The Crystal Mirror (11 page)

And suddenly she was there, sitting up in her bed.

Cool night air flowed into the sweltering room through the open window. Down the lane, something was moving…

“What are you looking at?” hissed Claudia. “Is it down there – the Shadow?”

Laney stifled a scream. “Where did you come from?”

“I’m supposed to be here,” said Claudia. “I’m walking your dream with you. This is the right dream, isn’t it?”

“This is the right dream.” Laney leaned closer to the open window, watching the dark shape gliding down the lane, close to the ground. When it was right outside her house, it stopped and its black hood slowly swivelled to the side.

“What if it sees us?” Laney covered her mouth with her hand.

“If it didn’t see you the first time then it won’t now,” said Claudia. “The dream can’t change. It’s already happened.” But she ducked down out of sight all the same.

The dark figure moved on and the girls breathed again.

“That thing is majorly freaky.” Claudia shivered. “OK, what did you do next?”

“I followed it and it went down to the stream at the end of the road.” Laney checked over her
shoulders, but from the draught of air she already knew her wings would be there. Dream wings, she thought.

Claudia opened her wings too. “You go first – you know what’s going to happen. I’ll follow you.”

Laney swooped from the open window and flew along the road just as she had dreamed the night before. She landed at the end of the lane and scanned the dark fields in front of her. Everything felt even more real this time. She could hear a night bird calling and smell the muddiness of the stream. The Shadow faerie would be down there, ready to pull that round thing from the water. She felt like she was taking part in a play, acting out something when all the scenes and lines were already fixed…

She gasped.

“What’s wrong?” Claudia landed behind her.

The dark figure was halfway up the slope and moving back towards them.

“It’s not supposed to be there. It’s supposed to be standing by the stream like it did last time,” said Laney. “Quick – hide!”

The girls ran to the nearest fence and knelt down behind it.

“What exactly did it do in the dream?” whispered Claudia.

“It stayed by the stream and it pulled something
out of the water. Then the dream ended.” Laney crouched as low as she could.

The figure stopped, its dark hood clearly outlined against the moonlit sky. Then it glided away down the street.

“Are you sure this is a dream?” said Laney. “Look, the moon isn’t the same either. It’s a three-quarter moon and it should be a full one.”

The huge moon hung in the sky, with a bite taken out of it.

Claudia gripped her arm. “Never mind the moon. Where’s the Shadow faerie gone?”

Laney ran out from behind the fence to look down the street, and suddenly the world spun. When it stopped she and Claudia weren’t next to the houses any more. They were standing in a field outside Skellmore, with the wide river glittering in front of them and the wooden bridge stretching across it.

“We’ve moved,” hissed Claudia.

Laney pulled Claudia down behind a bush. “The Shadow’s over there.” She pointed at the dark figure, now bending down by the river just metres away. With a jolt, she realised that a feeling of deep cold was stealing through her. It made her arms feel heavy and slowed her heartbeat. Something about the dreams or the Shadow always brought this same feeling, as if her body was turning to ice.

“This is all wrong,” Claudia whispered. “The dream isn’t supposed to change. We have to stop this and wake up. To end the dreamwalk we just—”

“Wait.” Laney’s breath stuck in her icy throat. There was something different about the figure of the Shadow faerie – something about the way it was standing that made her sure it had found what it wanted. This was the reason they’d come here tonight.

The Shadow plunged one arm into the water and, just as before, inky-black stains swirled outwards as the water was poisoned by its touch. Then, with slow triumph, it pulled out an object that was round and beautiful. A swirling pattern ran around the edge of the object, and in the centre was a sheet of crystal that turned the reflected glow of the moon into a thousand lights.

“A mirror,” whispered Laney, and as she stared into the mirror’s heart she saw a terrible picture. In the reflection, the river water rose up and covered the village. Every road became a grey torrent and water lapped at front doors and downstairs windows. No grass could be seen in the park, except for the perilous circle of the faerie ring. People stood at their upstairs windows, cut off by the rising flood. Kim and Toby called out to her, and they sounded frightened.

“No! You can’t do that!” Laney croaked. She
sprang from her hiding place and tried to run, but her frozen legs wouldn’t work. She had to help them before it was too late.

The Shadow’s head began to turn…

Claudia grabbed Laney’s hands and held them palm to palm with hers. “Laney, don’t move! We have to get back before it sees us.”

