Treasure Hunt (8 page)

Bimi rushed over to her. ‘Pix told me the good news!' she cried, raising her voice to be heard over the music. ‘Did you give the ring to your gran? Is she OK now?'

‘Better than OK!' said Twink. Her heart felt as light as a floating feather. ‘Oh, Bimi, wait till I tell you!'

‘Your attention, please,' called Miss Twilight, hovering over the party. The music stopped as a hush fell over the platform. ‘I am pleased to announce the winners of the treasure hunt. We have a tie, with nine clues found each! Would Pix Sunbeam and Jade Dewdrop please fly up and collect your prize.'

A tie! How absolutely perfect! Twink burst into applause with the rest of her year, clapping her wings as hard as she could. Pix and Jade smiled at each other as Miss Twilight handed them a large package, beautifully wrapped in golden dandelion petals.

‘You'll have to share, I'm afraid,' said Miss Twilight. ‘There was only one grand prize.'

‘We don't mind sharing,' said Jade. ‘Do we, Pix?'

Pix grinned at her new friend. ‘No, we don't mind at all!'

There was more than one kind of prize to win, thought Twink as she watched the two fairies fly back to their places, holding the parcel between them and chattering eagerly. And she herself had won as well. Knowing that her gran was all right again was the best prize in the world!

The disco resumed, with the music even louder than before. Sooze started a fairy conga line, and Twink giggled as the fairies all linked together in a long, laughing chain, dancing around the platform to the music. ‘Conga!' shouted Sooze at the front, waggling her hips.

As the summer moon rose high in the sky, it caught the green stone in Twink's ring, flashing brightly. Bimi had said that the ring had magic of its own, and she was right, thought Twink: it was the magic that existed between grandparents and their grandchildren. That was why the ring had wanted to be found – not only to help Gran, but also to be passed along to Twink, so that she could give it to her own granddaughter some day.

Twink shook her head in amazement. Fancy
her
being old enough to have grandchildren! But she had only to think of her gran and Miss Shimmery to realise it was true. They had both been girls once, just like she was now. And one day she'd be their age . . . and maybe even as wise as they were.

But not just yet
, Twink thought, dancing under the stars with her friends. Bimi grabbed her hands and they swung around in a circle, shrieking with laughter as the ring shone on Twink's finger. No, now was the time for her to be exactly what she was: a third-year student at Glitterwings Academy.

And it was the best thing in the world!

.

Bloomsbury Publishing, London, Berlin, New York and Sydney

First published in Great Britain in 2009 by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc

36 Soho Square, London, W1D 3QY

Text copyright © Lee Weatherly 2009

Illustrations copyright © Smiljana Coh 2009

The moral right of the author has been asserted

This electronic edition published in September 2010 by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc

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A CIP catalogue record of this book is available from the British Library

ISBN 978 1 4088 1352 2

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