Bracken yapped as if he was laughing.
Ionie glanced at Maia. “I think we’d better go!”
They stepped into the shadow of Maia’s wardrobe and the world spun away. Just a few seconds later, Maia’s feet met solid ground and she realized they were standing in the shadows of the alleyway next to Fairytales. Luckily no one was there to witness their sudden arrival.
“Time to see what we can find out,” said Ionie, her green eyes sparkling.
The girls pushed the door to Fairytales open.
“Hello again, dearies,” said Alice. She was putting out some new dreamcatchers behind the shelf of crystals.
“Do you mind if we bring my cat in?” said Ionie. “We’re just on the way to the vet but we really wanted to come and have another look around.”
Alice beamed. “No problem at all. I love animals.”
The girls shut the door and Alice put down the dreamcatchers and came over. “Who’s a little cutie-pie?” she cooed to Sorrel in a high-pitched voice. “Who’s a precious kittycat?”
Sorrel hissed.
“Oh dearie me. Someone isn’t in a very good mood,” said Alice. “Does the pussycat not like going to the nasty vet’s?”
“No, she doesn’t,” said Ionie hastily as Sorrel spat. “I’ll just put her down here.”
She placed the carrier on the floor near the shelf with crystals.
“So what can I help you with today?” said Alice. “If you want a dreamcatcher, you’d better buy one fast. They’re selling like hot cakes at the moment!”
“I just want to look at the bracelets again,” Ionie said. She and Maia pretended to examine the bracelets, glancing at Sorrel to see if she was showing any signs that she could smell Shades, but she had retreated to the back of the carrier and all they could see was the tip of her tail.
Maia looked all around the rest of the shop, but there was nothing to suggest Alice was performing dark magic.
After five minutes, Ionie bought another bracelet so that Alice wouldn’t think it was strange they were calling in without buying anything. Then they left and hurried back into the alleyway.
“Well, did you smell any Shades in the shop?” Ionie asked Sorrel.
“No, I didn’t, but I did feel magic in the air.” Sorrel pressed her face to the mesh.
“Now, let me out of here!”
“As soon as we’re back home,” Ionie promised, grabbing Maia’s hand and stepping into the shadows.
When Maia, Ionie and Sorrel got back to Maia’s bedroom they let Sorrel out straight away.
“Did you learn anything?” said Lottie.
“I learned I do not like that woman who owns the shop.” Sorrel bristled. “Kittycat indeed!” she huffed.
Bracken and Juniper sniggered and Sorrel glared at them.
“Stop it!” Willow told them. She blinked her large eyes at Sorrel. “It was very good of you, Sorrel, to put up with being in a cage just so we could find out more.”
Sorrel looked slightly appeased.
“Did you smell any Shades there?” Sita asked.
Sorrel shook her head. “No. But I did sense magic in the shop.”
“Dark magic?” said Maia.
“Just magic,” Sorrel said, sitting down and wrapping her tail around her paws. “Our fur tingles when we are near magical objects or in places where magic is being used.”
“So there was a feeling of magic but Alice doesn’t seem to be conjuring Shades,” said Maia thoughtfully. “She’s got to be doing something with the crystals though, or why would the magic have shown them to me?” She rubbed her forehead. It was very confusing.
A knock on the bedroom door made them all jump. The animals vanished instantly.
Mrs Greene stuck her head round the door. “Lottie, your mum’s here.”
Maia went downstairs with Lottie to say goodbye. Mrs Thompson, Lottie’s mum, was waiting in the hall.
“So how are things, Anna?” Maia’s mum said.
“Very busy,” Mrs Thompson replied as Lottie put her shoes on. “I’m completely rushed off my feet.”
“I don’t know how you manage to work and fit in all the after-school activities,” said Mrs Greene. “Your girls do so many things. How do you do it?”
“With difficulty at times, but it’s about looking to the future,” Lottie’s mum said. “If they want to go to a top university then all the extras will help. It’s a competitive world out there, Nicky.”
Mrs Greene laughed. “Oh, Anna. I can’t believe you’re thinking about university already. We’ve only just decided which secondary school Maia’s going to!”