Laney caught the fear in Claudia’s voice and held her hands still. If this was just a dream, then it would soon be over…it would soon be over… But the Shadow lifted the mirror even higher and she couldn’t take her eyes away from the picture inside.

“Wake up!”

The ground felt hard underneath her back. Fletcher’s face loomed over her. “Wake up!”

“All right, I’m awake!” Laney sat up, her head spinning. She was still under the canopy of the trees where they’d started. The riverbank and the dark figure had vanished, and that awful iciness that filled her body had gone too. She gave a shudder of relief.

Fletcher shook Claudia, who was lying on the ground, her eyes still closed.

Claudia twitched and opened her eyes. “That was
not
a dream.”

“What was it then – a trip to the moon? I’ve been shaking both of you for five minutes,” Fletcher said angrily. His fringe was sticking up and his jeans
were covered in leaves.

“The dream went kind of wrong. It wasn’t the same as before,” said Laney. “We didn’t stay in the right place. We should have stayed by the little stream.”

“It was
seriously
wrong,” said Claudia. “In dreamwalks, the dream is
always
the same as the first time.
That
was more like a spell and it was freakin’ scary! If that thing had seen us…”

“Maybe you did it wrong,” said Fletcher.

“No!” Claudia glared. “I’m sure it wasn’t a dreamwalk at all. Maybe it’s because we’re doing it under these stupid trees. This place is too full of Thorn magic. Maybe that turned the dream into a spell instead of what it was supposed to be.”

“It was your idea to come here. And don’t ever try that again,” Fletcher said flatly. “I’m not staying to watch next time. I wasn’t sure I could get you back.”

“Don’t worry, Thorn boy. I won’t be doing that again,” said Claudia. “Not even for a cat’s nine lives.”

“But at least now we know what the Shadow’s looking for.” Laney got up shakily. “We saw what he’s been trying to find. It was that mirror – I remember it now – the one in that Tale of the First Faeries that Gwen showed me. He held it right up in the air.”

“What do you mean? The Shadow faerie wasn’t
holding anything,” said Claudia.

“Yes it was! That great round mirror,” said Laney. “The moonlight shone off it really brightly – you must have seen it.”

“If it’s in the Tale of the First Faeries, then it has to be the Crystal Mirror,” said Fletcher.

“There was nothing there,” said Claudia.

“If it was the Mist Myrical it would make sense that Laney could see it and you couldn’t,” said Fletcher. “Because she’s from the Mist tribe.”

“I remember Gwen saying something about Myricals,” said Laney.

“They’re the things that hold the essence of each tribe’s power,” said Fletcher. “That’s why there are five of them – one for each tribe. There’s the Wildwood Arrow – that’s our Thorn Myrical. Then there’s the White Wolf Statue that belongs to the Greytails, the Crystal Mirror that belongs to the Mists, the Sparkstone of the Blaze tribe and the Kestrels’ Vial of the Four Winds. My dad says they were all hidden away years ago.”

“What did this mirror look like?” demanded Claudia.

“It was round with a pattern along the edge, but instead of glass it had a surface that reflected lots and lots of ways all at once – like a diamond. When the Shadow faerie pulled it out of the river he held it up really high.” Laney shivered.

“It sounds like the Crystal Mirror,” said Fletcher. “The legends say it holds the key to your tribe’s power.”

Laney thought of the bright mirror with its thousands of reflections and her skin tingled. She could imagine how amazing it would be to have the key to all water magic in her hands.

There was a scuffling noise a little distance away. “Let’s go,” said Fletcher. “The trees are worried.”

He changed to faerie form, spread his wings and soared up between the branches.

Claudia rolled her eyes. “The trees are worried! Maybe they’ve got caterpillars eating their leaves.”

Laney unfolded her wings and flew up into the night sky. Clutched by a terrible thought, she veered left over the fields towards the river.

“Laney, wait,” called Claudia.

“I’ve got to look at the river,” Laney called back. She heard the beating of her friends’ wings as they hurried to keep up with her, but she didn’t slow down. What if the picture in the mirror was true? What if something terrible had already happened to Skellmore?

Finding the glittering curve of the river, she flew over and landed on the bridge. The others flew down behind her.

The river looked just the same as always. No dark figure. No flood.

“Why are you smiling?” said Claudia.

