Martha looked at Felicity. “You go with them, make sure Evony gets through safely – I’m going after Aranea.”
Felicity hesitated, but must have seen the determination Martha felt reflected in her older cousin’s eyes, for she gave her a quick hug and followed Evony and Soren.
“Going on another adventure?” a voice piped up, and Martha turned to see Fenn, Reed, Twig and Thicket behind her.
With a quick grin, Martha nodded. “Aranea went this way. I have to help her.”
“Well, let’s go then,” Reed said and started racing up the path, the others hastening to catch up. Flashes of lights and shouts were coming from above them and they rounded the corner to arrive at the castle gates – which had been blown off the hinges – and found that a fierce battle was taking place in the courtyard, the king and queen holding their own against five of Nesrin’s guards.
Martha could just discern the metallic body of Aranea as she climbed the outside of the castle tower towards Nesrin. Ducking and diving through the throng, Martha and the others headed through the door and up the glistening black and silver steps. As they came to the top, they were barred by Donal, who grinned menacingly.
“Oh my, what do these children think they could possibly do to me?” he taunted them.
“Go on, Fenn!” Twig said with a delighted chuckle, and Donal raised his eyebrows mockingly.
With a swift move, Fenn threw out a ball of thread in a way that reminded Martha of a yo-yo. The smirk vanished off Donal’s face as his hands were tightly bound.
“Nesrin’s not the only one with some leftover thread,” Fenn said with a wink to Martha.
Delighted at her friend’s ingenuity, she rushed on past the muttering wizard, who sat on the step and glared at the boys.
“We’ll watch him,” Thicket said, and Twig added, “It would be a pleasure.”
Martha rushed into Nesrin’s roofless hall and, standing framed in the doorway, took in the scene, dismayed to find Nesrin alone with Runar and Wattle and no sign of Aranea. Gulping at her impetuousness, she looked around for Fenn and Reed. Thankfully, they had stayed back out of sight. Fenn put a finger to his lips. With a slight nod, Martha turned back around and found Nesrin staring at her, eyes calculating.
“Silly girl – you come to face me, without your sorceress sister? I could call down the very stars from the sky! You are no match! Now watch while I seize the night.” Nesrin threw up a fist and twisted it around, her star-topped staff glowing in her other hand.
The sky seemed to turn on its head as Martha was blasted up into it, the stars rushing to meet her. All around her, sounds diminished, the thunder of her blood pumping in her ears blocking it out. Her cloak billowed around her, and something pink floated in front of her eyes. Floriana’s flower, Martha thought, reaching for it desperately. Finally, her fingers grasped the flower and she held it momentarily to her lips as she whispered for help, before letting it go and watching as it zoomed off into the star-studded sky.
For what felt like an eternity, she hung suspended amongst the stars; then, with a sudden pull as if she were a puppet on a string, Martha felt herself being yanked back down and fell dizzily. Closing her eyes, not wanting to see the ground coming closer, she tensed and waited. But the inevitable impact never came. Instead Martha found herself cushioned upon millions of vibrating, fluttering, jewel-coloured wings. With a swoop of delight in her swirling stomach, she looked around and saw Nesrin staring from the castle platform with pure hatred as Martha hovered above her, supported by her kaleidoscope of butterfly wings.
Shouts heralded the arrival of the king, queen, and an assortment of the queen’s guard, Fenn and Reed leading the way.
With a shriek of rage Nesrin whirled away, but not before she was caught in a sticky web as Aranea appeared over the platform edge, spinning her thread furiously in Nesrin’s direction.
“No, no, no!” Nesrin screamed, stamping her foot in rage – the only part of her body she could move, the rest being trapped in the silken bonds. Wattle hesitated, before turning tail and scampering out of the door. Nesrin screeched after him in fury, “Coward!”
Runar gave one look at the scene and dived over the edge of the platform. His wings extended, and they were the largest Martha had ever seen. They reminded her of an emperor moth, with patterns that looked like eyes.
Floriana hovered next to Martha, who said, “He’s getting away!” Before Martha could even gasp, she was being propelled after the fleeing Runar. Exhilaration surged through her as the butterflies supported her as if she weighed nothing. She could finally understand the joy little Callia must have felt.
