Turning around, Cora’s magic sparked at her fingertips. Archibald Drake’s stare faltered.
Cora watched as the council stepped back into the darkness with Tick and Tock. And then in a crack of lightning, the man with silver hair did the same. Until only Archibald Drake was left standing in the woods. Finally, the warlock shimmered, disappearing into the night, a low laugh on his lips.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
When Cora woke, she was relieved to see that she was no longer in the woods, but the cave they had camped in overnight. Her bones clicked as she stretched upwards, blinking at the sunlight that peeked through the cave. It was morning.
Opposite her, Oggmund lay asleep on his bedding. She looked over at Tick who was meant to be keeping watch. But the fairy was fast asleep. And so was Tock.
Glancing down at the fairy’s leg, she could see the wound was almost healed.
Cora sat up and waited for the sun’s soft rays to warm her. But as she moved, something didn’t feel right. Her head spun. She was cold. She grabbed some sticks and put them on the fire that burnt low.
Her thoughts were on her dream.
She moved closer to the fire as the flames took hold of the kindling sticks.
Maybe she was hungry. When was the last time they had eaten?
The troll stirred awake. He let out a long yawn before sitting up.
‘Do you usually talk in your sleep?’ Oggmund asked.
Cora stopped. Uh-oh.
‘Wh-what did I say?’ she asked, trying not to show the panic that she felt. Had she revealed she was a syphon?
Oggmund shrugged. ‘It wasn’t clear.’
Cora let out a relieved breath.
She watched as Oggmund pulled two wrapped parcels from his inside pocket. He opened one of them to reveal a collection of bright yellow, fluffy squares.
Cora was about to ask what they were, when Tick stirred. She watched as the fairy sniffed the air loudly. And then his eyes flung open. The fairy sat up and stared at the squares in Oggmund’s hand. It wasn’t long until Tock was awake and sniffing the air too.
‘Are they . . .’ began Tick.
‘Where did you . . .’ added Tock.
‘Oh, these?’ replied Oggmund. The small, yellow squares in his hand glistened in the firelight. ‘I found them when I was in Edor.’
‘What are they?’ Cora asked. She rubbed the sleep from her eye and took a closer look. The fluffy squares sparkled like jewels.
‘Dew suckles,’ said Tock quickly.
‘Expensive,’ added Tick.
‘But delicious,’ added Tock.
The fairies’ eyes were locked on Oggmund’s hand.
‘Would you like some?’ Oggmund asked, a smile on his face.
Tock nodded enthusiastically.
Cora could see that Tick was fighting with himself about whether to accept the food from a troll. It wasn’t long until the temptation of the sparkling treats was too much. He nodded too.
Oggmund stood up and handed some squares to each of them over the flames.
The dew suckle felt light in Cora’s hand. She took a bite of the fluffy square. It tasted like lemons.
‘What is a troll doing —’ asked Tick, his mouth packed full with almost all of his dew suckles.
‘Half troll,’ corrected Oggmund.
Tock let out a small burp, all of his dew suckles gone. ‘That was dewlicious,’ said the fairy, rubbing his belly. ‘Thank you.’
‘What is a half troll doing in a cave outside of Troll Town?’ Tick finished his question, having quickly swallowed his dew suckles in one giant gulp.
Oggmund opened his fur cloak and pulled out a notebook that sat inside. He held it up to them. The worn leather that held it together was cracked on the outside.
‘You came all the way here to sell notebooks?’ asked Tick, confused.
‘Are you a travelling notebook salesman?’ Tock asked.
Cora smiled at her friends as she popped another dew suckle in her mouth. Her stomach gurgled appreciatively. She had forgotten how hungry she was.
Oggmund shook his head and opened the notebook, showing them one of the pages. Drawn on the thick paper was an ogre with long, curling tusks that reached up from his mouth. Like the poster of the fairies Cora saw in Vanir, the ogre moved. He danced from one foot to the other, a large smile on his face.
Oggmund turned the page over. Drawn on the following page was a beautiful woman without any hair on her head. She twirled around in a dress that looked like it was made of scales, and Cora saw a green tail swish by her feet.
