The Crystal Mirror (12 page)

Claudia and Fletcher exchanged looks.

“What’s the matter?” said Laney.

“In the old stories, when a Shadow faerie was doing something bad they always raised a thunderstorm to hide their spells,” said Claudia.

The black clouds rolled forwards and turned the fields below dark.

“Then we have to work faster than the Shadow.” Laney closed her eyes and changed into her faerie form. “You two keep an eye out for humans while I check each pond and stream. I can fly right through the water. It’ll be quicker.”

Laney dived into the river. She glided quickly through the water, checking every bank and reed bed for signs of the Crystal Mirror. By the time she had checked several miles of river and the smaller stream, the storm clouds hung right over their heads and little black storm flies crawled across their skin.

“Do you think the Shadow knows we’re looking for the mirror too?” said Claudia. “This isn’t normal – these storm clouds—”

“There’s someone over there – hide!” said Laney.

They ducked behind some bushes as a figure came into view. Jessie came down the footpath and stared into the stream at the exact same place where Laney had just been searching. She walked up and down for a while, before heading towards
the footbridge. The others climbed stiffly out of their hiding place.

“What’s she up to?” said Claudia. “She looks pretty suspicious.”

“I bet she’s looking for me,” said Laney. “She told me last night that she was going to make sure I didn’t join the Mist tribe. So much for Mist team spirit.” She remembered something else that Jessie had said. “And she was blaming me for the death of the Mist Elder on the night I Awakened. I don’t know why it was supposed to be my fault.”

“You mean Arthur Puddlewick?” said Fletcher. “I thought he died of old age.”

“Strange that it should all happen on the same night though,” said Claudia.

“Oh, don’t go on about that again!” said Laney.

“No, I just mean…why
did
it all happen on the same night? It’s weird.” Claudia stretched in a graceful, cat-like movement.

“It’s a pity he died actually,” said Fletcher. “If anyone would know where to find all the ponds and streams, it would be—”

“The Mist Elder,” finished Laney.

“Exactly!” said Fletcher. “My dad keeps a record of all the trees in this area, from each small copse up to the big forest. So why wouldn’t the Mist Elder do the same with the rivers and pools?”

“If he left any information behind, it would make
searching a lot quicker.” Claudia’s eyes gleamed. “Shall we go and look?”

“No!” said Fletcher. “No way! If the other Elders catch us sneaking round his house they’ll go mad.”

“I think it’s a great idea,” said Laney.

“He lived in Gillforth, didn’t he?” said Claudia. “Do you think we can fly there without being seen?”

“I think we should try.” Laney checked all around for signs of Jessie and then launched herself into the air.

Fletcher groaned. “If we have to do something stupid, let’s at least choose the safest way to get there.” And he led them away from Skellmore and over the river. They flew over dozens of fields of sheep and several farm buildings before the village of Gillforth came into view. Laney’s wings began to get tired.

“Talk about taking the long way round,” grumbled Claudia as they landed behind a hedgerow and changed back into human form.

A tortoiseshell cat appeared from the undergrowth and watched them curiously.

“We need to know if Arthur Puddlewick’s house is empty,” said Claudia. “Could you look for us, please?” The cat flicked its tail and ran off.

Laney cast a look back at the storm clouds. This had better be worth it, otherwise they were just giving the Shadow extra time to work his spells and
find the mirror himself.

The cat reappeared after a few minutes and uttered several long mews.

“It’s empty,” Claudia told the others. “The downstairs has been locked up but there’s an upstairs window they forgot to close.”

They followed the tortoiseshell cat into the village. There weren’t many people around, only a man mowing a front lawn and some little kids playing on bikes down the road. Trying not to look suspicious, they walked up a gravel drive to a small house with a rectangular pond and a beautiful fountain in the front garden.

Laney looked at the house, expecting to see some sign of Mist power, but the bricks were bare and ordinary.

Fletcher saw her looking. “The power dies with the owner of the house, but it did look great when he was alive.”

“Come on.” Claudia hurried down the side alley. “Before someone thinks we’re burglars or something.”

The open window was at the back. Claudia changed to faerie form, flew up to the window and slipped smoothly through the small gap. After a few moments she opened the back door from inside.

Laney’s heart jolted as she went in. Saucepans lay upside down on the kitchen floor. The cupboards
were open. A trail of earth from a house plant was scattered over the worktop.

“It’s like this upstairs too,” said Claudia.

