by Lari Don
“Bunny,” said the baby and held Molly up to Corbie. Molly dangled, limp and floppy.
“Is that new?” asked Corbie.
“New and fluffy!” said Nan cheerfully. “It’s useful to have new friends, when teddy’s in the wash, isn’t it?”
The baby pulled Molly back to her tummy and squeezed tight.
“Who are you searching for, Corbie?” asked Nan, as she folded a purple blanket.
“The children who were on that curse workshop last week. I suspect they’ve come to free our guests.”
“The Keeper won’t like that. Will you, little one?” Nan patted the baby’s gold curls. The curls didn’t move like hair. They bounced stiffly like metal springs. “My little Keeper likes the Hall full of people to play with. Off you go, Corbie, and play hide and seek with your birds. We’ll play peekaboo!”
“Peekaboo!” The baby lifted her hands from Molly to cover her face.
Molly stayed still, balanced on the baby’s cold hard knees. She was desperate to run away, especially now she suspected she was being cuddled by a powerful magical being, rather than an ordinary baby. But she stayed still.
“Peekaboo!” said Nan. “I wonder where the baby is?”
Corbie sighed and turned away. “I’ll let you know when we find them.”
“That would be lovely, dear… Peekaboo!”
The door closed behind Corbie.
Molly was about to jump out of the cot when the baby grabbed her again. “Bunny!” The baby snuzzled her face into Molly’s back.
Nan said, “Remember little things get squashed if you cuddle too tight.”
The baby loosened her grip and Molly leapt out of the cot, landing at Beth’s feet.
The dryad picked the hare up and held her gently. “It’s ok, Molly. It’s ok. That looked a bit terrifying.”
Molly couldn’t respond. She was stuck as a hare.
“Don’t worry, Molly, we’ll find a way to shift you back.” Innes stepped out from the herd of rocking horses.
Theo clambered out of the ball-pit, knocking dozens of balls over the edge, and nodded to Nan. “Thank you for hiding us.”
“It’s nice to have lots of children in the playroom.” Nan smiled. “But now we should get you home.”
“That’s all we want,” said Beth, “to go home.”
“And to discover why the curse-hatched are bringing curse-casters here,” said Theo.
“And to get Molly’s curse-caster out of here,” Beth added.
“And everyone else, because they are sort of prisoners,” said Innes.
“And to find out if the Keeper knows what’s going on,” said Theo.
“Look at her,” said Nan. “She’s just a little thing. She doesn’t even know a rabbit from a hare yet, despite your friend’s long ears and legs.”
“I hadn’t realised that Keepers grew up so slowly,” said Theo, picking up a blue ball and lobbing it into the ball-pit. “Is that why the curse-hatched are becoming so powerful? Because the Keeper’s too young to stop them?”
Innes picked up two purple balls and threw them into the pit.
“I wouldn’t know about that,” said Nan. “I’m just here to feed her, change her nappy and keep her happy. But I know she likes the Hall being full of guests. So I can get you out of here, because I know the door will be opening right there,” she pointed at the wall behind the ball-pit, “in about five minutes. But I can’t help you get the curse-casters out, not when they make this little one smile.”
Theo moved swiftly to pick up a ball before Innes reached it, then threw it over the kelpie’s head, straight into the ballpit. He said, “But the crows bringing casters here is skewing the balance of the curse arc—”
“I don’t know about balance, I only know about my little Keeper’s happiness.”
The boys started to race each other round the room, grabbing escaped balls and throwing them in the pit. The baby laughed at them.
Beth said, “But Nan… Is it ok if I call you Nan?”
“Nan is fine, dear. That’s what they’ve called me for a long time. No one uses my real name now.”
“But Nan, think how crowded the Hall will get, if they keep bringing curse-casters in. Think how noisy it will be and how hard it will be for the Keeper to nap. If we take them away, you’ll have peace and quiet.”
“It is a bit noisy, with that girl’s harp and the giant’s snores. Perhaps you’re right.” She frowned. “But the Keeper would miss them…”
Molly had a sudden idea, which she couldn’t say out loud. So she wriggled out of Beth’s arms and leapt over to the ball-pit, then to the stack of wooden bricks.
