“Oh, that will be my friends from the church hall committee,” said Auntie Mabel. “We’re having a knitting party this morning to make Christmas tree decorations to sell at the Christmas Fayre.” She nodded at the stone. “Slip that in your pocket, dear. You can keep it.”
Maia put the pink stone into her pocket. “Thank you! I’d better go now.”
“Are you and your friends going to the bonfire tonight?” Auntie Mabel asked.
“Yes,” said Maia.
“I’ll see you all there then,” Auntie Mabel said.
Maia followed her into the hall and Auntie Mabel opened the door to three ladies, all with baskets of wool and knitting needles.
“Hello, dear,” said Margaret, who was tall and slim and used to play badminton with Granny Anne. “How are you?”
“Fine, thank you,” Maia said.
“What are you up to today?” asked Josie, who ran the village playgroup and had known Maia since she was tiny.
“Oh, lots of different things,” said Maia. “I’d better go. Bye, Auntie Mabel!” she called hastily, before the ladies invited her to stay and do some knitting!
Picking up her bike, she turned round and then froze. Two garden gnomes had appeared on either side of Mrs Crooks’s front door. Garden gnomes that looked just like the gnome the horrible Wish Shade had been trapped in!
Maia’s heart thudded in her chest. The gnomes had rosy red cheeks, little pointed hats and big smiles. They looked just like the gnome the Wish Shade had been in except one had a fishing rod and one had a rabbit in its arms. She had to investigate! Might these gnomes have Shades in, too?
She checked no one was around and, leaving her bike against the wall, she headed up the path. She crouched down beside them and poked them gingerly with a finger.
The front door flew open. “You again! What are you doing with my new gnomes?” said Mrs Crooks, coming out on to the doorstep.
“Um… I… I … was just looking at them,” Maia gabbled, jumping to her feet. “They’re really cute.”
Mrs Crooks’s eyes narrowed. “Don’t you go getting any idea about stealing them.”
Maia was shocked. “I wouldn’t.”
Mrs Crooks glared at her. “You stay away,” she warned.
Maia backed off up the drive. Then, jumping on her bike, she cycled away as quickly as she could. Her thoughts were spinning as fast as the wheels on her bike. What was Mrs Crooks doing with those gnomes?
Icy fingers trailed down her spine. Could Mrs Crooks be the person doing dark magic? Maia was so busy thinking about it that she almost didn’t notice Paige bouncing on the trampoline in her front garden.
“Hi, Maia!” Paige called, waving and then turning a somersault.
Maia skidded to a halt, remembering that they had been planning on asking Paige where the Wish Shade gnome had come from. “Hi, Paige. Are you OK today?”
Paige looked puzzled. “Yes, why?”
Maia lowered her voice. “After what happened with the gnome last night?”
Paige frowned. “The gnome? What do you mean?”
Maia realized that when the Shade had been sent back to the shadows, the magic must have made Paige forget everything about it. The same had happened to her sister, Clio, when they had sent back the Mirror Shade. “Don’t worry,” she said quickly. “But um … just one thing. You know the garden gnome that used to be here?”
“Yeah.” Paige looked around. “Mummy must have moved it.”
“Do you know where it came from?” Maia asked hopefully.
“One of Mummy’s friends gave it to us,” Paige said. “She brought it round and put it in the garden. It was a lady with grey hair… I can’t remember her name. I think it was a present to say thank you to Mummy for helping with something or other.” She grinned. “Mummy said she’d rather have had some chocolates!”
Maia’s heart beat faster. Mrs Crooks had grey hair! “Are you sure you can’t remember her name?” There were quite a few ladies with grey hair in the village.
Paige shook her head. “No. Why?”
“Oh, it was just that I thought I might get one like him for my dad,” Maia fibbed. “If you remember the lady’s name, will you let me know?”
“Yep,” said Paige, starting to bounce on the trampoline again. “I will. I think Mummy said she was a friend from church.”
