Hidden Charm

by Linda Chapman

  Ionie got to her feet. “We need to talk to Mary.”

  “Sita, you might have to use your powers,” said Sorrel. “If she is doing dark magic, then you must be ready to command her to obey you.”

  Sita nodded confidently. “OK. I’ll be ready.”

  For a moment, Maia remembered how nervous Sita used to be about doing magic when she had first discovered her abilities. Using magic and being Star Friends had changed them all since last autumn.

  Ionie pointed to the shadows beside Maia’s wardrobe. “I vote we take the quickest way to the Copper Kettle!” she said.

  Bracken licked Maia’s hand. “Good luck!”

  Ionie was waiting in the shadows. Maia, Lottie and Sita stepped forward, held hands, then the shadows closed round them and the magic whisked them away.

  The shadows cleared and Maia saw that Ionie had transported them to the woods just across the main road from the Copper Kettle. “I didn’t dare risk us appearing inside,” said Ionie.

  “It doesn’t look like there’d be room anyway!” Maia exclaimed.

  Through the windows she could see people filling every bit of space. They were elbowing each other out of the way as they tried to get to the counter to buy cakes. Raised, angry voices floated across the road to the girls.

  “It doesn’t look good,” said Sita.

  “Come on, let’s see if we can help – if we can get rid of everyone, then maybe we can talk to Mary on her own,” said Maia.

  She led the way across the road and they pushed their way inside. People were crowded round the counter, yelling at Mary, who was close to tears.

  “I want to buy cake!”

  “Sell us cake!”

  Their faces were red and angry. Maia spotted Mike’s tall, thin figure at the front, banging his fists on the counter. A memory stirred. Had he been the man who broke in? She would never have thought it possible but right now he looked angry enough to do anything.

  Maia motioned to the others and they edged their way closer to the counter.

  “Go away! Please!” Mary pleaded. If she was the one doing dark magic, it didn’t look as if it was making her happy.

  “No!” yelled an older man. “I want cake!” Maia realized it was her next-door neighbour, friendly Mr Jones.

  A woman picked up a salt cellar. It was Maia’s teacher, Miss Harris. “Give us cake!” she screamed. She threw the cellar at the wall behind Mary. It hit one of the old Victorian dolls that were balanced on the shelves. The doll fell to the ground.

  “Be careful!” gasped Mary.

  Maia ducked underneath the partition and the others followed.

  “Girls, what are you doing here?” Mary turned panicked eyes on them. “You could get hurt.”

  “Gran!” exclaimed Sita in horror as she spotted her granny in the crowd.

  But her granny didn’t even seem to notice her. Her eyes were glazed over as though she was possessed. She picked up a sugar bowl and hurled it at the wall.

  “CAKE!” everyone shouted, starting to throw anything they could get their hands on – plates, saucers, spoons…

  “Quick, let’s get out of here!” cried Ionie, ducking as a plate smashed against the wall above her head. She ran to the door that led upstairs to Mary’s flat and pulled it open. “Mary! Come on!”

  The customers started climbing over the counter. Maia pushed her friends through the door and slammed it shut behind them. Luckily there was a key in the lock. She turned it quickly and was only just in time. The people on the other side started battering at the door, banging and yelling. Maia’s scalp prickled as she realized it was the door she had seen in her dream.

  “CAKE! CAKE! CAKE!” they shouted.

  Mary rushed up the stairs to her flat and the girls followed. “Oh, what am I going to do?” she cried. “They’ve all gone crazy.”

  “Or rather they’ve eaten cake with a magic charm inside it…” said Ionie pointedly.

  Mary’s face paled. “How do you know?”

  Maia spotted the journal on the coffee table. “Magic recipes,” she said, picking it up. “You’ve been using magic, haven’t you, Mary?”

  Mary started to shake her head. “No … no…”

  “Enough!” Sita cut in. Her voice sounded stern, completely unlike her usual soft tone, and Maia realized she was using her powers. Mary fell silent. “People are going to get hurt, Mary, if this carries on,” Sita continued. “We have to stop it. We can help you but you must tell us the truth. Have you been using magic?”

