Tides of Magic


 Contents
 
 
 
 Title Page Copyright -->
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1. Chapter 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 2. Chapter 2
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 3. Chapter 3
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 4. Chapter 4
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 5. Chapter 5
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 6. Chapter 6
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 7. Chapter 7
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 8. Chapter 8
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 9. Chapter 9
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 10. Chapter 10
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 11. Chapter 11
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Acknowledgments
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 About the Author
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Tides of Magic
 
 Andi R. Christopher
 
 
 
 Sleepy Squid Press
 
 
 Copyright © 2022 Andi R. Christopher All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher or author, except as permitted by law. Cover design by Jacqueline Sweet. A catalogue record for this book is available from the National Library of New Zealand. ISBNs: Paperback: 978-0-473-65762-8 Epub: 978-0-473-65763-5Mobi: 978-0-473-65764-2 Chapter one Charley pulled her car over as far left as she could manage, far enough that she was in the shadow of the pine trees that lined her route, and jabbed her GPS. She’d planned the journey beforehand, and it had seemed something even she could handle; follow the state highway south, turn off towards the sea, and then take the winding coast road north to her destination. She pulled out her phone, which very generously allowed two bars of reception – though still 3G reception – and worked out where she’d gone wrong. She was just at the edge of a headache, her mouth felt dry, and even though she’d showered just hours ago it felt like her skin was crawling with weeks of grime. She’d meant to set off early, but of course it didn’t happen, between a missing shoe and everything else taking inexplicably twice as long as she’d meant it to. She’d always assumed that in an actual emergency she’d miraculously get her shit together, but she’d never really expected to have that put to the test. Now her sister, her sister who had always looked out for her, was missing and somehow Charley still couldn’t manage to leave the house before ten, even though Melissa’s safety may well depend on it. What a selfish little girl. “Stop it,” Charley said aloud to her own self-talk, swinging the car round in the empty road to retrace her journey to the site of her last mistake. These mishaps were always shameful even when she was the only one to witness them. To snap herself out of the put-downs she found a playlist she and Melissa had created together in her sister’s last year at home – it was poppy and upbeat, the sort they could dance around Melissa’s bedroom singing to, the sort that forced a smile even in the worst times. Half an hour lost, and Charley was finally heading towards the sea, a river on her right. This was forest and floodplain country, sandwiched between the university city and the rugged lands of the far south. One side of the road was lined with pine trees, while on the other the river caught the glint of the late morning sun. This far south, the air had a cold bite even in the late spring days of early November, but the skies were blue and Charley felt like there was hope. If she made it to the tiny settlement of Inver Aora, there was someone there who could help her. According to the on-again-off-again girlfriend of one of her workmate Liam’s cousins, anyway. She was more than a little sceptical, but what else could she do? The police were dismissive and her parents more so. And the way her sister had disappeared was weird, verging on impossible, so maybe a weird solution from out here in the middle of nowhere would be the one that would actually work. Charley could only hope so. It didn’t feel like she had anyone else on her side. Their mother’s comment that “if one of our children was going to go missing, I’d have thought it would be Charlotte” was a low, spiteful blow, but she couldn’t deny there was truth in it. Melissa had her life together – and always had. Melissa was a fifth-year medical student and a pleasure to be around. Probably the oddest thing about Melissa was that she loved Charley as much as Charley loved her, had snuck into her room late at night to console her, had sent her goofy texts when she was at uni and Charley was in full-on war with their parents, had helped Charley move to Dunedin, move into her flat when a spare room came up, enrol in uni, enrol in uni again after she dropped out, find a polytech course that might be better suited to her. Melissa had faith in her – she always said things like less well suited rather than failure. Well, Charley had let her down once again. She was pretty sure she’d failed again this semester, and she doubted anywhere else would take her. Truthfully, she wouldn’t have minded working late-night shifts in the convenience store for the rest of her life. She didn’t care about her parents’ expectations; she was an adult now, barely spoke to them,