by Willow Mason
“Wait a second.” I held up my hand and shone the torch beam along the tunnel. “Where’s my uncle?”
A quick scan of the mine told me the answer. Not here.
Pieces of the day fitted into place, forming a complete picture. My uncle’s hasty arrival in town, his hatred of the place, followed by a string of strange events.
We hastened out of the mine shaft, emerging from the dark tunnel to find the police car gone.
“Either the creature has him or your uncle is behind the kidnappings,” Syd said, giving voice to my suspicions. “We’d better hustle to find him before anything worse happens.”
A large knot formed in my stomach. “He has the box of pixie dust.”
I’d just handed it straight to him. A gigantic present I might as well have tied with a bow.
Chapter Thirteen
“I told you we were in a battle,” Patsy said as Brody drove us away from the old mine.
Patsy had been hijacked and forced to ride out to the site on her bicycle, a transport useless for getting more than one of us back to town. Luckily—although given the circumstances I was hesitant to term any part of this ‘luck’—Brody had been in his vehicle, driving home when the creature struck.
“Did you read through those books I gave you?” she asked. “We’ll need every piece of pixie power on our side if we’re going to defeat this rogue.”
“You mightn’t have noticed, but my pixieness is on a downhill slide at the moment.” I touched a hand to my hair. My back had grown used to it standing upright and the weight of it on my shoulders now felt uncomfortable.
“What did you do?”
I shrugged. “Rosie and Posey thought it might be because my mother was having another child, but she says the ultrasound showed a baby boy.”
“Hm.” Patsy’s nostrils pinched together as she stopped glaring at me and faced forward. “Maybe the child was lying the wrong way.”
Syd chuckled. “My knowledge of obstetrics isn’t vast but from anatomy class, I’d venture that mistake only happens in reverse. A boy might be misidentified as a girl in the womb, but not the other way around.”
“It could be the cord,” Patsy snapped. “And even if you’re not operating on full volume, there must be some of your magic left.”
“It doesn’t matter,” I said, scratching a fingernail across my scalp and coming up empty. “Without access to another source of pixie dust, I’m out of fuel.”
“You didn’t answer my question,” Patsy said after a moment of silence. “Did you read those books?”
“Something tore them apart,” I admitted in a soft voice. “My kitchen looked as bad as your library.”
Patsy clicked her tongue and folded her arms. “So we’ve got no magic, no knowledge, and no hope of stopping your uncle. Tell us again why we’re heading straight into the lion’s den?”
“We have to try,” Syd said in a grim voice. “And I’ve still got my magic.”
“Didn’t stop Uncle Pete fleeing the scene, so I’ll chalk that one up in the useless column.”
Patsy’s logic clicked home. “Maybe we should build up our army before we go headlong into a fight,” I said. “The twins told me Darla has the power to stop a rogue supernatural. We should collect her if we think my uncle is the true culprit.”
Syd turned to frown at me. “Does that mean you have doubts?”
I rubbed my eyes, still sensitive from the rapid light changes in the mine. “What time did you call him about the body in the cupboard?”
“Lucas rang all your family members after we got back to the station.” Syd closed his eyes and wrinkled his nose. “That would have been nine o’clock, or around then.”
“And what time did you get taken over, Brody?”
“An hour after that, at least. My interview didn’t start until nine-thirty.”
“What?” I sat back in my seat. “But you left home well before then.”
“Because I wanted to prep all the potential questions without an audience.” He lifted his shoulders. “You and Muffin are great and I’m sure you would’ve been supportive, but I just wanted the chance to clear my head and focus.”
“There’s no way my uncle could’ve made it down from Nelson in that space of time. It’s over five hundred kilometres. Even if he pulled a Lundy three hundy, it wouldn’t put him in town until long after midday.”
“A what?” Patsy hooked an eyebrow at me.
“Let’s just say speeding,” Syd said, waggling a finger at me. “And I don’t think he was in Nelson. Your mother gave us a contact in Windwhistle, near Mt Hutt. If he put his foot down, he’d have been here in an hour, easy.”
