The Ice King (A Witch Ways Whisper) by Helen Slavin Read Free Book Online Page B

away a moment or two at her favourite spot, a little curved inlet at the edge of the lake where once she had fished out the monster pike but, as she drew near to the lake itself she could see on the Cob Cottage side, a figure dressed all in red standing on the jetty. All the tiredness fled from her body and Vanessa Way began to run.
    The woman on the jetty was Alizon Wilde one of her mother’s WI friends. Vanessa disliked the WI and was uncertain why her mother bothered with this small group of unpleasant women. Their relationship seemed fraught at best, it never felt like a friendship. The least friendly of all was this scarlet woman. Vanessa had never seen her dressed in any other colour and her hair had always been ice white.
    As Vanessa ran up the shoreline she watched Alizon Wilde looking down into the water as if searching. Vanessa half hoped she’d lost something valuable.
    “What are you doing out here? Have you lost something?” Vanessa could hear how loud her voice was, how angry and now the pebbles crunched under her feet and then the boards of the jetty knocked and banged as she walked along them, all reflecting the anger she felt. She felt no compunction to be polite to Alizon, her childhood was peppered with many unpleasant encounters with her, both in and out of the company of her mother.
    “I asked you…what are you doing out here?”
    Alizon Wilde looked at her, very direct and, Vanessa was irritated to see, slightly smug looking. An impression of a smile was pasted across an essentially sneering expression.
    “Looking for your mother.” Alizon’s voice was low and Vanessa felt the hairs on the back of her neck prickle almost to the point of sparking. Vanessa found a small grenade of anger form inside her.
    “She’s not here. Obviously. Can I help you?” she took a step closer to Alizon and was surprised that the woman looked less confident, her eyes slithering for a second to the lake water as if afraid of what might surface.
    “Of course not.” Alizon sneered.
    “Then leave.”
    Alizon didn’t quite manage to hide the flinch and her eyes widened with anger.
    “You have no manners to speak of.” she commented without, Vanessa realised, making one move to leave.
    “Neither do you. Off you trot.” Vanessa stepped aside on the jetty to let her pass. Once again Alizon did not move.
    “I am looking for your mother.” her voice was black shadows. Vanessa was disturbed by it.
    “You won’t find her in the lake.” Vanessa could hear the tone in her voice. She felt shaky now and ill at ease, Alizon was staring, cold and hard and Vanessa felt as if they were engaged in a competition of wills. Vanessa opened her eyes wider, angrier. Alizon Wilde dropped her gaze and stepped past her. As she did so Vanessa felt off balance, as if she’d been shoved and had to shift her foot so that she didn’t tumble off the jetty. There was a smirk on Alizon Wilde’s face as she strolled towards the shore which pulled the pin on Vanessa’s grenade of anger.
    Three steps brought her to Alizon and she found her hand reaching out, pinching hard at the bony upper arm and it was so tempting to launch her into the water but her mother had always said, no one must go into the water and so Vanessa half pushed, half carried Alizon Wilde towards the shore, her feet almost tripping with every step.
    “Watch your step.” Vanessa warned as they continued to stumble towards Alizon’s car, parked behind Cob Cottage.
    At the car, Alizon, shaking and rattled, scraped her key along the paintwork trying to fit it into the door. She fumbled at the lock, scuttled inside but as she tried to pull the door shut Vanessa held it fast.
    “Don’t come here again.” and with that warning she slammed the door.
    Inside the cool interior of Cob Cottage Vanessa’s anger sifted out of her like sand. She put the kettle onto the stove and thought about finding something to eat.
    Her mother arrived back an hour or more later. Vanessa was