The Magic Book series, book 1 (9 page)

The girls
shrank back, intimidated by him now - for real - then turned
abruptly and scrambled down the tree, then ran through the knot
doorway. They didn’t need to look back to see if he was following
this time – it was as if they could feel his bristling frustration
burning through their backs!

They just made
it through into the Great Hall ahead of him and ran to the centre,
spinning round to face him as they stopped.

“Okay, okay,
you can have the stupid book if it means so much to you,” Sophie
shouted. “It doesn’t even have anything written in it, so I don’t
know what all the fuss is about – look!” Sophie pulled out The
Book, and holding it with outstretched arms she flipped through the
pages as if to prove her point.

“Here, take it.
I just want to go home,” Felicity bluffed, taking hold of the other
side of The Book as they’d planned.

Now they both
had it as Queen Tara had instructed them. But where were the
fairies? If they were there still under the cloaking spell, surely
now was the perfect time to appear? It feals as if we’re on our own
with him, Felicity thought. For the first time she started to feel
completely intimidated. Just have faith….she told herself
silently.

Nightshade
looked suspicious. Had he seen them looking around for the others?
Still, it seemed the temptation was too much and in a sudden burst
he flew towards them to snatch The Book, greedy anticipation
distorting his otherwise handsome face.

Just as he
grasped The Book, Campion and Sorrel appeared from the shadows
behind Nightshade and took hold of the girls’ hands to complete the
circle around him. Nightshade was trapped! Suddenly realising this
he tried to release The Book but seemed unable to do so, his hands
invisibly bound to it.

Now Queen Tara
appeared, and glided towards the circle.

“Free me this
instant, and I might take pity on you and your human…..pets!”
snarled Nightshade, with palpable distain. Sophie doubted that he
would!

“Oh, but don’t
you know, your powers are much weakened in here?” came Queen Tara’s
rhetorical question in a cool, controlled voice, with just a
flicker of a smile playing on her lips.

Campion and
Sorrel began to chant in unison, and the girls joined in.

“We call upon
the powers of children’s disbelief

To rid us
all

Of The Wicked
One’s rule

And return us
all to peace.

Be gone the
wicked spirit

Within our dear
Nightshade

Return him to
our kind and

To the ways in
which he’s made.

We call upon
the powers

Of children’s
disbelief

To bind this
spirit over

And cause us no
more grief.”

They seemed to
repeat it over and over with very little change in Nightshade, but
then just as doubts were creeping into the girls’ minds, his hands
fell away from The Book as he slumped to the floor. It was as if he
were asleep. His breath came steadily but slowly. Beads of
perspiration shone on his brow, a sign of the struggle that he had
suffered in vain to try to overcome their magic.

Sophie and
Felicity held their breath and looked towards Queen Tara. She gave
a nod and a relieved smile.

“You may relax
now,” she reassured them.

There was a
collective sigh as everyone’s hands dropped back to their
sides.

“Is he going to
die?” asked Felicity in a small, choked voice. He’d been such a
threat to the fairies, but now he looked so small and helpless
lying heaped on the floor like a rag doll.

“Oh no, I’m
sure he will recover,” Queen Tara said comfortingly. “We must let
him rest now. Campion and Sorrel, please take Nightshade to the
secure room and set him on the bed. The girls and I will watch over
him until we are sure all is well. Come, Sophie and Felicity, while
we wait I’m sure you have many questions you’d like to ask me.”

The girls
nodded their agreement and followed. It was going to be hard to
know which of the many questions they had racing about in their
minds to ask first!

With Nightshade
settled in the secure room and still sleeping soundly, Bryony
arrived carrying in food and cool water for the girls, and oh, how
they needed it!”

“May I?” asked
Queen Tara, holding out her hand, gesturing for The Book.

“Oh yes,
certainly.” Sophie had quite forgotten that she was still holding
it and gladly handed it over.

As they ate
hungrily, Queen Tara began answering some of their questions as
promised.

“I thought
Nightshade was born bad,” pondered Sophie. “The enchantment we all
said just then made it sound like there was an evil spirit or
something making Nightshade do the things he did.”

“True, I did
think that he was born bad originally,” agreed Queen Tara. “Whilst
I was confined inside The Book it gave me time to reflect on it
all. A question came to me; how could Nightshade have become so
powerful? As an answer formulated in my mind, it suddenly became
clear to me how it must have all begun. You see, when he was born,
he almost didn’t live. He should have died, he was such a sickly
child. We always wondered how he managed to survive, but I gave
little time to it really as I was just so glad that he had - we all
were! The Wicked One must have taken the chance to breathe life
into Nightshade during those first few vulnerable moments of his
life, and from that point on she was able to dwell within
Nightshade. Nightshade was being used like a puppet if you will, a
tool with which to overcome us. Having Nightshade growing up right
in our midst gave her the perfect camouflage until Nightshade was
old enough and strong enough to carry out her plans. Now though,
your help has given Nightshade a new chance of life, a proper life,
living as he should have been, not what he had been forced to
become. The Wicked One has been driven out by the very forces of
evil she was using against us, which was probably the last thing
she would think of us using! Even she is weak against human
non-belief in fairies. We needed a human child with strong beliefs,
trustworthiness and bravery, enough to complete such a task.
Luckily The Book saw a chance to escape from Nightshade and was
able to cross into your world in search of humans such as
yourselves, and in turn you released me!

