Nettle Blackthorn and the Three Wicked Sisters Read Online Free PDF

roused.
“Hmmm...”
    “ Why do you think Mum left?”
    She yawned and rubbed her face, resigning herself to the
conversation. “I don’t know.”
    “Dad’s
always talking about, she had something to do, she had something to
finish, but he doesn’t really answer properly, does he?”
    Nettle
rolled over onto her back, she was wide awake now, staring at the
shadows the leaves cast on the ceiling. She fancied she saw within
the play of light and shadow menacing creatures with skeletal
fingers and hollow eyes. Maybe that was just because of her mood.
Mentioning her mother always stirred resentment and a bitter anger.
She didn’t like to discuss Briar, but now they were back home at
the cottage, her mother’s presence was everywhere.
    “I
mean,” carried on Bram. “It’s been nearly seven years. Surely
whatever she’s gone off to do, or finish, she should have by
now.”
    She was
curt. “Mum’s not coming back.”
    Over the years
they’d had this conversation before. She’d brushed over it lightly,
not wanting him to get the wrong idea. But tonight he did. How
could he not, now it was evident Briar was never ever coming
home.
    “ Because of me? Because she didn’t want another
baby?”
    Her heart
twisted at the anguish in his voice. She tugged his hand hard.
“Ouch,” he yelped glaring at her, achieving what she needed, him to
snap out of his present line of thought.
    “ No Bram,” she said with authority. “Not because of
you.”
    “ Why did she leave then?”
    “She
wasn’t happy Bram. She didn’t want to be a mother anymore, or a
wife. She didn’t want to be with us, not even with Dad.”
    “ But why?”
    “She
couldn’t have wanted to. Else, she wouldn’t have left.” She spoke
softer now, reaching over to link her fingers with his. “She’s not
worth thinking about. Don’t give her any head space. Mums - real
mums - don’t leave their kids behind.”
    Bram’s throat constricted a little with threatening tears. “Yeah,
I guess you’re right.”
    “Dad needs to get over her.” Like I have , Nettle added silently.
    The
siblings lay in the dark of the bedroom a little longer, each
entrenched within their thoughts.
    A little
while later Bram said wistfully. “You know, it’d be easier if Dad
found someone else, don’t you think? Mum may never come back. But
this place, it’s our home. Maybe, we could stay put, not travel
from town to town. I’d like to go to school. I’d like to have some
friends.”
    Nettle
squeezed his hand. In the dark, Bram could hear the smile on her
lips even though he couldn’t see her face. It was a thoughtful,
contemplative smile, the kind she always had when she struck upon
an idea. She leaned over and gave him a quick peck on the cheek.
“Bramble, you’re a genius.”

CHAPTER FOUR
    Bonkers!
     
     
    Nettle crouched in the dewy grass , rapidly tapping the ground with
small sticks to induce vibrations within the earth. Bram had read
about worm charming, and though this method mostly worked, this
morning it seemed to be taking forever. She and Bram had waded
through the overgrown front yard and created a working area by
trampling a small patch of grass beneath their boots to get at
their current task: breakfast for Willoughby.
    The bleak morning was biting and the air heavy with moisture. Nettle
tapped away, rapidly losing patience. Her leggings were becoming
increasingly uncomfortable with dampness and the irritating itch
had returned right between her shoulder blades. She stopped to
scratch her back with a stick, relieved at the temporary respite.
Though the icy wind ruffled her hair and got beneath her jacket to
tickle the back of her neck with a horrid clamminess, it wasn’t its
bracing touch that made her uncomfortable. It was the Forgotten
Wilds.
    Nettle
shivered, casting a glance over her shoulder.
    A patch
of douglas fir loomed at the edge of the property, casting a
troubled shadow over where they worked. Beside the bushy pine were
dishevelled