“As none of the girls look like they’re on fire to me, Ian,” he replied somewhat acidly, “that’s not much help. And like I said, it doesn’t matter if she is a witch. It’s too much of a risk to bring someone new into this.”

Ian put a hand over Jamie’s and held tight. “We have no other ideas, James. We’re running out of time.”

“Edward will—”

“It’s not just Edward,” Ian cut him off. “He’s absolutely our biggest problem right now, but I’m also thinking about what comes later. After. This is about the rest of the girls’ lives, too. Lillian, God love her, has well and truly cocked this up. Is this life really what we want for those beautiful, precious children? They can’t go to school. They almost never leave Nowhere House. All they have is each other.”

“And us.”

“And us.” For a moment, the ever-present twinkle in Ian’s eyes was gone. He pointed at a photograph propped against a stack of books on Jamie’s desk. “Look at us. Even with the best of intentions, we can’t give the girls everything they need. I’m eighty-two years old. I know what it is to hide who I am. I know what it’s like to live on the edges of society. The girls may always have to keep a part of themselves secret, but I still want them to be able to go out there and live. They need someone who knows what that’s like, what it is to look like they do and feel like they do, and who can show them how to bravely and safely chart a course across the rest of their lives.”

“I know that,” Jamie said gruffly. “I know, Ian. But that can wait until after Edward. And trusting this hypothetical witch to help us is a massive gamble. I’m not so sure it’s going to pay off.”

“Unless you have a better idea, it’s a chance we can’t afford not to take.”

By the time Lucie returned to the library with Ken in tow, the vote wasn’t necessary. All that was left to decide was how to convince Mika Moon to come to Nowhere House. (Ian wanted to send her a message that would start with the words WITCH WANTED. It would, he felt, set exactly the right tone. The others did not agree.)

And all the way up in Scotland, Mika continued to shiver on a rainy pier, completely unaware of the wrecking ball headed her way.

CHAPTER TWO

WITCH WANTED.