“Maybe burglars have been here,” said Laney, walking into the sitting room and gazing at the books lying upended on the carpet.

“Or maybe someone else had the same idea as us,” said Fletcher. “Maybe they were looking for information too.”

Laney scanned the room, taking in the pictures of calm rivers and stormy seas on the walls and the mess on the floor below. “It’s horrible that someone’s already been here. It’s bad enough thinking that we’re going through a dead man’s stuff.”

“It’ll be worse if that someone is the Shadow and it comes back again,” said Claudia. “Let’s get a move on.”

Laney looked in the cupboards. If there was a map or a list of rivers and ponds, maybe it would be stored away safely. Finding nothing, she moved on to the bookcases. Then she checked everywhere else.

Fletcher turned over the sofa cushions. “Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea. There’s nothing here.”

“Can’t you use your Mist senses, Laney?” said Claudia. “Maybe there’s a Mist-type clue around here.”

“Maybe he didn’t write anything down,” said
Fletcher. “Maybe we’re looking for something that doesn’t exist.”

“Stop being so gloomy and let her sense something,” snapped Claudia.

Laney looked round the room. Did she even have any Mist senses? Maybe she wasn’t powerful enough for that. She chewed her lip, trying to concentrate.

“Are you feeling anything Mist-like?” asked Claudia.

Laney sighed. “Everything here feels
Mist-like
, so how am I supposed to find something important among all the other Mist-type things? It’s impossible to—” She broke off. There was one way to go straight to the heart of Mist magic.

She ran to the kitchen, found a washing-up bowl and filled it with water.

“What are you doing?” said Claudia.

“Trying something out.” Laney hurried back in with the bowl of water. “Watch out.”

Claudia dived round the back of the sofa while Fletcher hid behind the door. Closing her eyes, Laney willed the water to spread far and wide as she flung the bowl into the air. The bowl bumped down on to the carpet. When she opened her eyes again, everything in the room was wet. Water dripped from the ceiling and sparkled on every inch of the windows. The water had scattered just
as she’d commanded. Now she had to work out if anything was different.

Claudia jumped up from behind the sofa, her long black hair dripping. “Laney! I’m soaked!”

“Sorry.” Laney scanned the room. Nothing seemed to have changed…except something about the picture next to the bookcase was different. The painted sea looked wilder and the thrashing waves reached up higher. She unhooked it from the wall, turned it over and ran a finger round the edge of the frame. A tiny corner of white showed at one side. She took hold of it carefully and pulled, and a small piece of folded paper slipped out.

She put down the picture and unfolded the paper. It looked old and the lines on it were drawn in black ink. There was a long curved mark across the centre and she knew at once that this was a map and the long line must be the river.

A jangling noise came from outside and a key turned in the front door. Laney, Claudia and Fletcher raced through the kitchen, out of the back door and along the side alley. They could hear voices at the front door.

“What makes you so sure they came over here?” said Miss Reed in her usual cold voice.

“I followed them out of Skellmore. They were heading in this direction but then I lost them,” replied Jessie.

Laney’s hand gripped the wall. So Jessie had carried on spying on them.

“What is this mess?” Miss Reed’s voice rose. “The tribe will be furious that Arthur’s home has been treated this way. We must prove that this was the Rivers girl. Then it will be impossible for her to get Mist training. I wish we could get her whole family out of Skellmore. Her father is a disgrace, the way he ignores our tribe.”

“She’s made friends with a Greytail. I wish that was enough to get rid of her!” said Jessie.

“Now that she’s invented this story of seeing a Shadow faerie, it should make things a little easier,” Miss Reed said. Their voices faded as the front door shut behind them.

Claudia’s gold-ringed eyes blazed. “Those sneaky little—”

“Don’t,” begged Laney. “There’s no point.”

“Why aren’t you angry?” whispered Claudia furiously. “They’re such mean, stupid, lying Mists!”

“Not so loud,” muttered Fletcher.

“It’s not exactly news that Jessie doesn’t like me, is it?” Laney waved the map in front of Claudia’s eyes. “Stuff Miss Reed! I can’t let the Shadow start a flood in Skellmore. If he gets the Crystal Mirror, no one will be safe.”

The storm clouds hung over Skellmore for the rest of the afternoon. Thunder rumbled now and then but no rain came.

