Free The Witches of the Glass Castle (The Witches of the Glass Castle Series Book 1) by Gabriella Lepore Page A

come to depend on the drawing room as a port in the storm, so to speak.
    Keen to avoid socialising, Mia awkwardly dragged a hefty armchair over to the window, deliberately closing herself off from the rest of the room. She curled up on the chair and watched the rain as it blanketed the courtyard. Cosily wrapped in her soft cream jumper and a pair of jeans, she gazed up at the black rain clouds, amazed by how such swollen, heavy things could float so effortlessly in the moody sky.
    The drawing-room door burst open and Kizzy trudged in. Her canary-yellow raincoat was fastened to the top and rainwater from her blonde hair dripped steadily on to the carpet. She grabbed an unoccupied armchair and hauled it to the window, arranging it beside Mia.
    ‘You call this summer?’ she remarked huffily, clambering into the chair.
    ‘Hmm,’ Mia agreed distantly.
    Kizzy unbuttoned her raincoat and wriggled out of it. ‘Still no luck with the power?’
    ‘Nope.’
    ‘Have you talked to Wendolyn?’ Kizzy asked.
    ‘Yep.’
    ‘And?’
    Mia shrugged. ‘She says to look inside my heart.’
    Kizzy rolled her eyes. ‘I hate it when people say that. It doesn’t even make any sense!’
    ‘Tell me about it.’ Mia forced a weak smile. All things considered, she didn’t feel much like talking. Not to Wendolyn, not to Kizzy, not to anyone.
    Blissfully oblivious, Kizzy shook the water from her coat and then discarded it on to the floor. ‘Is there anything I can do to cheer you up?’
    M ia’s smile was genuine this time. ‘No, I’m fine,’ she replied. ‘How’s your Seer ability coming along?’ She pried her attention away from the window. Even if her own power was non-existent, it didn’t mean that she couldn’t be happy for her friend.
    ‘It’s OK. So-so,’ Kizzy said, purposely downplaying her success. The truth was, Kizzy’s power had accelerated quickly. Her control was growing stronger, and her visions were noticeably sharper and more precise. In fact, she’d been seeing more than she could have anticipated – including some unnerving images, many of which she felt she should warn Mia of. But something held her back.
     
     
    Across the room, two other new friends sat together deliberating their own skills. Dino and Blue…and a tower of buttons.
    Blue stretch ed out his fingers. ‘One more t-try,’ he decided. Evidently on edge, he sprinkled a dusting of ciron thistle into the palm of his hand. He clamped his fingers down over it and tapped the closed fist.
    ‘Well?’ Dino asked, feigning hope.
    Blue cursed at the little brown button that nestled in his palm. ‘This must be the h-hundredth one t-today,’ he muttered dejectedly.
    ‘Nah.’ Dino subtly kicked a pile of buttons beneath the sofa. ‘There hasn’t been that many.’
    Blue stared despondently at the button in his hand. His honey-coloured eyes were bleak.
    ‘Don’t worry about it. Who cares?’ Dino picked up a deck of cards and began skilfully shuffling them. ‘Wanna play Switch?’
    Blue looked down at the button once more, then threw it in frustration. It became apparent to him that he must have lobbed it harder than he had intended, because it soared across the room and hit a boy in the back of the head.
    ‘Hey! Who did that?’ the boy yelled, scanning the room for his assailant. Then he noticed the button lying dormant on the floor. ‘Oh, right!’ he cackled loudly. ‘Button boy! Hey, loser!’ he shouted to Blue. ‘Keep your buttons to yourself!’
    Blue bowed his head in shame.
    But Dino’s reaction was quite different. He slammed the deck of cards down against the coffee table. ‘You better watch your mouth, Patterson!’ he threatened the boorish boy.
    ‘Oh, yeah? What are you gonna do about it?’ the boy retorted.
    Dino leapt from his seat and strode across the room.
    Unsurprisingly, the loudmouth boy began to lose some of his bravado. ‘Hey, relax,’ he said anxiously. ‘It was just a joke.’
    All of a sudden, everyone in