A Witch Come True

by James Nicol

  Your friend, Estar

  Edda was the ancient place the feylings used in times of trouble, an old village in the Great Wood they had fled to after the loss of their city, Erraldur. Arianwyn felt a moment of guilty relief knowing she wouldn’t be working on the quiet glyphs until Estar returned – but this was quickly followed by sadness. She already missed Salle, Grandmother, Colin and her dad so much and now Estar had returned to Edda. She felt selfish and silly, but wished the days would hurry past until Yule and they would all be together again.

  She flicked on the Spellorium lights. Everything was just as it had been when she left a few days ago. She sighed as she heard the church bells ring out midnight. She was tempted to collect Bob, her moon hare, from the Blue Ox – just so she wouldn’t be alone. But it was too late and everyone would already be tucked up in bed, fast asleep. She stifled another yawn and headed for the stairs and the small apartment and her own bed.

  The next morning Arianwyn woke to the sound of rain pattering against the windows of the apartment. Usually, there was something comforting and cosy about the sound of the rain when she was snuggled up under the covers. But she knew it had been raining pretty much since she had left just under a week ago. This wasn’t good news. She glanced at the stack of notes on the small table beside her bed. For a town that had coped for years without a witch, they had quickly become dependent on her in the not-quite-a-year she had been living in Lull. But her first duty really should be to deal with moving the qered herd from the meadow to somewhere safer and drier.

  They had obviously grown attached to Lull, she thought, or they would have already gone off somewhere else. They must feel safe. That at least gave her a feeling of hope.

  There was also the need to officially report the encounter with the seam of magic and hex. She had written down as much as she could remember of the details ready to complete a report and call the C.W.A. as soon as the offices opened at nine o’clock.

  ‘Well, I can’t lie here all day,’ she mumbled to herself, throwing the eiderdown and blankets off. She jumped out of bed and padded quickly across the cool floorboards towards the bathroom.

  A few minutes later she emerged, washed and dressed. She was rummaging through the wardrobe in search of her standard issue rain mac when she heard a gentle tap on the door downstairs followed by the unmistakably musical voice of Aunt Grace. ‘Hello? Wyn, are you there?’

  Hurrying down the twisting metal staircase and into the Spellorium, she saw Salle’s Aunt Grace framed in the window of the door, her umbrella partly hiding her face which broke into a broad welcoming smile as she saw Arianwyn. It made her even more beautiful than she was already. Arianwyn smiled back as she raced to open the door. At once Bob scampered into the Spellorium and dashed around Arianwyn’s legs in fast tight circles, making small yipping sounds of excitement. ‘It’s not too early, is it?’ Aunt Grace said as she stepped inside. ‘I was worried I’d wake you up . . . Oh, are you on your way out?’ she asked, seeing Arianwyn was already wrapped up for the wet morning.

  ‘I was just coming to see you,’ Arianwyn said with a smile.

  Aunt Grace carried a small woven basket over one arm; a red-and-white checked cloth covered the contents, but Arianwyn could already smell the delicious wafting aroma of cinnamon. Aunt Grace’s famous breakfast muffins! ‘I knew you’d be hungry!’ Aunt Grace smiled as she walked to the counter and placed the basket there. Then she turned and pulled Arianwyn into a quick, tight hug. ‘How was Salle?’ she asked.

  ‘Wonderful,’ Arianwyn replied. ‘She’s having the best time and the play is amazing.’ She beamed and dug into the basket of muffins.

  ‘And how is your father?’

  ‘He’s fine,’ Arianwyn said quickly. ‘He’ll be coming for Yule.’ She started to pull a fluffy piece of muffin free, her stomach rumbling hungrily.

  ‘Well, I can’t wait to meet him,’ Aunt Grace replied. ‘Bob has certainly missed you.’ She looked down at Bob, who had now curled up on top of Arianwyn’s feet and fallen fast asleep. ‘Though there’s been some rather odd behaviour.’

  ‘Odd? How?’ Arianwyn asked, gazing down at the moon hare. Was Bob sick?

  ‘Oh, probably just something and nothing. But every time we’ve been for a walk Bob seems to want to go off into the Great Wood. I was worried we might have to get a lead.’