‘They look almost real,’ Cora said peering closer at the drawings. She rubbed her eye once more. The woman in the dress waved at her from the page.
‘I’ve seen better,’ said Tick, unimpressed.
Tock nudged his brother.
‘I want to draw everyone,’ said Oggmund, his face lighting up with excitement. ‘All the magical beings. Giants, witches, elves, treefolk, centaurs, necromancers, wizards, gremlins.’ Oggmund stopped. ‘Even . . . syphons.’
Cora almost choked on her dew suckle. ‘Syphons?’ she squeaked.
Oggmund nodded. ‘Rumour has it that there’s one in the northern towns,’ he said. ‘I’m on my way there. Imagine seeing a real syphon.’
Tick and Tock glanced at Cora.
‘Yes,’ said Tick. ‘Imagine.’
‘How would you know if you saw one?’ Cora asked, wondering it herself. ‘They look just like everybody else, don’t they?’
‘Well, I heard they’re a little smelly,’ said Tick.
‘And I heard they have webbed feet,’ said Tock.
‘Really?’ replied Oggmund.
Cora glared at the fairies as they stifled giggles behind their hands.
‘And what are you all doing here?’ Oggmund asked. ‘Fairies never come this far north.’
‘We know,’ said Tick and Tock.
Cora wasn’t sure what to say. She didn’t want to tell Oggmund that she was a syphon. ‘We’re looking for my family,’ she said.
Oggmund nodded. ‘Are they lost?’
Cora paused. ‘You could say that,’ she said, thinking of Dot. She stared into the flames of the fire. A feeling that she should be looking for Dot instead of other syphons washed over her.
‘Is it because you don’t have much time?’ asked Oggmund.
Cora stared at the boy confused. Much time? How would he know how much time she had?
‘What do you mean?’ she asked, her heart beating fast.
‘Until your magic takes over,’ said Oggmund, ‘and you become a Havoc.’
Chapter Twenty-Eight
The words from the stranger’s mouth hit Cora like a bucket of cold Brolg seawater. A sharp, nervous feeling slinked between her ribs. ‘How do you —’ Cora began, eyes wide. How could Oggmund know? Had she said something in her dream? Was Tick right? Was Oggmund really who he said he was?
Tick flew up from the ground. ‘I knew it,’ said the fairy. He started grabbing their belongings. ‘I told you we couldn’t trust a troll.’ The fairy rolled up the bedding into their packs. ‘Father always said to never trust trolls.’
‘He also said to never trust burnt bread,’ said Tock. ‘But it’s still delicious.’
Cora stood up from her bedding, her mind whirring. She must have stood up too fast because she felt dizzy.
‘Wait — wait,’ said Oggmund, clambering up from the floor, his hands out. ‘I’m sorry. I just saw . . .’ Then the troll stopped and pointed down to Cora’s hands.
Cora followed the boy’s gaze. Staring down, she could see that her hands were black. Like she had dipped them in ink. The cracks which had started on her wrists had grown so much that they now completely covered her hands.
Havoc.
She glanced at the fairies. Their faces were lined with worry.
Cora rubbed at her hands, trying to get the marks off like a stain. But they stayed right where they were — a part of her. The dizziness she felt doubl
ed.
‘Unstable magic,’ said Oggmund. ‘I’ve seen it before.’
‘You have?’ replied Tick. ‘Where?’
Oggmund nodded. ‘There was a havoc in Troll Town. Years ago.’
‘What happened to them?’ Cora asked.
Oggmund looked away and Cora knew all she needed to know. She was well on her way to becoming a Havoc. She didn’t have much time left.
‘We should go,’ she said, straightening. Brushing away the dizziness, Cora helped Tock stand up from the ground. He stepped on his leg gently before flying up into the air.
‘Let’s find Belle. She might be able to help us,’ said Tick.
Cora remembered the kind hobgoblin who had helped her with her magic before. And then she remembered what had happened to her. ‘She was possessed by a warlock because of us,’ said Cora, shaking her head.
‘Plus she will throw vegetables at us again,’ said Tock.
‘I know someone who can help,’ said Oggmund.
Cora stopped and looked over at the troll.
‘Who?’ asked Tick.
