Dark Tree Shining

by Paula Harrison

  Laney gripped her hands to stop them shaking. Suddenly the wood seemed thicker and every pocket of darkness was filled with something that lurked. “What about hobgobbits?” she suggested, thinking of the fierce creatures that lived in the forest. “They don’t exactly like people walking through their parts of the wood.”

  “No, they wouldn’t have left him like this,” said Fletcher.

  “Let’s untie him and get out of here,” said Claudia.

  “We can’t let Craig see our powers and I don’t know how we’re going to free him without using them,” said Fletcher.

  “There’s a trance spell I’m learning at Greytail training.” Claudia’s eyes gleamed. “I’m not great at it, but if I manage it it would knock him out nicely. After the human comes out of the trance they forget what happened just before the spell.”

  “It’s too risky,” said Fletcher.

  “It’s all we’ve got,” said Laney sharply. “Do it! We need to get out of here.”

  “What are you guys doing? Stop talking and help me – there’s something crawling over my neck!” yelped Craig.

  Laney rushed back across the clearing. A long gnarled root had coiled itself round Craig’s throat. He struggled, his face pale in the torchlight.

  “Stop moving. You’re making it pull tighter.” As Fletcher spoke, the earth underneath Craig’s leg cracked open and another root emerged, curling round his knee.

  Claudia let out a faint hiss. “I swear it’s trying to pull him into the ground.”

  “What! What do you mean? They’re just brambles, aren’t they?” Craig’s voice rose in panic and the crack in the earth opened wider.

  Fletcher grabbed the nearest root and shot a warning look at Claudia. “Calm down, Craig. We’re not going to let anything happen to you. Just try to lie still.”

  Laney’s heart thudded erratically. This had to be the Shadow’s work – it was like he was showing off his strength. “Do that thing you talked about, Claudia!” she said. “We need to make this quick.”

  “OK.” Claudia handed Laney the torch and knelt down next to Craig, her face frozen in concentration.

  “What’s going on?” Craig moaned. “Stop staring at me.”

  “Be quiet if you want us to free your useless lump of bones!” snapped Claudia. Then with an effort she softened her voice. “Now … relax and look at me.”

  Laney tried to hold the torch steady. What if the Shadow was close by? She tried to concentrate on Claudia, who was performing a complicated series of blinks, as if she was sending a message with her eyes. Craig began blinking too and at last his eyes turned glassy even though they remained wide open.

  Claudia waved a hand in front of his face but he didn’t react. She sprang up. “It’s done, but it won’t last long. Your turn now, Thorn Boy.”

  Fletcher started trying to untangle the root coiled round Craig’s neck. The wind moved the branches overhead. From the corner of her eye, Laney thought she could see a dark shape near the top of one tree. It hung from a branch, moving as the tree swayed. Her skin prickled and she pointed the torch upwards to find it was only leaves. A shiver passed across her skin again. She couldn’t do this any more – getting shivers at every patch of darkness, jumping at every noise. She had to do something. Throwing down the torch, she held her hands above the ground. She would use Mist power – produce water from the earth to blast the roots away. She closed her eyes and focused. Water come out – break the roots…

  “Laney, what are you doing?” said Fletcher.

  She opened her eyes, her concentration broken. “Just trying something with Mist power.” She took hold of a root and scrunched up her face as she tried to focus again. Her hands grew hot and the root darkened from brown to black. Then it pinged loose and uncoiled from Craig’s arm before slithering away across the ground.

  Fletcher’s mouth dropped open. “What?”

  Laney seized the root round Craig’s neck. That blackened too before unravelling completely.

  Claudia stared. “Who knew Mist power would work on roots! Keep going; get rid of all of them before he wakes up.”

  Laney grasped each root one by one. Some of them tried to cling on to Craig but once she tightened her hold they gave in. Craig stirred and gave a moan, but his eyes stayed glassy. At last all the roots had released their hold on him.

  “He’s still in the trance,” said Claudia. “Let’s go now and when he wakes up he won’t remember we were here.”

