As Linnea slowed to a walk, Martha took a moment to glance down at the compass once again. It was still pointing east, so she looked in that direction and noted a long wood that continued out of sight, wrapping around the back of the red Castle Blaze.
Soren joined her and looked at the compass. “If we go through this part of the wood, we will avoid the exposed Flower Fields. We shouldn’t encounter anyone from the Middling Grounds – they tend to stick to their woods, which border the Middling Market,” he explained, then added warningly, “But stay close together.”
Caeruleus gave a toss of his mane and extended his wings. “I will protect you,” he neighed, at which Beatrice patted him affectionately. The other unicorns bunched close to the large stallion as he herded them behind Soren. Conn and Doran brought up the rear, with Aurus scanning the area for danger.
The late afternoon sunlight dappled through the network of branches overhead and created a shifting pattern on the mossy ground. Birds with bright feathers like shining jewels flitted through the trees, but otherwise all was still. Martha’s thoughts wandered. She hoped they would get the companions back soon; she didn’t want her family back in the human world to worry if they did not arrive back within the agreed timeframe.
A whirring noise brought her out of her thoughts, and Beatrice and Felicity’s eyes swivelled quizzically to hers.
“What is that?” Bracken squeaked, holding one tiny paw up to her floppy ear.
Martha looked down at the compass in her hands and stared at the golden arrow, which was spinning in circles. “What is happening?” she cried, holding out the compass to Doran.
The mage peered closely at it, then at her face. “This compass is attuned to you – what were you just thinking about?”
Martha flushed, then said quietly, “I was thinking how I hoped that we would find the companions soon, because I don’t want Grandmother and our parents to worry. I guess my thoughts wandered to home.”
Beatrice looked sympathetically at her. “It’s alright, Matty, we’ll get them back and be able to go home in time,” she said.
Martha gave a small smile. “I hope so,” she replied, and felt a soft paw on her arm. She looked down to see Bracken gazing up at her, worry shining in her huge eyes.
With an encouraging pat on the back, Conn rode past Martha and headed into a clearing in the trees.
“We will get them back as long as we all stay focused and believe,” Soren said, not unkindly. “We cannot afford to make any mistakes now.”
Martha knew the success of their journey fell firmly on her shoulders, and felt ashamed that she had allowed her thoughts to wobble off course. She took a few calming breaths and focused once again on getting north to Castle Astra. The compass settled in her hand; the arrow swung back around until it pointed north-east.
Soren gave a satisfied nod and hailed Conn, who cantered back. “We need to head on a diagonal path through the trees here,” he explained. “You go ahead with Martha; I’ll bring up the rear with Aurus.”
Conn inclined his head. “Lead on, compass-bearer,” he said with a cheery smile.
Martha gave a reluctant grin; the fairy’s good nature was infectious. She guided Linnea next to Arianwen, and together they trotted through the clearing and along a path that snaked through the thickly leaved trees.
The compass bearing held steady as the trees around them became denser and the group were forced to walk in single line. A flash of silver caught Martha’s eye as she rounded a slim, pretty fir tree. She put up a hand as sunlight reflected off a mirror hung from a tree’s low branch.
“What is a mirror doing there?” she wondered aloud.
Before anyone could reply, hundreds more flashes glinted off the trees around them. The unicorns suddenly went mad as the reflected sunlight blinded them, causing them to careen into trunks and low branches.
The children gave frightened shouts and yells as they tumbled from the backs of the unicorns. Caeruleus’ huge wings stopped Beatrice from falling, but Martha had the wind knocked out of her as she landed heavily on the mossy ground, her face mere inches from a glossy toadstool covered with blue spots.
Octavia stumbled to her feet and chased after her yellow mare. “Xanthe, come back!” she yelled, and disappeared from sight.
Chapter Seven
A Middling Muddle
Xanthe’s frightened neighs echoed around the trees. As she ran, she sent up a flock of birds that shimmered like glitter in the dappled sunlight.
