by Kiki Thorpe
“The root system, of course,” Magnus explained. “It is how we Great Ones talk to those who live far away. There are Great Ones even older than I. Maybe one of them will know.”
The great tree closed his eyes. He stayed quiet for so long that Tink wondered if he’d gone to sleep.
The girls and Tink waited. The only sound was the distant chirping of birds.
After what felt like ages, Magnus opened his eyes. “I have heard an answer. There was a king, long ago.”
The girls and Tink leaned forward hopefully. “Yes?” Mia asked.
“The forest hated him. Many Great Ones were felled to make room for his castle,” Magnus explained.
“Do they know what happened to the king?” Lainey asked.
“He fled the island in a ship,” Magnus said. “He sailed into a storm and was never seen again.”
“What about the magic stone?” Kate pressed. “Did they tell you anything about that?”
The tree was silent for a moment. “The Great Ones know nothing about a magic stone,” he said at last. “If the king had it with him, I’m afraid it has been lost for good.”
As they flew to the ground, no one spoke. Tink tried to come up with a plan, a next step, anything. But it was as if the gears of her mind had stopped working. She felt numb with disappointment.
“I guess that’s it,” Kate said when they landed. “Without any more clues, the search is pointless. We could spend years looking for the magic stone and still not find it.”
Gabby started to cry. “I want to go home.”
“Oh, please don’t cry!” Tink exclaimed. Tears only made it worse.
Mia picked up a rock. She weighed it in her palm. Tink thought she was going to throw it in frustration. But Mia only stared at it, her eyes narrowing in thought.
“If the magic stone is truly lost, we might still find it,” she said. “There’s one more place we could look.”
“You don’t mean the Lost Coast?” Lainey said, horrified.
“What’s the Lost Coast?” Tinker Bell asked.
“You don’t know?” Kate asked.
Tink shook her head. She had traveled all over Shadow Island. But she hadn’t heard of this place.
“That just proves you were never truly lost,” Kate said.
Mia took out the map of Shadow Island. She pointed to a spot covered in swirling fog. “The Lost Coast is a place where lost things end up. The things no one remembers,” she told Tink.
“That doesn’t sound so bad.” Tink wondered why the girls seemed so worried. If they had a chance of finding the magic stone, shouldn’t they try?
“Maybe not at first,” Kate said. “But the longer you stay on the Lost Coast, the more lost you get. We were lucky to get out.” She shook her head. “We can’t go back there. What if we get stranded for good?”
“It might be our only chance,” Mia argued.
Tink looked back and forth between them. She had always known Kate to be the reckless one, the girl who leaped without looking. Mia was more cautious. But now it was Mia, not Kate, who wanted to press on, heedless of danger. Why the change? Tink guessed there was more to their adventure on Shadow Island than she’d realized.
“I have an idea,” Mia said. “The danger on the Lost Coast is that we’ll get lost forever. But if we leave a trail…” She held up the rock in her hand. “We’ll be able to find our way out.”
“Like Hansel and Gretel!” Gabby clapped her hands.
“Yeah. Remember how well that worked out for them?” Lainey said grimly. “I’m with Kate. I think it’s too dangerous.”
Mia turned to Tinker Bell. “Tink, you’re the last vote. What do you think we should do?”
“Well,” Tink said carefully, “on one hand, we don’t want to end up stuck on the Lost Coast.”
“Exactly,” Kate said, nodding.
“On the other hand,” Tink continued, “we’re already stuck on Shadow Island. And the Lost Coast might hold our only way out.”
“That’s what I said,” Mia agreed.
“So, if we’re stuck either way, I think…” Tink paused. “I think we have to try to find the magic stone.”
“All right,” Kate said with a sigh. “We’ll go to the Lost Coast. I just hope we don’t regret it.”
* * *
A few hours later, Tink wondered if she’d made the right choice.
Not long after they’d set out, they’d left the trees behind. They were now flying over open ground. A hot sun beat down on them. Tink found herself longing for the cool shade of the forest.
Every few feet, the girls stopped to place another rock so they could find their way back. This slowed them down so much, Tink was starting to wonder if they’d ever make it to the Lost Coast.
The only one who seemed to be enjoying the journey was Tink’s shadow. The bright sun made it stand out strongly. It flitted around like it was having the time of its life.
Soon, they’d left the plains behind. The grass thinned to dirt, then sand. Not a single tree grew. Heat shimmered from the sun-baked ground.
“This can’t be right,” Lainey said as they stopped to rest. “We’ve never crossed a desert before.”
“I’m sure this is the right way,” Mia argued. “We’ve been following the map. We just have to go straight and keep the Misty Peak on our right.” She pointed. Through the shimmering heat waves, they could see the tall mountain rising in the distance.
Kate checked the compass. She’d gotten in the habit of carrying it. “The needle’s still moving,” she reported. “No sign of Never Land.”
“But where is the Lost Coast?” Mia asked. “We should have reached it by now.”
Tink looked around. “Something about this place seems familiar. Yes…there it is!”
She fluttered over to a boulder. On the far side, Tink found what she was looking for. “I was right. I have been here.”
Tink showed them the marks she’d made with a burned twig.
