Havoc!: The Untold Magic of Cora Bell

by Rebecca McRitchie

  Dedication

  For Evelyn Ida. Kick butt. — R.M.

  For my fellow travellers,

  Glenn, Brad, Chris, Ash,

  Robyn and Bill. — S.O.

  Contents

  Dedication

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Chapter 40

  Chapter 41

  Chapter 42

  Chapter 43

  Chapter 44

  Chapter 45

  Chapter 46

  Chapter 47

  Chapter 48

  Chapter 49

  About the Author and Illustrator

  Back Ad

  Copyright

  Chapter One

  ‘You’re a syphon!’ roared King Clang. The fairy king stared at Cora, his blue eyes wide like dinner plates.

  Cora Bell squirmed, closing her eye. Her red hair flicked over the scarlet, bumpy scar that covered where her other eye should have been. She was standing inside King Clang’s royal hut in The Hollow, the home of the fairies.

  Tick and Tock, Cora’s fairy friends, fluttered in the air beside her. The fairy brothers were about half Cora’s size, with big bellies and lots of hair.

  ‘Father!’ whispered Tock to the king.

  ‘Shhh,’ said Tick.

  The fairy king looked around the hut. ‘Syphons are . . . you . . . this is . . .’ he spluttered at a much lower volume.

  ‘. . . bad,’ Cora met the king’s gaze. ‘I know.’

  Syphons were magical beings that could absorb the magic from others. They were considered very dangerous. Cora hadn’t always known she was a syphon. In fact she hadn’t known anything about magic at all. Cora had been living happily in the port town of Urt with an elderly woman named Dot and her cat Scratch. Cora’s world had turned upside down when she accidentally read a spell from a mysterious box that summoned a giant, shadowy creature called a Jinx. Tick and Tock had come to her rescue and they’d fled Urt, not knowing what had happened to Dot and Scratch. With the fairies’ help, Cora had battled the Jinx in Jade City, absorbing some of its magic and physical strength. Cora, Tick and Tock had also faced down a warlock named Archibald Drake who had discovered Cora’s true identity and from whom Cora had syphoned some warlock magic.

  Since the battle in Jade City, Cora had known what she had to do; she had to find others like her. And her family. Tick and Tock had said syphons were hunted and killed for years. She hoped that if there were any of her kind left, they were hidden, safe. Dot and Scratch were also out there, somewhere.

  From where he sat on his throne, feet dangling nowhere near to the ground, the fairy king looked warily at Cora. She stood up straight beneath his stare. King Clang’s eyes were red and his long beard was bedraggled, sticking up at odd directions like it hadn’t been brushed in days. ‘I was going to say unexpected.’

  When they had arrived at The Hollow after leaving Jade City, Fizz, the king’s guard, had taken them straight to the royal hut. And it was just as large and as colourful as Cora remembered. Red rugs lined the floor and the roof was decorated with brightly coloured ribbons and flowers. A long table sat to the side, piled high with plates of fruits and berries and nuts. Her stomach gurgled with hunger.

  ‘I have already been summoned by the council,’ said King Clang, pointing to a message box that sat on a small round table by his throne seat.

  ‘That was quick,’ said Tock.

  ‘They will want to know what happened in Jade City, no doubt,’ King Clang said.

  ‘Cora stopped a Jinx from destroying everything,’ said Tick proudly.

  ‘She was also the one who brought the Jinx to the city in the first place,’ said King Clang sternly.

  Tick and Tock grimaced.

  ‘But she stopped a warlock,’ said Tock. ‘A warlock who was trying to hurt her.’

  ‘And us,’ said Tick.

  ‘Which warlock?’ the king asked, his small eyes squinting in concern.

  ‘Archibald Drake,’ said Cora. The warlock’s face entered her mind. His long dark hair, his piercing eyes large with fear as she absorbed his magic. And then his body soaring high over Jade City when the Jinx had thrown him over its shoulder like a doll.