  “We should stay close enough to make sure the roots don’t get hold of him again,” said Laney. “I know he’s annoying but—” She broke off as a root looped around her ankle and pulled tight. A second root coiled around the other ankle, digging in viciously. She lost her balance, falling flat on the ground.

  “Stay still!” Fletcher crouched down. “I’ll try and grab them.”

  “Yeah – well, I can’t move much anyway!” Laney managed to reach the tough roots entangling her legs and pull them off. They wriggled in her hand and, disgusted, she threw them across the clearing where they slithered over the earth like huge worms before burying themselves into the ground next to a tree trunk.

  “Fly, Laney!” Claudia changed to faerie form and soared upwards.

  Laney transformed too and hovered in the air, but Fletcher stayed in human form, staring around in bewilderment.

  Claudia pulled Laney behind a tree. “Craig’s coming out of the trance,” she whispered.

  “Hey!” Craig staggered up. “What’s going on?”

  “You were asleep,” said Fletcher. “I just found you here.”

  “My legs feel really weird. Pins and needles, I guess.” Craig yawned and picked up the torch. “What are you doing here anyway?”

  “Er, I just came for a walk,” muttered Fletcher.

  “Uh, I should go.” Craig stumbled away through the trees and eventually the sound of snapping twigs grew fainter.

  Laney and Claudia flew down after they were sure Craig had gone. Laney kept a wary eye on the ground but the roots didn’t reappear. Fletcher rubbed his hands on his jeans. “I just don’t get it. Tree roots don’t do that by themselves.”

  “We should go and collect the orb. Then we have to tell Gwen about this,” said Claudia.

  Laney remembered the coldness in Gwen’s eyes when she’d gone to apologise for ruining the Spirit Smoke. “Do you think it’s a good idea to bother her? She was pretty busy when I saw her a few days ago.”

  “We have to – this is important.” Fletcher took out the adder stone and scanned the clearing again. He circled every tree and even changed to faerie form and flew up to check the canopy. “There’s still no sign of any spell shimmer,” he told the others.

  “Let me see.” Laney took the adder stone and scanned the clearing. “No, there’s nothing.”

  “Shhh!” hissed Claudia. “Someone’s coming.”

  The wind rose for a moment, sending the topmost branches swaying. Laney put the adder stone in her pocket and crouched down, the skin prickling on her arms. Away to the left, a tall man with massive shoulders came striding through the trees, swinging a walking stick. Even in the dark, Laney recognised his fierce eyes and heavy eyebrows. “Stingwood,” she whispered.

  The trees swept their branches to one side to let him pass. As he came to the edge of the clearing, the ground trembled as if the tree roots were moving once more. He stopped and stared at the place where Craig had lain, trapped. His gold-ringed eyes shone bright in the gloom. Then he marched deeper into the trees.

  Laney, Claudia and Fletcher stayed hidden for a while after he’d gone. Shivers ran up and down Laney’s arms. Stingwood had a cruel side and he was the Elder she was most afraid of, even though he was a Thorn like Gwen.

  “I think he’s gone,” muttered Claudia at last.

  “Did you see how he stared at the place where Craig got trapped?” said Laney. “It was like he expected Craig still to be there. Do you think he’s the one that made the roots go wild?”


  “Maybe,” said Fletcher. “But I’ve never seen anything like that root spell before.”

  Together they flew up through the branches and Laney took a deep breath of night air, happy to be free of the forest. After collecting the orb, they flew straight back to Skellmore, passing over Craig who was limping across a field. On the outskirts, they changed to human form before running over to Gnarlwood Lane. A small figure stood on the path in front of Gwen’s garden gate.

  “What are you doing up?” Fletcher stared at his little sister. “It’s way past your bedtime.”

  “Password?” said Sara Thornbeam.

  “We’re in a hurry. Get out the way,” said Claudia.

  “Nope.” Sara folded her little arms. “Password?”

  “Sara, stop it!” said Fletcher. “Shouldn’t you be in bed?”

  “Mum sent me out to play,” said Sara. “Gwen’s not at home anyway. She went out.”

  “Where did she go?” Fletcher demanded.

  “Don’t know. Gathering stuff, I think – she took her basket,” said Sara.

