Emily Feather and the Chest of Charms (7 page)

“What about the hunt then?” Robin demanded.

Sasha shrugged. “We'd better just find your sister fast, I suppose … and keep an eye on the door back. Let's hope he hasn't taken her far.”

“You can track her,” Lark whispered faintly. “Look. She left a message. Caught in the hinges.”

“What?” Robin and Emily peered closely at the wooden chest, Emily squeezing her eyes into slits to see better. The chest seemed to waver between their world, where it was a battered wooden box, and the fairy land, where it opened out into the forest, a great dark rent torn through a hollow tree.

Caught in a crack in the bark was a golden feather, silken and glinting. A feather from a fairy's wings.

Emily ran her finger down the rippled edge of the feather and her mind filled with panicked images. They were jumbled and hurried but eager, as though Lory had been desperate to pass her message on.

Emily could see Lory had passed through the door, feeling the strong magic of her homeland, and that she had come to her senses. Suddenly, she realized what she had done.

The feather twisted and quivered under Emily's frightened fingers, and her eyes filled with tears as she saw its message.

Lory had summoned all her magic, but too late. Dan had been too strong and she couldn't escape. The feather had been torn out in a last desperate gasp as she fought the enemy dragging her through the door.

“If you take it,” Lark whispered weakly, “you should be able to track her.”

“How?” Emily asked, looking curiously at the feather.

“The same way the hunt works,” Robin explained. “And how I could feel Lory had been here. Everyone's magic is different, and you can track the essence of them, if you're careful. Having the feather will help, it's a part of Lory's magic. It should lead us to her.”

Emily nodded. She was still stroking the feather, and she did feel as though she was holding a part of Lory. It seemed to wriggle in her fingers, eager and determined and rebellious. It tugged at her grip, as though it wanted to vanish through the door after the rest of itself. Robin was right – she knew the feather would lead them to Lory.

Emily swallowed. “We'd better go and get them back,” she said again. “Does this spell really need Dan back here to undo it?” she asked Sasha, hoping she'd say no.

“I think so.” Sasha sighed and ran a gentle hand over Lark, shivering as she met the stony magic of the spell. “Spells are like that, sometimes. You have to balance one thing against another. And almost always it's the person who puts the spell on who has to take it off again. I don't know how he made this one. It's old, I think. We might be able to find some way to break it, but it would be better just to make him come back through the door. Then it'll just undo.”

Emily nodded. It did make sense that Dan would have to break his own spell, unfortunately. “Come on then,” she murmured, stepping a little closer to the chest. Even as frightened as she was, and worried about her sisters, her stomach still gave a little jump of excitement, as though she was in a fast lift. She could hear the trees rustling in the warm wind, now she was closer, and the river, shallow at the edges, was rippling over stones, chattering to itself. She smiled. It was the sort of thing people just said about water, in the human world, but over there, who knew? Perhaps the water really was talking.

Sasha was smiling too, one hand reaching out towards the chest with a painful eagerness. For the first time, Emily wondered how much it hurt for her to be away from her home, from the strong, rushing water of her river. It wasn't just her home, it was part of her. A garden pond, even in a half-magical garden, couldn't ever be the same.

Emily hated to remind Sasha that the river could never be her home again, but she had to. “We must be careful,” she said gently. “How long will it take for the hunt to catch your scent again? I mean, they could be anywhere. The other side of the world? Maybe they won't even notice?”

“They will,” Sasha and Robin said grimly together, and even Lark gave a sad little nod.

“I won't have long,” Sasha murmured. “The hunt will sense that I'm back and they don't run the way you do, Emily. They'll fly, if they must. They have horses and they'll gallop through the air.”

Emily sighed. “You shouldn't come with us. But you're going to anyway, aren't you, whatever I say? Let's hope you're right and Dan hasn't gone far.”

“This spell must have taken a lot of his strength,” Lark croaked, raising herself a little on one elbow. “He's lived without his real magic for years and years, if he's been in exile here. He'll be weak now. He can't have gone far.”

“He's probably just beyond the door.” Sasha nodded.

“Waiting for us!” Emily said it before she thought, and then wished she hadn't. It wasn't helpful.

