disappeared up the chimney stack and away taking Greta with it, leaving only a cloud of wet soot where she once stood.
From the edge of the forest where the mountains begin, a pack of sleeping wolves, huddled together in the cold, were woken. Travelling on the crystal air was a sound to fear in the night—the sound of parents calling out in anguish and loss.
A sound that would even chill the souls of beasts.
Chapter One
Moorside, Glossop, England, 23 December 2014
Katie woke to the sound of her mobile phone humming from the floor. She tried to move but was pinned down by her sister, Emily, on one shoulder and her brother, Jake, on the other. All three had fallen asleep on the sofa. In the partial darkness of the living room, the television was playing to itself. Katie blinked as, from the corner, an orange-looking man in a grey suit sold jewellery to whomever was watching. Her mobile phone screen lit up in time with each vibration. She slipped out from under her siblings, and they stirred but did not wake. Wiping a spot of drool from her chin, she pulled loose strands of hair from her mouth, before bending down to retrieve her phone.
‘Hello?’
‘Hi, honey, it’s me,’ said me. Me being Katie’s mother.
‘Hey,’ Katie replied, yawning. ‘How’s work?’
‘Did I wake you?’ Mum asked.
‘Not really, I was just resting my eyes. And I just had the weirdest dream.’ Katie stretched in her seat.
‘About what, hon?’ Mum asked sympathetically.
‘Nothing really, a family living in a forest…somewhere in Europe, I think. Years and years ago, and something else’…’ Katie shuddered, a tingle running down her spine as if someone had walked over her grave. She quickly changed the subject. ‘So, work?’
‘Well, it is nearly Christmas Eve, so I’ve had every drunken accident you can imagine coming into the emergency room. I’ve had my shoes ruined by bloodstains from a guy who got into a fight. And I’ve been vomited on twice, so there go my trousers too.’
Katie laughed affectionately; she could almost see her mother rolling her eyes at the other end of the phone.
‘That’s why you became a doctor, Mum. Seven years of medical training to be vomited on.’
‘Thanks for reminding me,’ Mum replied. ‘How are Jake and Emily?’
Katie looked at the pair lying on the sofa. Jake was nine but he was tall for his age, and wide too. Chunky but not chubby, and such a worrier. He lay asleep in his black pyjamas and with his precious ‘Tome’ tucked under his arm. He cuddled the thick book he’d recently latched onto like it was a teddy bear. Emily, at thirteen, was three years younger than sixteen-year-old Katie. She looked like a slightly smaller version of her sister. Tall and slim with blue eyes and long blonde hair. She was curled up in a ball, still wearing jeans and a white T-shirt with the words ‘Bite me’ on the chest. Each of the three children had inherited the family genes of blond and blue. But while the girls’ hair lay gently down their backs, Jake’s hair was always big and wild, not too long, but it hung over his ears and was a mass of mess. He resembled his father so much it made Katie stare sometimes, and it hurt her heart to look. It was as if when Dad had died, he had passed his spirit into Jake, making a much younger copy.
‘Are you there?’ asked Mum, bringing Katie back to the conversation.
‘Yeah, sorry,’ apologised Katie softly. ‘I’m here. And, yes, they’re OK—they’re both tucked up in bed, nice and tight.’
‘Good,’ said Mum. ‘OK, I have got to go, more drunks to see to. As if they’ll ever stop coming! You get yourself to bed. I love you. See you in the morning.’
‘OK, Mum. Have fun,’ Katie replied.
‘Oh and Katie…’
‘Yes?’
‘Nearly Christmas. This one’s going to be the best yet, I promise.’
‘I know, Mum. I know.’
There was a click from the other end of the phone as Mum went back to work. Katie put her phone in
From the edge of the forest where the mountains begin, a pack of sleeping wolves, huddled together in the cold, were woken. Travelling on the crystal air was a sound to fear in the night—the sound of parents calling out in anguish and loss.
A sound that would even chill the souls of beasts.
Chapter One
Moorside, Glossop, England, 23 December 2014
Katie woke to the sound of her mobile phone humming from the floor. She tried to move but was pinned down by her sister, Emily, on one shoulder and her brother, Jake, on the other. All three had fallen asleep on the sofa. In the partial darkness of the living room, the television was playing to itself. Katie blinked as, from the corner, an orange-looking man in a grey suit sold jewellery to whomever was watching. Her mobile phone screen lit up in time with each vibration. She slipped out from under her siblings, and they stirred but did not wake. Wiping a spot of drool from her chin, she pulled loose strands of hair from her mouth, before bending down to retrieve her phone.
‘Hello?’
‘Hi, honey, it’s me,’ said me. Me being Katie’s mother.
‘Hey,’ Katie replied, yawning. ‘How’s work?’
‘Did I wake you?’ Mum asked.
‘Not really, I was just resting my eyes. And I just had the weirdest dream.’ Katie stretched in her seat.
‘About what, hon?’ Mum asked sympathetically.
‘Nothing really, a family living in a forest…somewhere in Europe, I think. Years and years ago, and something else’…’ Katie shuddered, a tingle running down her spine as if someone had walked over her grave. She quickly changed the subject. ‘So, work?’
‘Well, it is nearly Christmas Eve, so I’ve had every drunken accident you can imagine coming into the emergency room. I’ve had my shoes ruined by bloodstains from a guy who got into a fight. And I’ve been vomited on twice, so there go my trousers too.’
Katie laughed affectionately; she could almost see her mother rolling her eyes at the other end of the phone.
‘That’s why you became a doctor, Mum. Seven years of medical training to be vomited on.’
‘Thanks for reminding me,’ Mum replied. ‘How are Jake and Emily?’
Katie looked at the pair lying on the sofa. Jake was nine but he was tall for his age, and wide too. Chunky but not chubby, and such a worrier. He lay asleep in his black pyjamas and with his precious ‘Tome’ tucked under his arm. He cuddled the thick book he’d recently latched onto like it was a teddy bear. Emily, at thirteen, was three years younger than sixteen-year-old Katie. She looked like a slightly smaller version of her sister. Tall and slim with blue eyes and long blonde hair. She was curled up in a ball, still wearing jeans and a white T-shirt with the words ‘Bite me’ on the chest. Each of the three children had inherited the family genes of blond and blue. But while the girls’ hair lay gently down their backs, Jake’s hair was always big and wild, not too long, but it hung over his ears and was a mass of mess. He resembled his father so much it made Katie stare sometimes, and it hurt her heart to look. It was as if when Dad had died, he had passed his spirit into Jake, making a much younger copy.
‘Are you there?’ asked Mum, bringing Katie back to the conversation.
‘Yeah, sorry,’ apologised Katie softly. ‘I’m here. And, yes, they’re OK—they’re both tucked up in bed, nice and tight.’
‘Good,’ said Mum. ‘OK, I have got to go, more drunks to see to. As if they’ll ever stop coming! You get yourself to bed. I love you. See you in the morning.’
‘OK, Mum. Have fun,’ Katie replied.
‘Oh and Katie…’
‘Yes?’
‘Nearly Christmas. This one’s going to be the best yet, I promise.’
‘I know, Mum. I know.’
There was a click from the other end of the phone as Mum went back to work. Katie put her phone in
Similar Books
