by Julie Sykes
Freya squealed and ducked just in time but then another apple smashed into her arm, making her yell in pain. She needed to get out of here!
Suddenly there was the sound of clattering hooves and Honey came bursting into the barn. She swerved around the giant pumpkin that was starting to expand and galloped up to Freya. “Freya! I thought I heard you! What’s the matter? What’s – ow!” she whinnied as an apple hit her neck.
She swung round just as the whole pile of apples exploded into the air. Honey leapt in front of Freya, batting away the flying apples with her hooves. She moved so quickly, she was like a blur. Sparks flew up around her and the smell of burnt sugar filled the air as she swiped apple after apple away. Finally, the last apple hit the wall and Honey stopped. “What’s going on, Freya?” she panted.
“I don’t know. I –” Freya’s eyes widened in horror as she realised the giant purple pumpkin behind Honey was almost at bursting point. “Honey! Watch out! Get behind me!”
Honey leapt towards Freya and swung round.
Freya’s mind raced. If the pumpkin exploded in the barn, it would ruin everything – all the decorations and food would be spoilt and chunks of the pumpkin would hit her and Honey. There was only one thing for it. She pulled the blanket off the robot.
“What’s that?” gasped Honey.
Freya didn’t have time to reply. “Robot… On!” she cried. “Robot… Forward!” The robot started to trundle forwards, heading straight for the expanding pumpkin! “Robot… Faster! Robot… DON’T STOP!” Freya shouted.
The robot increased its speed, getting faster and faster. Freya tensed. Would the voice command override the sensors? “Robot… Keep going!” she yelled.
SMASH! The robot barrelled into the pumpkin at top speed, sending it flying backwards. As the pumpkin sailed out of the door, it exploded. Purple goo shot into the air and covered the robot. The robot made a chugging, whining noise and ground to a halt.
For a moment there was total silence.
“OK,” said Honey, breaking the silence. “What’s going on?”
“Oh, Honey!” Freya flung her arms around Honey’s neck. She held Honey tightly, burying her face in her soft silky mane. “I’m so glad you’re not hurt.”
Honey nuzzled her. “And I’m glad you’re all right too. I heard you scream.”
Freya pulled back and looked at her. “You were brilliant. The way you swiped all those apples was incredible. How did you move so fast?”
“I think it might be my magic,” said Honey.
“Your magic?” gasped Freya.
“Yes, I felt like I could just suddenly move so much faster than normal.”
Freya blinked. “I did see sparks and smelt sugar. That must have been you! Speed magic! Oh, wow!”
“We can try it out again later and see if I’m right, but first you have to tell me what’s going on,” said Honey. “Why were you here so early and what’s that?” she said, nodding at the sticky purple robot.
Freya quickly explained about the passageway. “I couldn’t sleep so I used it to come here secretly so I could explain why I’ve not been spending time with you. The secret invention I’ve been working on is a present for you.” She sighed and walked over to the robot. “Or at least it was. It was a unicorn robot that could bring you treats and things.”
“A unicorn robot? For me?” Honey stared at her as if she couldn’t believe it.
Freya nodded. “I was planning to give it to you at the party. I really wanted it to be the best surprise ever because…” She bit her lip. “Well, I thought if I made you really happy, we might bond.” Tears pricked her eyes. She quickly blinked them back. She hated crying but now everything was ruined and she couldn’t stop herself.
“Freya.” There was a strange note in Honey’s voice. Freya looked up at her. “We have bonded!” said Honey. Her eyes sparkled. “Look at your hair!”
Freya glanced down at her hair. On one side there was a bright streak of red and gold. She gasped.
Honey nuzzled her. “I always knew we would.”
“What’s going on?”
Hearing Rosa’s voice, Freya looked round. Diamond dorm were approaching the barn on their unicorns.
They cantered up.
Matilda shrieked. “Your hair, Freya! You’ve bonded!”
“Yes, and Honey’s found her magic!” Freya quickly explained everything, about the invention and her work with Matilda and what had just happened in the barn, with Honey chipping in. The others’ eyes grew wider and wider.
“Speed magic – that’s awesome!” said Violet.
“You knew Freya was building a robot, you helped her and didn’t tell us?” Ariana said, looking at Matilda in astonishment.
“It was soooo hard not to. I wanted to but I promised Freya I wouldn’t,” said Matilda. “So, who do you think made the vegetables explode?” she asked Freya.
Freya had already come to a conclusion. “I think it’s someone who doesn’t want people in this barn.”
“But why? No one ever uses it,” said Violet.