Robin glared at her, but Sasha shook her head. “No. The binding spell, remember? He'll think we're all caught. We should be able to take him by surprise.”

“Um…” Emily looked uncertainly between Robin and Sasha. “How exactly are we going to do that? I know we think he's weakened, but he's still one of the great lords, isn't he? He was part of the fairy court if he really is Lady Anstis's brother.”

“So am I,” Robin pointed out.

Emily blinked at him. “No, you're not.”

“I would be if I lived there. By right of birth. Lark and Lory would be too.” He smirked at Emily. “You don't know what I could do if I didn't have Mum and Dad hovering around, making sure I don't start any magic and break all our rules.”

Emily eyed him uncertainly. “Really?” He was still her littler brother, even if she had seen him with wings…

“Mmm-hmm. And I'm used to living in the human world. I always have. Not like him.” Robin flexed his fingers and grinned wolfishly.

Emily nibbled her bottom lip. Robin being boastful was nothing new, but was he really as strong as he thought? “Let's just go,” she muttered. “But promise me you won't do anything stupid.”

Robin shrugged and smiled. “I can't help it, Emily. I can't do any magic over here. Once we go through that door I can do anything I like… It's exciting!”

“Lory…” Lark wheezed, trying to reach for his foot. “Remember you're there for Lory!”

“I know.” Robin crouched down next to her. “We'll get her back, don't worry.” Then he sprang back up, grabbing Emily's hand, and Sasha's. “Let's go. We don't want to give Dan any more time than we have to. And remember, we stick together as we go through.”

Emily nodded. She had no intention of going off on her own, however wonderful it was to be going back to that entrancing world. Now that they were really about to step through the door, she wasn't sure if her stomach was jumping because she was excited, or terrified. Sasha's face looked pale and pinched but Robin truly seemed not to be scared at all. He was dancing on tiptoe as he walked around the chest, and then slowly he delicately stepped inside.

Emily felt a sharp tug on her arm and stepped hurriedly after him, scared to be left behind. There was a strange moment of blackness and cold, and then she was there, up to her knees in bright, curled ferns, the gaping hole of the hollow tree at her back. She couldn't see home through it, but then she supposed that wasn't really surprising. It was a secret door, after all.

Robin's wings had grown, she realized. She hadn't seen them spring out of his shoulders. She glanced at Sasha and caught her breath. The water fairy glittered in the sunlight, her hair rippling down her back in a green-gold stream. Her bare toes were scrunched in the damp ferns, as though even that faint touch of water was breathing new life into her.

Emily shook herself. “Where is he?” she whispered to Robin and Sasha. The wood seemed to stretch on for ever, full of hiding places. And then she felt the feather twitch in her hand. “Look!” She held it out, watching it quiver and curl on her palm. If she squinted sideways a little, she could almost see a thin, golden trail, like a thread, leading away through the trees.

Treading as softly as they could, they crept between the huge trees. Emily found it hard to concentrate on the thin, thread-like trail – there was so much else to see. And to be seen by. A tiny butterfly creature swooped down from the branches above them, its wings fluttering and blurring in the sunlight. It – she? – hovered in front of Emily, staring at her curiously, until Robin flapped her away with one sweep of his huge wings.

“What was that?” Emily breathed, watching the tiny thing twirl away, chittering angrily. It hadn't been just a butterfly – it had had a face, and bright, greedy little eyes.

“Something that could be off telling Dan we're here. Hurry up. Where's the thread?” Robin frowned down at the feather, trying to see the trail against the bars of shadow and light falling down through the trees.

“Look…” Sasha pointed between two trees, out into a clearing, carpeted with white, star-like flowers.

“Nice…” Emily agreed, but then she saw what Sasha was really pointing at, and gasped.

Hanging from a smaller tree in the centre of the clearing, pretty as a picture in a cloud of pink and white blossom, was a small, golden cage. It swung gently in the soft breeze and petals floated down around it, like scented snow.

It was probably the prettiest prison anyone had ever seen, and inside it was slumped a tiny orange and gold and crimson bird.

“Lory!” Emily gasped, recognizing the patterns on the bird's half-spread wings. She started to run out across the star-like flowers, but Robin grabbed her wrist, hauling her back.