“How did he get so powerful?” Playing devil’s advocate was easy, considering how devastated my mother would be if our suspicions proved true. “Uncle Pete’s always been anti-Oakleaf Glade and Esmerelda’s side of the family. I can’t imagine him going rogue.”
“You don’t have to imagine,” Patsy snarled. “You saw for yourself.”
“No, I didn’t. I was too focused on Brody and you to see anything else.”
“If we get there, and he’s got a perfectly rational explanation, that’s fine.” Syd caught my eye and held it. “But I don’t think it’s likely.”
“Even if it’s just that the creature got hold of him,” Brody said, “I think we have to prepare ourselves for a fight. If it’s inhabiting him, you’ll feel like you’re fighting your uncle, even if it isn’t truly him.”
“Whatever the rogue turns out to be, I want five minutes alone with him after you’ve got him in restraints.” Patsy’s teeth gleamed in the headlights of a car going the other way.
“I’m a sworn officer of the law,” Syd reminded her. “That’s not going to happen.”
“Hopefully, you reconsider.” Patsy sniffed. “I thought I was being generous limiting it to that.”
“Why does it have such a fixation on destroying books?” A sudden movement had me turning to stare out the back window, but it was just the shadow of a bat passing across the rising moon. “I mean, I’m not much of a reader either but that’s taking things to the extreme.”
“There’s probably some ritual in an ancient volume that it’s after.” Given the implications of what she was saying, Patsy seemed remarkably sanguine. “Considering it’s invisible, I’d imagine the creature is desperate to obtain human form.”
“So, you don’t think it’s my uncle, either?”
She held up a hand. “I didn’t say that but after having it tag a ride in my body, I’m prepared to believe your uncle took on board a hitchhiker rather than being the brains behind this operation.”
“What kinds of supernatural beings can use people in that way?”
Patsy tilted her head to one side. “There’s a few I can think of. Even my fellow goblins can take over a body for short periods if they need to.”
“But surely a goblin wouldn’t destroy another goblin’s hoard?”
“Not normally but this day is turning out to be anything but normal.” Patsy leaned her head against the window, staring into the darkness outside. “On the other hand, a goblin has its own physical form to return to after a joyride. This rogue doesn’t seem to have anything like that.”
“Are there supernaturals who are usually invisible?”
“Only if they give up their physical form.” Patsy flapped a hand with impatience. “No. This is all idle speculation and isn’t doing anyone any good. Let’s just stick with what we know. Your uncle disappeared in the middle of a rescue mission and absconded with the town’s largest single stockpile of pixie dust. Whether that’s down to him being the rogue, or being used by another, we need to focus on finding and disabling him.”
Although the pronouncement made my throat hurt, the librarian was right. I turned my attention back to the road, tapping Brody on the shoulder when I saw Darla’s turnoff.
“Let me do the talking,” Syd said, a suggestion we all promptly ignored as we piled out of Brody’s car
.
“Darla? Are you home?” I called out before we even knocked on the door. The lights inside showed she was, and soon enough Reggie answered my call.
“Haven’t you caused enough trouble for one day,” he scolded, the ferocity of his expression catching me off guard.
“Trouble? What trouble have I caused?”
Darla pushed Reggie aside and sighed. Since I’d last seen her, the witch appeared to have aged twenty years. Her eyes stared out of dark circles and the lines around her mouth and eyes had etched deep into her skin.
“What’s happened?” I reached out a hand, which Reggie batted away.
“It’s the silly formula you made us cook up.” His upper lip curled in a snarl and I backed up a step, my heartbeat quickening. “Darla took a sip to show you it was harmless and now look at her!”
“Have you lost your powers?” Syd asked in a small voice. When Darla nodded, he turned a strained face towards me. “The potion must have stripped you both of your magic.”