Freya knew it was time to tell the others the truth. “That’s not quite true. There’s a trapdoor at the back of the barn. It leads to a secret passageway that comes out in a chamber under the lake. Another passageway from it leads to a secret room hidden behind the cupboard above our dorm and there’s a third passageway I haven’t explored. I think someone wanted us out of the barn so they could use the trapdoor. I think they’ve also been trying to scare Matilda and me away from the secret room by pretending to be a ghost.”
The others gaped.
“This is really serious. We need to tell the teachers that someone’s been sneaking around the school,” said Ariana.
“Agreed. But before we do that, I absolutely have to see these secret tunnels!” said Rosa.
Freya led the way to the trapdoor. Rosa peered down it.
“You said there’s another tunnel you haven’t been down yet. Let’s explore it and see where it goes!”
“What about us?” said Honey anxiously, looking round at the other unicorns. “We can’t get down there with you.”
“I think the third tunnel might come out somewhere near the vegetable garden,” said Freya. “Why don’t you all head in that direction and keep listening for us? We’ll call you when we find our way out to the surface.”
The unicorns nodded.
The girls dropped down through the trapdoor. “Quiet, now!” hissed Freya. “The person who cast a spell on the vegetables might be somewhere down here. I’m sure I heard them following me before.”
They cautiously made their way along the tunnel. When they reached the chamber under the lake, they paused. “That’s the tunnel I haven’t been down,” said Freya in a low voice.
Rosa pointed to the ground. “Hey, look! Footprints!”
The others joined her. Someone had walked through one of the puddles on the floor near the tunnel the girls had just come out of and left a trail of footprints leading into the unexplored tunnel.
Matilda crouched down. “It’s a really unusual footprint. The soles of the person’s shoes have diamond shapes on.” She pulled a pencil out from behind her ear and the notebook she always carried out from her pocket and quickly sketched it.
“It must be the person who did the magic and attacked Freya,” said Violet.
“Let’s follow the trail!” said Rosa.
“OK, but we need to be even quieter!” hissed Ariana. “The person could be lying in wait for us.”
They headed cautiously along the tunnel. It went straight for a while and then slanted upwards.
“Look! There’s a light!” whispered Violet.
“I think it’s the end of the tunnel,” said Freya.
She was right. The tunnel ended in a wall with a gap at one side. They squeezed through it and found themselves standing on damp soil, hidden behind a huge bush. Freya pushed her way around it and stepped out. Where were they?
She saw a brick wall to one
side of them, and realised it was the wall of the vegetable garden. They were standing outside the far end of it. Looking to her left she could see the stables in the distance and the unicorns trotting in their direction.
“Honey!” Freya shouted, waving. “Honey! We’re over here!” Honey lifted her head and started cantering. The others followed her.
“Freya! Look!” cried Rosa. She was pointing in the other direction. Her voice rose. “It’s the cloaked figure!”
Freya gasped. A cloaked figure on a tall unicorn with a golden mane and tail was trotting away across the grounds.
“Honey!” she yelled, turning to look at the group of unicorns cantering towards them from the stables. “HURRY!”
Honey’s ears pricked and gold and purple sparks shot up from her hooves. She leapt forward and suddenly she was just a blur leaving the other unicorns far behind. Freya gasped as just a few seconds later Honey arrived beside her. “What is it?” she asked Freya.
Freya was already vaulting on to her back. “We have to catch that cloaked figure!” she said, grabbing Honey’s mane. “Gallop as fast as you can!”
Whoosh! The noise came from Honey’s hooves. More sparks exploded into the air and the next second Freya felt cold air rushing past her face so fast it made her eyes stream. She could feel Honey’s muscles bunching and stretching, hear the pounding of her hooves. She realised they had left the others far behind and were gaining on the unknown unicorn.
“Keep going, Honey!” Freya yelled.
They thundered on, drawing closer to the figure with every stride. “Stop!” she yelled. “You can’t escape from us!” The figure turned and made a flicking motion with one hand. Sparks flew up and a sheet of thick ice instantly covered the ground behind her unicorn’s hooves.
“Honey! Whoa!” Freya shrieked. If Honey galloped on to the ice, she would slip and fall and quite possibly break a leg. Honey skidded to a halt, stopping millimetres away from where the ice began. Freya almost catapulted over Honey’s head but managed to hang on to her mane and pull herself down on to Honey’s back. She looked up.
“They’ve gone!” she gasped. There was nothing there. The figure, her unicorn – and the ice – had all vanished into thin air!
Honey gasped for breath and staggered.
Freya jumped off her. “Honey, are you all right?”
“Just tired,” Honey said, drawing in deep breaths. “It was doing all the magic. I’ll be OK soon.”
Freya hugged her. “You were amazing. Your magic is the best! We went so fast.”
Honey whickered. “It was fun, wasn’t it?”
Just then, the rest of Diamond dorm came galloping up.