“It wasn’t true,” she said. “In the mirror, I saw the river bursting and covering Skellmore. There was water everywhere and it felt like it was really happening – the whole village was really in danger. But it wasn’t true.”

“It could be what the Shadow
wants
to do,” said Fletcher grimly. “If he’s looking for the Mist Myrical, then he must want to use it for something. Myricals are supposed to hold a lot of power.”

“You mean he could use this mirror against us?” said Laney.

Claudia and Fletcher exchanged looks. “The Myricals have been lost for years. I don’t really know what they do,” said Claudia. “There’s a tale about how all the Myricals were lost because a Shadow faerie tried to take them. I thought it was just a scary story, but then I never believed in Shadows until today…”

Laney stared at the village lights twinkling beyond the dark water and she thought of Kim and Toby at home in bed. “The Shadow’s hunting for the mirror. That’s what he wants. And we know he’s out there, but there are a lot of people who have no idea what’s coming.”

“Where are you going?” yelled Claudia as Laney lifted into the air. “You can’t keep rushing off!”

“I’m going to tell Gwen about the Crystal Mirror,” Laney called back, swooping over the river. “She’s the only one who believed me when I saw the Shadow faerie.”

“We believed you too,” grumbled Claudia.

“Then come with me,” said Laney.

Fletcher took off, joining her in the air. “Gwen will know what to do.”

“You
hope
she will,” said Claudia.

They flew down to the ground at the end of the High Street, changed to human form and ran across to Gnarlwood Lane. The village was eerily quiet, although Laney noticed more cats than usual sitting on walls and skulking under hedges.

The trumpet-shaped flowers that formed Gwen’s roof glowed faintly, but the rest of her house looked dark.

“Fletcher! Thank goodness.” Mrs Thornbeam, Fletcher’s mum, appeared out of the darkness. Her mouth tightened when she saw Laney and Claudia. “We found out you weren’t in your room and we didn’t know where you’d gone. It’s not safe out here.”

“Mum, you know I’m fine. I have my Thorn power.” Fletcher looked embarrassed. A cloud of pink and white sprites flew over to settle on his shoulders and he brushed them off quickly.

Laney ran up Gwen’s front path and knocked on the door. Gwen would know what to do. Gwen would look at her with those wise eyes and understand what she’d seen in the mirror.

“Gwen’s not there,” said Mrs Thornbeam.

Laney’s heart sank. “Where’s she gone? Will she be back soon?”

Mrs Thornbeam was silent.

“Mum! When will she be back?” said Fletcher.

Mrs Thornbeam eyed Laney doubtfully. “She’s travelled north to talk to more faerie Elders and I don’t know when she’ll be back.” She shook her head. “After all that’s happened today, you three go flying about like nothing’s the matter.”

“But we know what’s going on—” started Claudia.

“No, you don’t. You don’t understand at all or you wouldn’t be doing this. A Thorn, a Greytail and a Mist together? For goodness’ sake!” She raked a hand through her hair. “You can’t be friends. Not any more. And if the other faeries see you together like this they could throw you out of your home and banish your families from Skellmore.”

Fletcher stared at her. “You’ve always let me talk to Mists and Greytails. I know them from school.”

“Talk to them, yes, but not be close friends. Times are changing. Who knows how long the tribes will even carry on talking to each other?” She turned away. “I’m going to tell your dad that you’re back.”

Laney, Claudia and Fletcher looked at each other. “Look,” said

Laney. “I know things are bad but we have to do something about the mirror – try to find it ourselves. We can’t wait. If the Shadow gets it first he could do anything…” She thought of the image of the flood in the mirror and how it had drowned Skellmore in a torrent of grey water.

“How do we know he hasn’t found it already?” said Claudia.

“I think if he had, the village would be flooded right now.” Laney bit her lip. “Will you help me?”

Fletcher nodded. “I’m in.”

Claudia shuddered. “I hate water. If the mirror’s in the river, then you’ll have to be the one to get it, Laney.”

“Meet me by the bridge in the morning and we’ll start searching,” said Laney.

As Claudia and Fletcher left, Laney closed her eyes to wish herself into faerie form, then stopped. Somehow it felt too dangerous to fly back to Oldwing Rise, as if someone might be watching the skies.

As she ran round the corner into her road, Jessie stepped out from behind a lamppost. The orange light glinted on her sleek wings.

“Don’t think you can join our tribe, Laney Rivers,” she whispered fiercely. “After the joke you made of yourself at the Faerie Meet today, no one else in our
tribe wants you either!”

