Winter's Shadow by M.J. Hearle Page A

you later, okay?’
    ‘No you won’t! Tell me what’s going on. Did you or did you not take the ticket out to Blake?’
    Out of the corner of her eye, Winter watched Lucy pouring herself a tea at the kitchen bench, and noted the suspicious lethargy in the act. Ever the stickybeak, Lucy might as well have pulled up a chair next to Winter with a pad and pen so she could take notes.
    ‘Hang on a second, I’m just going outside.’ Glaring at Lucy, Winter took the phone out onto the front balcony. Once she was sure Lucy couldn’t hear them, Winter hissed down the phone, ‘You want to know what happened, Jas?’
    ‘By the tone of your voice I take it things didn’t go so well?’
    ‘You’re a genius. I went out to see Blake, just like you told me to. It was a complete nightmare. I made a fool of myself.’
    ‘Why, what do you mean? He didn’t take the ticket?’
    ‘No, he didn’t take the ticket. Thank you so much for pushing me into one of the worst experiences of my life.’
    ‘I didn’t think —’
    ‘You never think, Jas. You just bully people into doing what you want.’
    ‘That’s not fair, Win.’
    The rational side of Winter knew this was true, but there was so much pain percolating inside her that she needed to fire it at somebody, and Jasmine was an easy target.
    ‘Look, I’ve gotta go.’ It would be best to get out now, rather than risk being crueller to Jasmine.
    ‘Okay.’ Jasmine went silent for a moment before saying softly, ‘Winter, I’m sorry.’
    ‘Yeah, well, I’m sorry too. I’ll see you tomorrow.’
    Winter hung up the phone. She’d probably owe Jasmine an apology in the morning, but she was too churned up to worry about it now. She shouldn’t have taken the phone call to begin with. In the distance she could see the hulking silhouette of Owl Mountain against the star-sprinkled sky. Looking at the mountain, Winter was struck by a sense of foreboding. As though some dark fate awaited her up there.
    She shivered in the night air, bothered by the sudden drop in temperature. A cold breeze rose out of nowhere and began to blow around the house. The naked bulb lighting the balcony flickered erratically, as though affected by the cold change. Frowning, Winter watched it swinging back and forth in the wind. She was suddenly gripped with the unnerving conviction that she wasn’t alone any more. It was less strong than the sensation she’d experienced outside the old Velasco place, but just as disturbing.
    Slowly she turned, regarding the darkness beyond the balcony railing warily. Part of her wanted to escape inside, but she’d already given in to that irrational impulse once today. It was time she got her emotions under control.
There’s nothing out there!
She repeated this to herself again like a mantra, trying to expel the creeping unease. It wasn’t working. If anything, the longer she stayed here the more exposed and vulnerable she felt. The spooky flickering light overhead only increased her dread. Still, she wouldn’t run inside, if only to prove to herself that her fear wasn’t worth acknowledging. With affected composure, she turned around to walk inside when a loud meow at the end of the balcony startled her. A cat was crouched on the railing, watching her. An orange tabby. It meowed a greeting again.
    Winter breathed a deep sigh of relief. Her instincts had been right; there
had
been something in the darkness watching her – a fat, old cat. As abruptly as it had appeared, the wind died down. Even the balcony light stopped sputtering and resumed its persistent dull glow. Just some faulty wiring and a quick change in the weather – nothing to get so worked up over.
    Shaking off the remnants of her creeping paranoia, she wandered across the balcony to greet her stalker. ‘What are you doing here, puss?’
    The cat merely blinked and licked its whiskers in response. Now she was closer, Winter was surprised to see that he looked exactly like the tabby she’d seen at