Night Shade

by Linda Chapman

  Maia’s eyes widened. No! She’d seen this before! It was the woman she’d seen when she’d asked the magic to show her the future!

  “I will win!” the woman muttered and then she started hitting the delicate sculpture with the hammer. It fell to bits.

  She glanced round swiftly and then tucked the hammer back under her coat and hurried out of the gate.

  Maia wondered what she should do. She couldn’t tell Mr Jones what she knew – she didn’t have any proof he would believe. For a second, she wondered if the woman could be the person doing dark magic in the clearing but she was too short and her hair was brown. It was far more likely that she was being affected by one of the Shades they knew were in Westcombe. Why else would she just attack the sculpture? Maia had never heard about her being mean or horrible before.

  Maia took a deep breath. She had to tell the others and they could try and find out more. It looked like it was going to be a very exciting day!

  Maia went downstairs. Her mum was talking to her dad in the hall. “Ellie’s out of the race! She’s hurt her ankle,” she was saying.

  “Mmm,” Mr Greene said, hardly listening as he leaned against the wall, reading quiz papers.

  “Mum!” Maia said, shocked. “You sound almost pleased that Ellie’s hurt herself.”

  “Well, it means one less person to beat!” her mum said. A strange greedy look crossed her face. “Imagine if more people got injured. That would be good.”

  “What?” Maia stared. Her mum would never usually say something so mean.

  “Just saying,” her mum said with a sly smile. “I’d be more likely to win.”

  Maia edged away. This wasn’t right. Why was her mum acting like this?

  Shade! her mind screamed at her. It seemed the only possible explanation for her mum’s nasty behaviour.

  Maia’s throat felt dry. Could there be a Shade in her house?

  “I’m going out,” she said suddenly.

  Her dad looked up. “You can’t. You need to revise for this quiz!”

  “But I’m going to Ionie’s,” Maia said.

  “No!” her dad’s voice rose angrily. “You have to stay! You can’t go out!”

  Maia’s heart flipped. What was going on? Her dad never shouted! It was just as she’d seen in the mirror!

  “Stay here!” he yelled.

  Maia didn’t listen. She dashed to the front door and was through it and out before he could stop her. “See you later!” she gasped and then she set off, running down the road.

  By the time she reached Ionie’s she was pink in the face and gasping for breath.

  “Are you OK?” Ionie said, coming to the door with Sita.

  “No…” panted Maia. “Mum… Dad… Shades.”

  Ionie and Sita gave each other alarmed looks. “Let’s go upstairs,” Ionie said quickly.

  They hurried to Ionie’s room. “Lottie texted this morning – she’ll be here soon,” said Ionie.

  “What’s happened, Maia?” Sita said.

  “Call the animals first,” said Maia.

  Bracken sensed there was something wrong as soon as he appeared. “What’s the matter?” he said, bounding anxiously over to Maia. “You don’t look happy.”

  Maia told them what had happened that morning. “I thought Mum and Dad were just being a bit weird but now I’m sure they’re being affected by Shades. And that woman I saw who smashed up Mr Jones’s sculpture. Why would she do something like that? Maybe she did it because of a Shade as well.”

  “So we’re dealing with a type of Shade that only affects adults by the looks of it,” said Sorrel. “A Shade that makes people want to win and beat others.”

  “At all costs,” said Maia with a shudder, thinking of the woman with the hammer and the creepy look in her mum’s eyes as she had talked about people getting injured. “We have to find where the Shades are.” She ran a hand through her hair. Three Shades – one in her house, maybe one in the woman’s and then one somewhere else.

  “Should we go back to yours?” said Bracken.

  Maia hesitated. “I don’t know. Dad was really mad. He might try to lock me in.”

  “Well, why don’t we go to the sculpture competition instead?” said Ionie. “It’s being judged this afternoon in the beach car park. I bet the woman who destroyed Mr Jones’s sculpture will be there. We might find something out from her. Come on. They’ll be setting up now.” She jumped to her feet.

  “Shouldn’t we wait for Lottie?” said Sita. Her phone pinged. “Oh, it’s from her.” Sita held out her phone and they all read Lottie’s message.