  King Clang stopped. ‘Archibald Drake?’

  Cora nodded. Then, as if in response, she felt the warlock’s magic slither beneath her skin. She swallowed.

  ‘Who else knows that you’re a . . . syphon?’ King Clang asked, bending low as he whispered the last word.

  Archibald had known that she was a syphon. He had been chasing them for days. What if he was still out there? What if he had survived the Jinx throwing him across the city?

  ‘Just us,’ said Tock.

  ‘And Artemis the avian,’ added Tick. avians were magical beings that could transform into birds. Cora had met the badly injured Artemis in Jade City. His home in the avian kingdom had been attacked by gremlins and a man with silver hair. Artemis had tried to save the princess of the avian kingdom, but he had been too late. The princess had passed on her powers to Artemis, and in turn Cora had accidentally absorbed the princess’s powers from him. Artemis had bravely stood by her side as they faced down the Jinx and Archibald, and she’d promised she would take the tragic story of the princess and the fallen kingdom to the council.

  ‘And where is Artemis the avian now?’

  ‘Home,’ said Cora. The first thing they had done when they entered the royal hut was fulfil their promise to Artemis. They had told King Clang all about what happened to the avian kingdom.

  King Clang cast his eyes down in thought, his finger tapping the arm of his throne. ‘I will tell the council about the man with the silver hair,’ he said. ‘But they will want to know more about you, Cora.’ The fairy king studied her. ‘A young girl with one eye defeating a Jinx curse and Archibald Drake. It is . . . more than unusual.’

  Cora nodded.

  ‘You can’t tell them she is a syphon,’ said Tock.

  ‘No, you mustn’t,’ said Tick worriedly.

  King Clang held up a hand to his sons. ‘I know.’ He turned his attention to Cora. ‘What are you going to do now?’ he asked.

  Cora didn’t need even a moment to think. ‘I want to find my syphon family,’ she said. Dot’s face appeared in her mind. ‘And my human family.’

  ‘And we’re going with her,’ said Tick and Tock at the same time.

  Cora swirled around to look at the fairies. ‘You are?’ she said, surprised.

  The fairies nodded, smiling.

  And then she didn’t know why she was surprised. Tick and Tock had been by her side ever since they’d found her in Urt. Ever since they had saved her from the Jinx.

  ‘You bet your blu
e boots, we are,’ said Tick.

  Cora looked down. ‘They’re brown.’

  Before Tick could respond, King Clang flew up from his chair. ‘No,’ he said, shaking his head.

  The fairies whirled on their father.

  ‘What?’ replied Tick.

  ‘But Father —’ tried Tock.

  ‘It’s not safe,’ the king said adamantly. ‘Especially not for the heirs to the fairy throne and kingdom.’

  Tick and Tock rolled their eyes.

  ‘Heirs?’ echoed Cora, turning to the fairies. ‘We don’t know anything about running a kingdom,’ said Tick.

  ‘We’ll prove it!’ said Tock, crossing his arms. ‘Ask us anything we should know.’

  ‘What are the three most important things a kingdom must have?’ King Clang asked.

  ‘Food,’ said Tick.

  ‘Water,’ said Tock.

  ‘And . . . plumdrops?’ tried Tick.

  ‘No,’ said the fairy king.

  ‘Jazz music?’ tried Tock.

  Cora stifled a laugh as she imagined The Hollow full to the brim with plumdrops and jazz music.

  King Clang rubbed his temples, exasperated. ‘It is still too dangerous. For centuries, syphons have been —’

  ‘Hunted and killed,’ said Cora, Tick and Tock at the same time. They had heard it many times before.

  King Clang frowned at them. ‘It’s more than that. There are magical beings out there who will do anything —’ King Clang stopped himself and shook his head, his small crown tilting from left to right.

