13 Treasures

by Michelle Harrison

  “And what did you bring him for?” he said, looking at Oberon in disgust.

  “Protection. I always feel safer when he’s at my side.”

  “Hiding behind you, more like. He’s a coward.”

  “He’d defend me if he needed to!”

  Fabian gave a disbelieving stare, then looked toward the forest, squinting through the rain.

  “Let’s get going. Better not waste any more time. It should be drier in the woods, once we’re under the trees.”

  They set off toward the forest, unsteady on the waterlogged ground. The squelching of their footsteps and the tumultuous pouring of the rain filled their ears. Then a low rumble of thunder began in the distance. There was no moon or stars to guide them; no streetlights glowed as they would in the city. The darkness was a heavy, suffocating vacuum. Only the silhouette of the forest stood out ahead, one shade of black darker than the sky.

  Tanya’s courage began to fail her.

  “This is stupid,” she said, stopping suddenly. “Anything could happen on a night like tonight. What if we get caught? Or what if one of us gets injured? We could get hypothermia by the time help arrives! And what if the ground caves in like it did in Tickey End—”

  “The ground isn’t going to cave in!” said Fabian.

  “It might; it’s happened before! You told me yourself!”

  Fabian lost his temper. “If you’re going to whine like a baby then I don’t know why you bothered coming. You might as well go back. Otherwise, shut up! We’re nearly there!”

  Tanya opened her mouth to reply, but was struck dumb as a large, black shape swooped soundlessly through the air toward them. With a small cry she ducked out of the way, narrowly avoiding being hit by the flying object—but Fabian was not so fortunate. She heard him wince as the thing grazed the top of his head before it disappeared into the night.

  “What was that?” he exclaimed, rubbing his crown.

  “I don’t know!” Tanya gasped, scanning the dark sky. The swirling mass of rain thrown into her eyes by the wind was blinding her. Her hair whipped around her face. “A bat, I think!” Before she had even finished the sentence, she saw another dark swoop—and this time Fabian yelled, clutching at his scalp.

  “What?” Tanya cried.

  Fabian pulled his fingers away from the top of his head. They were smeared with blood. They both watched as the lashing rain washed it away in seconds.

  “It’s attacking me!” Fabian managed. “Whatever it is… it’s attacking me!”

  “Look out!” Tanya shouted, as the thing swooped silently once more, seemingly out of nowhere. Oberon lunged into the air with an enthusiastic snap of his jaws, but the creature was long gone before his teeth had even clicked together.

  Fabian ducked, then stumbled and lost his balance, falling down onto the waterlogged earth. He emerged wearing a suit of mud, shaking violently. There was no time to speak, or even to think of what was happening before the creature launched another assault—and this time it did not fly off. Instead, it hooked onto the back of Fabian’s mud-drenched clothes with long, black talons, and began a frenzied attack on the back of his head.

  Suddenly, Tanya was able to see the thing for exactly what it was: not a bat but a bird. A large, black bird. A raven. Tearing and jabbing at Fabian’s hair and scalp for all it was worth—because, she realized, it could not get to her. By speaking, she had surrendered the protection of the red raincoat—but she was still protected by the iron nail in her pocket.

  “Get it off!” Fabian yelled, batting at his head to no avail. “Make it stop!”

  Oberon growled, jumping up at Fabian in an attempt to get at the bird. Ultimately, he only served to make things worse. His huge bulk collided heavily with Fabian’s gangly frame—and Fabian went down for a second time, the wind knocked out of him. The raven, sensing its vulnerable position, released its hold on Fabian and soared up, above them.

  Tanya hauled Fabian out of the mud. He was shaking with rage or cold or fear—or perhaps all three. A thin line of blood trickled down his forehead. Glancing fearfully above, Tanya quickly pulled her left arm out of her raincoat and bundled it around Fabian’s mud-soaked shoulders, doing the only thing she could think of to project the protection of the nail in the raincoat pocket onto Fabian as well as herself. All the while her mind worked furiously to come up with a lie that she hoped would convince Fabian to do as she instructed.

