The Language Of Spells

The Language Of Spells
Sarah Painter

When you are ready, seek, and you shall find. It is your gift.Gwen Harper left Pendleford thirteen years ago and hasn’t looked back. Until an inheritance throws her into the mystical world she thought she’d escaped. Confronted with her great-aunt’s legacy Gwen must finally face up to her past.The magic she has long tried to suppress is back with a vengeance but gift or burden, for Gwen, it always spells trouble. She has to stay – she has nowhere else to go – but how can she find her place in the town that drove her out after branding her a witch…?Praise for Sarah Painter"Sarah Painter is a talented new writer, and her debut is a charming, romantic and intriguing story, with a little touch of magic. It had me enchanted." - Clodagh Murphy'This really was a fantastic debut novel… The language was also simple but elegant and meant that the story flowed seamlessly. I honestly could not put it down.' - Laura's Little Book Blog'The plot had great twists and turns and when I thought I had the story figured out, the story would go in a different direction and surprise me. I didn’t want to put it down and the further I got into the book, the harder it was to stop reading… A wonderful debut novel and I’m looking forward to reading the next one.' - Novel Kicks'I thoroughly enjoyed The Secret of Ghosts. It was just as magical and just as enjoyable as The Language of Spells and I am soooooo glad Sarah Painter decided to go back to Pendleford. … I really do love magical fiction and I think Sarah Painter is one of the best at giving you a realistic look at magic and all that comes with it.' - Chick Lit Reviews on The Secrets of GhostsDon't miss the second book in this sparkling duet: The Secrets of Ghosts out now!

When you are ready, seek, and you shall find. It is your gift.

Gwen Harper left Pendleford thirteen years ago and hasn’t looked back. Until an inheritance throws her into the mystical world she thought she’d escaped. Confronted with her great-aunt’s legacy, Gwen must finally face up to her past.

The magic she has long tried to suppress is back with a vengeance but, gift or burden, for Gwen it always spells trouble. She has to stay – she has nowhere else to go – but how can she find her place in the town that drove her out after branding her a witch…?

The Language of Spells

Sarah Painter

Copyright (#ulink_a28eb4b0-78b4-5be6-a6c1-0a0d0997a499)

HQ

An imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd.

1 London Bridge Street

London SE1 9GF

First published in Great Britain by HQ in 2013

Copyright © Sarah Painter 2013

Sarah Painter asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins.

E-book Edition © May 2013 ISBN: 9781472017062

Version date: 2018-10-30

Sarah Painter has worked as a freelance journalist, editor and blogger for the last thirteen years, while juggling amateur child-wrangling (aka motherhood) with her demanding internet-appreciation schedule (aka procrastination).

Born in Wales to a Scot and an Englishman (very nearly a ‘three men walked into a bar’ joke), she now lives in Scotland with her husband, two children and two cats. She loves the work of Joss Whedon, reading in bed, salt and vinegar crisps, and is the proud owner of a writing shed.

Sarah gives writing advice at www.novelicious.com (http://www.novelicious.com) and writes about craft, books and writing at www.sarah-painter.com (http://www.sarah-painter.com)

A book is not a solo effort and this novel would not exist without the support and guidance of the Best Agent in the World; Sallyanne Sweeney.

Huge thanks, also, to Sally and Victoria, and the rest of the team at HQ Digital.

And, finally, thank you to my friends for believing in me, encouraging me and keeping me (mostly!) sane. Special thanks to the We Should Be Writing crew for their wise words, thoughtful critiques and boundless enthusiasm.

For my mum and dad for bringing me up with love, laughter and books.

For Holly and James for their all-round brilliance.

And for Dave. For everything.

Contents

Cover (#u45d9ee15-3561-5223-9a58-04ca3b810ab2)

Blurb (#u8f8ace2f-801c-5c05-8d91-0b7437493f3b)

Title Page (#ue8f54d19-5fb1-575d-92e9-ef1b553df2fb)

Copyright (#u3639aa75-cd98-5fd3-9381-5bf23fd21f40)

Author Bio (#ub80ad4a3-b529-5b2a-9a25-e52f318af3b8)

Acknowledgement (#u89f99350-873f-5f2a-b274-d9ad968cd5d6)

Dedication (#udd3fe169-7519-5d2c-a639-d27b92be942f)

Prologue (#u9d4a3f45-b7d6-5cf2-a32a-e24ab2029144)

Chapter One (#u67778162-4b03-5668-853e-8ab2852c3756)

Chapter Two (#u6cf8ade9-5e7a-5378-be0f-b400dfb3a175)

Chapter Three (#uad550d05-3629-580e-82a1-93beff76e33d)

Chapter Four (#u914d3544-98d0-5a7f-9161-35acd0b39e0a)

Chapter Five (#u98bda16d-9d17-5bbc-acff-e33dd0f910a8)

Chapter Six (#u3d697250-64c4-5cda-8a37-4b59b155d303)

Chapter Seven (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Eight (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Nine (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Ten (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Eleven (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Twelve (#litres_trial_promo)