‘It’s OK. I’ve still got the map,’ said Storm. ‘Let’s land and have a look at it and see if we can work out where to go.’
‘Troy should have waited!’ said Willow as they landed and Storm shook out the map. ‘He knows we can’t fly as fast as him!’
‘Don’t worry. It’s not too far away,’ said Sapphire. ‘Look, we just have to fly over that line of trees and we’ll be there.’
They raced into the sky again. They were all out of breath when they finally reached Butterfly Hollow.
Troy was standing on a grassy hill, surrounded by white and yellow butterflies. He had a bright blue crystal with a piece of paper attached to it in his mouth. ‘What took you so long?’ he exclaimed, dropping the crystal on to the grass.
‘You know we can’t fly as fast as you!’ Willow said. ‘You should have waited, Troy. We didn’t know where we were going so we had to look at the map. What’s the point of you knowing all the places if you fly off so we still have to keep looking at the map to find where you’ve gone?’
Troy looked taken aback. ‘Oh.’ It was obvious he hadn’t thought about that. ‘I guess I should have waited. Sorry.’ He looked at the crystal at his hooves and pricked his ears. ‘Well, at least you’re here now and I’ve found the second clue so we can get on and solve it. Listen. “You heard me before and yet hear me again. Then I go until you call me again”,’ he read out. ‘It’s a really tricky one.’
‘No, it isn’t!’ said Storm. ‘The answer to the clue is an echo! You hear echoes again and again and then they go away until you make another noise, or, as the clue says, “call me again”. Look,’ he put the map down and pointed with his horn. ‘There’s a place called Echo Cove. I bet that’s where we have to go!’
‘Cool!’ exclaimed Troy. ‘Let’s go!’
‘Wait!’ called Willow. But even though Troy did slow down and wait for them this time, he couldn’t resist speeding up as they drew near to Echo Cove – a small sandy beach by the sea.
By the time the other three had landed, Troy had already discovered their next clue. It was attached to an emerald-green crystal that he had found half buried in the sand. ‘I’ve got it! I’ve got it!’ he whinnied in delight.
Willow sighed. It was great that Troy knew Arcadia so well because it meant they didn’t have to spend ages studying the map. But by using his knowledge to race on ahead, Troy was taking the fun out of the treasure hunt for the rest of them.
‘It would have been more fun if we’d all looked for the crystal together,’ said Sapphire.
‘Don’t be silly. We have to find them as quickly as possible,’ said Troy. ‘That’s the point.’
‘Well, actually…’ Willow began to argue. But before she could say any more, Troy was shushing her.
‘Be quiet, Willow,’ he interrupted bossily. ‘We’ve got to solve the next clue. It’s in two parts.’
Willow almost exploded with the effort of keeping her temper. Didn’t Troy realize how annoying he was being? Troy read the clue out. ‘“I can run but never walk. I have a mouth but never talk. I have a bed but never sleep . I have a head but never weep.” That’s the first part and the second says, “A quiet noise is in my name. Find me quick and play the game!”’
‘The first part’s easy,’ said Storm. ‘It’s talking about a river. Water runs in a river and the end of the river is called the mouth and the head of the river is where it starts. So we need to find a river.’
‘But which one? There are lots all across Arcadia,’ said Troy.
‘It sounds like the name of the river has something to do with a quiet noise,’ said Willow. ‘Let’s look at the map.’ She picked it up with her mouth.
‘Here, let me look!’ said Troy, trying to take it from her.
‘No, I want to see,’ said Willow, holding on tight.
‘Let me look!’ repeated Troy.
‘No!’ Willow exclaimed. Her voice was muffled by the map in her mouth and she was feeling crosser and crosser with Troy. ‘We’re supposed to be a team, Troy! You can’t do everything on your own. It’s not fair! Let me look this time!’
‘No!’ Troy yanked at it with his teeth. There was a loud ripping sound.
Willow and Troy stared at each other. They each had half the map in their mouths. It had torn in two!
Chapter
Six
The Noise in
the Trees
‘Oh no!’ Storm exclaimed.
‘It wasn’t me!’ both Willow and Troy said immediately.
‘It was you!’ Willow whinnied furiously at Troy. ‘You should have let me see!’
‘You shouldn’t have tried to hang on to it!’ said Troy. ‘You’re the one who ripped it!’
‘No, I didn’t!’
‘Stop arguing, you two!’ Sapphire whinnied.
‘Yes! It was both your faults,’ said Storm. ‘You shouldn’t have been quarrelling over the map. Now it’s ripped and we’re not even going to be able to finish the treasure hunt let alone win it! Just look at it!’
