Read Black Wood (A Witch Rising) for Free Online

the floor
and scanned the room, his hooded eyes settling on Emily. “You’ll
want us to be friends when you hear what I have to tell you.”
    “And what would that be?” Sam
asked. “You have another diary for us? I could use one of my
own.”
    “Nope, but I have something much
better,” Clifford replied. “I know about the matching world. The
magic world where the diary comes from, that is. Without it, the
magic diary will not work forever and you'll need the magic mirror
and the secret words to open the portal.”
    “Another world? What’re you
talking about? What’s it good for?” Emily asked.
    “Whoa! Are there aliens?” Sam
staggered back, looking around the room as though a door with a
welcome sign might miraculously appear.
    Emily rolled her eyes. Throw in
the word magic and all her brother could think of were
aliens.
    “The portal’s a mirror right
here at Ravencourt Manor. If you open it, you’ll learn to spin your
own magic. You only have to say the right words,” Clifford
repeated. “Come on. Let’s find it, but I can’t open it myself.” He
got up to his feet. “You must have a special mirror somewhere in
this house.”
    “There’s one in the bathroom,”
Emily said excited, “and then there’s a larger one in the
hall.”
    Clifford turned to face her. For
a moment his eyes flickered like a star. “No, no. Those won’t work.
We need one that can stand on its own with a wooden frame.”
    Emily shook her head. She
couldn’t remember any other.
    Sam jumped up from the floor.
“Grandma used to have one of those. I haven’t seen it in a long
time though.”
    “Maybe it’s in the cellar. Or
what about that locked shed in the garden? If we could only find
the key,” Clifford said.
    “The shed.” Sam bolted toward
the door. “Let’s ask Dad about the key.”
    “Wait!” Emily called. “Sam,
doesn’t the attic have a mirror?”
    Her brother stopped in his
tracks and turned around. “You mean the one that’s always covered?
Of course! Why didn’t I think of it?”

Chapter 7
     
    “Well, let’s go have a look,
shall we?” Clifford said.
    Emily followed as Sam led the
way toward the staircase running to the attic. Clifford was right
behind her. They climbed the steep, stony stairs. By the time they
reached the next level, they were panting. Emily rested for a
minute before she looked around. She hadn’t been here since her
grandmother had last shown them the mirror many years ago.
    The long, narrow hall had a
single small window to the right. The heavy blanket of dust tickled
Emily’s nose and she rubbed her palm over her face to stop herself
from sneezing.
    Clifford talked first. “This is
the attic? Where’s the mirror then?”
    “The attic’s up there.” Sam
pointed at a hatch door on the ceiling. “There should be a hidden
ladder somewhere.”
    Emily pointed at the darkest
side of the hall. “It’s in the corner.”
    Sam squinted. “Oh, I see it.” He
spun to face Clifford. “Grandma had this fitted because of the
crows up here. At least one or two build a nest every summer. She
even used to find them flying around the house. Once she opened her
bedroom door and a crow flew so close over her head it almost
landed in her hair.”
    “How do they get in?” Clifford
asked, wide-eyed.
    “No idea,” Sam said. “But
wherever they’re from, they come every year, punctual like the
postman.”
    “Grandma told you that?” Emily
asked. She missed her terribly.
    Sam nodded. “Yep.” He set up the
heavy ladder, climbed up and pushed against the latch until the
door jarred open with a thud. Then he climbed back down. “Grandma
was never scared living here all by herself. Dad used to call her
one tough lady. He tried to get her to sell the house and move to
London with us, but she wouldn’t listen. She said she couldn’t
leave Grandpa behind. I’m glad she never sold Ravencourt
Manor.”
    Emily shuddered. “Why did she
stay even after Grandpa died? Do you think