“What are you doing, Molly?” asked Innes. “Just let us tidy up. I’ve thrown in seventeen to his twelve so far.” Innes narrowly missed Theo’s nose with a volley of balls.
Molly ran past an old-fashioned bath and a box of cuddly toys, then bounced up and down under a shelf of beautifully dressed dolls.
“Hares don’t play with toys,” said Innes. “Oh, hold on. Toys! Good idea, Molly.” He turned to Nan. “What if we brought the baby another toy to play with? Something to keep her happy so she doesn’t miss her guests. Could we take the curse-casters away then?” He ducked as Theo threw the last purple ball into the pit.
“What a kind idea,” said Nan. “I like to give her the best toys. The one toy I’ve never been able to get for her is the first toy, from the start of time.”
“What toy is that?” asked Theo.
“A rainbow-maker, made by the first snake, who was also the first rainbow, for her first babies. A pretty rainbow made by an ancient rainbow-maker would distract this little babe while you let the casters go. So I promise you, hare and tree and horse and desert magician, if you bring the first toy here, I will show you the exit from this Hall. Not just today, but any day, with any curse-casters you persuade to go with you.” Molly thought the little old lady looked briefly taller and younger, as Nan continued solemnly, “That is a binding promise, because you have my word in the presence of the Promise Keeper.”
The baby giggled. “Pro… miss.”
Theo nodded. “You have my word that I will bring the first toy.”
Beth said, “We will all bring it.”
“But we can’t find it until we get out of here,” said Innes.
Nan nodded. “The door will appear any moment.”
She pointed at the wall, which was painted with a mural of unfamiliar stars. They turned to look.
Nothing happened.
As they watched the smooth unmoving wall, Theo asked casually, “So does someone else do the Keeper’s job just now, while she’s a baby?”
“Oh no. She loves making sure people keep their promises. That’s what curses are, aren’t they, my poppet? Dark promises. She visits the mirrors every day between nap and lunch, to watch curses, to keep them strong, to make sure they work on time, even to lift them sometimes, when the rules have been followed and the promises have been kept.”
The baby said, “Pro… miss,” and started to suck her thumb.
“Does she decide on her own?” asked Theo.
“We all help her. Whoever’s around makes little suggestions.”
Theo frowned. “Does Corbie help?”
“The crows have been around a lot recently, chatting about promises, giving advice about curses. Do you think that’s wrong?” She smiled up at Theo, wrinkles crinkling round her brown eyes. “Oh, here’s the door…” She snapped her fingers and pointed at the wall again.
The door appeared.
“Hurry, it won’t stay long! Good luck chasing the rainbow!”
They ran round the ball-pit, Beth pulled the door open and they all sprinted through.
As Molly bounded through the doorway, she heard the baby call, “Bye bye bunny!”
Chapter Ten
Molly leapt, in her hare form, past piles of clay and glass and other mosaic materials, then Innes hauled the outside door open and all five of them burst into th
e gentle light of a Speyside evening.
Where they found a weeping sphinx.
Atacama was lying down, his head on his paws, tears sliding down his dark face.
“Hey, Atacama,” said Innes. “Did someone stand on your tail?”
“Innes!” The sphinx leapt up. “Beth! Molly! You’re alright! I thought you were dead. I heard the clattering, the screaming, then the silence. I knew you were dead. And I knew it was my fault.”
“It wasn’t your fault.” Beth knelt down and gave the sphinx a hug. “Nothing that happened behind that door was your fault. It was our fault for forcing you to let us past. Sorry.”
Molly was crouched on the gravel, feeling a warm slow fizzing in her spine, ribcage and skull. She saw her paws growing, widening, flattening. The fizzing in her bones changed to a sick liquid feeling in her stomach, as she watched her own flesh and skin appear from under the hare’s fur.
Then she realised she was on her hands and knees, feeling the weight of clothes on her back. She stood up, shivering slightly. She tried to smile. “Your door worked like a witch’s gate, Atacama. Thanks!”
