Free The Binding by Jenny Alexander Page B

through the rain. Then Hamish said, ‘You can’t do that here. We’ll have to go in.’
    We climbed out of the pool and ran up the beach, with the rain beating down on us. Then we dived into the bothy and all grabbed a towel. Duncan said Tressa’s report would have to wait because we had to get dry first, warm ourselves by the fire and have our hot chocolate.
    Was he a bit annoyed with Tressa for forcing him to go all serious and put on the Judgement when we were all having fun? Or was it just me? Because I
was
annoyed—I was properly annoyed.
    We towelled ourselves dry and got dressed in front of the fire. Duncan had brought a comb so wewouldn’t have tell-tale swimming-hair when we got home. Hamish lit the candles around the fireplace and along the ledge above.
    Duncan took some plastic beakers out of his pack and shared out the hot chocolate. He’d also brought some soft bread rolls for us to dunk in it. He had thought of everything and it should have been perfect, but Tressa’s report was hanging over us like the thirteenth fairy nobody had wanted to invite.
    We tried to ignore it and get the mood back by talking about our swim. What was the best bit? What was the funniest bit? Was it like me and Tressa had expected it to be? The flickering firelight lit up our faces and made our skin tingle with warmth. We were all laughing, but we were also waiting, and eventually Duncan said we had better make the circle.
    He moved the makeshift table to the middle of the room, and we dragged our fish-box seats into position around it. It felt cold, away from the fire, and darker too until Elspeth brought out the big candle and Hamish lit it.
    â€˜Teacher, you have a report to make,’ Duncan said to Tressa, in a tone that clearly said,
this had better be good.
    Tressa stood up.
    â€˜My brother, the Joker, has told our mother about the bothy.’
    They all gave a gasp of surprise.
    Elspeth passed Hamish the Judgement, Hamish passed it to Duncan and Duncan unfolded it and placed it on his head. He hadn’t worn it since Milo had told on me for asking Mum about the berries.
    Duncan stood up, and motioned to the rest of us to stand as well.
    â€˜Is this true?’ he asked.
    I nodded. ‘But I didn’t say it was a bothy—I said it was a den—and I never mentioned where it was. I said it was secret.’
    â€˜That’s all very well but now they know we have a den, they might come looking for it,’ Duncan said.
    I hadn’t thought of that, but what was I supposed to have done?
    â€˜If I hadn’t told Mum we had a den, she would one hundred per cent not have let us come out “rain or shine”. Tressa knows that, but she didn’t have any better ideas.’
    The rain hammering on the roof slates seemed to back up my argument, but Duncan still took a step back. One by one, they all did the same, until I was left on my own in the middle.
    â€˜You are guilty of breaking the most sacred law of the Binding,’ said Duncan. ‘Your punishment is this. Tomorrow afternoon, we will meet at the hotel and walk out to the south light, but while the rest of us follow the coast you will go directly across the field.’
    And that’s it? I have to cross a field?
Hamish grinned at Duncan. I smiled at Elspeth, but she wouldn’t meet my eye.
    Duncan said, ‘Now we reward the eyes and ears with gold.’
    Elspeth brought the pencil tin out of the box and handed it to him. He took out two chocolate bars, which he gave to Tressa. I wished I could wipe that smug look off her face.
    â€˜One more thing,’ he said. ‘Until the Joker has done his punishment, he is outside the circle, and that means you must not talk to him except when you have to because there are people around.’
    I didn’t mind about the field, but that seemed a bit mean. Maybe Duncan didn’t think Tressa and Milo would actually stick to it, but I knew they