‘That was not on our list,’ said Tick looking at his notepad.
‘Nope,’ said Tock.
A syphon? Cora looked around the room. A tiny flutter of small wings buzzed near her ear. Then something tugged on her hair. Cora swatted it away like a fly.
Artemis stared at her. ‘You don’t know?’
Cora shook her head. ‘Know what?’
‘She doesn’t know?’ Artemis asked Tick and Tock.
‘We first thought she was a witch,’ said Tick.
‘Then we thought she was a giant,’ said Tock.
‘And for a brief moment we also thought that she could have been a mermaid . . . but we splashed her with water and nothing happened,’ said Tick.
‘She is much more than those things,’ said Artemis seriously. Artemis looked down at her fiercely.
‘Syphons are powerful, magical beings,’ he said. ‘Like a witch can cast spells, syphons can absorb another’s magic just by touching them.’
‘I can absorb magic?’ Cora repeated. ‘What happens to whoever I take it from?’ she asked worriedly. She tried to think back to everyone she had ever touched.
‘They lose some of their strength,’ said Artemis. ‘You can absorb some of a power or all of it,’ said Artemis. ‘You didn’t sprout wings when you touched me, for example.’
‘You have wings?’ Cora asked.
‘Syphons are very rare,’ said Tock to Cora. ‘There aren’t many left.’
‘If any at all,’ added Tick, glancing up at her.
‘Because they were hunted for many years,’ said Artemis. ‘Hunted and killed.’
Cora swallowed. ‘Why were they hunted and killed?’
‘A well-trained syphon could wield as many as one hundred magical powers. They were a threat to many dangerous people,’ said Artemis. ‘And a curiosity to others.’
Cora tried to take in everything Artemis was saying.
‘The place you saw in your mind, the one with the glass dome on top of a mountain . . . that is the Avian kingdom,’ said Artemis. ‘My home.’
‘You’re an Avian?’ asked Tock looking at Artemis admirably.
The man nodded.
‘I’m also most likely the last,’ he said, glancing down.
‘Avians are ancient magical beings that can transform into huge birds,’ said Tick in a hushed voice. ‘They keep to themselves mostly.’
‘I heard they have other powers too,’ whispered Tock. ‘Like controlling the wind and the rain.’
‘Not always,’ said Artemis, listening. ‘The Princess was able to.’
Cora remembered the giant gold bird made up of lights that flew through the sky at the festival. She looked at the man barely able to stand in front of her and tried to picture him as a bird.
‘Our people are ruled by Princess Avette,’ Artemis said proudly. Then he stopped, took a sharp breath and closed his eyes. ‘Were ruled.’
‘What happened?’ Cora asked.
‘It was our solstice night,’ said Artemis angrily. ‘I am . . . was one of the princess’s guards. Everyone in the kingdom was celebrating with food and wine. They danced and sang. After the fireworks had ended, the princess said she wasn’t feeling well and retired to her bed. Not long after, there was a commotion at the gate. Some of us travelled down the hill to the gate and found a mother and father carrying a sick child. They were begging to be let inside. They said their child was gravely ill and that they needed help. But something didn’t feel right. There were no homes for miles. Where had they come from? We found out later that they were just a distraction.’ Artemis paused.
Cora saw him grip his walking stick tightly.
‘We told them to be on their way but they didn’t move. There was a scream from the hilltop and we realised the music had stopped. Then the family, all three of them, transformed in front of our eyes into a giant and an army of gremlins. There were so many of them.
‘The giant started to beat down the gate with its massive fists. Some of our people stayed to hold it off and some of us flew back to the kingdom to Princess Avette. But she was gone. There were bloodied footsteps on the ground. Then there was a scream from the forest. Lightning lit up the night sky. It came from a man with silver hair. We tried to stop him. The princess could only run, her wings had been torn from her.’
Cora remembered the image of the man with silver hair and white eyes. The feathers. The blood.
‘Before he could reach the princess, I grabbed her and flew away . . . but . . .’ Artemis stopped. He took a breath. It was shaky. ‘I wasn’t fast enough.’
There was silence in the room.