“Watch it! We don't know where he is!”

“Oh…” Emily stopped, looking around anxiously. Robin was right. Dan could be hiding anywhere. “I didn't think… How are we going to get to her then?”

“We should go around the edge of the clearing,” Sasha whispered. “Behind the trees.”

“We'll probably walk right into him,” Robin muttered. But he started to creep round the next large oak tree as he said it, his wings tucked tightly against his back, as though he were trying to make himself as small as possible. For a moment Emily wondered if that was what they should do – make themselves tiny. She was sure Robin and Sasha could do it. But perhaps it would use up magic that they needed to save for rescuing Lory. And if they were beetle-sized, it would be horribly easy for someone to tread on them.

“We're coming, Lory,” Emily whispered, reaching out one hand to the tiny bird. She hated to turn away from her. The bird's wings were drooping so sadly, so hopelessly. So unlike her stroppy, confident sister. She looked as though she had given up – but surely she was expecting them to rescue her? Did she think they wouldn't follow her after the way she had behaved? Or perhaps she thought they would all have been caught in the trap spell on the chest. Then there would be no one to come after her until it was too late.

Emily shuddered. They could have been caught so easily. It was pure luck that Lark had dashed up to the attic ahead of them and sprung the spell.

She glanced fearfully over her shoulder, wondering if Dan had set any other traps.

“Can you see anything?” Sasha breathed, looking at her worriedly, and Emily shook her head. “You?”

Sasha sighed. “I keep thinking I do, but it's just the wind shaking the trees. Or I can hear the river.”

“All I can hear is you,” Robin hissed crossly, flapping one hand at them. “Shut up!”

“I wish we knew where Dan was,” Emily whispered, ignoring Robin. “I hate thinking that he might be creeping up on us. Can't we tell where he might be? Like with Lory and the feather?”

“No!” Robin glared at her. “We don't have any of his magic to follow, do we? Look, let's just get to Lory. If we can get her out of that cage it'll probably bring him running. Then we can try and fight him, and let's just hope he's still weak from his exile.” He peered through the branches towards the blossom tree and the sparkling cage. “It all seems a lot more real now we're here,” he admitted reluctantly. “If he's managed to get his strength back, we might just have to grab Lory and run…”

“And leave him to try and overthrow the king?” Emily hissed. “You want him and his evil sister in charge over here? Anyway, we need to take Dan back with us to break the spell on Lark.” Then her eyes widened and she clutched Robin's wrist.

“What?”

“We
do
have some of his magic!”

Robin and Sasha stared at her, and she nodded excitedly. “We do! The song, remember! The song he wrote for Lory. That was a spell. Can't we use it against him somehow?”

Robin frowned, his huge eyes narrowing. “Can you remember it?”

Emily laughed out loud, and then slapped her hand over her mouth. “Sorry. Yes, of course I can! I heard it often enough, didn't I? She played it over and over. I could probably sing you the whole thing!”

Robin nodded. “All right. Go on then. But quietly! And come to the edge of the trees. I reckon he's hiding somewhere close to Lory – we need to be able to see if he reacts.”

Emily nodded and looked out across the clearing, fixing her eyes on the tiny crimson bird. Robin and Sasha stood beside her, close enough to touch. She took a breath and started to sing, waveringly at first. She liked to sing, but usually only to herself, or singing along to music with Rachel. It was odd to sing on her own – and especially this song with the sugary lyrics she hated. But after a couple of lines, Emily forgot to be shy. She could almost see the words coming out of her mouth, twining round each other and spiralling out into the sunlit clearing. Her eyes widened and she kept singing, glancing round at Robin.

He nodded eagerly at her – he could see it too. It was like the golden thread of Lory's magic that they'd followed. The song became a soft, greenish mist, trailing through the bars of green-gold light, looping its way over to the pink and white blossom of the tree.

It wreathed itself around the glittering cage, and the scarlet bird lifted its head, sitting up on its perch, its tail feathers twitching.

Emily caught her breath. Lory knew that they were here. From across the clearing, she saw the little bird's dark eyes glint and her beak open. Lory began to sing, adding a chirruping trill to the song, changing it a little, making it stronger.