  Can’t come round now

  “That’s it?” Ionie exclaimed. “That’s all we get?”

  “I bet she’s gone to Essie’s!” said Maia. Anger flashed through her. There wasn’t a kiss or an emoji with the text. There certainly wasn’t an explanation. How could Lottie let them down like this? They needed her – really needed her.

  “She says she can’t come round now,” said Sita hopefully. “That might mean she’ll come round in a bit. Let’s wait a while longer.”

  Maia and Ionie reluctantly agreed but when Lottie hadn’t appeared after another twenty minutes, Maia jumped to her feet.

  “This is stupid,” she said. “We can’t just sit around all day. She’s obviously not coming.”

  Ionie nodded. “I think we should go.”

  “OK.” Sita sighed.

  They headed out of the house and down the lane. There was music coming from the open windows of Essie’s house as they walked past. “I wish Essie had never moved in,” Maia muttered, thinking of Lottie inside. How could she abandon them to be with Essie and the others?

  Just as they reached the clifftop they heard a voice calling their names. They looked round and saw Lottie jogging down the lane towards them. “Sorry I couldn’t meet you earlier,” she panted as she reached them. “Did you get my message?”

  “Yes,” Maia said shortly.

  Ionie folded her arms. “So you saw us passing Essie’s house and thought you might finally come and join us then?”

  Lottie frowned. “What?”

  Maia lost her temper. “I can’t believe you dumped us to go and hang around with her! We’ve had enough, Lottie. You can’t be friends with her and us – you’re going to have to choose!”

  “I didn’t dump you!” Lottie protested. “I’ve come straight from the new German lessons my mum is making me do. I tried to send a message telling you I’d be another thirty minutes but before I could finish it Mum took my phone off me.” She glared at them. “Did you really think I’d go round to Essie’s rather than come and do magic when there’s important stuff happening, stuff we need to deal with?” Her voice rose. “And even if you did think that, who are you to tell me who I can and can’t be friends with?”

  “Lottie, we’re sorry.” Sita stepped towards her while Ionie and Maia stared open-mouthed.

  “No. Don’t use your magic on me, Sita!” Lottie snapped. “I’ve changed my mind. I don’t want to be with you this afternoon, after all! I’m going home!” Turning, she ran back up the lane.

  “Wait!” Maia shouted, racing after her but Lottie used her magic and vanished in the blink of an eye. Maia stared at the empty space where Lottie had been standing and then turned. Sita was biting her lip and trying not to cry.

  “Oh dear. I think we owe her an apology,” Ionie said slowly.

  Maia nodded. Her anger had disappeared as quickly as it had blown up and now she just felt awful.

  “Should we go after her?” Sita said.

  “We’ll never catch her if she’s using her magic,” said Maia.

  “I could shadow-travel us to her house,” said Ionie.

  “I don’t know. Maybe we should give her a bit of space,” said Maia doubtfully, remembering how angry Lottie had been. When Lottie got cross she tended to stay cross for quite a long time. She pulled out her phone and texted her instead.

  We’re really sorry. Can we come round? Mxxx
xxxx

  “Let’s wait to get a reply,” she said.

  Sita nodded. “I think that’s best.”

  “Let’s go to the competition for now then,” said Ionie. “Hopefully she’ll text us back soon.”

  They reached the clifftop. From there a walkway led down to the beach. On one side of it was a small open-air car park. Usually in February there were only a few cars but today it was packed with vehicles. There was a big canvas sign stretched across the entrance saying Westcombe Beachcomber Sculpture Competition in large letters, and tables were set up around the car park where competitors were laying out the sculptures they had made from things they had found on the beach. Another sign announced that the judging would begin at 2 p.m.

  Maia looked round at all the people – some were drinking coffee, others chatting, others wandering from table to table admiring the sculptures. She nudged Ionie and Maia. “There’s Alice,” she whispered, seeing the shop owner fussing around her entry – a gorgeous driftwood dragon with green sea-glass for eyes and shells for scales.

  “Should we go over?” Ionie whispered. “We have to find out if she knows about the Shades or not.”