  Arianwyn leant forward and let her fingers rub the length of Bob’s silky white ears, one after the other. Bob opened a single bright blue eye and gazed up at her. ‘You don’t want to run away, do you, Bob?’ she asked as the moon hare started to wash its feet. It looked at her as though she was quite stupid.

  ‘Well, I’d better let you get on with your work. Why don’t you come across for some dinner later?’ Aunt Grace called as she headed back out into Kettle Lane. ‘Cheerio!’

  ‘Bye!’ Arianwyn called and turned back to the counter and the pile of notes from Miss Prynce. ‘Right-o then, Bob, let’s see what we’ve got to deal with here and then we’d best go and look at the qered.’ Arianwyn rifled through the papers as she bit down into the warm cinnamon breakfast muffin.

  As she passed through the South Gate a short while later, Arianwyn was amazed to see how the meadow between Lull and the Great Wood had been transformed by the continuous rain.

  Instead of the open space of dry brown grasses that had been there when she left, it now looked like a huge puddle. The expanse of water mirrored the grey clouds that hung over Lull. Across the water, where the land sloped upwards a little towards the edge of the Great Wood, the herd of qered moved about. They were huge horse-like spirit creatures with long flowing manes and tails. One of the young qered moved towards the water but gave a loud snort and then trotted quickly away, its head shaking this way and that. Trapped between the water and the wood, there was not much meadow left for the qered, whose numbers had increased again, it seemed. Arianwyn counted at least ten now.

  ‘They really don’t like the water, do they?’ Arianwyn said to Bob, who simply sneezed in agreement and huddled closer to her legs to stay under the cover of her umbrella.

  ‘I had thought they might have just returned to the Great Wood.’

  Arianwyn jumped, hearing the mayor’s voice behind her. ‘Oh, hello, Mayor Belcher,’ she said, turning.

  The mayor stood under his own umbrella, swathed in a purple rain mac, proudly wearing his mayoral sash and medal over it all, of course. ‘Welcome home, Arianwyn,’ he said. ‘Thank you for returning so quickly. Though I’d expected you back earlier yesterday. I gather the return journey was quite interesting?’

  Arianwyn nodded.

  ‘And now you are back, we have lots and lots to do.’ He gestured to the qered. ‘What do you suggest for moving them?’

  Arianwyn truthfully had no idea. She scratched at her curls and looked back across the meadow at the qered. There were more younglings now; at least half the herd were babies. She hoped if one moved, the others would simply follow.

  ‘Exactly where are we going to move them to?’ she asked the mayor.

  ‘Ah, well – Farmer Eames has kindly offered to house them for as long as is needed on his farm. The land to the west is slightly higher there and hasn’t been affected by the flooding.’

  Bridge Farm was not only the other side of Lull but the other side of the river. So the only way to get the qered there was to take them right through the very centre of the town. This was not going to be as easy as anyone had thought.

  Chapter 10

  RELOCATION

  etting the qered to follow me is going to be half the battle, but they’re really not going to like going through town either,’ Arianwyn explained to Mayor Belcher as they stood watching the spirit creatures across the meadow. ‘They’re not as shy of humans as they were when they first came to Lull, but even so they won’t be used to large crowds of people, motorcars, buildings . . .’

  ‘Can’t we get Mrs Johansson, the vet, to knock them out and move them that way, in the back of a trailer or l
orry?’

  Arianwyn turned and glared at the mayor. ‘Absolutely not, Mayor Belcher. They’re spirit creatures and they have to be treated with respect.’ She couldn’t believe he had even suggested it. ‘What we need is something to tempt them away from the meadow . . .’ She pulled out her copy of A Witch Alone: A Manual for the Newly Qualified Witch, and searched through the creature glossary, hoping it might yield something that would help.

  ‘You mean like food, perhaps?’ Mayor Belcher asked.

  ‘Precisely!’ Arianwyn said, finding the entry on the qered. ‘I think we need to go and pay a visit to the greengrocer, Mayor Belcher.’