‘I’m sorry,’ said Cora. ‘Is that why you were at The Hollow?’
Artemis nodded. ‘King Clang is on The Council. They need to know about what happened. The memories you saw, they were hers,’ Artemis said looking up at Cora. ‘The princess’s.’
‘How . . .?’ she said. Artemis’s story swirled in her mind.
‘When you touched me, you took them,’ he said. ‘Along with her magic.’
‘I didn’t mean to,’ said Cora honestly. ‘I just wanted to see if you had a fever.’
‘Princess Avette, before she . . . she gave me all that she had left. Her magic. Her memories. It gave me strength for a few days. But I couldn’t hold onto it. Nobody can hold another person’s magic. Nobody . . . except for syphons.’
He looked at Cora.
All of this was happening too fast. Cora couldn’t help but stand up and turn away then walk back and forth in the room. Her thoughts were muddled. But what did this mean? Had she absorbed the princess’s magic? Was she a syphon? Was she going to be hunted? Would she ever get back to Urt and find Dot? Cora looked down at her hands. Then she shook her head at Artemis. ‘You must be mistaken,’ she said to him. Then to herself, ‘You have to be.’
‘Close that door over there,’ Artemis said.
Cora stared at him, uncertain.
‘The door. Shut it using her magic,’ he said, pointing to the metal door of the house that sat ajar.
Cora stared at it. It wasn’t going to work. There was another buzz by her ear and she swatted it away with a hand. Then inside her, she felt something shift. She felt the air around her. She was able to grab it. She felt her hair float up as she pulled the air around her.
‘Whoa!’ said Tick as he and Tock were blown about in the gust that swirled inside the room. They grabbed onto each other.
Then Cora hurled the air at the door.
And it shut closed with a BANG.
Chapter Forty
‘That settles it,’ said Tock.
‘You’re definitely a syphon, Cora,’ said Tick.
The fairies patted down the little hair that they had on their heads, which had become tousled by the wind. The wind she had conjured up out of thin air.
‘I . . . I . . .’ Cora spluttered, breathing heavily. She looked down at herself. She felt it. It had to be true. Relief washed over her. At last she knew what she was. She allowed herself a small smile.
‘Where are they?’ Cora asked excitedly. ‘The other syphons?’
She remembered what Tock had said. Syphons are very rare. But that meant there were others, didn’t it? Perhaps she could find out where she came from? What her life was before Dot had found her.
Tick shrugged.
‘Hidden?’ suggested Tock, unsure.
‘People will come for her,’ said Artemis to the fairies. ‘You know that. If they discover what she is . . .’
Tick and Tock looked at Cora, their faces a mixture of worry and unease. They nodded.
Cora swallowed.
‘What if they already are?’ Tock asked, hesitantly.
Artemis looked at the fairy questioningly.
‘We may or may not be on the run from a Jinx,’ said Tock.
‘And a warlock,’ said Tick.
Artemis stared at them unbelieving.
‘It’s a long story,’ said Tock.
‘And the warlock
?’
‘Archibald is a slightly shorter story,’ said Tick.
‘Archibald Drake? The Archibald Drake? He’s the warlock that’s after her?’
The fairies nodded.
‘Cora threw him through a window,’ said Tick. ‘But he must know what she is.’
‘She threw Archibald Drake through a window?’ replied Artemis.
‘Just a small one,’ said Tock.
‘Well, a medium-sized one,’ said Tick.
But Cora wasn’t listening. Her mind swirled with images of an angry Archibald Drake.
Tick and Tock flew over to her.
‘Cora, being a syphon . . . it comes with risks. Grave risks,’ said Tock.
‘I know. Hunted and killed,’ said Cora, repeating Artemis’s words. She had been on the run from a Jinx and a warlock. Being hunted wasn’t anything new.
‘No, not just that,’ Tick said, shaking his head. ‘The more magic you absorb, the harder it will be to control it. And the harder it will be to stay yourself. Too much magic and . . .’
‘It can tear you apart,’ Tock finished, making a pulling motion with his hands.