  “How do we do that?” said Maia.

  “I know!” said Sita, suddenly looking determined. “It’s time to sort this out once and for all. Follow me.”

  Maia and Ionie exchanged surprised looks. It wasn’t like Sita to lead the way but they followed her over to Alice’s table.

  Alice beamed at them. “Hello, dearies. Have you been having a look around? Aren’t the other entries amazing?”

  “Yours is really good, too,” said Maia politely. “I really like the—”

  “Alice, I need to talk to you,” Sita interrupted, her hazel eyes serious. She dropped her voice. “Now, you must listen to me and answer with the truth.”

  Maia gaped. She knew Sita was using her ability to command people to do anything she wanted. She also knew that Sita hated using that power.

  Alice blinked. “I shall,” she said obediently.

  Sita stepped closer. “Have you been using dark magic?” she asked.

  Maia glanced around. Luckily everyone nearby was busy and no one was listening.

  Alice looked confused. “Dark magic? No. Just good magic. Sleep-easy potions, energizing oils, healing creams. I collect herbs. I make potions. People buy them and they help.”

  The girls exchanged looks. So Sorrel had been right when she said she felt magic in the shop. But someone else was responsible for the dark magic in the clearing.

  “When I click my fingers you won’t have to answer my questions any more,” said Sita. “And you will forget what I have just been doing.”

  Alice nodded. “I shall forget,” she repeated.

  Sita clicked her fingers. Alice’s face cleared. She looked confused for a second. “Sorry, dearie,” she said, shaking her head. “Did you just ask me a question?”

  “I just asked how long it took you to make the dragon,” Sita said. “He’s great.”

  “Thank you. I’ve been working on him for weeks,” said Alice.

  “Good luck,” said Maia.

  “Thank you, dearie,” trilled Alice.

  They moved away. They couldn’t talk about what had just happened with so many people around but Maia was sure the others were thinking the same as her. If Alice wasn’t doing dark magic, who was? Suddenly she caught sight of a short, dark-haired woman. She had a messy sculpture of a house on the table and she was glaring around at all the other competitors and muttering under her breath.

  “It’s her!” Maia hissed. Grabbing Sita’s and Ionie’s arms, she stared at the woman. “That’s the woman I saw!”

  “That’s Mrs Varley, Sadie’s mum,” said Ionie.

  “Don’t come near!” Sadie’s mum snapped as a mum and boy went over to see her sculpture. “Only the judges can come close. Go away!”

  “She’s acting really oddly,” said Ionie.

  “Look at this one, Mum.” The boy who had just been told to go away pulled his mum over to Alice’s table. “This is definitely the best!”

  Maia caught her breath as she saw a look of utter fury cross Sadie’s mum’s face.

  “No!” Sadie’s mum hissed to herself. “Mine’s the best. Mine will win.” She picked up some scissors.

  “Quick!” Maia gasped, fear jolting through her. What if Sadie’s mum did something awful? “We have to get those scissors. Oh, why isn’t Lottie here?” Lottie could have used her super-speed to grab the scissors in a second.

  “I know what to do!” Ionie said and she whispered Sorrel’s name. The cat suddenly appeared. She looked round in surprise at all the people. Ionie whispered something to her and then they hurried towards Mrs Varley. Sorrel leaped on to the table containing Mrs Varley’s structure.

  “No!” Mrs Varley gasped. “Get away, cat!” She dropped the scissors and started flapping her hands. Ionie grabbed the scissors and pocketed them as Sorrel darted from one side of the sculpture to the other.

  “I’ll get it,” said Ionie, scooping Sorrel up. “Sorry!” She hurried back to the others, the scissors bulging in her pocket.

  “It?” Sorrel hissed under her breath. “You called me it?”

  “Shh,” Ionie whispered. People were already looking at them. “Sorry, she’s my cat. I’d better take her home,” she called to everyone.

  Ionie hastily left the car park with Maia and Sita.

  “Well done for getting the scissors,” said Sita as they hurried back up the lane.

  “I thought Mrs Varley was going to destroy someone else’s sculpture with them!” said Ionie. “The grown-ups are getting totally out of control! We have to find out where these Shades are, right now. If we can send them back to the shadows then the hold they have will break and everyone they’re affecting will return to normal.”