The map had a big jagged tear down the centre.
‘If we put the two halves back together we might be able to read it,’ said Sapphire hopefully as Willow and Troy glared at each other. ‘Let’s try.’
They carefully placed the bits of map next to each other. It was hard to read the writing where the rip was but Willow could just make out some words that labelled a river on the map. ‘The Whispering River,’ she said.
‘That must be where the next clue is!’ said Sapphire. ‘It’s a river and whispering is a quiet noise!’
‘Let’s go!’ said Troy.
They flew there side by side. Willow didn’t say a word to Troy. She was feeling so cross with him; she knew that if she spoke they’d end up arguing and she didn’t want to upset Sapphire and Storm. At last they reached the river. It glittered in the sunlight, stretching up towards the mountains in one direction and down to the sea in another. All around it the land was covered with snow. ‘I wonder where the crystal is,’ said Sapphire.
‘Let’s separate and each search a different bit,’ Troy said. ‘I’ll go up to where it starts in the mountains. Sapphire, you search the next bit. Willow, you search around here and, Storm, you search nearer the sea.’
They all nodded. It looked like this clue was going to be really tough to find!
Willow began to search along the riverbank. After a little way the river entered some trees whose branches were bending down, heavy with snow. Willow trotted between the trees, her eyes scanning the ground looking for a bright crystal with a message attached.
Suddenly she heard a noise. It was a snuffling, snorting kind of noise. She stopped. It was coming from a nearby cluster of oak trees. It sounded like a creature, but what kind of creature made a noise like that?
Willow hesitated but then curiosity got the better of her and she walked over to the oak trees. Peering round the first one, she gasped! There, sitting on the ground, was a green baby dragon! It had two wings folded on its back, golden scales on its tummy and big dark eyes with long eyelashes.
It heard Willow gasp and jumped.
For a moment the baby dragon and Willow stared at each other.
‘H-hello,’ Willow said uncertainly. She’d never met a dragon before. They were very rare and her parents had told her they usually lived up in the mountains.
‘Hello.’ The dragon had a husky voice. It sounded almost as though it had been crying. ‘Who… who are you?’
‘I’m Willow,’ Willow replied. ‘What’s your name?’
‘Littleclaw,’ said the dragon.
‘Are you OK?’ Willow asked him, stepping closer. Littleclaw was shivering.
The baby dragon shook his head. ‘I’m cold and lost,’ he said. ‘I’ve only just learnt to fly. My parents told me not to go too far but, when I started flying down the mountain, it was such fun that I kept going. I went on and on and then landed here and now I can’t seem to fly any more.’ He looked hopefully at Willow. ‘C
an you help me? My mum and dad have told me stories about how unicorns look after the other creatures in Arcadia. Can you help me get home?’
Willow stared at him. ‘I’d love to but I’m not a grown-up unicorn. I’m still at school.’ She looked at the shivering dragon. Her heart went out to him. ‘But maybe I can help. Let me get my friends. Wait here a minute!’
‘OK,’ said Littleclaw. ‘But you will come back soon, won’t you?’
‘I promise!’ said Willow.
Willow raced to find Storm, Sapphire and Troy. They were astonished to hear about the dragon. Ten minutes later they were all standing in the clearing, staring at Littleclaw.
‘So you really can’t find your way home?’ Sapphire said.
‘No. After I landed by the river I found I couldn’t take off again,’ Littleclaw told her anxiously. ‘I don’t know why.’
Troy turned impatiently to the others. ‘We’re wasting time. His parents will come looking for him and he’ll be fine. We need to get on and find our next clue.’
‘Troy!’ Willow said, shocked. ‘We can’t just leave him!’
‘But we’ll lose the treasure hunt if we help him!’ Troy protested.
‘That doesn’t matter,’ Sapphire said hotly. ‘We’re supposed to be the Guardians of Arcadia, Troy. Littleclaw needs our help!’
‘Sapphire and Willow are right,’ agreed Storm. ‘The treasure hunt doesn’t matter.’ He breathed softly on the little dragon to try and warm him up. ‘Don’t worry, we’ll help you find your way back home.’
The dragon looked at him gratefully. ‘Thank you.’
For a moment, Troy looked torn, but then a stubborn look crossed his face. He shook his head. ‘Let’s finish the treasure hunt, get back to school and then we can tell the teachers about Littleclaw. They can help him if his parents haven’t found him by then.’
‘Oh, please don’t leave me,’ Littleclaw said anxiously.
Willow looked at him. ‘Don’t worry, we won’t.’ She glared at Troy. ‘You can carry on with the treasure hunt if you want, Troy. We’re going to help Littleclaw.’