The butterflies gained on the flying fairy, and with a yell of rage he batted at his eyes as a few covered his face. He tried to carry on flying but suddenly rocks flew out of nowhere, hitting him. Stunned, he fell, landing heavily on his wings with a sickening crunch. The butterflies set Martha down gently, and Floriana settled on her shoulder. A buzzing met Martha’s ears: it wasn’t the sound of her racing heartbeat this time, but of Queen Gwenyn’s bees. They had come to help.
Runar looked up apprehensively as the bees swarmed him, wincing in pain as he tried to prop himself up. The Middling Grounds folk raced up, some still with rocks in their hands, jeering and cheering as they saw their nemesis lying broken on the ground.
“Ha! How do you like your wings now?” Grover shouted, and Martha felt uneasy.
Beatrice hurried over as she saw her sister surrounded by the butterflies. “Are you all right, Matty? You looked beautiful flying with the butterflies, but I was scared you were going to fall!”
Martha grabbed her sister’s hand. “I’m fine, but I’m worried about what they’re going to do now.” The crowd had grown larger, and calls for even greater punishment were being bandied about.
The sisters exchanged a worried look. Beatrice looked down at their clasped hands, and Martha noticed that her wand in her sister’s other hand was glowing with that pink light again.
“We never did discover what our combined power could do, did we?” Beatrice said thoughtfully.
Ivy suddenly pushed her way through the crowd. “What is going on here?” she demanded with her hands on her hips. Noticing the glowing wand, she said, “You don’t need magic to do the right thing.” Looking around at her kin, she added, “You should be ashamed of yourselves – this makes you no better than him. Isn’t it punishment enough that he now understands what it is to have broken wings and be helpless to do anything about it? That he is no longer ‘perfect’ in his own eyes?”
Grover wouldn’t meet her stern gaze, and there were mumbles of, “Yes, Ivy,” and “You’re right, Ivy,” from the crowd.
Beatrice was lowering her wand arm, but she was accidentally jostled by the crowd and a beam of the light hit Runar right on his forehead. His whole body began to glow.
Chapter Sixteen
Wings of Change
With a gasp, Beatrice immediately extinguished the light and gaped worriedly at the forlorn-looking fairy. A single tear was making its way down his pointed pale face.
“What is this?” he asked. “What have I done?”
The group looked at each other in confusion. “What spell did you cast?” Ivy asked, and Beatrice, gulping, shook her head.
“We don’t know – Beatrice’s power changes when one of us links with her. We never found out what mine did,” Martha explained.
Runar was crying freely now. “I am so sorry for everything. You must have all felt so abandoned. How can I make amends?” he asked imploringly, struggling to his feet, his limp wings forgotten.
Doran joined the group, his face thoughtful. “Hmm… I would say that your power is compassion.”
Martha gave a jolt of surprise as Beatrice turned to look at her, pride shining in her eyes. “Of course,” she murmured.
Suddenly, a blast of light burst from Castle Astra and Nesrin erupted from the roofless hall on her cloud, with Taran following. She zoomed off beyond the castle, towards the distant mo
untains in the far north.
“She got away!” Martha said in horror.
Dark shadows started slinking away as the rest of Nesrin’s remaining guard turned tail and fled. Aurus and a few guards made to go after them, but Queen Rhosyn flew up and said, “Leave them; Nesrin has gone.”
“How did she get out of Aranea’s web?” Martha asked.
The queen frowned. “My sister is tricky indeed: she had Taran inside her cloak, and he used his beak to free her.”
“I wondered where he was,” Beatrice said.
Fenn, Reed and King Llyffant appeared. “What have we here?” King Llyffant asked as he looked at the remorseful Lord Runar, whom the queen was eyeing with ill-disguised anger. Her look turned to one of confusion as Runar fell to his knees before her.
“My queen, please, how can I ever put this right?”
Martha gave a delicate cough and said, “Your majesty, I’m afraid Beatrice and I hit him with some of our combined magic. It was an accident. Doran seems to think it has filled him with compassion.”