  Mary nodded. “I have. I didn’t mean for it to end up like this. I just wanted people to want to eat my cakes.” She picked up the journal. “My granny was fascinated by magic and used charms made from plants to help people with illnesses and to make her food taste good. When she died, she left me her book with all her magical notes in. I’ve only ever used it to add just a little magic charm to my ice cream but, when all my customers started going to the marina, I thought I’d use it to make cakes people couldn’t resist.”

  “It certainly worked!” said Ionie.

  “I didn’t realize this would happen,” Mary said anxiously. “I just wanted more customers. It’s all got completely out of control. I can’t believe the magic is so powerful that people are smashing plates, breaking in…”

  Someone on the other side of the door now seemed to be using something large to try to break it down.

  “What am I going to do?” Mary said fearfully.

  “Don’t worry,” Sita said. “We’re going to sort this out and, while we’re doing that, you’re going to go to your room and have a little nap. You will go to sleep until I wake you. Do you understand?”

  Mary nodded, stood up and moved like a sleepwalker to her bedroom.

  “Well done, Sita,” Maia said. “Now what?”

  “Now we sort this chaos out,” said Sita grimly.

  The girls hurried to the staircase that led down to the door into the café. The banging and hammering were getting even louder. “How are we going to get rid of everyone?” shouted Lottie above the noise.

  “Let’s call the animals and see if they have any ideas,” said Maia.

  The animals appeared and listened while the girls told them what was going on.

  “You can’t open that door,” said Sorrel in alarm. “All those people will come charging in here and they sound full of rage. There’s no knowing what they’ll do.”

  “But we must get Sita into the café so she can command them to go home,” said Maia.

  “We need a distraction so Sita can get through the door and into the café,” said Willow.

  Juniper leaped on to the windowsill. “I know! I can get through the landing window and into the café, and Lottie can climb down after me, using her agility! I bet between us we can get everyone away from the door!”

  “Good plan, Juniper!” In a flash, Lottie was by the window. She opened it and Juniper leaped out. Lottie grinned at the others. “See you in a bit!” She followed Juniper out of the window.

  The others raced to the bottom of the stairs. A minute later, they heard the angry shouts turning to cries of surprise. “There’s a squirrel in here!”

  “What’s it doing? It’s leaping about everywhere!”

  There was a scream. “It’s on my head! Get it off me!”

  “Cake!” they heard Lottie shout. “Hey, everyone, there’s cake over here!”

  “Cake? Where?”

  “Where’s the cake?”

  The banging on the door stopped. Maia took her chance and pushed the door open. Everyone was either looking at Lottie or at Juniper. As well as Mike, Miss Harris, Mr Jones and Sita’s gran, she could see Elissa, Harriet and Sadie – girls from their class.

  “Go!” she hissed to the animals.

  They leaped into the café, making people shout and stagger, forgetting about cake in their surprise and confusion. “A fox!”

  “A deer and a cat!”

  “What’s going on?”

  “Now,
Sita!” exclaimed Maia, pulling a chair over to the counter.

  “QUIET!” Sita commanded, climbing up on to the counter. “No one must speak or move again until I command it.”

  The whole room fell still. Maia tried to open her mouth and found that she couldn’t speak either. The animals were also frozen to the spot. “Maia, Ionie, Lottie and the animals, you can all move and speak,” Sita said hastily, realizing what she’d done. Maia felt a rush of relief as her body and voice came under her control again. Sita’s magic was really powerful and scary!

  Sita cleared her throat. “Everyone apart from Ionie, Lottie, Maia and the animals – you are all to go home. You do not want to eat cake any more. When you walk out of the door, you will forget about everything that has happened in here. You will go home and feel relaxed and happy, thinking what a lovely time you’ve had at the Copper Kettle and wanting to come back again soon.”

  Maia was impressed. Sita had become very good at giving magic commands.