  Cora thought of Archibald Drake. Is that why he was trying to capture her? Then she noticed something. She couldn’t put her finger on it but there was something about the way King Clang looked. Something in his eyes flickered, almost like he’d had this conversation before. He knew something that he wasn’t saying and as he avoided her eyes, Cora realised what it was.

  ‘You know where they are,’ Cora said softly. ‘Other syphons.’

  King Clang looked away.

  Cora’s heart skipped a beat. He did.

  ‘You do?’ asked Tock, eyes wide.

  ‘Where are they?’ asked Tick.

  King Clang sighed. ‘It’s not safe.’

  ‘You have to tell us, Father,’ said Tock.

  Cora stepped forward. ‘Please,’ she said. ‘They’re my family. They’re where I belong. I have to find them.’

  King Clang paused as he looked at Cora. ‘The council has always heard murmurings. There may have been sightings in recent years. But nothing for certain, only rumours.’

  Then, a loud, high-pitched screech ripped through the air outside King Clang’s hut.

  ‘What was that?’ Cora asked. It sounded like the noise Scratch would make when he was trying to scare off rats in the alleyways of Urt. Only it was much louder.

  ‘Only one thing makes that noise,’ King Clang said.

  ‘It can’t be,’ said Tick. Then he and Tock flew through and out of King Clang’s hut. Cora chased after them with King Clang close behind her.

  When she got outside, Cora’s eye followed Tick’s and Tock’s to where the screeching noise was coming from. And running down the hill opposite them, in the light of the setting sun, was a swarm of small, green creatures Cora had only seen before in the memory of the princess. The creatures that had helped destroy the ancient avian kingdom.

  ‘Gremlins,’ Tock whispered.

  And they were heading straight for The Hollow.

  Chapter Two

  Cora watched as the rumbling swarm of small, green, screeching creatures dove down the hillside towards The Hollow. From where she stood, Cora could see row upon row of sharp, pointed teeth glinting in the sunlight. As seconds passed, the screeching only became more piercing. She held her hands to her ears.

  ‘What are they doing here?’ Tock asked.

  Tick and Tock looked at Cora. The silver-haired man. She glanced at the hillside full of descending creatures. The gremlins weren’t alone at the avian kingdom. The giant? She paused. The man with the silver hair? Were they here too? She scanned the hillside but couldn’t make out anything amongst the close clusters of trees. She felt her magic stir within her.

  King Clang whistled sharply and Fizz, along with ten other fairy guards, appeared next to him in POP!s of magic.

  ‘Hold them off!’ the king ordered over the screeching noise that filled the valley. ‘Tick and Tock! Get everyone to safety.’

  The fairies nodded.

  ‘And Cora?’ asked Tock.

  ‘I’ll help hold them off,’ she said.

  King Clang stared at her in surprise. And then he nodded.

  ‘Be careful,’ said Tock to Cora.

  ‘And whatever you do, don’t let them spit on you,’ Tick said.

  ‘Wait — what?’ Cora replied, but Tick and Tock had already disappeared with a POP! of magic.

  ‘Into position!’ cried King Clang.

  The fairy guards formed a line in front of the fairy king, their spears at the ready.

  Cora watched the gremlins race towards The Hollow. They were fast. Incredibly fast. There was no way, even with the fairies’ popping magic that they would be able to get everyone in The Hollow to safety.

  Cora took a deep breath and stepped out in front of King Clang and his line of fairy guards. Heart beating fast, she walked out into the space between the guards and the bottom of the hillside. The only thing standing between Cora and the creatures was a cluster of trees.

  She could hear snarling and the puffing of breaths as they approached. She grabbed her magic.

  Maybe the trees will slow them down?

  Then she heard loud crunching sounds like the splintering of wood. Bits and pieces of bark and leaves flew up into the air. Then, a few at a time, the trees in front of her started falling down. The gremlins had torn some of them to pieces.

  Nope.

  ‘Hold your position!’ roared King Clang.

  Then suddenly, the cries in the valley stopped. She could feel the air around her. Hear the rustling of the trees.

