The library was a surprisingly pleasant, modern building, slung low to the ground, windows curving around the perimeter to let light in. Michaela waited in the car while Trisha went in to get her sister. She adjusted her long legs in the foot well and tapped her fingers nervously, wishing she wasn’t so tired. She felt punchy, her eyes gritty. Hopefully some food would help.

Trisha and Caro returned to the car, looking like they were arguing over something. Caro scrambled into the back seat and sat silent. Trisha started the engine.

‘Let’s grab a meal at the hotel, yeah?’ she said. ‘I don’t think I can stomach more fried food at the Diner.’

There was a snort from the back seat and Trisha’s face tightened. Michaela wondered what they’d been arguing about. She decided she didn’t care, it would only be some sort of sister thing she didn’t understand. She rubbed her eyes. If she didn’t get something to eat shortly she was going to fall asleep where she sat.

‘Wherever you want to eat is fine by me,’ she said, then lapsed into a silence to match everyone else’s in the car. She leaned her head against the window and closed her eyes.

The food was good. Michaela could feel her head clearing as she ate. ‘God did I need this,’ she said. She looked at the other two, both of them merely picking at their food. ‘All right,’ she told them. ‘What’s going on with you two?’

Trisha looked up. ‘Nothing,’ she said. She pushed her plate away. ‘Guess I wasn’t that hungry after all.’ She looked at Caro. ‘What about you?’ she asked.

Caro looked up from her plate and shrugged. ‘I’m fine,’ she said, staring at her sister.

Michaela looked at them both, feeling like something was going on. Maybe Caro had been talking to someone at the library Trisha didn’t like. Who knew? She cleaned up what was left on her plate.

‘You want a drink, Trisha?’ she asked.

Trisha nodded. ‘Yeah, a beer thanks.’

‘What about you Caro, you want a Coke or something?’

The girl shrugged, so Michaela went off to get the drinks anyway. She thought about the house and wondered how to broach the subject and ask the questions she needed to when Trisha and Caro were clearly fighting about something. Well, she decided, they would just have to get over themselves. She picked up the drinks and went back to their table.

The plates had been cleared away and Caro was fiddling with a napkin. Trisha was leaning back in her chair, arms folded. Michaela set the drinks down.

‘Okay,’ she said. ‘What’s going on between you two? Do I even want to know?’ She sat down and swallowed a mouthful of beer. ‘We really need to be on the same side here, you know.’

Trisha sighed and sat up. ‘Sorry Michaela, we’re just having a bit of a disagreement.’

‘Yeah, cos you’re being a bitch,’ muttered Caro.

Trisha spoke before Michaela could. ‘For fuck’s sakes Caro, shut up.’

Michaela looked from one to the other. ‘I’m tired,’ she said at last. ‘I flew half way round the world yesterday and I’m just a wee bit jet lagged, so can you two please sort out whatever it is so we can get on to the real issue here? I need to get some sleep, but damned if I’m going to want to sleep in that house without just a couple of questions answered.’ She lifted her glass and drank.

The sisters looked at each other. Caro shrugged finally and picked up her Coke.

‘Sorry babe,’ Trisha said. ‘We’re all a bit strung out, I guess.

Caro was looking at Michaela. ‘Trisha told me about last year, you guys saving that old lady from her son. It’s really cool that you figured out the lights and ghost and shit were fake.’

‘Jeeze Caro, watch your language.’ Trisha seemed genuinely offended.

Caro gaped at her, then started giggling. ‘You’re telling me that?’

With that, the tension around the table evaporated. Michaela looked at them, both of them giggling like a pair of lunatics. ‘I just do not understand women,’ she said, shaking her head.

That made them laugh harder, Caro laughing and choking on her Coke. Michaela stared, then replayed her own words and started laughing too. They were gathering looks from the people around the other tables when Michaela rested her head in her hands and made an effort to pull herself together.

‘Come on guys,’ she said, smothering the last of her laughter. ‘Oh God, my sides are sore from laughing.’

Trisha wiped her eyes and Caro stifled her giggles, looking at Michaela’s arms. Her sleeves had slipped back to show the blue lines of her tattoos.

‘Cool ink,’ Caro said. ‘What’s it of?’

Michaela shrugged and pulled back one sleeve to show Caro the snakes around her wrists. Caro put out a finger and traced the lines.

‘They’re amazing,’ she said. ‘Snakes are such awesome symbols, you know. The power of regeneration and all that. This is just like the old kings and chiefs had around their arms, to symbolise their relationship to the land and the cycle of the seasons.’ She looked up at Michaela. ‘What?’ she asked.

Michaela pulled her sleeve down. ‘You’re amazing,’ she said. ‘Most people wouldn’t know that stuff.’

Caro shrugged. ‘I like magic and symbolism and stuff. It interests me.’ She gave a sly smile. ‘I found this cool book in the library a while ago. Mists of Avalon. Written ages ago, but it was really good. King Arthur had tattoos just like that.’

‘Told you she was bright,’ Trisha said. ‘Totally annoying what with knowing every damn thing, but you gotta give her points for getting stuff right.’

Michaela looked at Caro more closely then looked around to see if anyone was sitting near enough to them to hear, then turned to Caro. ‘I was at your place today,’ she said. ‘I saw it. The shadow thing. It was watching me from the hallway then disappeared into your room.’

Whatever Caro had been expecting to hear, it clearly wasn’t this. The blood disappeared from her cheeks, giving her a shocked, sallow look.

‘You saw it?’ she said. ‘In broad daylight, just like that?’

Michaela nodded. ‘Not only that, but I saw it before Trisha even told me what was going on.’ She thought about what Caro had said about the tattoos. ‘Do you have any idea about what it is?’

Caro nodded. ‘I found hundreds of stories about them on the internet.’

Michaela and Trisha stared at her.