Just then there was a knock at the door.
“It’s all go tonight,” said Maia’s mum, opening it. “Esther!” she said in surprise, seeing Essie’s mum on the doorstep.
“Hi. Is now a good time to have that cup of coffee?” said Esther. She did a double take. “Anna. Gosh, I haven’t seen you for years.”
“I know. It must be twenty-five years,” said Lottie’s mum. “I heard you were moving back here. We’ll have to catch up but not now. Lottie’s got gymnastics.”
“Another time then,” said Esther.
Esther watched as Lottie and her mum got into Lottie’s mum’s smart white sports car. “Anna looks like she’s done well for herself,” she commented.
“She’s an accountant for a soft drinks company,” said Maia’s mum.
“She was quiet as a mouse at school,” said Esther, a strange note in her voice. “I’d never have guessed she’d go on to be so successful. Sarah too - I heard she’s a doctor.”
“Sadie’s mum?” said Mrs Greene. “Yes, she’s a consultant at the hospital.”
Esther shook her head and turned to Maia. “Essie said you and Lottie were really friendly today. Thank you.”
“No problem,” Maia said.
“She’s going to have a few people round tomorrow after school for takeaway pizza and a movie – and she wants to ask you,” Esther said. She looked at Mrs Greene a bit apologetically. “I know it’s a school night but Essie really wants to make friends. Are you free, Maia?”
Maia hesitated. She actually wanted to meet with Ionie, Sita and Lottie after school. They needed to find out more about Alice and the crystals. But her mum answered for her.
“That’d be lovely, wouldn’t it, Maia?”
“Yes. Thanks for inviting me,” Maia said politely and then, leaving the mums to chat, she went upstairs to join the others.
Ionie and Sita were cuddling Willow and Juniper. Bracken bounded over to Maia as she shut the door. “We’ve been trying to work out what to do next,” he said.
“Did you have any ideas?” said Maia hopefully.
“We think we should go to the clearing and see if we can find any clues,” said Ionie. “And use magic to spy on Alice. How about we meet at my house tomorrow?”
“Can’t.” Maia sighed. She told them about the invite to Essie’s. “She’ll probably invite you two as well.”
“I don’t think she’ll invite me,” said Ionie.
“Or me,” said Sita. “I get the feeling she doesn’t like me much. I don’t know why. I’ve tried to be friendly.”
“I wouldn’t worry,” said Ionie. “I think she only likes people who want to talk about boys and who don’t have any brain cells.”
“Thanks,” Maia said, raising her eyebrows.
Ionie grinned. “I didn’t mean you or Lottie, of course.”
“So let’s meet on Wednesday after school and go to the clearing then,” Maia said.
Ionie nodded. “In the meantime we can watch out for anything odd. If dark magic is being used then bad things will soon start to happen.”
Sita looked worried. “I hate the thought of Shades coming to Westcombe again and the plants in the clearing dying.”
Maia nodded. “Don’t worry, we’ll soon work out what’s going on – and stop it!”
“So this is the kitchen and this is the lounge…” Essie gave a gu
ided tour of her house the next day after school. As Ionie had predicted, Essie had not invited her or Sita to come along, just Lottie, Maia, Tara and Sadie. Both Essie’s parents were out. “They often leave me on my own,” Essie said airily. “I don’t mind though.”
Maia exchanged surprised looks with Lottie. Their parents never left them home alone. Even Clio wasn’t left for long. Maia followed the others. It was really odd being in her granny’s old house when it looked so different. The cosy clutter, flowery curtains and old rugs had been replaced by white walls and wooden floors, slatted blinds and smart leather chairs. There was a new conservatory filled with lush plants and wicker furniture. And Esther’s office – once Granny Anne’s dining room – was filled with shelves with different pots and tubes of face and body cream, soap and bath oil.
Essie’s black cat lay on one of the chairs in the lounge watching them.
Maia went to stroke it but it unsheathed its claws and glared at her in much the same way that Sorrel had glared at Alice. Maia hastily decided to leave it alone.
