The Storm Sister (The Seven Sisters #2) (9 page)

I woke the next morning on Pa’s bed, feeling groggy but cleansed. I didn’t even remember falling asleep and I had no idea what time it was now. I rose from the bed
and went to look out of the window. I decided that whatever Pa Salt’s bedroom lacked in luxury, the vista from his window more than made up for. It was a glorious day, the sunlight glinting
off the smooth surface of the lake, which seemed to stretch out to a misty infinity left and right. Looking straight ahead, I could see the lush green of the hillside that rose steeply from the
shore on the other side of the lake. And for those few seconds, Atlantis felt magical again.

I went upstairs to my own room, took a shower and emerged thinking about Theo and how worried he must be that I hadn’t contacted him yet to say I’d arrived. Dressing hastily, I
grabbed my laptop and ran down the stairs to the kitchen to retrieve my mobile, which I’d been on my way to collect last night. There were several texts from Theo waiting for me, and my heart
warmed as I read them.

Just checking in. Sending all my love.

Goodnight, darling Ally. My thoughts are with you.

Don
’t want to disturb you. Call or text when you can. Miss you. x

The texts were loving and undemanding – not even requesting an immediate reply. I smiled as I texted him back, remembering Pa’s letter, telling me I could be anything or be with
anybody I wanted.

And right now, I wanted to be with Theo.

Claudia was standing at the kitchen worktop, mixing some batter in a bowl. She offered me hot coffee as a greeting, which I accepted gratefully.

‘Am I the first down?’ I asked her.

‘No, Star and CeCe have already left on the launch to go to Geneva.’

‘Really?’ I said as I took a sip of the rich, dark liquid. ‘And the others aren’t up yet?’

‘If they are, I haven’t seen them,’ she said calmly, continuing to beat the batter with her strong, capable hands.

I took a fresh croissant from the breakfast feast laid out along the centre of the long table and bit into the buttery pastry. ‘Isn’t it wonderful that we can all stay here at
Atlantis? I’d thought the house might have to be sold.’

‘Yes, it’s very good indeed. For everyone. Will you be wanting anything else?’ Claudia asked me as she tipped the contents of the bowl into a baking tray and laid it beside the
oven.

‘No, thank you.’

She nodded at me, then divested herself of her apron and left the kitchen.

Throughout our childhood, Claudia had been as much of a fixture at Atlantis as Ma or Pa Salt. Her German accent made her sound severe, but we all knew what a soft heart she had underneath. I
thought how little all of us knew about her background. But then, as children, or even as young adults, we had never thought to question the where, how and why. Claudia, like everything else in the
charmed universe we had grown up in, just
was
.

I wondered then about the coordinates on the armillary sphere and how the secrets they held could completely unsettle everything we had known – or
didn
’t
know
– about ourselves. It was a daunting thought, but Pa Salt had obviously left them for us for a reason and I had to trust his decision to do so. Now it was up to each of us individually to
explore them further, or not, as we chose.

I picked up a pen and notepad from the sideboard, and left the kitchen by the back door, blinking in the morning light. It was refreshing to have the cool air on my skin. Not yet warmed by the
sun, the grass was still fresh and dewy as it brushed the sides of my feet. The gardens lay in perfect tranquillity, with only the occasional trill of birdsong floating on the air and the gentle
lapping of the water on the lake shore to disturb the silence.

I retraced my footsteps from last night around the side of the house towards Pa’s special garden, admiring the many varieties of roses that had just opened their buds and were spreading
their heavy scent into the morning air.

The golden ball in the centre of the armillary sphere glinted in the sunlight, which was already casting sharp shadows onto the navigational bands. I wiped the dew from the band with my name on
it using my sleeve, and traced the Greek inscription with my finger, wondering what it said and how long ago Pa had planned this.

Getting to work, I carefully noted down the coordinates for all of us, trying not to second-guess where any of them – especially mine – would lead. And then I noticed something.
Counting the bands again, my fingers touched the seventh. It was inscribed with one word: ‘Merope’.

‘Our missing seventh sister,’ I breathed, wondering why on earth Pa had thought to add her name to the sphere when it was too late for him now to ever bring her home.
So many
mysteries
, I thought as I returned to the house.
And no one to answer my questions
.