  Cora stood still, her hands out. She was ready.

  Then five gremlins leapt towards her. They dove at her, their claws out, screeching at the top of their lungs. Drool flicked from their mouths and into the air as they ran. And Cora watched as the drool fell to the ground, burning the grass it touched. That would be the spit Tick was talking about.

  ‘Now!’ cried King Clang.

  Using the princess’s avian magic, Cora swiftly called up the air around her. It swirled into a whirling gust, faster and faster until it was a roaring wall of air. She sent it barrelling towards the gremlins. It hit them like an invisible wall. They were too small and light to push against it so they were stuck in place, unable to run, unable to move as the wall of wind kept them still.

  Cora held her hands up and stepped forward, pushing the wall of wind further against them. The gremlins screamed in anger as they struggled to keep their feet on the ground. Then they were lifted up by the wind and with nothing to hold onto, the gremlins flew backwards in the air, back into what was left of the trees.

  Instantly, another group of gremlins dove out to her left. Bright sparks of magic from the fairy guards shot past her towards the gremlins. They scattered back into the trees.

  Then suddenly the wall of wind Cora was holding onto fell from her grasp and disappeared into the air like a short, gentle breeze. The princess’s magic had stopped.

  What? Cora looked down at her hands. ‘No, no, no, come on,’ she muttered, shaking them. She searched inside herself for her magic. Like ink, it sloshed around everywhere. She reached for the warlock magic. It sparked and sizzled angrily in her grasp.

  The gremlins were quick. They took advantage of the still air and sprang through the trees towards her. All of them. A sea of screeching green, round, red eyes and pointed teeth hurtled towards her into the valley. There must have been over a hundred at least.

  Sparks flew at the gremlins from the guards b
ehind her. But this time, the creatures kept running. Some fell to the ground as the sparks hit them. There were so many of them, the fairy magic barely made a difference.

  ‘Hold your position!’ cried King Clang.

  There were two POP!s of magic next to her. Cora whirled around to find Tick and Tock by her side.

  ‘What happened to holding them back?’ asked Tick, as he stared at the gremlins bolting towards them.

  Cora was about to reply but something inside took hold of her. It was the warlock magic. Looking down at her hands, she saw black sparks flicker from her fingertips. She held the warlock magic and moved her hands upwards, twisting them clockwise in the air, just like she had seen Archibald do in Jade City. The gremlins in front of her slowed and then stopped running altogether.

  ‘That’s more like it,’ said Tock.

  The gremlins stayed still, like they were frozen in place. Then Cora’s hands made a quick twisting movement in the air but she hadn’t moved them herself. Her hands had moved on their own.

  The swarm of gremlins in front of her held on to the sides of their heads with their claws. And then the gremlins grew in size. They grew bigger and bigger, filling with air like balloons. Cora stared at the gremlins in horror. Quickly, she pulled her hands back down to her sides. But the gremlins continued growing bigger and bigger until, suddenly, a splattering crack filled the valley, and all of the one hundred gremlins in front of her exploded! Every single one of them popped into pieces. A wave of green gremlin goo splattered over Cora, Tick and Tock, King Clang and the fairy guards.

  Slowly, Cora turned to face Tick and Tock, green goo over her face, her clothes and hands. It was all that remained of the gremlin swarm. Her mouth opened and closed but no words came out. What had just happened?

  Tick and Tock stared at Cora, mouths agape and eyes wide.

  ‘Whoa,’ whispered Tock.

  Chapter Three

  The Hollow’s fairy guards stepped to the side as Cora, Tick and Tock made their way to King Clang’s hut. Still covered in gremlin goo, Cora’s clothes made a wet, squelching sound as she walked. Some of the fairy guards shifted their gaze as Cora walked past. Others stared at her curiously.

  ‘What is she?’ Cora heard one of the fairy guards whisper.

  ‘She must be a witch,’ said one with blonde ringlets.