‘Okay. So she can’t come back on her own, now,’ says Dad. ‘What do you need to do to get her back? Do you actually remember the spell, or whatever …?’ Sylvie presses her lips together and gives a tiny shake of her head. ‘If I had my full powers, of course I could bring her back,’ she says. ‘But it’s only been a month since I got my magic back and I’m still weak. It takes years for a magician to regain her powers after having them stripped away.’ She frowns. ‘I’m afraid Merry has sealed her own fate. When a magician disappears herself, she must always have another magician ready to bring her back if necessary. Merry was foolish not to.’

‘Isn’t there someone else?’ asks Dad. ‘A long-lost magician cousin or something?’

‘No. There’s no-one,’ says Sylvie.

The room goes dim and all sounds fade. There’s just Sylvie’s face – and the thudding of my heart in my ears.

‘I’m sorry,’ she says, finally. ‘There’s nothing to be done. She’s stuck there.’

All the breath leaves my body. I can’t speak, I can’t think. All I know is that my mother is lost to me.

CHAPTER 8

We’re all silent while the waiter delivers our meals and cleans the sugar off the table. Sylvie closes her eyes and cups her hands over her toasted sandwich, giving thanks for the food.

‘I don’t understand why Merry took a risk like this,’ she says, opening her eyes. ‘She always followed the rules and insisted that others follow the rules too …’ She looks at Dad with raised eyebrows.

‘She was desperate to save the circus,’ says Dad, ‘and she thought this trick would pull in big crowds.’ He rests his head in his hands. ‘Oh, Merry …’

My limbs feel like they have turned to water. This can’t be happening. Please don’t let this be happening. As I blink back tears, an idea hits me. ‘What if you teach me magic, Sylvie? Could I bring her back?’

She shakes her head. ‘It takes years of apprenticeship to learn magic. And there’s only one month for someone else to bring her back. The portal, or door, to the parallel universe that Merry’s in will close when the moon returns to the same phase as when she left this universe.’

‘I can learn quickly! You taught her, so you can teach me. Please. I know I’m a magician at heart.’

She gives me a sad smile. ‘I’m sure you are. But even if you happened to be a powerful magician, it’s simply not enough time.’

A burst of laughter comes from a nearby table of normal, happy people who are eating cake and talking about normal, happy things. I was like that yesterday, too. I just didn’t know it.