Havoc!: The Untold Magic of Cora Bell

by Rebecca McRitchie

  ‘But we are smelly fairies,’ said Tock, sniffing his armpit.

  ‘I’m not,’ said Cora. She jumped on the sled and pushed it to the edge of the outcrop with her feet. She peeked over. They were high up. Very, very high up. A little too high up if you asked Cora. So, instead of standing up like Ogg, she sat down on the sled. Tick and Tock sat behind her and held on. Then taking a deep breath, Cora pushed the sled over the ledge and the three of them dove down the mountainside with a rattling speed.

  Tufts of snow flew up either side of the soaring sled. They dove faster and faster. Cora held on tightly, steering the sled as best as she could down the snowy hill. She swerved left and right to avoid the sharp rocks that poked out from the white blanket.

  Tick and Tock shrieked with laughter as they rocketed down the hill.

  Cora grinned. The cool wind against her skin, the soaring sled. It felt like she was flying through the air. And for a moment, she wasn’t a syphon or a Havoc. She wasn’t being chased by hunters or the council. She was just her. Just Cora. And it felt good to be just Cora. She cried out, ‘WHOO! YEAH!’ just like Ogg had.

  ‘WHEEE!’ cried Tick and Tock, laughing happily.

  Up ahead, through the snowdrifts, Cora could see Ogg. He was already halfway down the slope, sliding and swerving around the rocks with ease.

  ‘There he is,’ said Tick, pointing to the back of the troll.

  Cora couldn’t help it. She reached for the princess’s magic. Holding it in her grasp, she called up the cool wind around her and pushed it against the sled, moving it faster down the mountain. It was just a nudge. Just enough to catch up to Oggmund.

  But she shouldn’t have.

  As they sped down the snowy slope, the magic inside of Cora twisted. She almost gasped as she felt it boil below her skin. She tried to pay attention, keeping her eye open as her magic fought to take control.

  Suddenly, the strength of the Jinx was at her fingertips. Beneath her hands the sled cracked and buckled where she gripped it. Oh no. She watched wide-eyed as her magic took control. Pieces of the sled came away in her hands.

  ‘What was that?’ asked Tock, peering over her shoulder.

  ‘N-nothing,’ said Cora as she tried to get rid of the strength of the Jinx from her grip.

  Then a loud rumbling noise reverberated behind them. Cora felt the sled shudder and shake beneath her hands. For a second she thought the sled had broken apart. But then she realised that it wasn’t the sled that was shaking, it was the mountain.

  ‘Uh-oh,’ said Tock.

  ‘What uh-oh?’ asked Cora, unable to see behind her. She swerved, just missing a group of rocks in their path.

  ‘An abalone!’ cried Tick.

  ‘A what?’ cried Cora.

  ‘An avalanche!’ corrected Tock.

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Cora quickly glanced behind her. She didn’t want to take her eye off the path in front of them for too long. But all she needed was a quick glance to see that barrelling towards them behind their sled was a rolling, tumbling ball of snow. It was getting bigger and bigger as it flew towards them, collecting more and more snow from the mountain with every turn.

  ‘Uh-oh,’ Cora repeated.

  ‘Go faster!’ cried Tick.

  ‘I’m trying,’ said Cora. She held onto the rollicking, speeding sled as she tried her best to shake the Jinx magic away. When it finally released her hands, Cora searched again for the princess’s magic. But all the syphoned magic swirled around like smoke in a glass jar. Then black sparks flew from her fingers instead. No, no, no.

  ‘Rock!’ cried Tock, pointing ahead of her.

  Cora almost didn’t see it. She pushed the sled to the right, skidding them out of the way just in time. The sled then spun to the left and then to the right, weaving recklessly down the slope.

  Gritting her teeth, Cora tried to straighten the sled against the snow.

  ‘It’s getting closer!’ said Tock.

  But it was no use. The sled plummeted down the mountain. Snow flew up around the sled like a smoky white wall and Cora could no longer see where they were going. She couldn’t see the rocks in her path or Ogg or even where the mountain ended.

  There was a loud crack and a bump and then the sled with Tick, Tock and Cora on it flew up into the air.

  ‘Argh!’ they all cried.

  And for a moment, Cora could see in front of her. They weren’t far from the bottom of the mountain. And she could see Ogg, waiting for them.