Maia said goodbye and carried on towards home. Mrs Crooks had grey hair but Auntie Mabel had said that Mrs Crooks had turned down her invitation to go to church with her. Had Mrs Crooks given the Wish Gnome to Paige’s family or was it someone else? Maybe someone who hadn’t known there was a Shade trapped inside it? Maia turned things over in her mind and cycled faster. She had to get home so she could talk to Bracken. She was sure Mrs Crooks was involved – but how?
As soon as Maia reached her bedroom, she shut the door and whispered Bracken’s name. He appeared in front of her, bouncing round and wagging his bushy tail. Maia sat on the bed and he jumped up beside her.
“What’s been happening?” he asked. He always seemed to know when she had things that she needed to talk about.
“I saw Paige,” Maia said quickly. “She can’t remember the name of the person who gave the Wish Gnome to her mum but she said it was a lady from church. But that’s not all – there’s an old lady who has moved in next to Auntie Mabel. She’s really weird and has a very strange dog and when I came out of Auntie Mabel’s house, I saw two gnomes on her doorstep. Two gnomes just like the Wish Gnome!”
Bracken barked in alarm.
“Could she be the person who’s doing dark magic?” Maia said.
“She might be planning to put Shades inside the gnomes,” said Bracken anxiously.
“That Shade in my dream said more Shades had been called from the shadows. I’d better tell the others.” Maia reached for her phone but then paused. It was too risky to send a text just in case one of their parents checked their phone. “I’ll tell them tonight at the bonfire,” she decided. “If only Paige could remember the name of the person who gave the gnome to her mum!”
“Maybe you could use your magic to find out,” Bracken said thoughtfully. “I know it didn’t work when you asked to see who trapped the Shade inside the gnome… But how about asking it to show you who gave the gnome.”
“That’s a great idea!” Maia said. She put her hand in her pocket to pull out the mirror and her fingers brushed against the round pink stone that Auntie Mabel had given her. She decided not to tell Bracken about it – she had a feeling he wouldn’t approve of Auntie Mabel suggesting she try doing magic in other ways. Leaving the stone in her pocket, she took out the mirror.
“Show me the moment the Wish Gnome arrived at Paige’s house,” she whispered.
The surface swirled with light and an image appeared in the glass. Maia peered at it eagerly. She caught sight of a figure in a long coat but then, to her disappointment, the image blurred.
“Show me who gave the Wish Gnome to Paige’s family,” she whispered again.
But the image stayed blurry. “It’s not working today,” she said to Bracken. “I can’t see clearly.”
He licked her cheek. “Have a rest and try again later,” he said.
Maia tried again several times that day but each time the mirror failed to show her what she wanted to see. In the end she had to give up and get ready to go out for the fireworks.
“Have fun,” Bracken said, licking her nose. “I’ll see you when you get home.”
Maia hugged him and then he vanished. As she took off her jeans to change for the bonfire, the Seeing Stone Auntie Mabel had given her fell out of her pocket. She picked it up. It was so pretty. Would she really be able to do magic with it?
She stroked the stone and felt the magic in it prickle her fingers. Maybe she could use it to see who had given the gnome to Paige’s family. What had Auntie Mabel told her she needed to do?
No. She stopped herself. It felt wrong to try and do magic with the stone without telling Bracken.
Reluctantly she put it down on her desk. She would tell Bracken about it later and together they could decide what she should do.
The night was cold and frosty, and the air was full of the smell of smoke as Maia walked up to the playing fields with her family. She usually liked the smell of woodsmoke but now it made her think about the Wish Shade trying to burn down the shed in Paige’s garden with her, Lottie and Sita all locked inside. Horrible pictures flashed through her mind – the Wish Shade they had fought, the gnomes outside Mrs Crooks’s house, the dream she had had about more Shades coming…
She spotted Lottie, Sita and Ionie by the scout hut and told her mum she was going to meet them. “We need to talk,” she hissed, as she hurried over.
“What about?” Ionie said.
Sita’s eyes widened. “Did you see Paige?”
Maia nodded but before she could say anything she was interrupted.
“Hello, girls,” Auntie Mabel said. She took some packets of sparklers out of her handbag. “Maia said you’d be here so I thought I’d bring you all a little present. There’s a pack each.”
“Thanks, Auntie Mabel,” said Maia.