  “Before anyone gets seriously hurt!” said Maia, her heart racing.

  “I think we should go to Lottie,” said Sita. “We need her.”

  Ionie nodded. “Can you see where she is with your magic, Maia?”

  Maia got out her mirror and looked into it. “Lottie,” she said.

  An image formed. It showed Lottie in her bedroom, rattling the door handle. “Mum! Let me out!” she was shouting.

  “No,” Lottie’s mother’s voice came through the door. “You can stay in there and work on your maths paper. Ninety-two per cent is not good enough. You will do it again and get a hundred per cent, and you can forget all about going out this evening!”

  “Lottie’s been locked in her room,” Maia said. She saw Lottie fighting back tears as she slumped down on her bed.

  Pulling out her phone, Lottie dialled a number. “Hi, Essie, it’s me,” she said a moment later. “I can’t come round this evening.” There was a silence. “I’m sorry, I just can’t. It’s my mum. She’s making me do a load of work… No, I can’t change her mind. She’s being awful, Essie.” Lottie’s voice broke with a sob. “I’m feeling scared of her and…” She broke off and then her shoulders slumped. “OK. I get it, you’ve got to go. I’ll see you Monday at school.” She clicked the phone off, threw it down and buried her head in her hands and started to cry.

  “We’ve got to go to her!” said Maia. It was horrible seeing Lottie so unhappy. “Maybe her mum is being affected by Shades, too. She’s normally a little bit nuts but now she’s being full-on crazy!”

  Ionie ran to a patch of shadows under a tree at the side of the lane with Sorrel bounding beside her. “Come on,” she said, holding out her hands.

  Sita and Maia ran and grabbed hold of a hand each and the next moment they felt themselves spinning away.

  As their feet hit carpet, they heard a sharp intake of breath. Maia saw Lottie staring at them from her bed. “What are you doing here?” she demanded.

  Maia squeezed out from the gap beside the wardrobe and went over to her. “Lottie, I’m really sorry… I shouldn’t have accused you of going to Essie’s instead of meeting us.”
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br />   “We are all sorry,” said Sita, joining her.

  “We want to apologize,” said Ionie.

  “You should have known I wouldn’t do that!” said Lottie reproachfully.

  “I know,” said Maia.

  “And we are all really, really sorry,” said Ionie. “But right now there’s other stuff going on we absolutely have to deal with and we need you!” She looked at the door. “Has your mum locked you in?”

  Lottie wiped away her tears. “She’s gone crazy. She wants me to redo a maths paper and I’m not allowed out until I get every question right. I don’t know what’s up with her!”

  “It’s a Shade,” said Ionie. “The Shades that are in Westcombe are making adults really competitive.”

  “It’s why my mum wants to beat everyone in the fun run and why my dad has gone loopy over a family quiz,” said Maia. “Oh, and also why Sadie’s mum destroyed Mr Jones’s sculpture – she wants to win the beachcomber competition so badly. Just now we had to stop her attacking someone else’s sculpture with scissors!”

  Lottie stared at her wide-eyed. “So it’s not just my mum being a crazy control-freak?”

  “Nope,” said Maia. “This is all because of dark magic and we need to sort it out. Should we call the animals?”

  “Yes,” Lottie said. “Mum won’t come back for a while. She thinks I’m doing the maths paper.” A look of relief crossed her face. “Thanks for coming. I was so cross with you all. I didn’t think I wanted to see any of you but really I did. I tried telling Essie how horrible Mum was being but she just said she was busy and hung up.”

  Maia remembered the phone conversation she’d overheard. “So you were planning on seeing her after you met up with us?” she said.

  “Yes, you’ll always come first – you and magic. But I do have fun hanging round with Essie and the others, and I don’t want to have to choose between you,” Lottie said, looking upset.

  Maia took a deep breath. “I shouldn’t have said you had to.” She realized she’d been guilty of being just as controlling as Lottie’s mum and felt a rush of guilt. “You can be friends with Essie as well as us. It’s fine.”