At the end of the day, Lottie came out with Essie and the others. Essie was imitating Mr Neal and they were all giggling.
“Lottie!” Maia called. “We’re going!”
Lottie said goodbye to Essie and ran over. “Essie’s so much fun,” she said.
“Really?” Ionie said disbelievingly.
“You didn’t seriously enjoy last night at her house, did you?” Maia said. “All that showing off and talking about make-up and boys?”
“Yes, I did enjoy it,” said Lottie in surprise. “Well, most of it. Didn’t you?”
“No,” Maia said.
“Lottie!” They looked round. It was Lottie’s mum. “Change of plan. You can’t go to Ionie’s tonight, I’m afraid,” she said, coming over. “I’m sorry, Ionie.”
“But why? You said I could go until my swimming lesson, Mum,” said Lottie.
“I know, but when I woke up this morning I realized that you could be using this hour and a half more usefully,” said her mum. “I think it would be a really good idea for you to learn German and I’ve found a tutor who can fit you in on Wednesdays.”
Lottie’s face fell. “Mum! I already do French plus extra maths, piano, tennis, gymnastics and trampolining.”
“Yes, and now you’ll be doing German and flute, too,” said her mum.
“But I won’t have time to see my friends!” Lottie protested.
“You’ll still have a few hours free at the weekend,” said her mum. “Now, come along. No arguing.”
Shooting a despairing look at the others, Lottie went with her mum.
“Poor Lottie,” Maia said, the irritation she’d been feeling with her friend fading instantly.
“I’d hate to have all those extra classes,” said Ionie.
“I’ll call in this evening and tell her what we’ve been doing so she doesn’t feel left out,” said Sita.
They headed back to Ionie’s house, dumped their school bags and went to the clearing.
“Look at it!” Sita whispered, staring around horrified.
The clearing looked far worse than it had done a few days before. A dark mould was creeping up the tree trunks and even the evergreen trees had lost their needles. The leaves on the dark green ivy had turned brown and the air smelled of damp and decay.
“It’s awful,” Maia said. “What can have made it get so bad?”
“Dark magic,” said Ionie grimly. “Let’s call the animals.”
They called their animals’ names. When Sorrel appeared she hissed, her tail puffing up. Willow’s nostrils flared.
“What is it?” Sita said in alarm.
“Shades!” said Willow, her eyes wide. “Shades have been here! I can smell them!”
“The air absolutely stinks of Shades,” said Sorrel, prowling around the decaying clearing.
Bracken looked uneasy. “I can’t smell Shades like you,” he said, “but I can tell the clearing feels wrong. The air feels heavy and dull.”
“The life force is being sucked out of it,” said Sorrel. She looked around. “Where are Lottie and Juniper?”
“Lottie had to go with her mum,” said Maia.
“I don’t like it here any more,” said Willow, pushing against Sita’s leg. “Can we go somewhere else to talk?”
Bracken nodded.
“Let’s go to the beach,” Maia said.
They set off through the trees. The animals kept to the shadows and then vanished when they reached the clifftop, only reappearing when the girls found a sheltered spot to sit down.
The beach was made of pebbles with big boulders at the bottom of the cliffs. They found a place where the boulders made a complete circle with dry pebbles in the centre of them. There was no one anywhere nearby, just a few dog walkers and beachcombers in the distance. Overhead, seagulls wheeled across the sky.
“What are we going to do about the clearing?” said Sita.
“I’ll use my magic,” said Maia. She took her mirror out of her pocket. “Show me who has been conjuring Shades.”
The mirror swirled but no picture formed.
“I’m not seeing anything,” Maia said.
“Try asking something else,” urged Sorrel.
Maia thought for a moment. “Show me where the Shades are,” she tried.
But once again the mirror showed nothing.
She bit her lip. “Show me what’s coming,” she said.
This time, an image did appear. It was followed by another and another: the same hooded figure in the clearing; a row of glass bottles filled with dark liquid… Maia blinked… A girl with her face buried in her hands, sobbing in a bedroom; a woman with a hammer; Maia’s dad shouting angrily … and then a Shade’s evil face suddenly filled the mirror, grotesque and large, its red eyes gleaming. “We are here!” it hissed. “Beware! We three shall not be beaten!” Maia gasped and dropped the mirror on to her knees.
