Spellfall by Katherine Roberts

eye on Merlin. But it worked both ways. He watched his father shut the bird in then take a short cut across the garden, swinging his stick at the undergrowth. He’d put a braid in his hair and fastened it with a black-barred feather. As he passed beneath Merlin’s window, he looked up and smiled. Merlin ducked, heart banging. But footsteps crunched away along the gravel path and when he dared look again his father had gone.
    He let out the breath he’d been holding and hurried down to the hall. Faint bronze glimmers behind the coat hooks betrayed the locations of dying spells, but Merlin ignored these and went for the big one. As he’d hoped, Hawk had replaced the dead spell in the keyhole with a fresh live one. Shining in the gloom like an emerald star, its illusion reached all the way to the gates, making the Lodge appear uninhabited to human eyes. A little shiver ran down Merlin’s back. Very carefully, he began to ease the spell free.
    “What are you doing?” demanded a voice behind him.
    The spell dropped to the mat. Merlin whirled, desperately trying to think of an excuse. As always on these occasions, his mind was a complete blank. “I—” He broke off, staring. He couldn’t help it.
    In her white dress, her silver hair shining in the shadows, Spider stood on the landing at the top of the first flight of stairs. She was wearing her glasses and looking at him in a very peculiar manner. Merlin’s heart gave a little jump.
    “I thought you were supposed to be getting my clothes?” she said, frowning at the mat.
    Merlin came to with a start, retrieved the spell and hurriedly stuffed it under his jumper. His cheeks burned. “I… er… was just getting them,” he said. “I thought you were still asleep.” She should have been asleep. Even Claudia had slept for nearly two days after Hunter ate her familiar.
    “I’ve had quite enough sleep, thank you very much! I’m cold and I want my clothes back. Your father said I could have them.”
    He noticed she was shivering. As she spoke, some of the haughtiness seemed to run out of her. She came down the rest of the stairs, still frowning. “What were you doing with that spell?”
    Merlin almost told her. But she was part of the spellclave now. One of the enemy. “Nothing,” he mumbled, sidling past her. “Father put your clothes in the spare room. I’ll get them. You should be resting, Spider.”
    To his surprise, she giggled, though it sounded a bit strained. “My name’s not Spider, stupid. It’s Natalie, Nat for short. And I’m getting out of here before those crazy parents of yours come back. If you had any sense in your skull, you’d come with me.”
    “Getting out?” Merlin repeated. “But, you can’t! You’re bonded to the spellclave for life. Anyway, Claudia’s not my mother,” he added, realizing what she must have thought. Prickles of memory threatened. He thrust them away before they brought tears.
    Natalie sighed. “I’m not bonded to anything, silly. That spider wasn’t my familiar.”
    “Wasn’t your familiar? But Father said—”
    “Your fathertold you it was, so you believed him? Grow up, Merlin! There’s no such thing as real magic, everyone knows that. Nothing happened to me in the cellar, doesn’t that prove it? I think your father’s horrible, letting his goshawk eat people’s pets. But that’s what hawks do, they’re meat eaters so it’s natural for them. The hawk doesn’t know any better.”
    Merlin stared at her in disbelief. He’d never forgive Hunter if he ate Redeye. Did that prove her spider hadn’t been a familiar? Or that the bonding had worked so well she wasn’t even aware of it?
    “You fell off the stool,” he pointed out. “Are you sure nothing happened? Don’t you feel sick or dizzy or anything?”
    “I was only pretending,” she said, but she sounded less sure than before. Then she shook herself and her voice became firmer. “Where are my clothes? I’ll get them myself if you’re