Wall, at the West Gate. I don’t understand what it is, Morton Grint … It looks like … I can see
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