“What is it?” Bracken said.
Heart racing, Maia described what she had seen.
“It said there were three Shades?” said Sita anxiously.
Maia nodded. Sorrel gave a hiss and paced around the circle of rocks they were sheltering amongst. “This is not good.”
Sita looked anxiously at Willow. “Will the things Maia saw definitely come true?”
“Not definitely,” Willow said. “The magic shows possible future events but all of those things can be changed.”
“If we can figure out what’s going on,” said Maia.
“You said you saw the figure in the woods again,” said Ionie, her face frowning in concentration. “Did it look like it might be Alice?”
Maia nodded. “It could have been.” The person was about the same size and height as Alice.
“I bet it’s her, or why would the magic have shown you the crystals in the shop? Try spying on her,” said Ionie. “Let’s see if we can find out anything more about her.”
“I want to see Alice,” Maia told the mirror.
She expected to see Alice in the shop and so was surprised to see a beach appear in the mirror. Alice was walking along it with a bag over her arm. She was heading for a circle of boulders by the cliffs. Maia looked up in surprise. “I think she’s here!”
She jumped up and went out through the boulders on to the pebbles and saw Alice walking towards them. “It is her!” she squeaked. The animals vanished, and Ionie and Sita joined Maia.
“Hello!” Alice said, spotting them. “What a surprise to see you girls.”
“A-and you,” stammered Maia. She stared at Alice. Could she really be the person doing dark magic and conjuring Shades?
“What are you doing here?” said Ionie suspiciously.
“Oh, it’s half-day closing at the shop today so I thought I’d pop down and collect some bits and pieces from the beach for the beachcomber sculpture competition,” said Alice.
“I also wanted to gather some plants and herbs in the woods.” She nodded to the bag on her arm.
“Plants?” Sita echoed.
“Plants can be used for magic, you know.” Alice’s eyes twinkled. “You can make a sleep-easy potion with lavender or a calming potion with camomile. There are all sorts of magical things you can do with plants.” She tapped her nose. “Believe in magic, dearies. Remember that. Now, I’d better go. My carpark ticket is going to run out. See you in the shop soon, I hope – or maybe at the sculpture competition!” She headed off down the beach.
The girls watched her go and then disappeared back between the rocks. “We were right!” Maia hissed. “She is the person we’re looking for!”
“She even just told us she uses plant magic!” said Sita.
“Wait a sec!” said Ionie, shaking her head. “Something about this doesn’t make sense.”
“What?” said Maia impatiently.
“Would she really talk about magic so openly if she’s actually doing dark magic?” Ionie pointed out. “Wouldn’t she want to keep it secret?”
There was a pause as her words sank in.
/> “I guess it is a bit odd,” Maia admitted.
“Mmm,” said Sita. “Why would she tell us she can do magic?”
“You know, I’m not sure about this any more,” Ionie said. “Maybe it’s not her.”
“But why did the magic show me the crystals on the shelf at Fairytales then?” said Maia.
“And if Alice isn’t the person doing dark magic, then who is?” said Sita.
They stared at each other, puzzled. None of them had an answer to that.
When Maia got home, her dad was sitting at his laptop at the kitchen table.
“What’s for supper?” Maia asked.
“I don’t know,” he said vaguely. “Mum’s out running and I’ve been too busy to think about it.”
“What are you doing?” Maia asked curiously.
“Putting together some quiz-team practice questions,” her dad said enthusiastically. “I think we could do well in this quiz. We need to get practising though, to make sure we have the best chance of beating the other teams.”
“Practising?” Maia echoed.
“Yes, tomorrow night after school.”
“But I’m meeting the others then,” Maia protested.
Her dad shook his head. “Not tomorrow. We’re going to practise. We could win this, Maia.”
Clio came in with a piece of mangled toast. “I just found Alfie trying to put this in the DVD player, Dad.”