Laney, Fletcher and Claudia fell into a pattern of searching. Fletcher read the map and found the next pool or stream, and then Laney would scour the water for the mirror. Each time, Claudia used her Greytail abilities to track the living things around them and check that they weren’t being watched.

Laney felt increasingly drained by changing from human to faerie form and back again. The image of the mirror with its glistening sheet of crystal grew larger in her mind, and with it grew the picture of the flood that she’d seen inside the mirror. Was the Shadow searching too, under the cover of the storm clouds? And if the storm started, would the flood start as well?

They came to a small pool in Hobbin Forest just as the sun began to set. Laney heard a faint singing and knew at once that there was a faerie ring not far away. The high song rippled through the air, drawing them in. Laney looked through the trees and thought she could see the ring, half hidden by dead leaves. Maybe she should just take a look.

She stepped towards it, but Claudia stopped her. “You’d better be quick,” she said. “There are hobgobbits about half a mile away. If they catch our scent they’ll attack. They’re creatures of the forest
and they hate anyone else being here.”

“After this pool, there are only two more in the forest to check.” Fletcher peered at the map in the fading light. “Then we’ll have to search the ponds in Skellmore or go to Faymere Lake on the other side of the woods.”

“All right, here I go.” Laney touched the water with her hands. This way she’d found she could get a feel for how deep it went. Then she folded her wings behind her and dived in. More than ever she was amazed at how right she felt flying through the water and how she didn’t need to breathe. She searched the pool for any sign of the Crystal Mirror, especially under the stones at the bottom. She was sure she would get a hint of its power, even if it was partly buried. No, it wasn’t here.

But something was different.

Through the sway of the water she could hear a faint wordless singing. It was the sound that came from inside the faerie ring. She could hear it even underwater. Ignore it – it’s dangerous, she told herself and flew up towards the surface.

“I don’t think there’s anything here,” she told the others. “Let me just have one more look.”

“OK, but then we need to get to the other pools,” said Fletcher. “It’ll be harder to search once the sun goes down. More dangerous too.”

Laney knew what he meant. She’d been thinking
it too – it might be easier for the Shadow to work his spells once the sun went down.

“You know, this Shadow faerie must have belonged to one of our tribes once,” said Claudia. “Isn’t that a seriously horrible thought?”

“He could be from the Blaze or Kestrel tribes, not from one of ours.” Fletcher looked up from the map.

“I suppose,” said Claudia.

Laney hesitated. “You don’t think… You don’t think this Shadow faerie has a human form too, do you?”

Claudia looked horrified. “Maybe they do. Then how would we know who they are?”

“We probably wouldn’t know until they transformed into their Shadow shape,” said Fletcher grimly.

“Then they could be anyone. We could walk past them without even knowing,” said Laney.

“Don’t think about it.” Fletcher returned to the map. “Let’s just get this Crystal Mirror.”

Laney dived into the pool and searched the water again.

“No sign of it?” asked Claudia as Laney climbed out.

“Nothing.” Laney frowned. It was harder to hear the music of the faerie ring when Claudia kept talking, and she wanted to hear it better.

Claudia tensed. “The hobgobbits know we’re here. They’re coming.”

“I’ll get rid of them. You guys get up into the trees. They can’t reach you there.” Fletcher grabbed a fallen branch from the ground.

“OK, Mr Thorn Hero!” Claudia flew up and perched on a branch.

Laney spread her wings to do the same, but she was too slow. Fallen leaves flew up into the air and a squat shape rushed right at her. She tried to dodge, but the growling thing knocked her off her feet.

“Get off her!” shouted Fletcher, hitting it with his branch.

More leaves flew and a whole gang of hobgobbits lurched towards them.

“Take that!” yelled Claudia, pelting them furiously with sticks from the safety of her branch.

“Laney! Here!” Fletcher threw his branch to her and grabbed another for himself. “Just smack them as hard as you can. It’s the only thing they understand.”

Laney struck the nearest one with the stick. She did it softly at first because the creature was small – barely up to her waist – but when it ran at her a second time she hit it harder.

Fletcher clicked his fingers at the nearest trees. They immediately swept their branches down and began to knock the hobgobbits flying.

Laney groped for some Mist magic. Maybe she could help with a burst of water. Why couldn’t she find any magic when she needed it? She stumbled backwards and the hobgobbits followed.

“Mind the faerie ring!” yelled Fletcher.