Tink was here.
“I was afraid of getting lost. I wrote this so I’d know I passed this way…. What’s wrong?” Tink asked. The girls were all staring at the rock as if they’d seen a ghost.
“We found this exact same rock!” Kate exclaimed. “We saw your name. But it wasn’t in the desert. It was on a cliff above the Lost Coast.”
Tink turned to Mia. “Let me see that map, please.”
Mia unrolled the map of Shadow Island. She gasped. “It’s not there!”
“What’s not there?” Gabby asked.
“The Lost Coast. It’s missing!” Mia held up the map to show everyone. Where the Lost Coast had once been, there were now sand dunes.
“ ‘Shifting Sands,’ ” Lainey read. She pushed up her glasses, frowning. “What are Shifting Sands?”
“I don’t know,” said Kate, “but I guess we’re about to find out.”
“Do we cross the desert?” Mia wondered. “Maybe the Lost Coast is on the other side.”
A dry, raspy voice came out of the air, making them all jump.
“Why take sides when the side’s beside the point?”
Mia looked around nervously. “Did you hear that?”
“I did!” Gabby answered. “Someone was talking.”
The girls and Tink peered in every direction. They couldn’t figure out who had spoken.
Something moved near Gabby’s feet. She leaped back, thinking it was a snake. But it was only the sand rippling.
“Looking for something? You’re off course, of course.”
“I heard it again!” Mia cried.
Suddenly, the sand all around them began to move and shift, as if it were being pushed by the wind. But the air was still. They heard the voice again.
“The way away is a ways away.”
“I know this sounds crazy,” Lainey whispered, “but I think the sand might be talking to
us.”
“It does sound crazy. And I think so, too,” Mia agreed.
“What does it want?” Kate wondered.
“Maybe it wants to help,” Gabby said. “Ask for directions!”
“I’ll do it.” Tink cleared her throat and spoke loudly. “We’re looking for the Lost Coast. Can you tell us the way?”
The sand rippled. “Take the right path.”
“Path?” They looked around for a trail. The sand was smooth and unmarked.
“Does it mean we should go to the right? Or we should choose the right way?” Lainey wondered.
“Excuse me,” Kate addressed the sand. “Can you just point us in the correct direction?”
“Point?”
Kate leaped back as a crest of sand suddenly rose at her feet. It seemed to beckon to her.
“Follow it!” Kate cried as the crest rippled forward like a wave.
The girls and Tink chased the ridge of sand as it curved in a wide arc. They followed it around…right back to where they’d started.
“There is no point. Only a round,” the sand rasped. Tink could have sworn it was laughing at them.
“Oh no!” Mia was looking back the way they’d come. “Our rocks are gone!” The shifting sand had covered them. “We’re just getting lost!”
Kate’s face lit up. “That’s it!”
Without warning, Kate tore the map from Mia’s hand. She threw it into the air as hard as she could.
A breeze came out of nowhere. It snatched the map up like a leaf. In an instant, the map had disappeared into the sky.
“Why did you do that?” Mia cried. “That map was the only thing we had! How will we find our way now?”
“Don’t you see?” Kate said. “The Lost Coast is where lost things go. To find it, we have to be lost.”
She had to shout the last few words to be heard over the wind. Blowing sand stung the girls’ arms and legs. They held up their hands to shield their eyes. Tink dove into the hood of Lainey’s sweatshirt so she wouldn’t blow away.
Then, almost as suddenly as it had come up, the wind died down. They heard the sound of gentle waves rolling to shore.
The girls lowered their arms. Tink peeked up from the hood.
The desert was gone. They were standing on a foggy beach. Through the mist, Tink could see junk littering the sand.
“Did we make it?” Tink asked.
“We made it,” Kate said. She didn’t sound happy. “We’re back on the Lost Coast.”
The Lost Coast looked just as it had when they left it. Dolls, balls, and other toys littered the sand. Glasses, keys, wallets, and shoes lay in forlorn heaps. A heavy fog shrouded the beach, hiding more things that had been lost and forgotten.
Gabby knew that her old beloved stuffed animal was somewhere on the beach. But looking for it was a trap. She touched the half-moon stone in her pocket to remind herself why they were here.
“Remember, we’re not here to find our old things,” Kate warned sternly, as if reading Gabby’s mind. “That’s how we got stuck before. The magic stone is the only thing we take. Everyone got it?”
“Got it,” Mia and Lainey agreed.
“Got it,” Gabby echoed. She squeezed the half-moon stone for good luck.
“Let’s get to it,” Tink said, her wings buzzing with impatience. “This could take days, and that’s if we’re lucky.”
They spread out to look. Tink darted here and there like a hummingbird, while the girls picked carefully through piles.
They hadn’t been searching long when Mia straightened with a gasp. “Look! Someone’s coming!”
Everyone froze. A figure was coming toward them through the fog.
“Hello?” Kate called.
There was no answer. As the dark shape came closer, they realized it was not a person. It was a shadow.
The shadow drifted silently past them and continued on its way.
“A lost shadow,” Mia said. “I bet there are a lot of those here.”