“I love sparklers,” Ionie said. “Thank you!”
“Look, the packs have got a free gift with them!” said Sita. Each pack of sparklers had a little yellow stretchy man sellotaped on to it.
“Cool!” said Lottie.
Auntie Mabel peered at them. “How strange. I don’t remember seeing those when I bought them.”
Lottie took the little man off her pack and waggled its legs and arms. “Do you remember the craze at school when all the boys had these? They kept throwing them at the walls to stick and the teachers got really cross.”
Just then Maia’s mum and dad walked over with Alfie on Mr Greene’s shoulders. “Hi, girls, do you want some sparklers?” asked Mrs Greene.
Maia’s heart sank. Now there was no way she would get a chance to talk to the others. “It’s OK, thanks. Auntie Mabel’s just given us some,” she said.
“That’s really kind of you, Mabel,” said Mrs Greene.
“It’s no problem at all, dear. Now I’d better go and help with the teas and coffees. Enjoy the fireworks, all of you!”
With a cheerful wave, Auntie Mabel disappeared into the scout hut.
“Mabel’s getting a lot more involved with village life than she used to,” Mrs Greene said to Mr Greene.
“She must be lonely without Granny Anne,” he said. “They used to spend so much time together, didn’t they?”
“Well, I’m glad she’s keeping busy,” said Mrs Greene.
Alfie suddenly spotted the stretchy man in Lottie’s hands. “Me! Me!” he said, reaching out.
“No. They belong to the girls, Alfie,” said Mrs Greene.
“Me want!” Alfie’s voice rose.
“It’s OK, he can have mine,” said Maia, taking the stretchy man off her packet of sparklers and giving it to her brother.
Just then there was a shrill sound and a crackle as multicoloured stars exploded into the dark sky.
“The fireworks are starting!” said Mrs Greene.
Ionie pulled Maia slightly away from the adults. “You were going to tell us something,” she whispered.
The fireworks exploded overhead with a bang and a fountain of silver and gold stars. Maia shook her head. It was far too noisy to talk now and there were people everywhere.
“I’ll tell you tomorrow,” she hissed. “Let’s meet in the playground before school starts.”
Ionie nodded and another firework erupted in the sky.
Maia woke early the next morning. To her relief, she hadn’t had another nightmare about the Shades.
She glanced at her clock. There was still half an hour before she needed to get up for school. Bracken was snoozing beside her, his body stretched out along the duvet, his snout resting on her arm. She stroked his head and he wriggled up the bed and nuzzled her cheek with his cold nose. She giggled. “That tickles!”
Bracken rolled on to his back so she could scratch his tummy. “What are we doing today?” he asked.
“I’ve got school.” Maia sighed. She glanced at her desk and saw the round pink stone there, glowing faintly in the dim light. She went over and picked it up.
“What have you got there?” Bracken asked.
“It’s a Seeing Stone.” Maia felt awkward. “Auntie Mabel gave it to me yesterday. She said I can use it to look into the past.”
“But you don’t need a Seeing Stone,” said Bracken. “You can look into the past using the Star Magic.”
“I didn’t get a chance to tell her I’d managed to do that,” said Maia. “Maybe I should just try with this stone… It might be easier.” She gave him a hopeful look.
“Don’t,” Bracken said uneasily. “It doesn’t feel right to me. You’re a Star Friend. You should use Star Magic.”
“OK,” Maia said. She sat down at her desk and dropped the stone into her lap. “I’ll try this mirror again.” She stared at the mirror on her desk and asked it to show her who put the gnome in Paige’s garden.
But just like the day before, the image flickered and was too blurry to see properly.
“It’s no good.” Maia glanced at her bedside clock. “Why don’t I have a quick try with the stone? Auntie Mabel thought it would help.”
“All right,” Bracken said, but he didn’t sound happy about it.
Maia picked the stone out of her lap and gazed at it. “Show me the day the gnome arrived at Paige’s house,” she whispered. Excitement flared inside her as an image started to form inside it. Bracken paced round her chair but Maia hardly noticed, she was far too busy staring at the image. Auntie Mabel was right, she could do other types of magic! It felt different though – as if her energy was being pulled into the pink stone.
