Gwen frowned. “Maybe it would be good for you to get away from Skellmore too. I know you’re having trouble hiding your abilities. Everyone believes you to be a Mist faerie like your father. If they see you using Blaze powers then life will become very difficult for you here.”
Laney flushed. Gwen was the only person, apart from her friends Fletcher and Claudia, who knew about her Blaze powers. The Thorn Elder had guessed her secret after the Shadow’s last attack. Luckily she’d agreed that Laney’s magic should be kept secret for now.
“I am trying to do better! It’s just that my Blaze magic’s new and sometimes I forget … but I will keep it hidden.”
“Are you sure that you can?” Gwen’s gaze was fixed on Laney’s face. “Blaze power – bending fire to your will – is the most dangerous and unpredictable of all the faerie powers. I’ve been concerned for some time that you are not learning to control it.”
“It’s not easy to find a place away from everyone where I can practise. I should go. Kim will start wondering where I am.” Laney pushed herself up off the sofa, leaving black marks on its flowery cover as her hands scorched the fabric. A smell of burning filled the air.
“Laney!” Gwen exclaimed.
“I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to—” Laney backed to the door, trying not to touch anything else, but a tiny flame burst from her between her fingers.
“Laney, wait a minute. There’s no need to go like this.”
“I have to. Kim’s cooking tea.” Laney managed to push down the latch with her elbow. She got the door open and rushed outside. How could Gwen say that it would be better if she went away? Skellmore was her home. It was everything she knew.
Her hands burned again and a puff of flame burst upwards, scorching the branch of a tree right above her. The wood blackened and the branch broke in two, crashing on to the path below. Laney looked back at Gwen, who was standing in the doorway. Then she ran off down the road.
The heat in Laney’s hands faded as she ran. She shouldn’t have gone to Gwen’s house. Gwen didn’t understand how she was feeling at all. There was no one else in Skellmore like her. There were Thorns who’d married other Thorns. Or Mists who’d married other Mists. That was the way it was. You stayed with your tribe and powers were passed down from parents to children.
But not for her.
Her Mist tribe dad, Robert Rivers, had married a Blaze faerie – Cordelia Embers. Water had married fire.
Laney didn’t know what had happened next. She only knew her mum had died when she was little and after that her dad had moved to Skellmore and hidden the truth from everyone. There wasn’t a single faerie she’d met whose parents had married outside their tribe. She wished there was another Blaze living in Skellmore. Was it normal for the flames to appear in her hands so easily? Was there a way to control the fire? There was no one to ask.
She sped up, suddenly aware of other people in the street. Mr Willowby was still in his garden but she didn’t think he’d noticed the flame in her hand. He was sitting on his front step and he didn’t look up or wave as she went by. Laney turned on to the High Street. A bus drew up by the minimart. Her friend, Claudia Lionhart, leapt off with cat-like grace, her dark hair swinging over her shoulders. Her mum climbed off after her and Laney tried to catch up with them.
Then a terrible scream made her heart jump.
People looked round, startled. Laney was sure the cry had come from behind her – from Gnarlwood Lane. She spun round and dashed back the way she’d come. The cry sounded high, like a child or a woman. She stopped at the Willowbys’ garden. Mr Willowby was lying on his side on the front step and clutching one arm to his chest while the other hung loosely.
His wife was leaning over him, her face contorted. “Someone quickly – help me!”
Laney hesitated but, before she could decide what to do, Fletcher’s dad, Mr Thornbeam, pushed past her and ran up the path. “What happened? Did he have an accident?” He lifted Mr Willowby’s arm to take his pulse.
“I think it’s his heart,” Mrs Willowby sobbed. “He hasn’t been feeling well for days.”
“Shall I call an ambulance?” Laney asked them.
“No!” Mr Thornbeam replied sharply. “Find Gwen.”
Laney turned to follow his instruction but Gwen was already coming down the lane. Claudia and her mum came up behind her from the direction of the High Street.
“What happened?” said Claudia.