“Compassion? Really?” Queen Rhosyn mused thoughtfully. “Will it pass, or has this evoked a permanent change in him?”
Doran stroked his faded red beard. “I would hope it is permanent, but it depends on whether he is truly sorry or not. The Key Keepers’ powers were emotion-based too and faded after a while, so I think it best to keep an eye on him.”
Queen Rhosyn nodded. “Well, Lord Runar, if you are indeed sorry, then you can start to make amends by using some of your coin to pay for new houses in Bloomsville for our new friends.”
“Of course,” Lord Runar said gratefully, standing and walking over to the Middling Grounds folk.
Ivy intercepted him and said, “Make mine a tavern and we have a deal!” The rest of the group laughed.
Martha looked around. “Where is Aranea?” The metallic spider was not amongst the others.
“She said she had some unfinished business to take care of,” King Llyffant replied, and gestured up to the castle.
Martha looked up and was simultaneously horrified and mesmerised by the sight of Aranea scuttling over the castle, weaving the hugest web she had ever seen. In the moonlight it shimmered and glowed, almost phosphorescent. It was beautiful to watch, and after a few minutes the entire castle was covered.
Donal appeared, escorted by a quiet Twig and Thicket. Donal put up his hands as Doran stalked towards him.
“I am unarmed; my magic is gone,” he told his brother, shock written across his face. “Apparently the venom from spiders of the Crystallum Caves removes magic completely.” He gestured to a large bite mark on his hand.
Beatrice gave a horrified gasp as a ripple of unease worked its way around the group, and everyone’s eyes once again locked onto the web-shrouded castle. Aranea was now nowhere to be seen.
After a few minutes of everyone staring up at the eerie sight, a nervous clicking sound echoed around the rocks.
“I had to do something; he was going to hurt your friends.” Aranea walked forwards into a patch of moonlight, and Martha was saddened to see a few fairies and creatures step back. “I have never done it before; it is not something we take lightly. My mother always said that once done, it could never be undone. I am sorry if what I did was wrong.” Aranea blinked her many eyes and waited.
Queen Rhosyn looked from Donal to Aranea and said, “It is a fitting punishment, I think.”
Ivy spoke up quietly, re-joining them. “Being without magic isn’t so bad; we, who were born without it, have learnt alternative ways to get by.”
Queen Rhosyn gave her a respectful look, and Aranea clicked in relief and said, “I have left Nesrin a parting gift – it will take her a long time to clear the thread. Your majesty, I would like to go home now, please,” she ended tiredly, and Martha could see fatigue draining the young spider.
“Of course, but I believe Nesrin has fled to Draig,” the queen said apologetically, gesturing far into the distance.
Aranea slumped, but said, “I am not afraid of her any longer. I will go straight to my mother and tell her of Nesrin’s betrayal. She was once welcome in my mother’s cave, but will not be after this.”
“Allow me to send you on your way as a token of my thanks for – hopefully – starting my brother on a path of redemption,” Doran told the arachnid, and he created a smoke dragon, which hovered before her. “Step on. It will take you home.”
Martha and Beatrice placed their hands on Aranea’s cold, smooth back. “Thank you for saving us, friend. We will never forget you,” Martha said.
“Indeed, and you will always be welcome at Castle Enfys too,” Queen Rhosyn added.
“Thank you!” Aranea said happily, and in her echo-y voice shouted, “Goodbye!” She scuttled onto the smoke dragon, which lifted and drifted off into the lightening sky.
As the fairies re-grouped, Martha said a heartfelt thank you to Floriana and watched as the mass of beautiful butterflies headed home to their bower. She then walked with Beatrice, Fenn, Reed, Thicket and Twig to find the others. Octavia rushed forwards when she saw the girls.
“What did we miss?” she cried, and Martha could see the chagrin of having to stay behind shining in her eyes. Ferren darted from her pocket, her whiskers twitching as she waited for an answer.
Martha started laughing, and after a moment of pouting Octavia joined in. “Oh. Tavi!” Martha said when she could get her breath back, before she and Beatrice filled their cousins in on the previous events.