“Both?” Reggie stared at me, tipping his head to one side as he took in my hair and rounded chin. “You’ve lost yours, too?”
The implications thudded home. “If neither of us has any power, how are we going to confront my uncle?”
“We’re not.” Patsy was already halfway back to the footpath. “I’m not having any part of this. The creature took me on one joyride and I’m not about to let it take me on another.”
She turned on her heel and fled, melting into the darkness.
“Well, that’s a goblin showing her true colours,” Reggie said with a hint of derision. “They’re always after the treasure and never want to fight the battle to win it.”
Who could blame her? I looked at Brody, a male pixie without magic of his own. Syd, a fairy with a wand only capable of small feats. Reggie was our best bet.
“Can you change without the benefit of a full moon?” I asked him.
“Sure,” he said. “But it’ll just turn me a lot hairier. I can tear a small rabbit to shreds but I’m powerless against magic and if my opponent is bigger, you can count me out.”
“What about your mesmerism?”
“It works great against humans. Is this thing human?”
Syd seemed to be weighing up our options, too. “We can pick up the twins. Three doses of fairy magic are better than one.”
“How much better?”
He stared at me for a long while, not answering. “If I can slap a pair of supernatural cuffs on him, that’ll negate his powers.”
“Elisa!” a voice called out behind me. I turned in astonishment to see Ben and my mother standing on the footpath, waving. “Fancy running into you. We were just taking the long way back from the restaurant.”
“M-mum.” My brain stuttered to a stop along with my mouth. Visions of horror crowded into my head. “You can’t be here.”
“Nonsense,” Ben said with jovial equanimity. “This is a free country and we can go anywhere we please. Can’t we babe?” He squeezed Mum’s shoulder.
“Elisa’s right,” Syd said, stepping forward. “We’re involved in a dangerous situation and can’t have civilians accidentally wandering into the line of fire.”
“Are you talking about guns?” My mother’s voice was terrified.
“Just a figure of speech,” Syd assured her. “But it’s too dangerous to stick around here.”
“If it’s too dangerous for me and my soon-to-be-wife, then it’s too dangerous for Elisa,” Ben declared, moving over to take my arm. “Come on. If I’m going, you’re going too.”
“No, I have to stay here.”
“You do what your father tells you,” my mother scolded before whirling on her heel to point a finger in Syd’s face. “And you should be ashamed of trying to take my little girl into an unsafe situation. What gives you the right?”
I held my hands up. “Nobody is making anybody do anything,” I said. “We’ve just got something to take care of and it doesn’t involve you, okay?”
“No, it’s not okay.” Now I was the recipient of the pointed finger. “Whatever you’ve got yourself caught up in, we’re here to support you.”
“I’d rather you stayed out of it.”
“That’s not your call.” Ben puffed out his chest. “Just tell me what to do, officer. I’m ready to assist.”
“You can’t. You’re not magic.”
“You’d be surprised,” Ben said, then his face twisted with confusion. “And who needs a magician at this time of night?”
“Please, can you just take Mum home?”
“If you’re staying here, Elisa, then we are too.” My mother folded her arms and raised an eyebrow at Syd. “If you want us to leave, then you’ll have to arrest us. Is this something to do with my brother?”
My mouth fell open as I stared at Mum. How had she guessed? As though reading my thoughts, she gave a single nod of her head. “Pete was always babbling on about how Oakleaf Glade was full of demons and monsters and pixies wielding their evil magic spells. My parents might never have paid him any mind, but I know when my brother’s lying, and he certainly thought he was telling the truth.”
Syd and I exchanged a glance. I tried to swallow but a large lump stuck in my throat. “Uncle Pete might be involved,” I said in a small voice.
“Ha! I knew it. All that talk tonight at dinner was just skirting around the facts. Pete never gets drunk unless he’s on holiday, or he’s scared. Now, what exactly are we dealing with here?”
I shrugged my shoulders at Syd, uncertain of what to do. The policeman gave a tired sigh and rubbed the back of his neck.