  Fletcher’s forehead creased. “If Mum sent you out at this time of night, something’s going on.” He strode down the lane to his house, which had branches covering the walls edged with red and white berries.

  Laney shrugged at Claudia and they both followed. Sara crept along behind them. Through the window, they saw the inside of the Thornbeam house which was lit with a warm glow. In the kitchen, a dozen people sat at the large table; more stood round the walls. Empty mugs and plates were everywhere.

  Fletcher’s dad, Mr Thornbeam, sat at the head of the table. Laney always thought he had a kind face but today his weather-worn features were drawn into a deep frown. Laney leaned closer to listen.

  “He is changing things much too fast.” Mr Thornbeam looked thoughtfully at the Thorns around him. “He’s not taking time to think about what he’s doing.”

  “Who are they talking about?” Claudia whispered.

  Fletcher shrugged and pulled Sara out of sight of the window.

  “We all need to consider what this project will mean,” added Mr Thornbeam.

  “These are fine words, Glen! But too often we’ve been slow to act,” snapped a man with ginger hair. “And because of that the other tribes don’t respect us.”

  Mr Thornbeam said quietly, “I don’t care what the other tribes think. I care about the future of our tribe. The truth is that those who say they are seeking to make us more powerful could bring us all down.”

  The ginger-haired man thumped his fist on the table. “Every year it gets worse – the chemicals they put on the land, the tree clearing… These are things we can hardly ignore!”

  The noise inside grew as several people spoke at once. Then they all started to get up and after a moment the front door opened. Fletcher beckoned Laney and Claudia round the corner and they hid behind the bushy wall. A stream of Thorns came out of the front door and plodded away down the lane. Mr Thornbeam stood watching them for a while, his eyebrows lowered reflectively. Then he went back inside.

  “Did they leave any cake?” Sara dashed inside to search for leftovers.

  “What was that all about?” Claudia asked Fletcher. “The Thorns must know that something’s going on in the woods. Why else would they be so serious?”

  “I’ll talk to my dad and see if I can find out anything,” said Fletcher.

  “I want to know what Stingwood was doing in the forest,” said Laney. “I don’t trust him. I think we should follow him.”

  “Don’t, Laney.” Fletcher frowned. “Just leave it.”

  “We have to work out what he’s up to,” Laney insisted. “Listen – Shadow faeries must have a human form like we do, right?”

  Claudia shivered and glanced round. Fletcher’s face went very still.

  Laney tried to swallow. It felt like the words were stuck in her throat. “What if we have seen the Shadow and we just didn’t know it?” she continued. “What if the Shadow is Stingwood?”

  “Don’t you think we’d have noticed something different about Stingwood if he really was the Shadow?” said Claudia. “Seriously! No one can pretend to be normal all the time, can they? He’d have given himself away by now.”

  “I think the Shadow lives right here in Skellmore.” Laney stifled a shiver. “Sometimes I think I can feel he’s around here somewhere. He knows that we found one Myrical and I bet he knows we’re searching for more. He could have been watching us for weeks.”

  “I don’t know.” Fletcher rubbed his hair. “Maybe you’re letting your imagination take over. I’ve been looking out for signs of Shadow magic – like withered plants, dying trees – and I haven’t seen anything.”

  “He’ll be covering up where he’s been and what he’s doing, won’t he?” said Laney. “If it is Stingwood, we need to follow him and see what he’s up to!”

  “No!” said Fletcher firmly. “Shadow magic is extremely powerful. If Stingwood is the Shadow he probably has ways of knowing whether someone’s watching him.” Fletcher looked hard at Laney. “I’ll find out from my dad what the other Thorns know and then we can work out what to do next. In the meantime, promise you won’t do anything stupid.”

  “I wasn’t going to do anything stupid,” said Laney, a little annoyed. “I just want to keep an eye on Stingwood.”

  “It’s not just that,” Fletcher said seriously. “It’s about you as well. That thing you did to the roots … I don’t understand how you did it! You’re not a Thorn. You shouldn’t have power over things that grow like we do.”