Upstairs, the four small bedrooms had been transformed into two large bedrooms. Essie’s room had a double bed with a dark purple throw over the end and matching cushions, a white rug on the pale wooden floor, and sleek white furniture. There was a computer on the desk and a TV attached to the wall as well as an en-suite bathroom.
“Lucky! I can’t believe you’ve got a TV in your room,” Tara said.
“I wish my bedroom was like this,” said Sadie.
“It’s perfect,” said Lottie, looking around in awe. “You’re so lucky.”
Essie looked smug. She opened a cupboard and showed off an entire shelf of make-up and nail polishes, all in neat rows. “This is my make-up studio. We’ll do each other’s make-up later and then I’ll order a pizza for tea.”
“You’re allowed to order takeaways?” said Sadie.
Essie nodded. “Whenever I want.”
Maia glanced at Lottie again. Essie seemed so grown up. She noticed a purple dreamcatcher hanging in the window and went over to have a look at it.
“Did you get this from Fairytales?” Maia asked Essie.
Essie nodded. “My mum bought it for me yesterday. It’s nice, isn’t it?”
“It’s really pretty,” said Sadie. “I wish I had one.”
“Me, too,” said Tara.
Essie smiled. “Well, luckily for you, I like to share things with my friends.” She hurried out and came back with four dreamcatchers still in their plastic wrappers. “Here, you can have one each.”
“Really?” said Lottie.
Essie nodded and handed them out. She gave pink and turquoise ones to Maia, Lottie and Sadie and a purple and red one to Tara.
“Why do you have so many of them?” Tara asked.
“Mum likes to buy things that she can use as birthday presents,” Essie said airily. “She keeps them all in a big box in her room. But she won’t mind me giving these to you. She’s great like that.”
“Wow, thanks!” said Sadie.
Essie beamed. “Now, shall we do our nails? I’ll be the nail artist. You can choose whatever you want.”
They sat down in a circle and Essie put some music on and began doing their nails. She was very good at it – she didn’t smudge any of the nail varnish or leave any blobs of it on their skin but Maia found it quite dull. Essie had some old Enid Blyton books on her shelf that looked like they had probably belonged to her mum. Maia picked up a Famous Five book and started to read it while the others talked about make-up and the boys in class and the YouTubers they liked. Maia tuned out their voices and let the story pull her in.
Suddenly a hand slapped down on the book, knocking it out of her hands. Maia jumped. Essie was standing in front of her. “Don’t be boring, Maia!”
Maia felt her temper prickle at Essie’s bossy tone and the way she’d just knocked the book out of her hand but she guessed she had been a bit rude, reading and not joining in, and so she forced herself to smile. “Sorry.”
“You’re here to have fun, not to read,” Essie said, picking up the book and throwing it to her. “You can borrow this if you want but don’t read it now.”
Maia caught it and put it in her bag, feeling irritated but trying not to say anything.
Essie smiled round at them all. “I think at school tomorrow we should have matching ponytails and hairslides.” She pulled out a box of different hairslides. “I’ve got plenty of red ones. Let’s style the ponytails now and put the slides in. I’ll do yours, Maia.”
Maia reluctantly let Essie brush her hair into a high ponytail. “It’s got to be high,” Essie told the others, pulling Maia’s hair tightly as she held it above her head and twisted a band around it. “Low ponytails look so babyish.”
“What, you mean like Sita’s?” said Tara with a snigger.
Maia stiffened.
“Yeah. She should look in the mirror sometimes.” Essie laughed. “And have you seen how old her jumper is?”
“Her clothes are dodgy,” Sadie agreed.
Maia jumped to her feet, pulling away from Essie. “Stop being mean! Sita’s our friend.” She looked at Lottie, who nodded.
“Sita’s really nice,” Lottie said.
“So stop being horrible!” Maia said, glaring round.
Essie shrugged. “Chill. But if you’re in my squad you have to have a high ponytail!” She walked over and clipped a slide into Maia’s hair, pushing it extra hard against her scalp and making Maia wince. “OK, Lottie,” she said brightly. “Let me do your hair, then when we’ve all got ponytails, I’ll order the pizza and we can watch a movie.”
“Awesome!” said Sadie.