Maia expected their dad to rush into the lounge but he just waved a hand. “Can you deal with it? I’m busy with these quiz questions.”
Clio groaned. “Dad, it’s just a little quiz in the village hall. It’s not University Challenge.”
“Mmm.” Her dad stared at the screen.
Clio shook her head at Maia. “Will you help me? Alfie’s very sticky – and so’s the DVD player.”
“Sure.” Wondering why her dad was quite so obsessed with the quiz, Maia helped Clio clean up Alfie and the DVD player then pulled out her phone and texted Lottie.
Did u see Sita? Did she call in?
A text pinged back from Lottie.
Mum wdn’t let her in. She’s making me do a practice maths exam! Sita’s going to Facetime me later. Can’t stop now. Gotta finish this maths. Argh!
Maia shook her head. OK, her dad might be being a bit weird but Lottie’s mum was a lot worse. Frustration welled up inside her. There were Shades in Westcombe. They didn’t have time to do things like maths papers and quiz practice. They needed to be doing magic! She remembered the Shade’s gloating face and lifted her chin.
We’ll stop you, she vowed. Just you wait and see.
Maia arrived at school the next morning at the same time as Lottie. She could tell straight away that her friend was not in a good mood by the way she was stomping up the pathl.
“What’s up?” Maia asked, falling into step beside her.
“My mum!” Lottie threw her hands in the air. “I’ve tried telling her I don’t want to do all the extra things she has planned but she just keeps going on about how helpful it will be for my ‘future career prospects’ and says I’m doing the extra things whether I like it or not!”
“That’s awful,” said Maia sympathetically.
“She’s so controlling!” Lottie burst out. “I want to come and meet you tonight but she says I have to fit in more piano practice and tomorrow she’s taking me to meet my new flute teacher. Sita Facetimed me and told me what happened yesterday and I know I need to be with all of you.” Tears sprang into her eyes and she blinked them away.
Maia hugged her. There wasn’t much she could say. “We’ll meet up Saturday lunchtime like normal, as soon as you’ve finished gymnastics.” She lowered her voice. “And try to track down the you-know-whos then.”
“Lottie!” Essie breezed up with Sadie. She ignored Maia. “Do you want to come round to my house tomorrow night?”
“I can’t,” sighed Lottie. “I’ve got a flute lesson.”
“How about Saturday then?” Essie said. “Come round in the morning and we can hang out at mine all day.”
“Count me in,” said Sadie with feeling. “My mum just told me she wants me to spend Saturday morning on the beach helping her find things to add to her beach sculpture for that competition thing. No. Thank. You.”
“I can’t come round first thing. I’ve got gymnastics,” said Lottie.
“Come afterwards then,” Essie said.
“Lottie always meets me, Sita and Ionie after gymnastics on a Saturday,” Maia put in.
It was as if she hadn’t spoken. Essie’s eyes didn’t flicker from Lottie’s face. “You do want to be my friend, don’t you, Lottie?” she said. Her voice sounded sweet but there was a knife-sharp edge to it.
“Yes, of course!” Lottie said.
“Then you’ll come to mine,” said Essie with a confident smile. “Now,” she hooked her arm through Lottie’s, “let’s go and talk about what we’ll do on Saturday.” She dragged Lottie away.
Lottie gave Maia an apologetic look over her shoulder. Maia felt a rush of anger and marched into the playground.
“Are you OK?” Sita said, seeing her face.
Maia shook her head. “No! I was talking to Lottie when Essie came along and then Lottie went off with her. I think she might even be going to Essie’s on Saturday after gymnastics rather than meeting up with us. I can’t believe it!”
Ionie’s mouth fell open. “But we have to meet then! There’s so much we need to do.”
“I know!” Maia exclaimed.
“Lottie won’t let us down,” said Sita quickly. “She’ll meet us. I’m sure she will.”
“Hmm.” Maia wasn’t convinced.
Clio was making a sandwich when Maia got home that afternoon. “How was school today?”
“OK, I guess.” Maia shrugged.
Clio frowned. “What’s up?”