Claudia’s mum, a small woman with huge energy, took in the situation with one quick glance. “Quickly, Claudia! We have to make sure that no humans come down here.”
“What? How?” Claudia said.
Mrs Lionhart was already rushing back to the entrance of the lane. “Tell them there’s a gas leak. That’ll do it.”
While Claudia and her mum guarded the road entrance, Gwen leaned over Mr Willowby. She spoke under her breath. Laney edged closer, watching in horrified fascination.
A faint shimmer gathered around Mr Willowby’s body like sunlight glistening on the surface of a lake. Mrs Willowby’s shoulders began to shake. “Don’t go,” she repeated. “Don’t go…”
Mr Thornbeam put an arm around her.
Gwen stepped back a little. “I’m sorry, Millie. There’s nothing I can do.”
The glow around Mr Willowby grew brighter. Laney thought he looked like an angel and for a moment she couldn’t breathe. Then, with a sudden flash, his body and the light were gone and all that was left on the front step was a small heap of grey dust.
Silence fell on Gnarlwood Lane. No one moved.
Mr Thornbeam said in a low voice. “We need to collect his dust and keep it safe, Millie. Do you have something suitable?”
Mrs Willowby’s shoulders were still shaking.
“I’ll fetch something,” Gwen told them.
Laney didn’t move. She was mesmerised by the heap of dust on the front doorstep. That was all that was left of Mr Willowby. Just dust. Faerie dust.
A group of faeries were gathering around the edge of the Willowbys’ garden. They stood silently, each tribe separate from the others. Laney noticed that her friend Fletcher was there too, standing with the other Thorns.
Gwen returned with a small purse embroidered with snowdrops. Mrs Willowby took it and, with a wave of her fingers, drew her husband’s dust into the pouch before closing it tight. Then she looked across at the Thorns, gathered just beyond the garden gate.
The Thorns linked hands, and a circle of roses grew around Mrs Willowby. Rising higher, they burst into bloom and filled the air with a sweet scent. The Mists stepped forward next and a light rain fell, leaving water gleaming on the flower petals. Lastly, the Greytails whispered to each other. Then Claudia gave a long piercing whistle and three white doves fluttered down to land by the rose circle.
Mrs Willowby clasped the purse tightly and blinked back tears. “Thank you, everyone. My husband was a kind man. He … he believed in peace and he wanted fighting between the tribes to stop.”
The sky darkened. Laney shivered and glanced up at a black cloud that had drifted in from the south.
“We’ve lived in Skellmore for forty-five years,” Mrs Willowby said chokingly. “They were happy years.”
People behind Laney began muttering to each other. She folded her arms over her chest. Why was it suddenly so cold?
Mrs Willowby tailed off and stared at the thickening black cloud. A shower of hail poured down, pelting the roses with ice. The doves flew off in alarm.
Suddenly Laney knew what was coming. “It’s the Shadow!” she yelled.
“Stay where you are, all of you,” Gwen ordered, but the rest of her words were lost as everyone scattered.
“Laney!” Claudia pulled her arm. “We’ve got to get out of here.”
Suddenly, Laney understood. The Shadow would be coming for the dust. That was why everyone was afraid. She looked at their stricken faces and a sick feeling rose inside her. Everyone knew exactly why the Shadow wanted Mr Willowby’s d
ust. That was how Shadow magic worked – the remains of a dead faerie were used to work the dark spells.
Mrs Willowby was still standing inside the circle of ruined flowers, holding the purse with her husband’s dust to her chest. The wind whipped round her, beating her grey hair.
Gwen and the other Elders ushered her into the house, before following her in and shutting the door. The wind strengthened and hail fell in jagged pieces like broken glass. Claudia let go of Laney’s arm and stumbled away, shielding her face.
There was a growl of thunder and Laney glimpsed the thing she still saw in every nightmare.
Red lightning.
A jagged lightning bolt struck the tree beside Fletcher. The tree groaned and a branch broke away, striking him as it fell.
“Fletcher!” Laney grabbed his arm and pulled him down the street.