Cora stared at the fairies. She swallowed the lump that had lodged itself in her throat. She felt the princess’s magic inside her. Suddenly she didn’t want it. She didn’t want to be a syphon. She didn’t want any of it. She wished she could go back to when she didn’t know what she was. She wished she was at home in Urt with Dot and her cat. Where there was no magic or creatures or warlocks and nobody was torn apart or eaten or hunted.
There was a silence in the room.
Cora shook her head. ‘I don’t want this.’
Cora put her hands to her temples. Her thoughts were muddled. She tried to think. The more she found out about herself the worse it became. She breathed in. What would Dot do? What would she say? You’re stronger than you think, were her words. Then Cora remembered. She was strong. She didn’t just have the princess’s magic . . . she also had . . . which meant . . .
‘The Jinx,’ she breathed.
Tick and Tock looked over at her.
‘That’s why the hobgoblin saw the Jinx. Because I . . . at The Hollow . . . on the lake. I must have . . . absorbed some of its magic.’
‘You can eat people?’ Artemis asked.
Cora grimaced. ‘What? Ew. No,’ she shook her head.
‘At least . . . we hope not,’ said Tock warily.
‘The strength of a Jinx. Just the strength,’ said Cora. She was thankful she didn’t absorb any other parts of the Jinx.
Cora heard a tiny flutter of small wings near her ear again. What was that? She whipped round, looking around the room. And then as if on instinct she called up the wind around her. It swirled and swirled and then half a dozen pocket-sized, blue creatures flew out from hiding places in the house.
‘Pixies!’ said Tock.
‘I knew I felt something tugging at my ears,’ said Tick, holding onto them.
Cora saw Artemis’s eyes dart to her wrist, as she swatted away a pixie. She looked down to see her bracelet, glistening.
‘Ice stone,’ Artemis said.
Cora nodded. She remembered the witch’s words at the Black Market of Gwell.
‘It’s for protection,’ said Cora.
‘That’s it,’ said Tick. ‘The ice stone!’
Cora and Tock looked at the fairy, confused.
‘So you don’t tear apart!’
Protection from oneself, the witch had said. The bracelet was protecting her from herself. And if she was protected . . . then perhaps . . . perhaps she was protected for a reason. Someone had given her the bracelet. Who was it? Another syphon? Maybe they wanted her to use her magic.
Suddenly, the ground beneath Cora’s feet rumbled. The walls shook and shuddered. She stared at Tick and Tock. Amongst the chaos, amongst everything that had happened over the past few days, she had forgotten all about using the whisper root! She hadn’t stayed protected from the Jinx.
‘The whisper root,’ she said.
Tick and Tock’s eyes went wide.
Crashes reverberated outside. There were screams but this time not the festival kind.
The Jinx.
Chapter Forty-One
The walls in the house shuddered. The ceiling shook and crumbled above them. It felt like the Jinx was right on top of them. The pixies flew out from their hiding places, their teeny voices squeaking in alarm. Cora’s bracelet tingled on her wrist.
‘What is it?’ Artemis asked.
‘The Jinx,’ said Tick, Tock and Cora at the same time.
‘It’s here? Now?’
‘It’s a long story,’ said Tock.
‘Cora may or may not also be cursed,’ said Tick. Then he stopped and looked at Tock. ‘Hey, perhaps it isn’t such a long story.’
Artemis looked at the fairies, not amused.
Cora pictured Jade City in rubble in her mind. She pictured all of the people at the festival running from the shadow creature as it destroyed buildings and homes, searching for her. Just like it had done in Urt. Just like it had done in The Hollow. It would be the same. But she wasn’t the same. She felt the magic inside of her give her strength. It was time she stopped running. Perhaps she could do this. Perhaps she was stronger than she thought after all. If she really had magic, if she really was a syphon, then it was time for her to use it. She was sure it would be what Dot would do. She hoped, at least.
‘We have to stop it from destroying the city,’ Cora said over the loud thundering steps and the rumbling of the house.
‘You’re going to need some help,’ said Artemis, stepping forward.
‘But you can barely walk,’ said Tock.
Cora shook her head. ‘It wants me. Nobody else.’