Laney glared back. “I don’t want to join your stupid Mist gang anyway.”

“Too busy running around with a lying Greytail, are you?” spat Jessie. “There’s something wrong with you. Just look at what happened on the day you Awakened. We had a red moon – the worst sign in the faerie world – and our Mist Elder, Arthur Puddlewick, died. What does that tell you?” She spread her wings. “You’d better watch it because I’m going to prove you can’t be a Mist faerie.” And she swept into the air and flew away.

Laney lay awake in bed that night, afraid to close her eyes. She’d left her pillow behind at the place where they’d done the dreamwalk and the rolled-up jumper beneath her head wasn’t very comfortable. She didn’t want to dream. She didn’t want to see the Shadow faerie, watch that long hood turning slowly towards any sound…

But she was exhausted and sleep took over.

She sat up. The pale moonlight trickled over her bedcovers. A tiny breeze came through the open window. That settled it. She knew she’d shut that window. She’d checked it three times. Now it was magically open again. This was definitely a dream.

Trying to shake off the shivery feeling, she drew closer to the window and looked outside. She knew
it would be there – that dark shape gliding up the lane. She leaned back against the wall, keeping as far away from the window as possible. This didn’t have to be the same as last time. She just had to stay here in her room until she woke up. Then she wouldn’t have to see the Shadow searching for the mirror. She wouldn’t have to feel afraid.

She folded her arms, wishing she had the guts to reach out into the night and pull the window closed.

Minutes went past. Had the Shadow gone by? Did it know she was up here? She shook herself. How could it know? This was just a dream.

Unable to stop herself, she peeked out of the window.

A tide of grey water was sweeping along the road, seeping under cars, flowing through hedges and lapping at doorsteps. The flood was coming. Behind her in the darkness, she heard Toby crying.

She woke up.

Laney couldn’t sleep for the rest of the night. At daybreak she went downstairs, stuffed her rucksack full of food and left a note for Kim. She glanced at her dad’s work schedule, which lay open on the kitchen table. It said that he and Simon were working somewhere in town, installing a new bath and shower for a customer. She was glad that her
dad would be out of the way.

She left the house quietly and walked to the river. Putting down her rucksack, she got out some food and ate breakfast sitting on the bridge. She thought about the dream from the night before and how dangerous the flood had seemed. She stopped when she noticed a whirlpool forming in the middle of the flowing river, sucking in any leaves and branches flowing past. She took a deep breath to calm herself and the whirlpool disappeared. Perhaps she shouldn’t think about the dreams, not when she was so close to water anyway.

Claudia and Fletcher appeared on the footpath leading down to the bridge.

“So where do we look for this mirror?” said Claudia, climbing on to the bridge. “I mean, if it’s been hidden for this long, it’s not exactly going to be easy to find, is it?”

“I was going to find the place on the bank where the Shadow stood in my dream, the place where he lifted out the mirror,” said Laney. “I think I know where it is.” She hid her rucksack behind a bush and led them along the riverbank. The rough path turned into bare mud that had cracked in the summer heat.

“Here!” said Claudia. “I remember the shape of the bushes and the bend in the other side of the river.”

Laney stood right on the edge and stared down into the clear water. “I don’t see anything.” She knelt down, ignoring the nettles, and plunged one arm in the river. “I thought I’d know when I found it. It’s supposed to be full of Mist power so I should be able to feel it, shouldn’t I?”

“Of course you’d feel it,” said Claudia impatiently. “But seriously, why would it be here? You said the first dream showed the Shadow faerie pulling it from the stream at the end of your road. Then we see him take it from the river. He doesn’t know where the mirror is either.”

“Except that he’s looking underwater each time,” said Fletcher.

Laney pushed her hair out of her eyes. “But there are so many watery places to look. There’s the river and the stream. There’s a pond in the churchyard and a small one in the Mottles’ back garden, and there are some pools in Hobbin Forest too.”

“We need a map of the area,” said Fletcher. “Then we can check them all one by one.”

Claudia yawned. “Isn’t there a quicker way?”

“I doubt it.” Fletcher eyed Claudia with amusement. “And if that flood really happens, all the Greytails will get soaked. So let’s get on with it.”

“We might get soaked soon anyway. Look at that!” Laney pointed into the distance. “Those are the blackest storm clouds I’ve ever seen.”