Something dark swooped behind the rooftops, just out of sight. The hail grew faster until thick balls of ice covered the road. Laney and Fletcher hid behind a hedge. Laney scanned the sky for the Shadow.
“That monster’s after the dust.” Fletcher clenched his fists. “I have to get back there!”
“It’s too dangerous!” Laney said quickly. The last time they’d faced the Shadow she’d nearly lost Fletcher completely. The dark faerie had been searching for the Wildwood Arrow, which was sacred to Thorns like Fletcher, and all of Skellmore had been overcome by an evil enchantment.
As the hail slowed, the Willowbys’ front door opened and Lucas Frogley rushed out followed by Mr Thornbeam and the other Elders. From inside the house came the sound of weeping.
“Dad!” Fletcher called.
Mr Thornbeam’s face was grim. “Go home, son,” he said. “Make sure that your sister and your mother are all right.”
“What happened?” said Fletcher.
Mr Thornbeam paused before he answered. “I don’t know how he did it – the whole place went pitch black. But he got in and Willowby’s dust is gone.”
Fletcher swore under his breath.
Lucas Frogley, the tribe leader, scowled at Laney and the expression on his pale, bony face said it all. He didn’t trust her. When she’d first Awakened, Laney had believed she was a Mist faerie because her dad was. None of the adults except Gwen knew the truth about her Blaze mum. If Frogley found out, he would trust her even less.
Laney looked up, expecting to see more red lightning flickering overhead, but the clouds had faded and were drifting away from Skellmore.
The Shadow had struck and then vanished.
Lightning split the sky that night. Laney was woken by the sound of thunder and watched it from her bedroom window. The storm appeared at intervals – first above Hobbin Forest and then to the south over Skellmore Edge. But there was no red lightning – so where was the Shadow? And what spell would he make with Mr Willowby’s dust? She shivered.
To make herself feel better, she took a book from her bedside table. It was The Wind in the Willows and her mum’s name, Cordelia Embers, was written in the front in childish round handwriting. She’d found it among her dad’s things after he was hurt last autumn. It was the only thing of her mum’s that she had.
When she went downstairs the next morning, Kim was talking to Simon in the kitchen. Laney heard her name mentioned and hung back to listen.
“What else am I supposed to do, Simon?” Kim said. “I need to be close to Robert. I know it’s hard on the kids having to move but we’ll keep our house here, of course.” There was a snap as a cupboard door closed.
“You don’t need to move there to see Robert,” Simon replied. “I’ll drive you up to visit him every week. You don’t have to cope with all this alone.”
“That’s a really kind offer,” Kim said, “but I couldn’t let you do that. I know how busy you are with work now that you’re doing it all on your own.”
“I’m happy to help. I’ve known Robert ever since he moved here and that’s more than ten years ago. You’re like family, really.”
Laney edged closer to the kitchen door, wondering what Kim would say. Her stepmum’s voice was firm. “It’s really kind but I’ve thought about travelling up to visit and I just can’t see it working. The kids would spend half their lives in the car.”
Laney walked into the kitchen and leaned against the table.
“Morning, love.” Kim smiled at her. “Did you sleep OK? There was such a storm last night.”
Laney didn’t want to talk about the storm. “I heard you talking about moving. What’s going to happen about my school?”
Kim took a deep breath. “I know this is all really sudden for you but I’ve had some time to think about it. I’ve found you a school in Kirkfield and I’ve found a cottage we can rent in a village nearby – a place called Little Shackle.”
Laney clasped her hands tightly, suddenly afraid she would lose control and burn something. “You’ve already found a house and a school! I’m not even sure I want to go. All my friends are here. Everything’s here!”
“Come and sit down a minute.” Kim drew out two chairs. She put her hand on Laney’s arm. “I know this feels really sudden. I’m sorry to spring it on you. But I didn’t want to say anything before because none of it was certain until the doctors found a bed for your dad in the Head Injury Unit. I’ve found us a nice place to stay – a little cottage near some hills. I’ve only seen it in the agent’s photos but it looks lovely.”
