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Back The Lightning Catcher Save as PDF
Chapters (45)
  1. 1
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  45. Acknowledgements

‘Just hold off, please,’ I said. ‘Trust Mr Clemm for a few more days.’

‘Why don’t you trust Mum? And Dad?’

‘I do, but this is different.’

‘No it isn’t – it’s serious. Does Sam know?’

And when she found out about Sam, she marched towards Mum’s bedroom and I had to get hold of her arm and pull her away, all in frantic hissed whispers.

‘Listen!’ I said when I got her back in my room. ‘You don’t tell me everything, do you? What about the bullies? And the diamonds?’

‘What?’

‘You thought Mum had told me, didn’t you? I guessed after what happened that day at Mr Clemm’s. It’s something to do with diamonds. You want to keep those kinds of secrets. Don’t you?’

She shook her head, over and over, and stared at the floor. ‘That’s too horrible. And it’s private. I might tell you one day, but …’

‘So you can see why sometimes people shouldn’t be told things.’

She shook her head again. ‘You’re wrong about this. It isn’t the same.’

And so I told her all over again about how Whizzy has been all summer, how Mr Clemm found her, and how he just wants to protect her from people who might harm her whilst also keeping the village safe from her wild fiery stuff, and how I seem to be the only person who can get close to her.

She looked up at me then, from my bed where she’d been sitting while I paced up and down. She was still pale, but seemed to be listening. And then I told her about Whizzy in the night, floating over her bed, and my nursing theory. Lily went very quiet.

‘And now I’m going to Ash House to see what’s wrong,’ I said. ‘Tell Mum I’ve gone to Mr Clemm’s when she wakes up. Please only tell her that, for now. Please.’

Lily didn’t look at me.

‘Please. Lily.’

She didn’t speak at first, but then she said, ‘I thought it was a dream. For ages I’ve dreamed about something warm and bright that winds round and round everywhere for miles and miles and makes everything sparkly.’

She blinked. I breathed out and we stared at each other, both completely still.

30

House of Ash

I’d spent the time it took to run out of Usher’s Place phoning Mr Clemm. When there was no answer, I left a voicemail about Whizzy’s behaviour, spilling out everything that had happened with Lily, my voice getting higher and faster and wilder: ‘Whizzy didn’t mean to be seen, but … Lily won’t tell, honestly …’

He didn’t phone back.