Back in the kitchen, and with the coordinates in front of me, I fired up my laptop, eating another croissant as I waited in frustration for an internet signal that had obviously taken a holiday
and left a novice temp to fill in for it. When it eventually decided to work, I investigated sites that used coordinates to pinpoint locations and settled on Google Earth. I considered which of us
sisters I should begin with and decided I would go in age order, but leave myself until last. Typing in Maia’s coordinates, wondering if they would be recognised, I watched the spinning globe
zoom in and pinpoint an exact location.

‘Wow,’ I muttered under my breath in fascination, ‘they actually work.’

It was a frustrating hour as the signal came and went, but by the time Claudia re-entered the kitchen to begin preparing lunch, I’d managed to write down the bare facts of every single set
of coordinates, except my own.

I typed them in, holding my breath for an agonisingly long time as the computer worked its magic.

‘Goodness!’ I murmured as I read the details.

‘Excuse me?’ asked Claudia.

‘Nothing,’ I said quickly, scribbling the location down on the notepad next to me.

‘You’ll be wanting lunch, Ally?’

‘Yes, that would be great, thank you,’ I answered distractedly, mulling over the fact that the location the search had pinpointed for me was apparently an art museum. It didn’t
make any sense, but then, I wasn’t sure any of my sisters’ coordinates did either.

I looked up as Tiggy arrived in the kitchen, and gave me a sweet smile. ‘Only you and me for lunch?’

‘Seems like it, yes.’

‘Well, that’ll be lovely, won’t it?’ she said as she floated towards the table. For all her odd spiritual ideas, as I watched her sit down opposite me, I envied her inner
peace. This stemmed from a total belief that there was more to life than life itself, as she was fond of saying. She seemed to carry the freshness of the Scottish Highlands in her clear skin and
thick chestnut hair, and her calmness was reflected in her soft brown eyes.

‘How are you, Ally?’

‘I’m okay. How are you?’

‘Coping, just. I can feel him around me, you know. As if’ – she sighed, as she swept her hands through her glossy curls – ‘he hasn’t gone at all.’

‘Sadly, he’s
not
here, Tiggy.’

‘Yes, but just because you can’t see someone, does that mean they don’t exist?’

‘In my book, yes,’ I replied briskly, not sure I was in the mood for Tiggy’s esoteric comments. The only way I knew how to deal with Pa’s loss was to accept it as soon as
I could.

Claudia broke into our conversation by placing a Caesar salad in front of us. ‘There’s enough for all of you, but if no one else arrives, they can have it for supper.’

‘Thank you. By the way,’ I said as I helped myself to the salad, ‘I’ve written down all the coordinates and found out how to look them up on Google Earth. Do you want
yours, Tiggy?’

‘At some point, yes. But not now. I mean, does it matter?’

‘I’m not sure, to be honest.’

‘Because wherever I originally came from, it’s Pa Salt and Ma who’ve looked after me and brought me up to be the person I am. Maybe I’ll take them, then if I feel the
need to look, I can. I sort of . . .’ – Tiggy sighed, and I saw her uncertainty – ‘don’t want to believe I came from anywhere else. Pa Salt’s my father and
always will be.’

‘I understand. So, just out of interest, where do you think Pa Salt is, Tiggy?’ I asked her as we both began to eat.

‘I don’t know, Ally, but he’s definitely not gone, that’s for sure.’

‘Is that in your world, or mine?’

‘Is there a difference? Well, to me there isn’t anyway,’ she qualified before I could answer. ‘We’re just energy, all of us. And every single thing around us is
too.’

‘Well, that’s one way of looking at it, I suppose,’ I replied, hearing the cynical edge to my voice. ‘I know these beliefs work for you, Tiggy. But right now, with Pa
only just laid to rest, it doesn’t do it for me.’

‘No, I understand, Ally. But the circle of life goes on, and it isn’t just us humans, it’s all of nature too. A rose blooms to its full beauty, then it dies, and another on the
same plant blooms in its place. And Ally’ – she glanced at me and gave a small smile – ‘I have a feeling that despite this terrible news, something good is happening to you
at the moment.’

‘Really?’ I eyed her suspiciously.