Laney felt the energy of the ring more strongly now. Half hidden beneath the dead leaves, the dark circle filled the air all around with powerful shimmering magic. She edged away, fighting the longing to get closer to it.

Snarling, the hobgobbits charged. There was a blur of pitted brown bodies and flailing branches. Then a high yelp.

Laney gasped. One of the hobgobbits had got too close to the ring.

The creature was frozen in mid-air, its head tilted back and mouth open. The air around the faerie ring throbbed with energy. A spiral whirlwind surged upwards, sending the hobgobbit spinning.

Laney reached out, thinking to save the creature, but the whirlwind sucked it down into the ring and it was gone. The other hobgobbits shuffled away into the undergrowth without a sound.

Fletcher dropped his branch.

Claudia flew down from her tree. “I don’t like those things, but that was horrible.”

Laney stared at the dark circle of grass. “Can’t we help it? Rescue it?”

The others shook their heads. “The rings are a gateway to the Otherworld,” said Claudia. “I don’t think anything ever comes back.”

They were silent for a moment. In the gathering dark, Laney’s throat tightened. The loss of the hobgobbit left her feeling empty, as if the hungry darkness of the faerie ring had taken part of her too.

Fletcher unfolded the map again. “The other pools are just over here. Come on.” He folded up the paper and trekked off through the trees. Laney went after him, the image of the falling hobgobbit replaying in her head. Claudia followed in silence.

They reached a part of the forest where the trees grew more closely together. As darkness grew, the birds stopped singing. Laney felt a tingle on the back of her neck and told herself not to be silly. There was no need to freak out just because it was getting dark.

“I’ve found it,” said Claudia, springing through the undergrowth and landing by a pool with catlike grace.

Fletcher checked the map. “There should be two ponds. The second one must be over there.” He strode off, calling back. “Yes, it’s just here. They’re quite close together.”

Laney got ready to dive into the first pool. “The water’s moving.” She tested the gently swirling
water with one hand.

“It must lead somewhere,” said Claudia. “Maybe there’s a stream that feeds into it.”

“I don’t think so,” said Fletcher, looking again at the map.

Laney felt her excitement rising. She dived into the first pool and searched it thoroughly, before returning to the surface disappointed. Another ripple passed her. There was definitely something funny about the water – she felt full of energy, as if they’d only just started the search.

Rushing through the trees, she plunged straight into the second pool and let the water stream over her wings. The water felt great here too, but she still didn’t find anything.

“There’s nothing here.” She flew out and shook water from her hair.

“It’s strange that the water’s moving,” said Claudia.

“It shouldn’t be.” Fletcher studied the map. “There’s nowhere for it to go.”

A silver fish swam to the surface of the pool, almost shining in the darkness.

Fletcher bent his head close to the map, trying to see it better. “That’s it. We’ve checked everywhere in the forest, and the river and the stream too. That just leaves the man-made ponds back in Skellmore. And also Faymere Lake, which is huge.”

“Is this where we are now?” Laney pointed at the
map. “What’s that dotted line?”

“Just a sec – we need some light.” Fletcher looked up and whistled.

A cloud of tiny sprites drifted down through the branches and hung over the map and all around Fletcher’s head. Their petal-like bodies had a soft glow that lit up the paper.

“That’s handy,” said Laney drily. “If these are the two pools I’ve just searched, why would there be a line between them?”

Fletcher grabbed one of the sprites and held it closer to the map. It squeaked indignantly.

“Don’t hurt it!” said Laney.

“Don’t worry, it’s fine,” said Fletcher. “You’re right, the line stretches from the edge of one pool to the other.”

“Maybe Puddlewick’s pen slipped when he made the map,” said Claudia.

Laney stared at the dotted line, her pulse quickening. “Or maybe it’s something else. I’m going back in!” And she dived into the pool.

The water was dark but something luminous and silver flitted past Laney’s face – the fish she’d seen before. She caught her breath. There was a whole cloud of them. She began checking the sides of the pool for signs of the mirror and the fish followed her.

The silver shoal hung for a moment next to a
large boulder wedged into the mud. Laney stopped to look and the stone trembled as she touched it. She dug her fingers behind the boulder and pulled and pulled, until finally it shifted to one side.

A gap opened up where the boulder had been. Air bubbles streamed from the newly made hole and beyond there was a place lit by a whitish glow. This must be why there was a dotted line drawn on the map. Between the two pools lay a tunnel, like a tiny underwater world.