  The sled landed back down on the slope with a rough bang and a jolt. They had hit a rock. Cora straightened the sled but it shot to the left, skidding diagonally across the snow. Without her magic, there wasn’t much left she could do. Cora felt herself losing control of the sled. She gritted her teeth as they hit more and more rocks. She just needed to keep the sled steady for a little bit longer. They veered and skidded across the snow, zigzagging perilously down the slope.

  ‘Hold on!’ Cora cried out.

  With a lurch and a bump they reached the bottom of the mountain. The sled spun across the snow, almost toppling over. It swivelled in a circle along the icy floor.

  ‘ARGH!’ Cora, Tick and Tock cried as they spun around and around and around across the slippery icy surface like a spinning top.

  When the sled came to a stop, the three of them jumped up. Dizzy, they stumbled.

  ‘I think I’m going to be sick,’ moaned Tick and he grabbed his belly.

  ‘GO, GO!’ cried Cora to the fairies.

  The fairies flew ahead as Cora raced behind them. She could hear the rumbling of snow getting louder and louder. The avalanche sounded like it was almost on top of them. She sprinted after the fairies, not daring to look back.

  Ahead of them, Ogg stood calmly, his arms crossed.

  ‘What are you doing?!’ Cora asked. ‘There’s an avalanche!’ She pointed behind her. She grabbed onto the troll’s arm and tried to pull him with her as they darted away from the mountain.

  But Ogg stood where he was, unmoving. And then he laughed. ‘That’s not an avalanche,’ he said. ‘That’s Martin.’

  Martin? Cora stopped running and pulling the half troll by the arm.

  ‘Martin?’ echoed Tick and Tock fluttering to a stop in mid-air.

  Ogg pointed behind them, a small smile on his face.

  Cora peered behind her, entirely expecting to see a large unstoppable wall of snow barrelling towards them. But as she looked on, she watched the rolling ball of snow come to a stop at the bottom of the mountain. And then it . . . sprung open. The ball of snow was actually a pair of arms, legs, a body and a head. It was a magical being.

  Cora stared open-mouthed as the ball of snow got to its feet. The ground rumbled as he stretched upwards. Standing high above them, a large toothy smile spread across its face.

  ‘A snow giant,’ said Tock in awe.

  Ogg was right. It wasn’t an avalanche at all.

  Cora tilted her head up to look at Martin. He was almost half the size of the mountain they had slid down. The ginormous snow giant was covered in fluffy, white fur, his smiling, friendly face gazing down at them.

  Then the giant shook the excess snow from his white fur. Clumps of snow flung their way, splattering each of them.

  ‘Oh,’ said Cora, wiping the snow from her cheeks.

  ‘He just wanted to join in,’ said Ogg.

  ‘Hi Martin,’ said Tick, waving, his face almost entirely covered in snow.

  Martin held up a hand to the fairy.

  ‘There aren’t many snow giants around anymore,’ said Tock.

  ‘Why not?’ Cora asked. She thought about syphons. Were snow giants hunted and killed too?

  ‘There’s not a lot of room for them,’ said Ogg. ‘They only have these mountains. And many think that they’re dangerous.’

  Cora watched as the snow giant lumbered past them. In one giant step, Martin stepped over half of Troll Town, and then careful not to disrupt the town beneath his feet, Martin headed tow
ards the much bigger mountain that sat on the other side of Troll Town.

  The magic inside of Cora stirred. She stopped. Closing her eye, she tried to will it away. She felt it roll around inside her like Martin rolled down the mountain. The unstable magic was getting stronger, bigger. Opening her eye, she looked down at her hands. They were now covered entirely. They weren’t hers anymore.

  ‘Are you alright Cora?’ Tick asked, the fairies flying to her side.

  Cora nodded. Though she didn’t think so.

  ‘This way,’ said Ogg.

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Cora, Tick and Tock followed Ogg into Troll Town. Not wanting to attract attention, Tick and Tock fluttered to the ground and walked by her side.

  ‘How is your leg?’ Cora asked Tock.

  ‘Almost back to normal,’ said Tock. He bent his leg back and forth, showing her. ‘See?’

  Cora was thankful they had found Oggmund when they did. She made sure to keep an eye out for Rumple Leaves. Just in case.