‘Yes.’ She reached a hand over to mine. ‘Just enjoy it while you can, won’t you? Nothing is forever, as you know.’

‘I do,’ I said, feeling suddenly defensive and vulnerable at her accurate comment. I changed the subject. ‘So how are you?’

‘I’m well, yes . . .’ Tiggy seemed to be trying to reassure herself as much as me. ‘I am.’

‘Still enjoying mothering your deer at the sanctuary?’

‘I absolutely adore my job. It suits me perfectly, although I never get a moment to myself, as we’re so short-staffed. Talking of which, I really have to get back as soon as
possible. I’ve checked out flights and I’m leaving this afternoon. Electra’s coming to the airport with me too.’

‘So soon?’

‘Yes, but what can we do here? I’m sure Pa would prefer us all to be getting on with our lives and not moping around feeling sorry for ourselves.’

‘Yes, you’re right,’ I agreed. And for the first time, I thought beyond this terrible hiatus and towards the future. ‘I’m meant to be crewing in the Cyclades
Regatta in a few days’ time.’

‘Then do it, Ally, really,’ she urged me.

‘Maybe I will,’ I murmured.

‘Right, I’ve got to go and pack and then say goodbye to Maia. Out of all of us, this probably affects her the most. She’s devastated.’

‘I know. Here, take your coordinates.’ I handed her the sheet of paper on which I’d written them.

‘Thanks.’

I watched as Tiggy stood up and then paused at the kitchen door, staring at me sympathetically. ‘And always remember that I’m only a phone call away if you need me in the next few
weeks.’

‘Thanks, Tiggy. The same goes for you.’

Having helped Claudia clear away the plates, I wandered back upstairs to my room, wondering whether I too should leave Atlantis. Tiggy was right: there was nothing left to do here. And the
thought of being back on the water – not to mention in Theo’s arms – propelled me back downstairs with my laptop to check if there were any seats on a flight to Athens in the next
twenty-four hours. Entering the kitchen, I saw Ma, who was standing with her back to me at the window, obviously deep in thought. She heard me enter and turned with a smile, but not before
I’d glimpsed the fleeting sadness in her eyes.

‘Hello,
chérie
. How are you today?’

‘Contemplating whether to fly back to Athens and take part in the Cyclades race as I’d originally planned. But I’m worried about leaving you and the other girls here.
Especially Maia.’

‘I think it’s an excellent idea to go and race,
chérie
. And just what your father would have told you to do, I’m sure. Don’t worry about Maia. I’m
here for her.’

‘I know you are,’ I said, thinking how, even if she wasn’t our real mother, it was impossible to think of any other parent loving and supporting us all more.

I stood up and went towards her, enveloping her in my arms and hugging her tightly. ‘And remember, we’re all here for you too.’

I went upstairs to find Electra and hand her the coordinates before she left. Knocking on her bedroom door, she opened it but didn’t invite me in.

‘Hi, Ally. I’m in a rush, packing.’

‘I just brought you your coordinates from the armillary sphere. Here.’

‘I don’t think I want them. Honestly, Ally, what was it with our father? It’s like he’s playing some kind of game with us from beyond the grave,’ she said
darkly.

‘He only wanted to let us know where we came from, Electra, just in case we needed the information.’

‘Then why didn’t he just do as most other normal human beings would? Like, write the facts down on paper, instead of subjecting us to some weird genealogical treasure hunt? Christ,
the man always was a control freak.’

‘Electra, please! He probably didn’t want to reveal everything immediately, in case we’d prefer
not
to know. So he just left us enough information to find out if we
wanted to.’

‘Well, I don’t,’ she said flatly.

‘Why are you so angry with him?’ I asked her gently.

‘I’m not, I . . .’ Her amber eyes flashed in pain and confusion. ‘Okay. I am. I . . .’ She shrugged and shook her head. ‘I can’t explain.’

‘Well, take this anyway.’ I offered her the envelope, knowing from experience not to probe any further. ‘You don’t have to do anything with them.’

‘Thanks, Ally. Sorry.’

‘Don’t worry. Are you sure you’re all right, Electra?’

‘I . . . yeah, I’m all right. Now I’ve got to pack. See you later.’

The door closed in my face and I walked away knowing full well she was lying.