  “Now go!” Sita instructed. Suddenly everyone started moving again. The girls watched as people dazedly rubbed their heads and wandered out on to the street, their anger and desire for cake completely forgotten. Sita’s granny hesitated, looking at her. “Go home, Gran,” Sita said forcefully, and her granny nodded and left.

  As the last person went out, Willow butted the door shut. Lottie joined her, locked the door and turned the sign that said Open to Closed. “Phew!” she exclaimed.

  Ionie looked at the doorway that led upstairs. “Time to go and talk to Mary,” she said.

  They went upstairs to the flat. Mary’s bedroom door was open and they could see she was still asleep, lying on top of the covers, breathing peacefully. As they walked in, Maia stopped in her tracks. Mary’s dressing table was opposite the bed. It had a mirror surrounded by lights, exactly the same as the one that she had seen Mystic Maureen sitting at. But why would Mystic Maureen have been in Mary’s bedroom unless … unless…

  Her eyes caught sight of the multicoloured scarf hanging over the back of the chair and, on top of it, was a beaded necklace with a large M hanging from it.

  It was as if a flashbulb had gone off in Maia’s head. Suddenly she realized why the image of Mystic Maureen sitting at the mirror had always niggled at her. The reflection in the mirror had shown Mystic Maureen with her shoulder-length red hair but from the back the figure had short brown hair and had looked just like…

  “Mary!” she exclaimed. “Mary is Mystic Maureen!”

  Everyone stared at Maia.

  “What do you mean?” demanded Lottie.

  “Have you solved the mystery, Maia?” Bracken asked, bouncing around in delight.

  “I think so. Look!” Maia grabbed the necklace with the M pendant from the chair and the scarf. “Mystic Maureen was wearing this necklace and this scarf. Mary must have disguised herself as her with magic.”

  “Using a glamour!” Ionie exclaimed. She hit her head. “Of course! Why didn’t I think of that?”

  “It all makes sense now. It’s why the Copper Kettle kept appearing in my visions! I even knew that Mary collected dolls just like Mystic Maureen said she did,” Maia said, glancing at the dolls on the shelf and thinking of the others downstairs. “I just didn’t put it all together!”

  “No wonder we haven’t been able to find where Mystic Maureen lives or works,” said Lottie. “She never really existed. She was Mary in disguise!”

  “But why?” Sita said. “I thought she liked Mike and Ana.”

  “I think you need to wake her up and ask her about it,” Sorrel said.

  “Hide,” Ionie urged the animals. “Sita can make her forget you, but if she sees you she’s bound to ask questions and we want to find out what’s been going on as quickly as possible.”

  The animals vanished.

  “Do your stuff then, Sita,” said Maia. The others nodded.

  “Mary,” said Sita, going over to the bed. “I want you to wake up now.”

  Mary stirred, mumbling a little in her sleep. Rubbing her eyes, she sat up. “What’s happening?” she said dazedly and then her eyes widened as she remembered. “The café! The people!”

  “It’s all right,” said Sita soothingly. “They’ve all gone. There’s nothing for you to worry about now. Just a bit of clearing up to do.”

  Mary relaxed. “Oh, thank goodness.” She looked at Sita anxiously. “You won’t tell anyone I put a charm in the cakes, will you?”

  “No,” said Sita. “But you mustn’t do it any more.”

  Mary nodded. “I won’t. I wanted business to pick up, but I shouldn’t have used magic the way I did. It isn’t the answer.” She rubbed her forehead. “It can be so hard to control.”

  “Mary, have you used magic before? Did you use it to disguise yourself as Mystic Maureen? And to conjure Shades?” Sita asked.

  Even though Maia knew the answer, it was still a shock when Mary nodded.

  “But why?” Lottie burst out.

  “I just wanted to help,” Mary said unhappily.

  “Help?” echoed Ionie. “But how could conjuring Shades help? They’re evil.”