Aurus gave chase as Soren, Conn and Doran helped the other children to their feet. Brushing leaves and dirt from her leggings, Martha hastily checked that Bracken was safe. The bunny squeaked indignantly as Martha pulled her from her bag. Luckily, she was unharmed; her furry body had been cushioned by the springy mossy ground. With a relieved sigh, Martha met Felicity’s confused gaze.
“Who would hang mirrors in the trees?” Felicity asked, glancing up at the circular disks suspended above them.
“That is a good question,” Soren said grimly. “Look, there are more ahead.” He gestured to where more mirrors could be seen, angled in various directions.
“Either someone wants to disconcert visitors, or they are hung in a way that they can see who is coming,” Conn said, his keen mind working fast, eyes scanning for danger.
Aurus walked back, leading a trembling Xanthe and a shaken Octavia, who had a large cut down her arm.
“Are you all right?” Felicity asked, rushing over to her sister’s side and inspecting the wound.
“I tripped over a tree root,” Octavia replied sheepishly.
“Here.” Beatrice climbed off Caeruleus’ back and hurried over, her wand in her hand. She gripped Felicity’s hand, and together they worked to heal Octavia’s cut. Martha blew out a relieved breath as she saw her young cousin’s skin smooth and whole once more.
“Thanks, Bea, Fliss,” Octavia said happily. The colour had returned to her cheeks, and she looked steadier.
Otto looked around the wood. “I don’t like it in here,” he said.
Soren and Conn stood with their hands resting lightly on their weapons. “All will be well, young Bloom son; we’ll stick together and move swiftly,” Conn reassured him.
They remounted their unicorns and clustered together, setting off once again. After another ten minutes, the trees thinned out and they were able to make faster progress. The mirrors were less prevalent in this part of the wood, but a glimmer of light now and again caught Martha’s eye, and she warily scanned ahead.
Conn, who was just ahead of Martha, pulled up Arianwen abruptly – for there in front of them was another river.
“We need to keep out of sight in the trees, but follow the river further upstream and cross there. I don’t want to cross here; those are the Middling Grounds woods on the other side,” Conn said quietly. “We will need to consult your compass, Martha, after we cross to find our direction again.”
Soren shielded his eyes from the sun and looked across at the dark wood across the river. “Agreed,” he said, and Martha nodded.
They moved on, keeping as close to the treeline as possible. The ground underfoot became sticky with mud, and the unicorns struggled to continue.
Aurus snorted in disgust as the mud stuck to the golden fur of his legs above his hooves. “This is ridiculous,” he said, “we cannot carry on like this.”
They came to a bend where the river snaked around to the right. Conn gave a shout of warning as he rounded the corner; Martha looked up to see a massive mud slide in front of them, blocking their way. Trees and mud had slid across the bank and into the river. With dawning horror, Martha realised that the unicorn’s hooves were now stuck in the mud, and with frightened neighs they tried to pull themselves free.
“Blooms, catch these!” Soren had flown back over a little way to the trees and pulled vines from the trunks. He threw them over to the children, who caught them deftly. Conn flew over to help him, and together they succeeded in pulling the unicorns out
of the sucking mud. The unicorns gained solid ground and stomped their hooves in disgust, dislodging the muck from their rainbow hooves.
The children disembarked and led the trembling unicorns over to the tree line, stroking and murmuring to them to calm them down.
Before they had time to collect their thoughts, Conn shouted suddenly.
“It’s a trap!”
He whirled around. Using his powerful wings to propel him towards Octavia and Otto, who were nearest to him, he picked them up in his strong arms and flew them away from an iridescent net that was strung between two trees. Doran, who had turned abruptly at the shout, gave a yell of his own as he tripped over a root that was sticking out of the ground. He plunged headfirst into another net, his hands sticking to the shimmering mass.
“Help! I can’t use my magic!” he shouted.
Martha and Beatrice looked at one another, aghast, before Beatrice pulled out her wand and aimed it at the net.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” a voice warned from the cover of the trees as a silky thread shot out and wrapped around Beatrice’s wand, whipping it from her hand and into the shadows. Beatrice spun around, looking for the owner of the voice.