“So how come I
drew you? – I just used my imagination,” Sophie puzzled.

“Ah well, you
may have been holding the pen but The Book ultimately controls it,
so you drew the image the book placed into your mind. It needed a
human child to willingly draw me in order to break the spell,” she
explained.

“How about when
we tried to use the book at home, nothing ever happened?” asked
Felicity.

“Not all your
land is accessible to our magic. Your school happens to sit right
in the middle of a very special place, right next to our Great
Oak,” Queen Tara said proudly, reaching out and affectionately
patting the wall as if to emphasise its importance. “Step outside
the school area…” she continued, “and our powers, depleted as they
were due to The Wicked One, failed to be strong enough for The Book
to function. The Great Oak was a vital connection, boosting its
strength, just enough!

Felicity nodded
thoughtfully. It was all starting to make more sense now.

“You have saved
our kind and we will be eternally in your debt.” Queen Tara rose
from her chair to make a slow curtsey, bowing her head as she did
so – to them. Royalty bowing to them! Sophie and Felicity felt
deeply honoured, and more than a little embarrassed.

“It was
teamwork though,” Felicity said, feeling her cheeks flush red at
the compliments. “We wouldn’t have known what to do, or even know
how to get here without everyone’s help.”

At that moment,
Nightshade stirred and struggled to sit up.

“Quickly,
encircle him in case…” Queen Tara left the sentence hanging as she
flew swiftly to his bedside. Once again they joined hands around
the bed and held their breaths……

But when
Nightshade sat up, it was clear that things were different with
him. He looked bewildered and more than a little afraid.

“What happened?
Why are you stood round me like that?” he asked apprehensively, now
defensively crouched cat-like on the bed, slowly wheeling round on
the spot, as if ready to bolt should any of them make a move
towards him. He saw the girls for the first time, “Who are you?” He
eyed them with great suspicion.

“It’s okay,
we’re friends,” Sophie was quick to reassure him as they broke the
circle of arms.

“It’s a long
story my dear Nightshade, one for another day,” cut in Queen Tara.
“For now, welcome home.” She bent to embrace him. He crumpled into
her arms and cried, like the young vulnerable fairy he still
was.

“I’ve... I’ve…
had the most terrible dream!” he blurted out between sobs.

“We know
darling, but it’s all over now. Hush child,” she crooned, rocking
him gently. Queen Tara was now certain Nightshade was truly free of
The Wicked One.

Bryony wiped a
tear of joy and relief from her cheek at having back the Nightshade
she had known, loved and missed terribly. The conversation she’d
had with Heather as they’d headed to that fateful meeting when
Poppy had told them Queen Tara and The Book were missing, seemed
like a lifetime ago now; when they’d all thought Nightshade had
turned bad. But now she understood it was never his fault; she had
her soul mate back – for keeps!

Sorrel, Campion
and Bryony turned towards the door, gesturing for the girls to
follow, giving Queen Tara and Nightshade some privacy for their
emotional reunion. Quietly they walked out, closing the door softly
behind them.

Once clear of
the secure room, Sorrel spoke excitedly, “We shall have a party
tonight; there’s much to celebrate - thanks to you both! Please say
you’ll come? He clasped his hands together as if to beg them.

“We’d love to,”
the girls answered without hesitation and in unison, making their
friends laugh.

As they made
their way out into the fresh air, all five paused to look skywards.
It was now clear and bright. There was just the odd wisp of dark
cloud here and there, dissipating quickly like paint droplets into
water. Soon there would be little to show of the storm that had
threatened to engulf Serenia and their own world with it.

It was as if
even the plants and animals themselves knew they had been given a
new lease of life; birds were singing with renewed vigour, flowers
were unfurling and the sweet comforting smell of lavender that the
girls had come to associate with Serenia, was permeating the air
once more.

A stream of
fairies following behind them skipped and flew out from the Great
Oak, in which they had all sought refuge, each one eager to begin
the preparations for the celebrations that night.

Once the
finishing touches had been made, the glade fell still as all the
fairies hastily went back to their homes to change, leaving the
girls to enjoy a rare moment of quiet.

“Isn’t it
serene here?” Sophie sighed. “Serene…Serenia! I see why they called
it that now,” she added, pleased to have made the connection.

“Oh yes,”
Felicity smiled, “very appropriate. It is especially calm and
peaceful here, like a little corner of Heaven.” They fell into
silence as they soaked in its tranquillity.

“It’s a shame
we haven’t anything pretty to wear,” Felicity said wistfully.

“Yes, it would
be nice,” Sophie conceded, “but I don’t think I could get any
happier if I tried right now. It doesn’t seem to matter to me in
the same way as it might have done at home.”

Felicity nodded
in agreement as they leant into each other affectionately and
lapsed back into silence, trying to take a photograph of it all in
their minds eye, in case they never had the opportunity to
return.