“Where’s the figure gone?” demanded Rosa.
Freya quickly explained what had happened. “I guess the ice must have just been a glamour – an illusion. We could have kept on going.”
“You weren’t to know,” said Violet. “And you were right not to risk it.”
“I wonder how the figure just vanished,” said Freya. “One second she and her unicorn were there and the next they weren’t.”
Rosa looked around. “I can’t see anywhere there might be another tunnel or passageway. She may have used magic to disappear. She’s done it before remember, when we saw her in the woods.”
The others nodded. “We have to go and tell Ms Nettles about this,” said Ariana.
“Then we’ll need to clear up the barn,” said Rosa.
“I really want to fix the robot before tonight,” added Freya.
“I’ll help you clean it up,” offered Matilda.
They went back to the stables. Freya gave Honey an extra ration of sky berries to help her recover her strength. Then she went to find Ms Nettles with the others. Ms Nettles listened seriously, peering down her glasses at the girls as they related their adventure.
“Thank you, Diamond dorm,” she said when they’d finished explaining. “You certainly have a knack for getting into adventures. I’ll look into all this. This cloaked figure appears to have a very detailed knowledge of the school, which is extremely worrying. We must put some protection spells on these tunnels so that no one can use them to get into the school again. But now,” she raised her eyebrows, “can you please explain to me why you had pumpkins, peas and apples in the barn?”
Rosa sighed. “We were planning a party. A spooky midnight feast.” Ms Nettles’ eyebrows almost hit her hairline. “We’re sorry,” Rosa rushed on. “It’s just that everyone’s been so tense since the camping trip we thought it would be good to have something fun to do.”
“It was my idea,” said Matilda.
“But we were all involved,” said Freya, not wanting Matilda and Rosa to get into trouble on their own.
“Hmmm.” Ms Nettles adjusted her glasses. “Well, maybe this once – just this once – I shall overlook the breach of school rules. You may still have your party – but not at midnight! I want you all in bed by ten o’clock at the latest. Agreed?”
They all exchanged delighted looks. “Agreed!” they chorused.
The party was a huge success. All the dorms came. There was lots of laughter and teasing, especially when Matilda almost fell in the barrel of water while bobbing for apples. They played “squeak little ghost” and “find the spider”, shouting out clues until everyone was hoarse. Honey showed off her new speed magic by whizzing around, catching peas in her mouth as people fired them from exploding pods. Then they sang “Happy Birthday” to her, and Freya, who’d managed to clean up the robot, trundled it round the barn with a basket full of toffee apples. Everyone was very impressed as they took one to eat.
“Everyone wants a robot now!” Honey said to Freya in delight.
When the games were finally over, Freya sat on top of a massive hay bale with the rest of her dorm, tucking into plates of delicious food. The unicorns stood around them, tearing off big mouthfuls of the hay.
“So, who do we think the mysterious cloaked figure is?” Rosa asked, waving a spider cupcake. “What have they got against our school?”
“Could it be Ms Primrose’s friend?” Violet asked, licking a toffee apple. “When she was the head teacher here, someone was helping her to do bad things, and they were never caught.”
“It might be,” said Rosa. “We need to keep a careful watch for anything suspicious.”
“Yes, we’re not going to let anyone do anything to the academy. Diamond dorm will stop them!” Freya declared.
The rest of Diamond dorm cheered, and the unicorns whinnied.
Honey reached her nose up to Freya. “I love my unicorn robot. Thanks, Freya, this is my best birthday ever.”
“For the best unicorn ever.” Freya jumped down from the bale and kissed her forehead. “I’m sorry I made you sad. I promise nothing will ever come between us again.”
Honey softly nuzzled Freya’s hair. “Not even a robot?”
“Not even a robot!” Freya grinned.
COPYRIGHT
First published in the UK in 2019 by Nosy Crow Ltd
The Crow’s Nest, 14 Baden Place, Crosby Row
London, SE1 1YW, UK
Nosy Crow and associated logos are trademarks and/or registered
trademarks of Nosy Crow Ltd
Text copyright © Julie Sykes and Linda Chapman, 2019
Illustrations copyright © Lucy Truman, 2019
The right of Julie Sykes, Linda Chapman and Lucy Truman to be identified as the authors and illustrator respectively of this work has been asserted by them in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved
1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2
A CIP catalogue record for this book will be available from the British Library.
This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, hired out or otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or tran
smitted in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise) without the prior written permission of Nosy Crow Ltd.
Printed and bound in the UK by Clays Ltd, Elcograf S.p.A.
Papers used by Nosy Crow are made from wood grown in sustainable forests.
ISBN: 978 1 78800 505 0
eISBN: 978 1 78800 506 7
www.nosycrow.com