Oggmund paused. ‘A troll. In Troll Town.’
Cora glanced down at her fingers. The black marks were now almost at the palms of her hands. She swallowed at the sight. Soon there wouldn’t be much more of her left.
‘Cora, are you alright?’ asked Tock.
Cora nodded. Or at least, she thought she did. Her head felt funny. ‘Where is Troll Town?’ she asked.
‘Not far from here,’ said Oggmund.
Tick and Tock glanced at Cora.
She thought about the black cracks on her skin. The magic that had become heavier and heavier inside of her. The dreams. The voice. The way Tick and Tock looked at her since they’d found out about her missing bracelet. She had to keep going. But how long could she last? As if hearing her, the magic inside of her swirled uncomfortably. Cora thought about the princess and the Jinx in her dream. She pushed the swirling magic down.
‘How do we get to Troll Town?’ Cora asked.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
‘Are you sure this is the right way?’ Tock asked.
Tick, Tock and Cora followed Oggmund as he walked all the way into the ice cave. Each of them held a torch made from sticks and fire in their hand, their packs on their shoulders. The light from the fire torches bounced off the ice and stone walls as they moved further and further into the cave.
‘It will be quicker than going around the mountain,’ said Oggmund, his voice an echo in the empty and dark space ahead.
‘What if it’s a dead end?’ Tock asked.
Oggmund stopped. He held is hand out in the air in front of him. Then he placed it on the cave wall and closed his eyes.
Cora and the fairies waited. After a moment, Cora glanced at the fairies. What was Oggmund doing?
‘Trolls like caves,’ whispered Tick.
‘We know caves,’ said Oggmund, his eyes still closed. ‘Like fairies know food.’
If it was meant to be an insult, Tick and Tock didn’t take it that way. They both smiled proudly.
Oggmund nodded, and opening his eyes, continued into the cave ahead. Cora and the fairies followed, and soon they could no longer see the morning light shining through the cave entrance behind them, glistening on the ice and stone walls. All that surrounded them and stretched out before them was darkness.
The cave floor beneath their feet slowly sloped downwards. Cora noticed that the cave walls also steadily became narrower the further they went. Soon the space between the walls was just wide enough to fit one of them at a time.
Cora ran her hand along the sides of the cave wall. It felt cold and smooth like the wall she had lived behind in Urt.
‘Watch out for shadow mites,’ said Oggmund in front of her.
‘Shadow mites?’ Cora echoed.
‘Tiny creatures,’ said Tock behind her. He held his fingers apart to show how tiny. The space between his two fingers was no bigger than the size of an ant.
‘They live in caves, and other dark places,’ explained Oggmund.
‘Sometimes in your shoes,’ said Tick.
‘Or your ears,’ said Tock.
‘They burrow under your skin,’ said Tick.
‘Not pleasant,’ said Tock with a shake of his fairy head.
Cora pulled her hand away from the cave wall. She made sure to keep an eye out for any shadow mites and tried not to imagine them inside her ears or shoes.
‘You’re not from here, are you?’ Oggmund asked Cora.
Cora wasn’t sure what to say. She was still trying to find where she was from. She shook her head.
‘She’s from out of town,’ added Tock.
As she walked, Cora thought about what Oggmund had said earlier about trolls knowing caves. She wondered what syphons knew. Were they good at navigating caves like trolls? Did they love food like fairies? Were they scavengers or collectors like Dot?
‘Oggmund,’ Cora said.
‘Call me Ogg,’ he replied.
‘I prefer Oggmund,’ said Tick.
‘Ogg,’ said Cora, ignoring the fairy. ‘The rumour about syphons in the northern towns . . . do you know which of the northern towns?’
Ogg nodded. ‘Tynth,’ he said simply.
Tynth. Cora repeated the name of the place over and over in her head, not wanting to forget it. Tynth. She wondered how far away they were from it and then wished she still had Gromp’s map. Tynth. Was Tynth where she was before Urt? Was that where she had lived with her syphon family? Cora pictured Tynth in her mind. It was beautiful like The Hollow. A quiet village filled with rolling green hills. The small, blurry memories that she had of a place before Urt filled her mind. A pair of pointed, red leather shoes in tall grass. A bright sun. Cool air on her skin. A yellow sundress. A soft laugh. Tynth.