  “I didn’t realize that,” Mary said. “There were notes at the back of the journal about all sorts of different magic – using glamours, conjuring Shades. It didn’t say Shades were evil and I just thought if I conjured Heart’s Desire Shades they would make Mike’s wish to win the Best Kept Village competition come true, and if that happened the Copper Kettle would get busier. I didn’t know that they would do all those awful things. I wanted to stop them, but I didn’t know how. Thankfully one day they just vanished.”

  The girls exchanged looks. The Shades had only stopped when Ionie had sent them back to the shadows, but Mary didn’t need to know that.

  “So, how did you do it?” Sita asked. “How did you trap the Shades in Ana’s dolls?”

  “I went to their house, disguised as Mystic Maureen, and when I was there I used my phone.”

  “Your phone?” repeated Maia. “How?”

  “My grandma had written that a Shade can be trapped if you capture its likeness. I conjured them with my grandma’s magic spell and then trapped them by taking photos with my phone.”

  Suddenly another of the clues Maia had seen made sense – the rectangular black object was an old-fashioned phone with buttons, not a remote control!

  “Then what did you do?” Sita asked.

  “I went to Ana’s and transferred the Shades from my phone to the dolls. I wish I’d never done it.” Her eyes filled with tears. “I feel so guilty.”

  Maia didn’t know what to do. They’d never had to deal with someone who’d been using dark magic to try to do good before.

  Sita took Mary’s hand. “It’s all right, Mary. You’re going to get up and then we’re all going to go downstairs and help tidy up,” she instructed. “You’re going to forget that we know about magic. You’re going to feel relieved that the magic cake has all gone and you’re going to decide that you will never use your grandma’s magic book ever again, apart from to add a little magic to the ice cream. Do you understand?”

  “I understand,” said Mary, her eyes on Sita’s.

  “Then let’s go and tidy up,” said Sita, helping Mary off the bed.

  They went downstairs and began clearing away the broken china and cleaning the tables. They carefully swept up any remaining crumbs of cake. Maia’s tummy rumbled at the sight of them. She longed to grab them and eat them, but she fought the urge. No cake, she told herself firmly. The cake is bad. Lottie saw her face and quickly put the crumbs in the bin.

  They were nearly finished when there was a knock on the door.

  “It’s Desmond Hannigan,” Maia said in surprise. They’d been wrong about him being involved, but why was he here now?

  Mary went to the door and unlocked it. “I’m afraid we’re closed at the moment.”

  “I don’t want to have a cup of tea or buy a cake,” he said brusquely. “I’m here with a business proposition
for you. Can I come in?”

  Mary opened the door and he walked in.

  “It’s come to my attention that the ice cream you sell here is far superior to the ice cream that’s on sale at the marina café,” he said, clearing his throat. “I want to know whether you would be interested in supplying your ice cream to the Friendly Fish from now on.”

  “That’s a brilliant idea,” Maia said in delight. “You’ll make lots of money, Mary, and then it won’t matter if the Copper Kettle is a bit quiet.”

  But, to her surprise, Mary looked worried. “I don’t know. I’ve never supplied another business before.”

  “It’d be great!” said Ionie. “Selling your ice cream at the marina would mean lots more people could enjoy it.”

  “I’d have to employ another member of staff and buy more equipment,” Mary fretted. “It would be quite different.”

  “Maybe,” said Sita. “But that doesn’t mean it’d be bad. When things change, life often gets even better.” She gave Maia a quick smile. “I realized that yesterday.”

  Mary nodded slowly. ‘I suppose so. After all, it was a big change when I started the Copper Kettle and that worked out for the best.”

  Desmond Hannigan cleared his throat. “So, do you want to come into business with me?” he asked.

  The girls looked hopefully at Mary.

  “Yes,” she said, smiling. “I do.”

  After the café was cleaned up and Mary happily settled back upstairs, working out how she could make enough ice cream for two businesses, the girls ran to the clearing.

  “Bracken!”

  “Sorrel!”

  “Juniper!”

  “Willow!”

  The animals appeared, questions tumbling out of them.

  “What happened?” said Bracken.

  “Did you sort everything out?” asked Willow.