She saw a woman in a raincoat with the hood pulled up, standing in the driveway of Paige’s house by the trampoline. The person’s back was to Maia but then she half-turned. Maia gasped as she saw the Wish Gnome in her hands. She still couldn’t see the woman’s face properly but after she placed the gnome on the ground and straightened up, the hood of the coat fell back revealing short iron-grey hair and a familiar face.
“Mrs Crooks!” exclaimed Maia. She lowered the stone in shock. “Bracken! It was Mrs Crooks!”
“I knew I didn’t like that lady when I saw her in the woods,” said Lottie, as they huddled together in a far corner of the playground later that morning. Their breath was freezing in icy clouds on the air.
Maia nodded. “Mrs Crooks hasn’t been in the village long and the Shades only started appearing recently, too!”
“And there are two gnomes on her doorstep?” said Sita.
Maia nodded. “Yes, and she’s the person who gave the Wish Gnome to Paige’s mum! I saw her with my magic. Paige must have been mistaken when she said it was a lady from the church.”
“She has to be the one doing dark magic,” said Ionie.
Sita looked worried. “What if she puts Wish Shades into lots more gnomes and gives them to more people? Imagine lots of people making wishes that are granted in a horrible way.”
“We don’t know for sure that Mrs Crooks is the person who is conjuring Shades,” Lottie pointed out. “We really need proof.”
“I could try spying on her house through my mirror,” Maia said. “I might see something that would prove she’s using dark magic.”
“Why don’t you all ask if you can come to mine after school?” said Ionie. “If Maia can’t see anything, I could shadowtravel to Mrs Crooks’s house.”
“That’s too dangerous!” Sita protested.
“I can’t meet tonight,” said Lottie. “I’ve got gymnastics.”
“We shouldn’t do anything without Lottie,” said Sita quickly. “It’s not fair.”
Maia glanced at Lottie. She didn’t want to leave her out but if Ionie was right about there being more Shades, they had to do something fast. “Do you want us to wait until tomorrow?” s
he asked Lottie.
“No,” Lottie said reluctantly. “You should find out what’s going on. Tomorrow I have piano so I won’t be able to meet up then either. I’m not free after school until Wednesday. But promise you’ll tell me everything?”
“Promise. I’ll call by your house tonight and fill you in,” said Sita.
“All right then. Be careful, all of you,” Lottie told them.
Maia took a deep breath. “We will.”
After school, the girls shut themselves in Ionie’s bedroom and called their animals. They sat on the floor and Maia took out her pocket mirror. She felt the magic tingle through her.
Show me inside Mrs Crooks’s house, she thought.
An image appeared of a kitchen. There was a wooden table and two chairs, a dresser with some neatly stacked wildlife magazines and a lot of brightly coloured plastic bowls on the draining board. Maia felt a flicker of disappointment. She wasn’t quite sure what she had been expecting.
“I can see the kitchen,” Maia told the others. “It just looks normal, though…” She broke off as the image in the mirror showed a door open. Mrs Crooks came in, with the one-eared white dog at her heels.
“Time to go and check on the shed,” she heard Mrs Crooks saying. “They’ll be ready to go soon.”
Maia’s eyes widened. They’ll be ready to go soon. What was Mrs Crooks talking about?
Mrs Crooks bent down and stroked the dog’s head. “One day, they’ll all be set free. That’s what we want, isn’t it?” The ugly little dog ran to the back door and whined. Mrs Crooks smiled. “All right. Let’s go and see my beauties.” She opened the back door and they went out.
Maia slowly lowered the mirror.
“Well?” Ionie demanded.
Maia’s mouth felt dry. “Mrs Crooks was talking to her dog about something she keeps in the shed. She said ‘they’ll be ready to go soon’ and something about setting them free.”
Sita looked worried. “Do you think she’s got some Shades in her shed?”
“Can you look inside it?” Ionie asked quickly.
“I’ll try.” Maia picked up the mirror again. Inside Mrs Crooks’s shed, she thought.
Secret Spell Page 3