  A short while later they stood with two large baskets of fresh fruits and vegetables from the greengrocer’s: apples, oranges and lemons from Grunnea, bunches of fresh celeric, brambleberries and huge onions.

  ‘Please explain what we are doing, Arianwyn,’ Mayor Belcher grumbled.

  ‘Qered are herbivores, so this yummy food might be able to tempt them away from the meadow, through the town and on to Bridge Farm. They’ve probably been living off mushy meadow grass for the last couple of weeks. This should look lovely to them . . . I hope.’

  ‘That’ll be half a crown please, Mayor Belcher,’ Mr Gumby the greengrocer said with a smile.

  ‘That seems awfully expensive to me,’ the mayor complained, struggling to extract his wallet from under his purple rain mac.

  ‘Well, our deliveries have been patchy due to the bad weather. Had to put prices up, I’m afraid.’ Mr Gumby blushed a little and smiled at Arianwyn.

  Once they had paid for the fruit and vegetables they made their way back to the meadow.

  ‘I’ll go and start to tempt them towards the South Gate,’ Arianwyn explained. ‘I’ll need you to try and keep the path through Lull calm and quiet.’

  ‘Calm and quiet. Yes, of course,’ the mayor said. He placed his basket by the South Gate and hurried back into town, calling over his shoulder, ‘I’ll get Constable Perkins on to it at once!’

  Arianwyn waded across the flooded meadow, the water sloshing around her ankles, the squelchy grass and mud churning slightly under her boots. Bob bounded beside her, unbothered by the water. The qered watched her approach but didn’t move or dash away as she feared they might.

  ‘Hello,’ Arianwyn said calmly as she waded out of the water and on to the slightly higher and drier ground at the edge of the Great Wood.

  She reached into the basket over her arm and offered the nearest qered to her a large juicy-looking apple. ‘Would you like one of these?’ She reached out her hand until her arm was stretched out straight and just a few centimetres from the qered’s huge scaled nose. She saw its nostrils flare out as it sniffed at the apple. Then it gently brought its head down and took the apple between its huge teeth.

  She expected that to be followed by a crunching sound as it devoured the fruit, but the huge spirit creature turned and offered the fruit to one of the younger qered that waited nearby. The youngling munched into the apple at once.

  ‘So far so good!’ Arianwyn said to Bob, who was eyeing a brambleberry very carefully.

  The larger qered tuned back to Arianwyn, its eyes blinking. It seemed to be asking, ‘What next?’

  Slowly, Arianwyn picked up another apple and offered this. The qered took it and offered it to the other youngling that had come forward and was watching Arianwyn curiously. ‘I’m here to help you,’ she said. ‘But you need to follow me out of the meadow.’

  The adult qered turned back again, and this time Arianwyn lifted the basket over her arm and took a few careful steps backwards. Then waited.

  The larger qered turned and looked at the whole herd, then took a few careful steps forwards, towards Arianwyn and the food.

  This just might work! she thought.

  A few minutes later, Arianwyn was standing right in the middle of the huge puddle. The larger adult qered had followed her, but the rest of the herd waited on the higher ground, close to the edge of the Great Wood. Was she really going to have to tempt them across the town one by one? That would take for ever!

  ‘How are you getting on, Miss Gribble?’ Mayor Belcher’s shout fractured the peace in the meadow.

  Arianwyn winced, praying this wouldn’t startle the qered, but it seemed unbothered by the noise and continued watching the basket of fruit and vegetables. So far it had eaten one apple and a large crunchy onion. And it had happily followed Arianwyn this far.

  She turned quickly and held a finger to her lips. The mayor waved back and waited beside the gate.

  ‘Come on then, let’s get out of this puddle, shall we?’ Arianwyn said and started to back away again, a little quicker this time, a stick of celeric held in her hand.

  But the qered didn’t move.

  ‘Oh, come on,’ Arianwyn said, shaking the stick of celeric as though that might make it more enticing.

  But the qered only turned and looked back across the flooded meadow at the others.

  Arianwyn wasn’t sure what to do next. She was just about to get another apple from her basket (perhaps they were its favourite?) when the qered gave a loud call. Its deep resonating cry echoed back in a higher pitch by the others. The call seemed to fill every molecule of space around the meadow. It reverberated off the high walls of Lull. It was beautiful and strange.