‘Tynth?’ questioned Tock. ‘Are you sure?’
Oggmund nodded.
‘But nobody lives in Tynth,’ said Tock.
‘Tynth is not hazelnut,’ said Tick.
‘Habitable,’ corrected Tock.
‘Tynth is not habitable,’ repeated Tick.
‘Why not?’ Cora asked.
‘Father said the gas from the mud pits is poisonous to many magical creatures,’ said Tock.
‘Mud pits?’ Cora echoed. The image she held of a beautiful place with rolling green hills and sunshine was suddenly shattered and replaced with a smelly, brown place.
Tynth.
The cave had stopped sloping and narrowing. They walked along the dark path until their torches had nearly burnt down to the ends.
‘How much longer?’ Tick asked.
‘Can’t we just magic to Troll Town?’ Tock asked.
Cora remembered that she also had the witch’s magic. Though she wasn’t sure about using it. Her magic still flipped around inside her. The dark magic was the loudest of them all. As she felt for them, she realised that she could barely tell the magic apart.
‘If you magic there, then you wouldn’t be able to see this cool cave,’ said Ogg with a smile.
Tick groaned.
‘Plus, we don’t want to draw too much attention to fairies being in Troll Town,’ said Ogg.
‘Should we wear disguises?’ Tock suggested excitedly.
‘I do a very convincing impersonation of a giant,’ said Tick, puffing out his chest.
‘I don’t think anyone will believe that you are a giant,’ said Ogg.
Cora agreed.
Then Ogg stopped. ‘There’s an exit up ahead,’ he said.
How did he know that? Cora wondered. And then she felt it. A short breeze flew through the dark cave from somewhere she couldn’t see. It must have been what Ogg felt. There was an exit close.
It wasn’t long until Cora, Tick, Tock and Ogg could see light illuminating the cave up ahead. Their fires almost out, they dropped the sticks to the ground and came to a stop, at the end of the path, in front of a cave wall. The path had ended, but light still shone from somewhere.
; ‘Dead end,’ said Tick, hands on his hips.
And then Ogg pointed upwards. Light trickled down from a hole way, way up high above them.
‘How do we —’ Cora began, but before she could finish asking how they were going to climb to the top, two POP!s of magic bounced off the cave walls around them and suddenly, she was standing on the snowy outcrop of the mountain, sunlight warming her skin.
Tick and Tock had magicked them out of the cave.
‘Hey,’ said Ogg, disappointed.
Cora gazed out at the view from the mountain. The soft sun shone over snowy valleys and mountaintops all the way to the horizon.
Then looking down, Cora saw what lay below.
Ogg stretched his arms out. ‘Troll Town.’
Chapter Thirty
Small stacked houses, some narrow and lopsided, others short and wide sat nestled below the mountain. Smoke billowed from stone chimneys on snow-covered roofs and a river turned to ice cut across the town. A large, gold bridge spanned the river. It glinted in the wintry sun.
From where she stood, Cora could see the whole town.
Magical beings dotted the streets. Some skated along the ice. Some flew what looked like kites in the air. The wind carried the smell of woodfire over to them and Cora wanted nothing more than to sit beneath a blanket in front of a fireplace somewhere, like she would do with Dot when the wind from the Urt sea chilled the wall they lived behind.
Cora pulled her coat closer against the frosty breeze.
‘Now for the best part,’ said Ogg with a clap of his hands. He walked over to the edge of the snowy outcrop and looked down. Then from the tall pack on his back, he pulled out a long, plastic board. He dropped it on the ground and pushed it towards the edge. The front of it tipped over the side precariously.
‘Last one to the bottom is a smelly fairy!’ called Ogg and then with two feet on the board, the troll pushed himself off the ledge, disappearing from sight. Cora and the fairies heard a loud ‘WHOO! YEAH!’ as Ogg slid down the mountainside.
‘Quick,’ said Tick. ‘We don’t want to be smelly fairies.’
With a POP! of magic a sleek sled appeared in front of Cora.
Havoc!: The Untold Magic of Cora Bell Page 9