  “This is about the Wolf Moon, isn’t it?” Laney’s stomach turned over painfully.

  “No, I’m saying that you’ve only just Awakened and you said your first training session didn’t go very well. Maybe you need to work on controlling what you’re doing. So it’s not so … random.”

  “So my powers aren’t good enough now? Is that what you mean?” hissed Laney.

  “Don’t stress out,” Fletcher said with infuriating calmness. “I’m just saying that what you did to the roots was strange, that’s all.”

  “If it’s freaking you out, then I’d rather search for the Myricals on my own!” said Laney.

  The front door opened. “Who’s out there?” called Mr Thornbeam.

  “It’s me, Dad,” called Fletcher, before lowering his voice to a whisper. “Look, I’m sorry, Laney! I wasn’t saying we shouldn’t search together. Just that you need to walk before you run.”

  He sounded just like Frogley at the training session. Laney’s hands grew hot. She turned on her heel and hurried up the lane, a dull ache inside her. Maybe Fletcher had been thinking those things about her for weeks: that she wasn’t in control, that she was a problem.

  “Wait up, Water Girl!” Claudia sprinted beside her. “You can’t really want to look for the Myricals on your own. It’s boring enough searching for them together.”

  “Aren’t I freaking you out, too?” snapped Laney.

  “It is weird that you got those roots to let go of Craig so easily, but I’m not freaking out about it,” said Claudia. “Maybe your Mist Elders can help you understand your powers better – they’re the ones to ask.”

  Laney thought of Frogley and sighed. She had as much chance of getting help from him as getting Toby to fly.

  They turned right into the High Street and passed the empty park. There was a light on in the minimart and a cloud of silver sprites circled a lamppost before fluttering away up the hill. Laney and Claudia walked up Beacon Way in silence. Dozens of cats perched statue-like on trees, cars and fences near the entrance to The Cattery. They turned their faces to Laney and their eyes gleamed in the darkness. A few leapt down to greet Claudia, mewing.

  Laney caught her breath as a dark figure moved quickly towards them but then she realised it was just Tom Lionhart, Claudia’s older brother.

  “All right, sis.” Tom thrust his hands into his pockets. “You’d better get inside. You’re too young to be running aroun
d this late.”

  “Who put you in charge?” said Claudia. “We’ve been rescuing Craig Mottle from rampaging tree roots without needing your help.”

  “You what?” Tom’s eyes narrowed. “Where did you find him?”

  “In a clearing on the north side of Hobbin Forest.” Claudia waved her hand and the crowd of cats around her dispersed.

  “Don’t go down there,” said Laney. “It’s not safe.”

  But Tom wasn’t listening. “I knew it’d all start up again as soon as everything was quiet,” he muttered. “You two had better stay out of the forest from now on. The Thorns have been making trouble in there for weeks. They want to be the ruling tribe. They always have!” He whistled to a sleek grey cat, which sprang quickly after him.

  A familiar figure rounded the corner and began staggering up Beacon Way. “That’s Craig. At least he made it back all right, though I can’t believe I’m pleased about it,” said Claudia softly, and she melted away into the dark.

  Not wanting to speak to Craig, Laney hurried away too. When she got home she went straight upstairs and sank on to her bed. Maybe Claudia was right and she should talk over her magic problems with someone from her own tribe. Not Frogley, he was awful. But the other one, Joe Fenworth, had been nice. She could ask her dad, but what if he stopped her from going to training once he knew what was happening?

  She looked out of the window at the empty street below. It felt as if she was the only one left awake in Skellmore. Her hands still felt hot and they left faint smudge marks on the windowsill. She opened the window a bit wider, letting in more air to cool her down. A distant gleam of gold came from the massive oak tree in the park as it drew in power from the faerie ring.

  She thought of Stingwood and how suspicious he’d been that she had Awakened on the night of the red moon. That could have just been a way of diverting attention from himself. He’d want to do that if he really was the Shadow…

  Laney kept away from Craig the next day, just in case something jogged his memory about the night before. But he swaggered down the school corridor just the same as usual and for a second she wished he would remember how scared he’d been in the wood.