my blood.’
Anna-Karin feels her cheeks flush.
‘I’m on your side, even if I don’t know what it’s about. And, God knows, there’s a lot I don’t understand right now. These are strange times.’
It’s at this moment that she feels she could tell him everything. If you only knew how many people have wanted to harm me over the years, Anna-Karin wants to say. If you only knew what’s going on in my life now.
It’s my job to inform you that the Council has launched an investigation.
The principal’s words echo in her head. She doesn’t want to contemplate what form punishment by a witches’ council might take.
A flock of jackdaws lifts from the forest across the other side of the pasture. They circle through the air, cawing frantically as if someone had frightened them. Anna-Karin can hear their hard wing beats from where she stands. They cluster beneath the white sky before heading off over the treetops.
Grandpa mumbles something in Finnish, his gaze fixed on the birds.
Anna-Karin looks at Grandpa. He looks at her. And they both know that the moment has passed. The sea still separates them, impossible to cross.
35
VANESSA IS STANDING in the lobby of the bank, leaning against a high table on which small cardboard stands of fliers ask whether she’s considered getting a credit card, or if she’d like to borrow money for a new lawnmower and even her dream house.
She’s promised Minoo to follow Nicolaus into the bank without his knowledge. Of course the stubborn old fool refused to accept the help he obviously needs, so she’s been told to make herself invisible and keep an eye on him.
And he’s supposed to be our guide, she thinks, glancing at him as he stands there, staring at his number slip. He’s wearing a heavy, moth-eaten winter coat that looks as if he bought it at a flea market.
But she has to admit she’s excited. She’ll be the first to see whatever’s in the mysterious safety deposit box. Further more, she likes going behind the principal’s back. They had a class with her on Sunday, too, and it was no more fun than being in school. You might expect a course in magic to be thrilling, but they just sat there staring into the Book of Patterns with their mini spyglasses. All they’d got from it was headaches. It reminded Vanessa of the digitalised dot images in which you’re supposed to be able to see 3D figures. She can never make them out.
Vanessa is watching the bank staff typing silently or speaking to customers in low, trust-inspiring voices. Everyone working here is neat and well dressed, and their footsteps whisper along the wall-to-wall carpeting. Vanessa tries to imagine what it would be like to work here and is instantly bored.
Her mother actually dated a guy who worked here. Tobias. He was as tedious as he was smug. When he met a rich girl from Gothenburg he’d dumped her without a second thought, and Vanessa had had to comfort her and hide the wine box.
Eventually, when her mother had been sitting at the dinner table, snivelling again, Vanessa had lost patience and told her off – maybe she should meet a guy who made her happy, she’d suggested. Her mother had just looked at her with bloodshot eyes and blubbered that Vanessa didn’t understand. ‘Love hurts,’ she said. ‘Or it isn’t really love.’
Vanessa refuses to believe that. If it was true, there wouldn’t be any point in being with someone. You might just as well screw around without ever having to wash someone else’s dishes or whine about how he doesn’t understand you.
That’s probably why she doesn’t want me to be with Wille, Vanessa thinks. She’s jealous because we’re happy together.
Vanessa’s anger builds again. She and her mother still haven’t spoken. She hasn’t even left a message on Vanessa’s mobile. Vanessa is sure that Nicke told her that it’s better if she doesn’t get in touch – she can just hear him saying that Vanessa has to ‘learn that her actions have consequences’.
Vanessa has no intention of calling either. There’s no way she’ll let them win. Melvin’s the only one she misses. Melvin, who was crying when she left.
A loud electronic yelp announces the new number on the screen. Nicolaus looks around, clearly confused. He’s next, but he has no idea where to go – as if the blinking number above the only free teller didn’t offer a clue. He examines his ticket as if he expects to find the