  “What are you doing?” Fabian said weakly.

  “Put this on,” said Tanya. “Put your left arm through—that’s it—and now put your other arm around me.”

  “What use is that?” Fabian spluttered. “This is no time for a cuddle, you know!”

  “It’s to fool the bird, you idiot! Don’t you see? It’s been driven mad by the storm, and for some reason it’s attacking you! If it thinks you and I are one person, we might be able to make it back to the house with your head intact!” She hoped she sounded convincing enough. For a moment, Fabian’s expression led her to fear the opposite.

  “Back to the house?” he said, looking toward the forest.

  Tanya followed his gaze. Water was trickling down her spine, and her hair was plastered to the sides of her face. “We can’t do this, Fabian. Not tonight; it’s all wrong. We have to go back.”

  They stared at the woods, and Tanya felt Fabian slump with defeat next to her. They started to turn to go back when a flash of lightning lit up the sky. In that instant they both saw it. A shadowy figure was standing perfectly still by the brook. Even though it was no more than a split second, the outline of the figure was unmistakable.

  “Warwick,” Tanya whispered.

  They stood, rooted to the spot in fear.

  “What are we going to do?”

  “Run,” said Fabian, sounding choked. “And pray he hasn’t seen us!”

  They turned and ran as fast as they could back toward the house, jostling and bumping together in the raincoat like some kind of four-legged and two-armed mythical monster. Oberon galloped along beside them happily, his tongue hanging out like a slice of ham. To him it was all a game.

  Tanya turned to look over her shoulder. The raven was gone, successful in its attempts to prevent them from venturing farther. There was only the more imminent danger that was Warwick. All she could see through the sheets of rain was the outline of the forest against the sky. “Do you think he saw us?”

  “I don’t know,” Fabian gasped. “But if we saw him, then there’s a good chance he saw us too!”

  “I told you this was a bad idea!” Tanya yelled. “We should never have left the house!”

  They neared the gate, wheezing for breath. Fabian shrugged out of the raincoat and fumbled with the latch. A clap of thunder made them jump.

  “Quickly!” said Tanya. “Before the lightning strikes again!”

  The latch lifted and Fabian swung the gate open and slipped through with Oberon, then Tanya stepped half into the garden, pausing to stare back toward the forest.

  “Come on!” Fabian pulled her through. “Hurry!”

  “Wait.” Tanya peered around the edge of the gate. The lightning flashed a second time, illuminating the sky. It was enough to see that there was no sign of Warwick anywhere near.

  “I can’t see him,” she said, closing the gate. “Let’s just get back inside the house.” By now her face was numb, frozen by the relentless rain.

  They hurried through the garden, skidding dangerously in the mud. Fabian knelt down outside the back door and retrieved the key, hidden beneath an upturned flowerpot. It was only when they entered the kitchen and Oberon trotted over to his basket that Tanya realized that getting upstairs quickly was not going to be possible.

  “Oh, no… the floor… look at the floor!”

  Fabian looked down in dismay at the trail of muddy paw prints leading from the door to the dog’s bed, then at his own mud-caked shoes and clothes. What little color was left in his face drained right then.

  Tanya thought quickly.
<
br />   “Take off your shoes and carry them upstairs. Hide them until you get the chance to clean them.” She scanned the kitchen until her eyes rested on a damp cloth at the sink. “I’ll clean up this mess, and any drips of water you might leave in the hallway.”

  “But what about Warwick?” said Fabian. “He could be here any second!”

  Tanya’s stomach churned. “There’s still a chance he didn’t see us. If we do this properly we might get away with it. If he did see us it’ll make no difference if he catches me—he’ll know it was us anyway.”

  “I just don’t get it,” said Fabian. “How could he have known?”

  “He must have heard us talking somehow and decided to wait for us,” said Tanya, removing her sodden sneakers. “But we don’t have time for this now—go, and I’ll see you in the morning.” Spying a roll of paper towels, she tore off a handful and threw it at Fabian. “For your head. Now go.”