“So, let me get this right – Aranea has magic-removing venom, and Nesrin has escaped to the land of Draig?” Felicity summed up.
Conn and Lysana joined the group, Conn sporting a gash down his cheek. “Did someone say Draig?” he asked with interest.
“Yes; Nesrin has escaped there, it seems. Do you know much about it?” Martha asked him.
Lysana leaned forwards, her emerald-coloured eyes shining. “Only that the best weapons come from there, but lately there has been a shortage, and good weapons have been scarce.” She paused, her eyes thoughtful, then added, “Oh! And that it is the home of the wyverns – they’re the ones who forge the weapons.”
Felicity and Octavia exchanged an uneasy look, and Martha wondered if Felicity was thinking back to her encounter with one when they had been looking for the Arianthe flower on their first quest in Fairy Land.
They were distracted from any further discussion as food and drink rations were brought around, and everyone ate and drank gratefully.
Fenn nudged Martha and said, “I never thanked you for sticking to your promise and telling Queen Rhosyn the truth about Runar.”
Martha smiled at him. “Of course – that’s what friends do.” After a moment of companionable silence, she asked, “Where are your parents? I never saw them here.”
Fenn shook his head and reached for another apple. “They are making their way to Bloomsville with Callia. They wanted to spend some final time with her. Now that we are going back to live there, she will be reunited with her real parents.”
Martha’s heart dropped. Of course. I’d forgotten that Callia had family back in Bloomsville – who will be delighted to get their daughter back, but… She looked at Fenn. “Oh, your poor parents.”
Fenn gave her a smile. “All is well, Martha. My parents are so happy that Callia will be going home; they only ever wanted the best for her, and of course they will still see her,” he explained.
Beatrice called Felicity over. “Let’s go and see if anyone from the Middling Grounds has injuries we can attend to,” she told her.
Fenn and Reed stood up. “We’ll come with you.”
Martha watched her sister and cousin approach the group of fairies, who were sitting with Queen Rhosyn’s guard and laughing in camaraderie together, and then turned to welcome Bracken, who had bounded up with the other companions.
“Will you draw our picture, please, Miss Martha?” Bracken squeaked earnestly, clutching her paws together. The other companions crowded ar
ound.
Martha looked at the adorable creatures and smiled. “It would be my honour!” she exclaimed, pulling out her sketchbook and pencil. While the camp was slowly packed up around her, Martha did quick sketches of the creatures all grouped together.
Bracken hopped onto her lap for a closer look, and gave a squeak of delight. “Perfect!” she announced.
Martha kissed the top of the bunny’s head and said, “I’ll colour it in when I get home and show you next time.”
“If Mum and Dad let us come back,” Beatrice said with a laugh as she re-joined her sister.
“That was quick; did they need any healing?” Martha said, with a smile acknowledging Beatrice’s comment.
“Only minor things,” Beatrice told her, and then a look of admiration filled her face. “They have gone so long without magic that even those who were born in the Middling Grounds with magic don’t really use it. They have managed all this time and know no different. In fact, they like how they are. It’s what makes them them,” she finished.
Martha looked up at the group with nothing but respect for them. “What an amazing way to look at it. What about Runar, though? Did you mend his wings?” she asked.
“Him too,” Beatrice said slowly. “In an effort to show solidarity and that he truly has changed, he has decided to keep his damaged wings and not take advantage of magical healing.”
“Wow!” Martha breathed. “It has certainly been a day full of surprises.”
Queen Rhosyn said goodbye to Gwenyn and her bees, then approached Beatrice and said, “Usually I would not have enough rainbow power to transport so many people, but if you, Doran, Evony and the king work with me I might just be able to do it. I feel the need to sleep in my own bed.”
Beatrice nodded, her eyes gleaming. “Maybe if us Blooms combine too, it will boost your power?”
“Oh yes, I didn’t think of that! The more the merrier,” the queen said with a tired smile.
Everyone gathered, and those with strong magic joined theirs with the queen. At once a huge rainbow shot from the queen’s staff. “Martha, if you would guide it, please?” the queen requested.
Martha Bloom and the Glass Compass Page 14