Simon drank from his coffee mug, leaning against the kitchen worktop.
“Why can’t we drive up there like Simon said?” asked Laney. “Why do we have to stay?”
“It’s such a long drive and I think we need to be close by. What if your dad’s condition changes? You know it would be awful to be far away if something happened. Or maybe he’ll start to respond to us. Then we’ll be able to help a bit more.” Kim smiled.
Laney’s heart ached. She wanted so badly to believe that her dad would be better soon. Maybe this new hospital would make a real difference. If her dad woke up she wanted to be there. And what if Gwen was right about him being safer away from Skellmore? Kim and Toby would be safer too. What happened yesterday showed that the Shadow was still watching the village. “OK,” she said, “let’s go. As soon as dad gets better we can come back here, right?”
“That’s right!” Kim reached up and smoothed a curl away from Laney’s face.
“So, how soon do we leave?” Laney asked.
“The lease for the cottage starts at the weekend,” Kim told her. “We can go as soon as we’re packed.”
“Don’t you think you’re rushing into this?” Simon broke in. “It might be better to take some time and work out what you want to do.”
“There’s no point in waiting,” Kim said, her voice rising. “We need to go.”
Toby ran in. “Mummy, I seen a cat! I seen a cat!”
“Where’s the cat, honey?” said Kim, scooping him up.
Laney took this opportunity to slip out of the back door. She needed time to think. Following her instinct, she turned left down Beacon Way and followed the footpath out of Skellmore. She crossed a stile and walked across the fields leading up to Skellmore Edge, the flat rocky outcrop that towered over the village. By the time she got to the top she was out of breath.
Skellmore was spread out like a tiny model village with the shining ribbon of the Mistray River lying across the topmost corner. Leaving the place would be really weird. She’d lived here nearly all her life – all the bits she could remember properly. She only recalled tiny broken details of the early years before her mum died and those memories seemed too strange and sketchy to rely on.
She watched a bird of prey circling over a field below. In the bright sunshine, the danger from the Shadow seemed less real. She tried to imagine those fields turning black, the green shoots of corn turning to ash…
A small dark shape twined around her ankle, making her jump. “Dizzy! What are you doing here?”
The cat gazed back with bright-green eyes.
&nb
sp; “She told me where you were.” Claudia leapt from one rock to another and reached the smooth flat hilltop. “I want to talk to you.”
“You know sneaking up on people is really annoying.”
Claudia grinned. “I can’t help it – it’s a Greytail thing. Actually I hardly bothered to be quiet. You were basically daydreaming – I’d have had to stomp up here like a Thorn to get your attention.”
Laney jerked her head at the village. “What’s going on down there?”
“Bad stuff.” Claudia pushed her dark hair over her shoulder and stretched out on a flat bit of rock. Her cat, Dizzy, lay down next to her. “You saw the lightning last night, right? The Elders had sent people out to guard the village. Then Thorns ran into Mists and Mists ran into Greytails and they all panicked.”
Laney sat down too. “So they fought each other instead of the Shadow?”
“Typical, huh? The Thorns are the worst. They’re sooo trigger-happy right now. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I miss the way they used to be – all dull and boring and let’s grow some cabbage.”
“I know what you mean.” Laney curled her hair round her finger. She couldn’t believe she’d be leaving this place soon.
“Laney?” Claudia clicked her fingers in front of Laney’s face. “So tell me where you’re moving to. When does Kim want to leave?”
“Hey! How do you know about that?”
“My mum saw Kim in the estate agent’s in Pennington last week and Dizzy was hanging round your back door this morning and told me a bit of what you were talking about.”
“Dizzy, you spy!” Laney glared at the cat.
Dizzy turned her back and started washing her face with her paws.
“Kim only told me yesterday.” Laney explained about her dad being taken to the hospital in Kirkfield and Kim finding them a cottage to rent.
“You should go,” said Claudia as soon as she’d finished. “Seriously, you should. Lots of the Blaze tribe live up there, that’s what my mum says, and you could learn Blaze skills from them.”
Pale Peak Burning Page 2