Maia poured herself a glass of juice from the fridge. Clio could be annoying but she was usually pretty good when it came to advice about friends. “It’s Lottie,” she admitted. “She’s hanging around with this new girl, Essie, and the other popular girls in Year Six. I don’t get it. All they’re into is boys and make-up and stuff like that.”
Clio shrugged. “Maybe Lottie’s into that too now she’s getting older. People change in Year Six and start to like different things.”
“Not me and my friends,” said Maia.
“It sounds like Lottie is into that. It’s really quite normal. I wouldn’t stress about it.” Clio stretched. “So what time do you think Dad wants to do this practice?”
“I don’t know but I hope he doesn’t make us practise for too long.” Maia sighed.
She went upstairs. Lying on her bed with Bracken, she cuddled him and told him about her day.
“Essie sounds horrible,” he said, snuffling her neck. “Lottie’s being silly. You’re a million times nicer.”
Maia smiled. Bracken always understood. “I’m glad I’ve got you, Bracken.”
He snuggled closer and cocked his head to one side. “Could Lottie be behaving strangely and wanting to be this girl’s friend because of a Shade?”
Maia had been wondering that, too. “I don’t know. I don’t really think so. She’s not being mean or horrible or anything like that, she just likes hanging around with Essie, and Clio told me it’s normal for people to change in Year Six.”
“It might be worth getting Sorrel or Willow to check Lottie’s house for Shades though,” said Bracken. “Just in case.”
Maia nodded. “Good plan. Well, that’s if Lottie’s mum ever lets us in!”
“Maia!” her dad called. “Time to do some quiz practice!”
Maia kissed Bracken on the nose. “I’d better go. See you later,” she said and then she went reluctantly downstairs.
The quiz practice was not fun. Maia’s dad kept going over and over the general knowledge questions until Maia was so bored she thought she might explode.
Even worse, he then insisted on yet another practice on Fri
day night straight after school, which meant Maia wasn’t able to meet up with Ionie and Sita. Maia had never known him act like this before. She thought about the image she’d seen of her dad when she’d been using magic. He’d been shouting at someone. Could it be something to do with this quiz?
On Saturday, Maia got up and found her dad in the kitchen surrounded by cups of half-drunk coffee. He was reading over fresh question sheets he’d printed off the internet.
Maia got herself a bowl of cereal. She was just about to pour the milk when there was a knock at the front door.
Her dad answered it.
Hearing him talking to someone, Maia went through to the hall. It was their elderly neighbour, Mr Jones. He looked very upset.
“You didn’t hear anything then, David?” he was saying to Maia’s dad. “It must have happened between midnight and six o’clock this morning. I can’t believe it. After all the work I put in.”
“What’s happened?” Maia asked curiously.
Her dad looked shocked. “You know the sculpture Mr Jones has been making for the competition?”
Maia nodded. Mr Jones usually won and this year she knew he had been making a beautiful swan out of driftwood and sea-glass. She’d seen it from her bedroom window.
“Someone came into his garden and destroyed it during the night!” her dad said.
“That’s awful!” gasped Maia.
“They just smashed it up,” said Mr Jones, shaking his head. “The judging is this afternoon so I can’t make another. I mean, who would do something like that? I spent hours making it.”
“Did you hear anything outside, Maia?” her dad asked.
“No.”
“I’ll go and see if Pete and Doreen on the other side noticed anything,” said Mr Jones.
Maia hurried upstairs, her breakfast forgotten. Maybe she could use magic to find out who had damaged the sculpture! Shutting her bedroom door, she sat down at her desk and looked into the mirror. She breathed deeply and magic swirled into her, warm and tingly.
“Show me what happened to Mr Jones’s sculpture,” she said.
An image appeared of the next-door garden in the pale grey light of dawn. The beautiful swan sculpture was on the garden table. Someone opened the gate and came in. Who was it? To Maia’s surprise she saw a short, dark-haired woman. Maia frowned. She was sure it was a mum she recognized from the playground, although she wasn’t quite sure whose mum she was. In shock, she watched as the woman pulled out a hammer from under her coat.
Night Shade Page 4