Lottie went over so Essie could do her hair. Maia folded her arms and sat down on the bed, wishing she was somewhere else. She had now decided she really didn’t like Essie and she certainly didn’t want to be in her squad.
Even the takeaway pizza and massive bottle of cola that Essie ordered wasn’t enough to change Maia’s mind and she was very glad when her mum arrived to collect her.
“I’ll see you tomorrow in school,” Essie said. “Remember your hairslide.”
Maia had no intention of wearing it so she didn’t say anything.
“Did you have a nice time?” Mrs Greene asked as they walked back to the car.
“Not really. I don’t much like Essie,” Maia muttered.
Mrs Greene looked surprised. “That’s not like you, Maia. Don’t judge her too quickly. Moving here will be a big change for her. You may not be seeing the real her at the moment.”
Maia wasn’t convinced. She was very relieved when they got home and she could talk to Bracken.
“How was it?” he asked.
She stroked him. “Awful. I’d far rather have been meeting up with you and the other animals and Ionie and Sita. Now we’ve wasted a day when we could have been trying to work out what’s going on.”
Bracken climbed on to her knee and licked her cheek. “Don’t worry. We’ll go to the clearing tomorrow and see if we can find any clues then.”
Her arms closed around his warm body and her bad mood faded. Bracken was right. They’d only lost one day. “I love you,” she told him. “You always make me feel better.”
His eyes shone and he snuggled closer. “I love you, too, Maia,” he said.
Maia was surprised when she got up and found her mum getting ready to go out for a run. “It’s only seven o’clock!” Maia said.
Her mum nodded. “I know but I had this weird dream last night. I was taking part in the fun run and I actually finished first. Well, I woke up just wanting to go out running. I’m already faster than Ellie and Jo, even though they have done much more running than me. If I train a bit more, I think I could do quite well in this race.”
Maia blinked. “But you hate running.”
“I do, but it’s good to push yourself,” her mum said. “And every run I do means another guilt-free slice of cake at The Copper Kettle!”
“Can we g
o there soon?” said Maia.
Her mum smiled. “Sure. Now get some breakfast. Dad will take you to school today.” She did up her trainers and set off.
Maia got ready for school. She brushed her hair but left it loose on her shoulders rather than putting it in a ponytail and she put the red hairslide in her bag.
When Lottie arrived at school, her hair was pulled into a tight, high ponytail with the red hairslide that Essie clipped into it. It looked a bit odd because her hair was only shoulder-length and so her ponytail was very short.
“Why have you got your hair like that?” Ionie said, frowning at her.
Lottie blushed. “I … um, just fancied a change.” She looked at Maia. “You haven’t got a ponytail.”
Understanding dawned on Ionie’s face as Maia shook her head. “Oh, I get it! Essie’s told you to wear your hair in a particular way so that you become clones of her. That’s it, isn’t it?” She looked across the playground to where Tara and Sadie were greeting Essie. They all had matching high ponytails with red hairslides. “It is!” she said incredulously.
Maia sighed and nodded.
“Lottie! Maia!” Essie called, waving to them. “Over here!”
Lottie went over but Maia didn’t.
“Why aren’t you joining in?” Ionie said to her.
“I don’t like Essie,” Maia said.
“Why?” said Sita in surprise.
Maia just shrugged. She didn’t want to tell Sita what Essie had said about her. “I just don’t.”
Essie came over. “Why are you hanging around here?” she said, ignoring Sita and Ionie. “And where’s your hairslide?”
Maia rummaged in her bag and pulled it out. “Here, you can have it back,” she said. “I don’t want to wear it.”
Essie’s eyes hardened. “Then you can’t be in my squad.”
Maia met Essie’s gaze. She wasn’t going to be bullied. “Fine.”
Essie snatched the hair slide. “Your loss.” She flicked her ponytail and flounced back to the others.
“Why does Lottie like her?” said Ionie in astonishment.
Maia shook her head. “I have no idea.”
Lottie continued to hang around with Essie all day. Maia found it hard to understand. Yes, Essie was grown up and funny in some ways but she was also quite mean.
Night Shade Page 3