  Then the herd started to move slowly across the meadow, into the water and towards Arianwyn. ‘Oh, yeees!’ Arianwyn said just as the lead qered turned and snaffled the celeric stick out of her hand.

  They kept up this strange, slow-moving procession until all the qered were across the meadow and heading along Meadow Street.

  Constable Perkins was further along the street, quietly ushering people to stand back as the qered approached. People watched in fascination as Arianwyn tempted the leading qered with her basket of fruit – now replaced by the second basket the mayor had left at the gates – and every now and then it would stop and call to the others who would then trot along to catch up. At which point it would share out the offerings from Arianwyn before they could move on again.

  Arianwyn had started to move further each time before she offered the fruit in the hope of speeding up the process, and it seemed to be working, sort of. She caught sight of the curious gazes of townspeople as she moved further along Meadow Street, heard the hushed questions and occasionally Mayor Belcher’s quiet reassurance that ‘Miss Gribble has everything under control!’

  However as they emerged into the town square things took a turn for the worse. It was market day and the square was all bustle and noise. Arianwyn could see Constable Perkins and Mayor Belcher hurrying about attempting to shush everyone and convince them not to panic or make too much noise and startle the qered.

  A strange silence fell across the square as Arianwyn approached. People froze like statues as she coaxed the qered carefully and slowly through the market. The spirit creatures seemed very interested in the market stalls, especially when they passed one loaded with fruit and vegetables. The younger qered snapped up several apples as they passed, Arianwyn offering apologetic looks to the terrified stallholder as they moved away.

  As they reached the far side of the market square, just beside the Blue Ox, a car rumbled around the corner. There was a loud bang as the engine backfired.

  Arianwyn jumped, fruit and vegetables spilling from her basket.

  The qered called frantically, searching about for each other.

  And then they bolted.

  Arianwyn tumbled to one side as the larger adult qered charged past her, swiftly followed by the others.

  They raced along North Gate Street as townspeople shrieked and jumped out of their way. She heard worried cries and frantic screams. A screech of brakes and something that sounded like rubbish bins tumbling over the cobbles.

  ‘Jinxing-jiggery!’ Arianwyn spat as Bob made the best of the opportunity to gobble up the tumbled brambleberries.

  Mayor Belcher and Constable Perkins hurried over and helped Arianwy
n to her feet. Snatching up the basket and some of the fallen fruit, Arianwyn raced along the street and out through the North Gate.

  The qered waited anxiously the other side of the gate, near the few houses that stood outside the walls of the town. Two children stood amazed, staring up at them. Thank goodness they’d run in the right direction, Arianwyn thought.

  ‘Well, at least they didn’t go far,’ Constable Perkins said as they hurried across the bridge.

  As Arianwyn approached them, the larger adult qered turned and blinked at her. Then gave a bright cheerful call. It was different from the sounds from before: lighter, happier. She felt the rush of magic brush against her skin, and for a fleeting moment she knew for certain that the qered knew she was trying to help and that they would follow her wherever she wished to take them.

  ‘Come on then, let’s get you to Farmer Eames,’ Arianwyn said as she started to lead the qered slowly along Old Town Road and away from Lull.

  By the time Arianwyn returned to the Spellorium it was well after lunch. She was soaked through, as was Bob, and hungry again. As they neared the Spellorium they saw Miss Delafield’s bright green car parked outside. Her supervisor, who lived nearby in Flaxsham, leant against the bonnet, fiddling with her driving gloves.

  ‘Oh, Miss Delafield. I wasn’t expecting you today . . . was I?’

  Miss Delafield looked a little startled, then crestfallen and said, ‘Yes, dear. I’m here for your annual inspection!’

  ‘Today?’ Arianwyn gasped. Through the window in the door she could see the pile of disorganized notes on the counter, and the dusty shelves. A number of unopened delivery boxes were stacked near the small storeroom door.

  ‘Yes, sorry, I thought I’d told you about it when we spoke, dear.’

  If she had, Arianwyn couldn’t remember.