  Oggmund led them towards the main street before turning sharply down a path hidden between a house with no windows and a shop with a very slanted door. One by one, they squeezed down the path, which led onto another street that was humming with trolls and other magical beings.

  Nearby, young trolls played in the snow. Some built snowmen in the shape of trolls. With rocks for eyes and leaves for hair, the snow trolls waddled down the street, chasing after the young trolls who giggled with laughter.

  ‘Troll magic,’ said Tick.

  ‘Not all trolls have it,’ said Tock.

  Another group of trolls were throwing snowballs at each other. Cora watched as some of the snow shot around corner, into windows, and up and around in the air like they had minds of their own. Cora saw one snowball even hover in the air, waiting patiently for the troll child to peek out from her hiding place beneath a flight of stairs.

  They ducked down another path that led away from the busy street. As they moved around the houses and shops, a strong smell filled the air. It smelt like meat and something else Cora couldn’t quite put her finger on.

  ‘Troll stew,’ said Tock, also sniffing the air.

  ‘Father says it’s made with toes,’ said Tick.

  ‘Tongues, actually,’ said Ogg.

  Tick’s and Tock’s eyes widened.

  Ogg laughed. ‘Kidding.’

  They snuck through Troll Town, Ogg peering around corners to make sure the trolls were far enough away. They walked behind houses and between buildings until eventually Cora found herself staring up at the very large, very gold bridge. It arched above them like a shining jewel.

  Beneath it lay the iced-over river Cora had seen from high on the mountain, and on top of the ice, trolls played. Some skated along it, spinning and jumping in the air. Others sat on it, and some even lay sleeping on the ice. Every now and then, Cora saw a troll glide across the snow on a board like Ogg’s. Laughter peppered the air.

  Ogg, Tick and Tock took a right turn ahead but Cora stayed where she was. She watched, her eye transfixed on the skating trolls. For a moment, Cora wanted to join them. She had never skated on ice before. She had never even seen snow or ice before yesterday, now that she thought about it. At least, not that she could remember.

  A troll family shot around the ice. The troll boy slipped and slid clumsily as he skated after his parents.

  ‘Cora?’ called Ogg.

  Cora turned and saw the fairies and Ogg waiting for her by the side of a house shaped like a stack of pancakes. She looked back at the family of ice-skating trolls once more. And then she turned and followed the others down another hidden path.

  At the end of the narrow path, Ogg glanced around the corner of a shop and motioned for them to follow him when the street was clear. When he stepped out into the street, a voice called out to him.

  ‘Ogg?’

  Tick, Tock and Cora stopped. They stayed hidden in the shadows of the shop.

  Ogg froze in place

  ‘Ogg?’ came the voice again. ‘Is that you?’

  The troll glanced back at them with a look that said stay there. Then Ogg slowly turned around.

  Cora, Tick and Tock could see an older troll standing in the middle of the empty street. She had a cane in her hand and her long, grey hair was tied in many plaits. Each plait glinted with a strand of gold.

  ‘What are you doing back here?’ the older troll asked. ‘I thought you were on your big adventure?’

  ‘I am, Your Majesty,’ said Ogg in a small bow. ‘I have just, um . . . forgotten something.’

  ‘Oh no,’ said Tick. ‘That’s her?’

  ‘Who?’ asked Cora.

  ‘The Troll Queen,’ whispered Tock.

  The older troll didn’t look like any queen Cora had ever seen. But then again, she had never seen a queen before.

  ‘Martin said he saw you on the mountain,’ the Troll Queen said. Then her eyes shifted to glance behind Ogg and rest right where Cora, Tick and Tock stood hidden.

  The three of them quickly ducked lower behind the shop wall.

  Cora watched Ogg nod in response. And then the Troll Queen said something else to Ogg but they couldn’t hear what it was.

  With one last glance in their direction, the Troll Queen walked away from Ogg and after two steps, she disappeared in a flurry of snow.

  Cora, Tick and Tock stepped out from their hiding spot and walked over to Ogg.

  ‘That was close,’ said Ogg. ‘We’re almost there.’

  Cora was relieved. She had started to feel dizzy again.

  The four of them turned down a side street and came to a stop outside a small shop. The store was lopsided, its roof bent under the weight of the snow on top. A sign hung from the stone door. It said CLOTHED.

  Cora thought it might have meant CLOSED.