“But why were you a hare at all?” asked Atacama. “Didn’t you find Mr Crottel? Didn’t he lift your curse? Was it a waste of time?”
“Not a waste at all,” said Theo briskly. “It was extremely useful. We now know that the Keeper is still a baby and the curse-hatched are taking advantage of her infancy to grow stronger. So I must find the first toy, deliver it to the nanny, free the curse-casters from the feast and remove the curse-hatched from the Hall. Give me the riddle answer to get back in and I’ll go on this quest myself.”
Beth said, “But we have to—”
“And don’t say that you have to come with me because of your promise to Molly and her need to escape her worsened curse.” Theo smiled. “I’ve worked out how Molly can get round it without the rest of you putting yourselves in more danger.”
“How?” asked Beth.
“Molly no longer changes when she crosses from one garden or farm to another, but she did change when she ran onto Mrs Sharpe’s land, into Mr Crottel’s garden and out of the Keeper’s Hall. So I think her curse has undergone one simple but significant alteration.”
“What alteration?” asked Molly.
“The trigger to change back has altered, so you no longer shift when you cross human boundaries, only when you cross magical boundaries. You won’t change when you jump your aunt’s garden wall, but you will change when you enter Beth’s wood. Witches’ gateways work, but so will many other boundaries.”
Molly nodded. “So I won’t be trapped as a hare, it’ll just be harder to find a place to change back.”
“Not that hard,” said Theo. “I can create a magical boundary by drawing a line in the air. Even Innes can manage it with a bag of salt and a bit of concentration. So long as you’re with someone who has a little magic power and a basic magical education, you can change back.” He grinned at them all. “So even though I’d enjoy your company, you don’t have to come on this quest in order to save Molly from a terrible fate.”
Beth shook her head. “It’s not that easy. Didn’t you see how long it took her to change back when we came through the door? Molly, you must have noticed!”
Molly sighed. “It was only a bit slower than usual this morning, but just now it felt like I was stuck between hare and human for ages.”
“If the shift gets slower and slower, then sometime, maybe next time, you won’t change back to a girl at all.” Beth touched Molly’s hand gently. “I know you like being a hare, and I know you think I nag you about dark magic and curses. But you nearly didn’t turn back at all. It’s not worth the risk, not any more.”
Molly looked away.
Beth sighed. “You keep saying you want to lift the curse. But I’m not sure you ever really mean it.”
Molly said, “I’m sorry. I do mean it when I say it, but it’s really difficult to hold on to the right decision. When you tell me becoming a hare is dark magic, and remind me of the risks of this worsened curse, and ask me to my face what I’m going to do, then I know I should lift the curse. And I have tried to lift it! But then the next time I shift and leap and run, it feels so natural, it’s hard to remember why it’s wrong. Sometimes shifting to my hare-self is useful. Sometimes it’s fun. Sometimes it even saves us from danger. It’s not easy to choose to lose that. So it’s not as simple as you make it sound.”
“Molly, it’s a curse. It was cast by a man who hates you, to hurt and kill you. And if you don’t lift it, it’s going to damage you and perhaps destroy you. So look at me and tell me what you need to do.”
Molly clenched her fists. She looked into Beth’s leaf-green eyes. “You’re right. It’s a curse. I need to get rid of it. I need to confront Mr Crottel and force him to lift it.”
Beth raised her eyebrows. “The whole curse?”
“Yes. Ok. Yes. The whole curse. I need to get rid of the whole curse. As soon as possible.” Molly turned to Theo. “Thanks for offering to go on the quest alone, but Mrs Sharpe said the curse-casters would be more likely to lift curses if they were grateful, so I need Mr Crottel to be grateful to me, not you. I need to come on this quest.”
“Me too,” said Beth. “I want to make sure Molly gets another chance to be rid of this dark curse.”
“I made a promise to Molly,” said Innes. “So let’s find that toy, take it to that nice old lady, then get all those casters out of there.”
Atacama nodded. “This time I’m coming with you. I can’t sit here thinking you’re dead again. Where will we find this rainbow toy?”