Felicity crept up to Martha, who stood frozen in fear, Bracken squeaking in terror from inside Martha’s bag.
“Stay out of sight,” Martha whispered to the bunny through stiff lips.
“Show yourself!” Soren commanded, his hand resting lightly on the hilt of his sword.
“As you wish,” the voice remarked. There was movement in the shadowy trees, and four figures emerged.
Martha was shocked to see two boy-fairies about her and Beatrice’s age, along with two young stags, step into the clearing. The boys didn’t look as well-cared-for as the fairies in the royal court; their clothes were unkempt, and they both looked like they could do with a good meal. Martha’s nose wrinkled in distaste before she guiltily pushed away her mean thoughts.
As if the fairies’ appearance wasn’t enough of a shock, the two stags caused Martha’s mouth to drop open. The smaller of the stags had tiny, stick-like antlers, whilst the bigger one had a mass of antlers tangled together like a thorny bush. The weight caused him to hang his head at a tilt as he focused his honey-coloured eyes upon them.
“Fenn, Reed! What are you doing?” Conn blustered as he stared at the two fairies. The two boys stared back at Conn in shock, before squaring their shoulders and sneering. Aurus tossed his mighty head as he looked down his golden snout at the two smaller stags. They stood their ground, staring silently back at the imposing sight.
“You know these two?” Soren asked in confusion.
“I do. I befriended them during my time at the Middling Market. I thought we were friends. I guess those were your mirrors back there?” Conn said, frowning.
He placed Octavia and Otto behind him and walked over to the two fairies. As he did so, the two stags walked to stand in front of the boys protectively, their antlers braced towards Conn.
“Pretty ingenious, if I do say so myself,” the fairy with green hair said. “Got a job lot from Magorian at The Middling Market. We saw you coming, and you didn’t even realise it.” He sniggered.
“Fenn, please tell me what the meaning of this is,” Conn said, holding out his hands in a placatory gesture.
“We’ve been told to capture any intruders and take them to the Middling Market for questioning,” Fenn replied, his summer-sky-blue eyes serious.
“Who told you to do that?” Conn asked.
Fenn’s wings ruffled in agitation. “I cannot tell you! You just have to come with us.”
The other fairy, Reed, had been eyeing Martha, Beatrice, and Felicity with interest, but quickly averted his eyes as Martha turned her turquoise gaze in his direction.
“We mean you no harm – we just need to rescue our friends,” Martha said to him. He ran a hand through his short, straw-coloured hair and turned his soft green eyes back to her as she spoke, but Fenn looked warningly at Reed and turned away from the group.
With a shrug, Reed said, “I’m sorry, but you have to come with us. We have no choice.”
Soren and Conn exchanged worried expressions. “We had better go with them for now. I’d rather get to the bottom of this without anyone getting hurt,” Conn said, with an anxious glance at the two young fairies.
Aurus snorted in disapproval, and Soren placed a staying arm upon the stag’s broad back. “What about Doran?” he asked with a nod at the mage, who was still entangled in the sticky shimmering net.
“Twig!” Fenn shouted at the smaller stag. Twig trotted forwards and used his twig-like antlers like a knife, slicing through the net and releasing the old fairy. He dropped to the floor before using his wings to stand upright.
His eyes blazed as he stared at the two boy-fairies and stags. “Imagine! Bested by fairy-lings and their pets!” he expostulated, brushing leaves and dirt from his robe.
Fenn and Reed looked insulted, their faces twisting in anger. “This way, old mage, and no magic for you,” Fenn said stiffly. He threw out a roll of sticky thread which wound itself around Doran’s hands, entirely covering them.
Doran looked down. “What is this stuff?” he asked in distaste.
“Never you mind. Let’s just say you won’t be doing any magic for a little while,” Fenn said, to which Twig sniggered.
“May I have my wand back, please? I promise not to use it,” Beatrice said to Reed, who was twirling it absentmindedly in his right hand.
“I think not. I have been told not to trust humans – especially Blooms,” Reed answered.
Martha exchanged a confused look with Beatrice. “But why? We only want the best for Fairy Land,” she said.