“It’s a long story,” Darla called out from the doorway. “But why don’t you come inside, and we can sort it out in comfort rather than yelling at each other in the street.”
“Who’s yelling?” my mother said, immediately heading inside. “I wasn’t yelling.”
“You weren’t,” Ben said, a hand on her back as though steering her. “But I wouldn’t mind a sit-down. My feet are plumb worn out.”
When we were gathered indoors, Syd quickly ran through the events of the day, skipping our trip to the coal mine after I caught his eye and shook my head. Even without that added terror, my mother’s eyes widened, and she clutched onto Ben’s hand hard enough for him to wince. Still, despite hearing a load of events I would have called insane before coming to Oakleaf Glade, she didn’t interrupt.
At the end of the summary, she bit her lip and stared at the ground. “It’s a lot to take on board,” she finally said. “But if anyone can talk Pete down with no need for magic powers, it’s me.”
“No.” Ben put a firm hand on her shoulder. “It’s time I stepped up and protected you and the baby. I’ll go.”
My mother stared at her fiancé as if he’d gone insane. “Well, of course, you’re coming along. I didn’t mean I’d turn up and try to talk him out of whatever he has planned on my own.”
Caught on the back foot, as he often was, Ben soon slipped into the rear seat of the car, while my mother talked Brody’s ear off, trying to find their common relatives. Though it didn’t seem the right time to dig into our family tree, I was happy she had something to distract her. My stomach was churning, and my knees were turning into jelly.
Syd and I set off on foot, and I phoned through to the twins for extra support. Posey answered, her voice more animated than usual. “Guess who we found?” she called out before I could get more than my name out. “Rickie Martingale. He only lives half an hour up the road and was more than happy to visit us.”
“Hans Martingale’s son?” My voice came out sharper than usual and Syd’s head jerked around, ears perking up. “Does he know anything more about the cupboard?”
“Better than that,” Rosie said, breaking into the call. “He remembers the precise reason it was built and who the pixie was.”
I relayed the information to Syd who plucked the mobile out of my hand. “We need you to meet us at Elisa’s house. Bring Rickie with you. We’v
e got a situation.”
When he handed the phone back to me, the twins had rung off. “Well, who was it?”
“Nobody you know,” Syd said in a curt voice. “But I think I understand more of what’s going on here.”
We turned the corner onto my street, and I stopped dead in my tracks. “What’s Lucas doing there?”
He stood outside my house, dressed in his uniform, peering up at the top storey where the lights blazed. I broke into a run, my mouth as dry as cotton wool. Syd overtook me within three house lengths but still couldn’t reach his partner before he disappeared inside the front door.
“Wait,” Syd called from a standstill at the gate, grabbing for my arm as I sprinted past.
I easily shook him off, my body galvanised by adrenaline. Inside, Lucas had already climbed the staircase. “Stop.”
He spun around, reaching for the baton on his waist. When he saw it was me, he dropped his arms to his side. “The station received a call from a concerned neighbour,” he said, taking one step back. “What’s going on?”
I didn’t have the breath to answer and mount the stairs, so I just held up one hand and kept coming. On the landing, I saw my uncle sat on the floor inside the spare room, the box of pixie dust open beside him.
“Uncle Pete, you need to stop.”
A multitude of footsteps sounded from the storey below as the cavalry arrived en masse. Their arrival made me braver, and I stepped into the room. Blue and white police tape sagged near the floor but the cupboard—which had been in splinters—looked good as new. Through the open door, I could see the false backing. Not even the faintest mark showed where Reggie had torn it apart with his bare hands.
My uncle turned his face to me. It was streaked with tears. Pleading.
“I’ve been haunted by the man trapped in the walls since I was a boy. I thought I could use this stuff to get him out. Finally, free him.” He lifted a handful of the pixie dust and let it run through his fingers.
“But there’s no one here.” He turned a forlorn face towards the cupboard. “I think the man in the walls is dead.”