  Fabian pulled off his muddy boots and crept upstairs. Immediately, Tanya set to work on the floor, frantically wiping up all traces of mud. When the floor was spotless, she began to rub at Oberon’s dirty paws. The dog lay there and let her do it, eyeing her lazily. Her heart thudded in her chest as the door rattled in the wind. With every gust she thought Warwick was back and the game was up.

  When she was convinced there was no evidence that anyone had been outside, she took a towel from the draining board and carefully made her way upstairs, drying any drips that Fabian had left. Luckily, the first-floor landing was carpeted, so there was little else she could do except hope that any damp spots dried out by morning.

  By the time she got back to her room Tanya was exhausted, but with the kind of nervous energy she knew would not allow her to sleep. She had no idea whether Warwick had seen them or not, although the fact that they had made it back unchallenged gave her hope. And the raven… she shuddered. The fairies had sent Raven in her bird form to scare Fabian as well as Tanya. It had been warning them. But about what? Warwick—or the woods?

  She stuffed the filthy cloth and towel under the bed with her saturated clothes and shoes before pulling on her pajamas and jumping into bed, winding herself into the covers and desperately trying to warm her freezing hands and feet.

  One thought was chanting in her mind.

  How could Warwick have known?

  She did not remember falling asleep that night, but when sleep came it was far from restful. When the yelling began shortly before six o’clock the next morning, it did not wake her as quickly as usual. After she finally opened her eyes, it was several seconds before she realized that the noise was not coming from Amos, but from the very same room she was in.

  The person shouting was her.

  15

  At first, Tanya thought she must have still been dreaming as the room came into focus, for what she saw was the stuff of nightmares.

  In the night, her hair had grown—a lot. It had grown at least four times as long as Tanya was tall. The room was full of hair. Thick, shiny chestnut waves spilled over the bedclothes, pooled on the carpet, and lapped at the walls and door like a dark brown sea. It was everywhere, and there was so much of it that it had even begun to climb the walls and wind itself around the doorknob, as well as snaking up the chimney in the same way ivy crawled up the walls of the manor. As a thick tendril inched its way slyly toward the window ledge, Tanya realized the worst of it.

  Her hair was still growing.

  Terror gnawed at her like a rat. She couldn’t think. She couldn’t move. She was frozen, helpless. This was her punishment for attempting to enter the woods last night.

  She barely had time to register the telltale creak of the floorboards outside on the landing before there was a loud rapping on the door.

  “What’s going on in there?” Her grandmother’s voice was harsh and insistent.

  Tanya’s mouth opened and closed wordlessly.

  “N-nothing,” she managed finally. “I’m fine.”

  “I heard shouting. Is everything all right?”

  Tanya’s eyes widened in horror as the doorknob began to turn. She heard her grandmother’s exasperated tut as the door remained firmly shut—and closed her eyes in temporary relief. She did not even remember locking it.

  “I had a nightmare,” she croaked. “But I’m all right now.”

  “I don’t like locked doors in this house,” said Florence. “Not when there are people behind them.”

  Tanya stared at the door, stricken. There was absolutely no way she could afford to open that door to her grandmother, but if Florence really wanted to come in there would be no stopping her. If Warwick had a skeleton key then her grandmother was sure to have one too.

  “I didn’t mean to lock it,” Tanya said quietly. “It won’t happen again.” Another lie.

  “If you’ve wet the bed or something I won’t be cross.” Florence’s voice was firm but not unkind. “We can clean the sheets now and no one else need know. But if you leave it—”

  “No, I haven’t wet the bed!” Tanya practically shouted. “I just had a nightmare, that’s all!” Panic was bubbling up inside her, threatening to turn into hysteria. She fought the urge to scream.

  “Very well.” Her grandmother’s tone was back to its usual standoffish manner. “Breakfast is at eight. I expect you to be at the table promptly.”

  Go away, go away, go away! Tanya shrieked inside her head—but all she could do was listen as Florence retreated along the landing to her own room.

  With the threat of her grandmother no longer imminent, Tanya jolted into action. She pushed back the bedclothes with difficulty, the movement hampered by the extra weight of the hair cascading over the covers. As she stepped out of bed, her feet disappeared into the mounds of hair. Every step she took felt like she was wading through thick brown syrup.