“She didn’t tell us,” said Theo. “We have to work that out ourselves.”
Beth said, “While we’re thinking, we have to stay out of sight. Once Corbie realises we aren’t in the Hall, he might come back here with his crows to hunt for us and—”
“Corbie’s hunting for you? Why?” asked Atacama.
Innes said, “He found the guards in heaps behind the door after Beth and Theo defeated them, and realised someone had got through without a token. They got a good look at us while they were chasing us round the Hall.”
Atacama sighed. “The crows will ask my bosses why I let you in. I’ll be in so much trouble.” He lay down again, head on his paws. “I’d better resign this post and offer to take a new job with a new riddle.”
“But if you’re not on sentry duty, how will we get back in with the toy?” asked Innes. “You have to stay here.”
“I can’t. I’m a security risk, and I have to admit that to my bosses before Corbie tells them.” He swiped his paw against a bell hidden by the door, then stood up. He looked even worse than he had when they came out. Ears down, eyes dull, tail drooping.
“This is all your fault, toad-boy,” said Innes. “This is the end result of you cursing him. He’s about to lose his job, his whole reason for being—”
“It’s not my fault,” said Theo. “It’s the end result of you using the secret he told you. He’d entirely recovered from my curse. It’s your betrayal of his friendship that has caused this.”
The two of them stepped closer, staring at each other. Theo was taller, even with his bald head, and Innes was wider at the shoulders. Molly didn’t know who would win a fight between them, and she hoped she wasn’t about to find out.
She moved forward to push them apart, but Atacama got there first. “It’s my fault. I should never have accepted your help to find a new riddle. If they ever let me work again, I’ll be guarding the back door of a supermarket with a riddle about mobile phones. Or they might sack me. I might be thrown out, to wander the wilderness, alone, abandoned…”
“Stop whining.” Caracorum trotted round the nearest pyramid, tail high and ears pricked. “Why did you summon me? Have you done something stupid again?”
“I must admit an error to the high sphinxes. Can you cover my shift?”
“Of course, if this rabble get out of my way.”
As they wal
ked away from the door, Atacama said, “After I’ve been… reprimanded, I’ll join you to search for the first toy. Where will I find you?”
Beth said, “We need to hide somewhere the crows won’t look, so we can’t go to any of our families’ houses.”
“Mrs Sharpe’s farm is empty,” suggested Molly.
“Her house will have witch’s wards round it to keep her secrets safe,” said Innes.
“What about the farm we rebuilt as curse-lifting homework?” said Theo. “It’s empty too.”
Beth nodded. “We’ll wait at Cut Rigg Farm for you, Atacama.”
The sphinx moved away from them, low to the ground, ears and tail flat.
Innes called after him, “And remember, you’ll never have to wander the wilderness alone. You’ll always have a home with me…”
The sphinx flicked his tail and walked round the corner of the pyramid.
Innes said, “Molly and Beth, you can ride to the farm on my back. This fundamental elemental magician can teleport there or fly or something.”
“Not at the moment,” said Theo quietly.
“Of course not.” Innes stepped closer to Theo, getting right up into his face. “Because you can’t store any power. You’ve moaned about that often enough. Can’t you steal some power from a pigeon and fly? Or change into a toad and ask Beth to carry you in her pocket? You looked better with warts than that scarred head anyway.”
Theo took a step back, breaking the tension. “Why do you hate me, Innes? You liked me when I was a toad. You chatted to me. Perhaps when you were telling me your secrets and fears, you should have considered that I wouldn’t always be a toad, but that’s not my fault. And it’s no reason to be so… aggressive with me now.”
Innes looked away. “I don’t have any secrets or fears, actually. So you must have misheard with your tiny toad ears. And I don’t like you because I don’t trust you and because you cursed Atacama and because you do your magic by draining other people’s power. You think you’re this all-powerful magician but really you’re just a magical parasite, and I’ve never liked fleas or midgies. So if you want to sleep at Cut Rigg Farm tonight, you can walk there.”