  ‘Let me do the talking,’ said Ogg, before pushing the door open. The three of them followed, stepping inside the lopsided shop.

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Inside the shop, it was darker than Cora expected. The walls, ceiling and floor were all made from a glinting grey stone. Lanterns that flickered yellow and red were bolted into the stone. The light bounced off the stone, giving the shop a soft, amber glow. It was like they had stepped inside a cave.

  The warmth inside the shop felt nice on Cora’s skin. Looking around, she noticed by the window a chair was being carved out of stone, but not by someone. The chisel floated in the air by itself, tap-tapping against the stone.

  Stone tables, vases and lamps filled the shop floor, each of them made out of different coloured stone. Some were so shiny Cora could see her reflection staring back at her. She paused as she peered into a glimmering purple bowl. She almost didn’t recognise the girl who stared back. Her eye was sunken, her skin pale.

  In front of them, standing behind a red stone counter in the middle of the shop was a very large troll. He was much taller and wider than Ogg, in fact, he was at least double the half troll’s size. The shopkeeper wore a green hat that was much too small for his head, and in the amber light, Cora could see that the shopkeeper’s skin was deep blue.

  ‘Yoohoo!’ the troll shopkeeper called out. He waved to them from behind the counter. Behind the shopkeeper troll sat a collection of hammers, chisels, screws and bolts. They hung from the wall and Cora noticed that each one of them jiggled and bounced on its hook.

  Ogg approached the counter and the three friends followed.

  ‘Yoohoo, Ogg —’ began the shopkeeper. He stopped when his eyes settled on Tick and Tock. His cheery smile fell from his face faster than a dropped plate.

  ‘Fairies!’ the shopkeeper said, recoiling.

  ‘Dimm,’ said Ogg, holding up his hands. ‘We need your help.’

  ‘Help?’ echoed the shopkeeper. ‘Yes, you do need help, Oggmund. Why are you here with fairies? And why are fairies in Troll Town? And why are fairies in my shop? Fairies!’

  The shopkeeper peered at Tick and Tock suspiciously.

&nb
sp; It was an odd sight to Cora, to see such a large troll so frightened of two plump and hairy fairies like Tick and Tock.

  ‘It’s a long story,’ said Ogg. ‘We need to see your brother.’

  ‘He’s busy,’ said Dimm. But even Cora could see that the troll was not telling the whole truth. His eyes remained glued to Tick and Tock.

  ‘Dimm,’ said Ogg, ‘you can trust me.’

  Dimm shifted his weight from one foot to the other, thinking. ‘What — what if they steal something?’ Dimm asked, grabbing the nearest thing to him. He held it against his chest protectively. It was a wrench.

  ‘We don’t want that,’ said Tock, making a face at the wrench.

  ‘We don’t know where it’s been,’ said Tick, also making a face.

  ‘And fairies don’t steal,’ said Tock.

  ‘We borrow,’ said Tick, proudly.

  Cora rolled her eyes.

  As if seeing her for the first time, the troll shopkeeper’s eyes fell on her. And then on her hands.

  ‘You’re . . .’ Dimm said, pointing.

  Instinctively, Cora pushed her hands behind her back. ‘Hopefully, not yet,’ she said.

  They waited patiently for the shopkeeper to make up his mind. Her head had begun to pound. Instead of recoiling in fear like he had done with the fairies, Dimm the shopkeeper troll looked down at her, understanding in his eyes.

  ‘Please,’ Tock said.

  ‘We won’t stea — borrow anything,’ said Tick. ‘We promise.’

  The fairy held out his pinky finger in the air.

  Dimm stared at it, uncertain. Then, the shopkeeper troll grabbed onto Tick’s pinky with his large hand and shook it.

  Then the shopkeeper looked at Ogg and nodded. ‘He’s downstairs.’

  Dimm motioned to the floor near a wall that held very large stone spoons. And Cora saw for the first time a set of stairs carved into the floor. From where she stood, she could see an amber glow shining up from below. The stairs led down to another room.

  Ogg walked down the steps first and Cora, Tick and Tock followed.

  At the bottom of the stone steps, the four of them entered a room that looked exactly like the one they had just left. Cora paused. And then blinked. Just like upstairs, nearby a stone chair was being carved by a floating chisel, there were stone tables, bowls, lamps and vases set up across the floor.