“Yes – you want to keep it all pretty and perfect for Queen Rhosyn.” Fenn bowed mockingly.
“Careful,” Soren warned softly. “You are treading on dangerous ground.”
“Oh, what do we care? The queen cannot do anything worse to us than what we already have to endure!” Reed shouted, throwing up his hands.
“Reed, enough! Do not say anything more!” the larger stag brayed, shaking his massive antlers and looking around the trees fearfully. “She may be listening.”
“Sorry, Thicket,” Reed mumbled, flushing.
“Who? The queen?” Otto piped up, trying to follow the conversation.
“Yes, the queen,” the stag said wryly. He prodded Doran with his antlers and set him walking; the others followed along, leading the quiet unicorns.
As they walked back the way they had come along the treeline, Reed kept throwing sideways glances at Caeruleus.
“That’s a funny-looking unicorn,” he finally said.
Caeruleus looked haughtily down his blooming snout. His crystal horn glowed briefly. “I am Caeruleus, son of King Polaris, king of the unicorns of Inlustris,” he told the fairy importantly.
“Wow…” Reed puffed out slowly. “He can talk! I’ve never come across a talking unicorn before.”
Twig and Thicket were talking quietly behind, but Martha heard the words.
“He’d fetch a fine price at the Middling Market. I bet Magorian would like to get his wings on him.”
Martha looked over her shoulder at the pair and frowned, and they ceased talking abruptly.
Fenn and Reed stopped at a point on the riverbank and threw some dust in the air. It sparkled briefly in the sun, which was starting to dip lower in the sky, before settling and revealing a hidden bridge.
Doren looked reluctantly impressed, and Soren and Conn exchanged a wry glance. “I didn’t know that was there,” Conn said with an apologetic shrug.
Fenn bowed mockingly to the Bloom children as they passed him, following Reed, Twig and Thicket across the bridge. They entered the dark wood and shivered with cold. No sunlight penetrated the thick canopy.
Martha lost track of the time as they walked through the twisted and gnarled trees. She checked on Bracken, who had curled up at the bottom of her bag and was s
noozing despite the perilous situation they found themselves in.
Martha was relieved when they came out onto a dirt track. Before them was a bustling market, but it wasn’t filled with colourful flowers, juicy fruits and plump bread, as the children might expect to see in Bloomsville market. Instead it was filled with potion bottles, scrolls, weapons, and shiny objects. Signs proclaiming ‘Fairies for hire – ex-tooth fairy, will work for teeth’ and ‘Ex-dream fairy, will work for nightmares’ caused the children to shudder in horror.
As the group made their way through the rough huts and stalls, the market chatter ceased and all eyes turned to them. Martha’s skin prickled uncomfortably as market vendors eyed them speculatively, imaginary fairy-coin signs shining in their gazes.
“Reed! Fenn!” an excited voice called out, and a tiny girl-fairy barrelled through the crowd, her hair a cloudburst of sunny yellow. Her wings fluttered behind her, twisted and bent. Martha stared in shock. All of the fairies they had come across so far during their time in Fairy Land had been exactly how she had always imagined fairies to look.
Immediately, she felt horrified at her thoughts, but not before Reed caught the look on her face and sneered. “What’s the matter? Are we not up to your standards? Here in the Middling Grounds we don’t have a healing fairy on call. Callia fell when she was younger and broke her wings, so now she can’t fly.”
Martha flushed guiltily at his expression of contempt and turned to watch Fenn bending to pick up the little fairy.
“Callia, what are you doing in the market? You’re supposed to be with Aunt Ivy,” he admonished, but he winked to show he wasn’t actually mad at the tiny fairy.
Callia’s rosebud mouth puckered into an ‘O’ as she gazed at the children and the unicorns. “Pretty,” she breathed, holding out a tiny hand to Linnea, who snorted softly in reply.
The crowd around the group started to close in. “What you got there, Fenn? You going to share the bounty?” asked a particularly tall, muscly fairy with lank brown hair.
Martha Bloom and the Glass Compass Page 6