Artemis straightened, his eyes firm. He looked over at Tick and Tock. ‘Promise me that when it’s over,’ said Artemis, ‘and no matter what happens, you will deliver this to The Council.’ From out of his pocket, he pulled a wooden box. It was the same as the one Cora had seen the fairies deliver to Archibald at Drake Manor. Except this one was stained with blood.
Cora looked at Tick and Tock. The fairies nodded. With a POP! the box disappeared from Artemis’s hands and appeared in Tock’s.
The house continued to shake, harder now. The Jinx was close. The four of them raced out of the house. Cora led the way with Tick and Tock by her side and Artemis keeping up as best as he could behind them.
When they got to the street outside, they stopped. Grey smoke billowed from buildings throughout Jade City. And then the familiar shadow of the Jinx lumbered around the corner. It was heading straight for them. It let out a large roar before swinging its long arms either side, scraping its claws across the walls of the houses.
Magical beings from all over Jade City ran in the opposite direction. Others threw magic at the creature, trying to stop it in its tracks. A witch sent green, sparkling spells up at it, a group of elves sent arrows from drawn bows but the Jinx just batted them all away with a sweeping, shadowy arm.
Cora stared up at the Jinx. Fear squirmed in her stomach. Her knees began to shake and her palms were sweaty.
‘It looks angry,’ said Tock.
Cora remembered the last time she had seen the Jinx. She had hit the creature halfway across a lake. Of course it was angry.
They watched as the Jinx came to a stop. It had found them. Cora swallowed. What were they going to do? They couldn’t just stand there. They needed to do something. Right away. Think, Cora. She tried to clear her mind.
Then beside her, Artemis threw his walking stick to the ground. He rolled up his sleeves. Cora could see his arms were covered in dark purple bruises.
‘Do you have a plan?’ Artemis asked.
Cora nodded. But she didn’t have a plan. Not even the slightest of plans. All she could see when she looked up at the Jinx was its burning, yellow eyes. The same ones that had once stopped her in her tracks. But not anymore.
‘Okay,’ she breathed. ‘Here
goes nothing.’
She held onto the princess’s magic and called up the air around her. She didn’t know what she was doing. But the air quickly became a swirling ball of wind that roared in her ears and blew her hair this way and that. Now what? Hesitantly, she pushed the swirling ball of wind at the creature. The Jinx held its claws up against the wind as it flew at him. But the wind wasn’t strong enough. The Jinx pushed against it and easily continued to lumber towards them.
Cora let go of the magic, breathing heavily.
Tick and Tock took off. They flew at the Jinx, sending POP!s of magic its way. The creature roared at them, its arms stretching out away from the wind to grab them. The fairies tumbled in the air just barely out of reach of the creature’s claws.
‘You can do this, Cora,’ Artemis said beside her. ‘Princess Avette said her magic was like flying. Feel the air around you. Float with it like a feather.’
Cora closed her eye. Focus. She pictured herself flying, with air around her. She felt light like a feather. She breathed in deeply and then she pushed the wind onto the creature once more. Harder this time. Much harder. Maybe she could lift the Jinx up into the air? And maybe put him somewhere else? Cora tried to shape the air, to push it beneath the Jinx’s feet and lift it up off the ground. But the Jinx was heavy. He stumbled with the force of the wind but Cora couldn’t lift him up.
Cora opened her eye to see the Jinx try to push back against the roaring wind. But it couldn’t. It was forced to stay right where it was. And then it slipped backwards. Cora held the Jinx in place. The shadow creature roared at the wind holding him back. She was doing it.
Cora held on. Keeping the Jinx in place was helping Tick and Tock. They sent more POP!s of magic at the Jinx. It roared at them. She tried again to lift up the creature. She gritted her teeth.
Then there was a loud SNAP next to her. Cora turned to see Artemis had transformed into a huge gold bird. His feathers glistened like sharp metal in the sun. The bird looked at her with Artemis’s eyes. She nodded to him. With a beat of his giant wings, Artemis flew up into the air. He let out a squawk as he soared upwards into the sky and then dived down, straight onto the Jinx, his sharp talons gleaming as they took hold and pulled.
Jinxed!: The Curious Curse of Cora Bell Page 14