Gabby shivered. She remembered their last trip to the Lost Coast, when Silvermist had first spotted Tink’s shadow. If it hadn’t followed them, would it still be here, lost for good? She looked around for it to make sure it wasn’t lost again.
She spied Tink’s shadow admiring itself in a compact mirror. But where was Tinker Bell?
“Tink?” Gabby called. “Tinker Bell?”
She heard a jingle. Gabby followed the sound and found the fairy. She was tugging the handle of a silver dagger. Its blade was buried up to the hilt in a piece of driftwood.
“What are you doing?” Gabby asked.
“It’s Peter Pan’s dagger, the one he used to defeat Captain Hook,” Tink said. She flapped her wings hard and gave the handle another tug. The weapon didn’t budge. “Can you believe it’s here, lost and forgotten?” She shook her head. “He always was a careless boy. Pull it out, won’t you, Gabby?”
“No.” Gabby folded her arms.
Tink looked surprised. “Go on, take it. You’re a strong girl. It will be easy for you.”
“No.”
Gabby’s heart pounded. She’d never stood up to a fairy before. Especially not Tinker Bell, the cleverest fairy of all. But they had all agreed. They’d come for just one thing.
“We’re only supposed to take the magic stone. That’s what Kate said.”
“But it’s Peter Pan’s dagger!” Tink exclaimed. “He needs it!”
“Then let him find it,” Gabby said. “We can’t find everything for everyone.”
Tink looked down at the dagger. With a reluctant sigh, she let go.
“Come on, let’s keep looking,” Gabby said. They were standing by a colorful mountain of lost socks. Gabby was about to walk around it when she noticed something odd.
The mountain of socks had a door.
Gabby looked closer. The door was made from an old HELP WANTED sign. It had a yo-yo doorknob.
“Should I knock?” she wondered aloud.
Tink only shrugged, still annoyed.
Gabby squatted and tapped lightly on the door.
A high-pitched scream came from within. The door flew open and a face peered out.
Gabby leaped back. The face belonged to a small green troll. He looked as surprised to see Gabby as she was to see him.
“Goodness!” he said. “You startled me. I wasn’t expecting visitors…was I?” He straightened his paper hat, which looked as if it had once been an important document. Gabby could see the words LAST WILL AND written across on the brim.
“What’s going on?” Mia cried. The other girls came running toward them, drawn by the troll’s scream.
“Eep!” the troll cried when he saw them, and slammed the door.
“No, wait! Don’t go!” Gabby rapped on the door again. She had just remembered that Silvermist had met a troll on the Lost Coast. Could this be him?
“Nobody’s home!” the troll called from inside.
“Please come out. We need help,” Gabby said. “And the sign on your door says ‘Help,’ ” she added cleverly.
The door opened a crack. The troll poked his long nose out and peered at the words on his door. “So it does.” He opened the door wider. “What can I do for you?”
“We’re looking for something that was lost—” Gabby began.
“Well, you’ve come to the right place!” the troll interrupted happily. “If it can’t be found, you’ll find it here. And if it’s here, it’s surely lost. As it turns out, I’m looking for something, too.” He scratched his head. “Now, what was it?”
Gabby held out the half-moon stone. “Very pretty,” the troll said, and shook his head. “But that’s not it.”
“No, that’s what we’re looking for,” Tink said impatiently. “Have you seen the other half of this stone?”
“Hmm. It does look familiar. Now, let me see….”
&nbs
p; The troll began to wander around. He picked things up and put them down, humming to himself.
“I don’t think he’s really looking at all,” Lainey whispered after a moment.
Sure enough, the troll paused and said, “Oh dear, I’ve lost my train of thought. What was I doing?”
“We’re wasting our time,” Kate muttered. “This guy can’t help us. Let’s go.”
“Thank you anyway,” Gabby told the troll.
As she turned away, her eyes fell on a tall pile of crumpled papers. Gabby gasped. On top, like a paperweight, was a stone. It was the size and shape of the stone in Gabby’s hand.
Could it be the other half of the half-moon stone?
Gabby reached for it. But the troll got there first.
“Don’t touch!” he screeched, slapping his long green fingers down on top of it. “That is holding all my important papers.”
“Your papers?” Lainey snatched a sheet from the stack and held it up. It was a half-finished math worksheet. “So your name is…Jackson?” she asked doubtfully.
“It might be,” the troll huffed. “Put that back.”
Kate yanked a letter from the pile. “Oh yeah? So then why do you have”—she read the name on the envelope—“Randy Gimble’s mail?”
“I don’t know!” the troll cried.
“You aren’t any of them, are you? And if these aren’t your papers, then they can’t be that important!” Kate declared, waving the letter.
“I might be him, too. I could be any of them!” the troll wailed. Tears filled his eyes. “That’s why I have to keep all these papers! Any of them could be mine.”
Oh, the poor troll! Gabby suddenly understood. He didn’t know who he was. Her heart went out to him.
“I promise if you let us have the stone, we’ll help you find what you’re looking for,” she said.
The troll looked at her for a long moment, considering. Then he handed the stone over.
Gabby held the stones up side by side. They looked like mirror images of each other. But one was black, the other white.