  The hair was enchanted, of that she held no doubt. Its weight and the way it clung to her limbs was not normal; it was like the hair itself was trying to prevent her from escaping. Carefully, she slid her way toward the adjoining bathroom and rummaged through the cabinet for the nail scissors.

  They were not there.

  Something gurgled behind her. Tanya turned slowly, with a sickening feeling of understanding, and peered into the plughole in the bathtub. Her gaze met with a pair of huge, gleaming eyes. The rotten-egg stench of drains wafted up as the drain-dweller stretched its hand through the plughole and mimed a scissor movement with its froglike fingers.

  “Snip, snip,” it gargled. “Oh, snip, snip!”

  “Give them back!” Tanya whispered angrily. She lunged for the creature’s hand but it slid out of her grasp. “Please,” she begged. “Just for a minute, give them to me… you can have them back afterward, I promise! You can keep them!”

  The creature belched and danced gleefully in the drain, spurting murky water through the plughole. It was clearly enjoying itself.

  “Snip, snip! Findings, keepings! Trickings and treatings! Shiny, glittery, snippetty, snappetty… oh, snip, snip! Snippetty SNIP!”

  Tanya would have gladly snipped the creature’s thieving little fingers off had she been able to get to the scissors, but they were well and truly out of her reach, no doubt with her missing watch deep in the drain creature’s lair.

  “Hairy, hairy, crossed the fairies, how does your bonnet grow?” the fairy cackled. “With dandruff, lice, it’s all very nice, and… oh!”

  “I don’t have lice,” Tanya said furiously, scratching at her suddenly itchy head. “Or dandruff!” Several white flakes floated past her face. She stopped scratching in alarm. “You! You just did that, you… you—”

  She broke off as she realized the creature had ceased its taunting and was now gazing at something in utter adoration. Its beady eyes were trained on the silver charm bracelet her grandmother had given her. It was sparkling even in the murky light of the bathroom. A sudden plan formed in her mind, one in which the bracelet could play a part in protecting her after all.

  “You like this?” she s
aid. “You do, don’t you?”

  The creature nodded vigorously, its bald head bobbing up and down in the drain. “Shiny. Twinkles!”

  “I’ll make a deal with you,” said Tanya. She lowered her voice. “These charms are magical,” she lied. “Each of them has a special power.”

  The creature’s eyes widened in excitement. Scanning the charms, Tanya selected her least favorite, the cauldron, and tugged at it until the link weakened and finally snapped. She held it aloft. “This cauldron will fill with anything you wish for. You could fill your whole drain with shiny, glittery treasures. You can have it in exchange for the scissors.”

  “Yes, yes,” the creature gurgled, reaching its arm through the plughole once more. “Mine now, mine!”

  Tanya shook her head. “First, the scissors.”

  The creature pouted and sulked, but Tanya held her ground, lifting the charm higher to catch the light. The drain-dweller’s eyes grew wide and it licked its lips in anticipation. Finally it admitted defeat and squelched into the depths of the plughole. A moment later it emerged with the slime-covered scissors and placed them in Tanya’s palm, before snatching the charm she offered from her other hand and sliding back into the safety of the drain.

  Tanya collapsed on the bathroom floor as the fairy crooned with glee over its new possession. Her sense of relief was to be short-lived. As she lifted the scissors to her hair and began to hack, it became clear that nothing was happening. She tried harder, with fewer strands, but not one single hair could be severed from her head. In frustration she tossed them aside. She already knew it wasn’t the scissors, knew that they were sharp enough. It was her hair, or rather, the spell on her hair. It couldn’t be broken with scissors alone.

  She sat on the cold tiles, her hair rippling around her. She had no idea how she was going to get out of this one. Her only hope was Red. If only she could find a way of getting to her unseen. She felt her eyes well with tears at the thought. She was the one meant to be helping Red, not the other way around. Clearly she had overestimated her capabilities. She screwed her face up in determination. What would Red do?