‘Fine,’ Troy said angrily. ‘If you’re going to be like that, I’ll finish the treasure hunt on my own!’
And he turned and cantered out of the trees.
Chapter
Seven
Lost!
‘I can’t believe Troy’s gone!’ said Willow.
‘Me neither,’ said Sapphire, looking shocked. ‘I know winning the treasure hunt’s important to him but I never thought he’d go off like that. Not when Littleclaw needs our help.’
‘Let’s try and forget about it for now,’ said Storm. ‘We need to concentrate on helping Littleclaw get home.’ He looked at the baby dragon. ‘Why can’t you fly?’
‘I don’t know but whenever I try nothing happens,’ replied Littleclaw.
‘Have a go,’ suggested Willow.
They all watched as Littleclaw stretched out his wings. ‘OK.’
He blew hard and leapt upwards. He beat his green wings and his legs scrabbled in the air but he didn’t fly upwards. He just flopped back to the ground and landed with a thump. ‘See.’
Storm frowned thoughtfully. ‘Let’s think about this. You’re doing everything you normally do?’ Littleclaw nodded.
‘I thought dragons had to let out a puff of smoke before they flew,’ Sapphire said. ‘That’s what we were told in our healing class.’
‘We do,’ said Littleclaw.
‘But you didn’t do that then,’ Willow told him.
‘Didn’t I?’ Littleclaw looked surprised. ‘I thought I did. Look.’ He blew out hard but not even a wisp of smoke left his nostrils. ‘Oh,’ he said in alarm.
‘I bet it’s because you’ve got too cold in the snow!’ Storm exclaimed. ‘Sirona told us about it in healing. She said that when dragons, particularly young ones, get really cold, their fire goes out. They need healing magic to get it working again.’ He turned to Willow. ‘You’re easily the best out of all of us at healing, Willow. Why don’t you have a go at healing Littleclaw.’
‘Oh yes, please do! Please!’ the little dragon said, bouncing up and down in excitement.
Willow took a deep breath. ‘OK,’ she said. ‘But I’ve never done anything like this before.’
Sapphire looked at her. ‘Just believe you can do it,’ she said. ‘You know that’s what we’re always being told is the most important thing when we do magic.’
Willow looked at Littleclaw. Sapphire was right. I can do it, she thought. I can heal him. Shutting her eyes she imagined a fire burning inside her. She felt her whole body tingle. She could feel the magic building and glowing. She opened her eyes and touched her horn to Littleclaw’s chest. She saw her horn glow silver, heard the little dragon gasp, felt magic spark through her and run into him.
‘I feel all warm!’ Littleclaw cried.
Willow lifted her horn. ‘See if you can blow smoke now!’
Littleclaw breathed out in a whoosh. A puff of grey smoke shot out of his nostrils. ‘My fire’s back!’ he cried. He puffed again, stretched his wings and then next minute he was rising off the ground. With one flap of his wings he soared upwards towards the branches. ‘I can fly again! You’ve cured me, Willow!’
Willow, Sapphire and Storm exchanged delighted looks. The baby dragon flew around the oak tree. ‘Whee!’
The unicorns all flew up to join him. Together they glided through the branches and into the sky. Littleclaw’s wings beat hard.
‘Now you can fly home,’ Sapphire told the little dragon. ‘Whereabouts do you live?’
Littleclaw looked round and an uncertain frown crossed his face. ‘I… er… I don’t know.’
‘What do you mean, you don’t know?’ asked Willow.
‘Well, I think it’s called Dragon’s Point or Dragon’s Peak…’ Littleclaw looked unsure. ‘I think it’s Dragon’s Peak. I know it’s in the mountains but I don’t know which ones.’
They all looked around. There were mountains to the north, the east and the west.
‘What are we going to do?’ Willow asked the others.
‘Maybe the map will help,’ suggested Sapphire.
‘Yes, good idea,’ Willow agreed. ‘You stay here, Littleclaw,’ she said, not wanting the dragon to see they were feeling really worried. ‘And we’ll look at the map.’ They landed and looked at the two halves of the map but, although the mountains were all marked, there was nothing to suggest which bit was called Dragon’s Peak. Willow’s heart sank. She looked at Sapphire and Storm. ‘What are we going to do?’
Just then there was a soft cough behind them. They swung round. Troy was standing there.
‘Troy!’ Willow gasped.
Troy hung his head. ‘I… I’m sorry,’ he said. ‘I shouldn’t have gone off like that. I got to the next clue and I realized I don’t want to do the treasure hunt on my own. And I do want to help Littleclaw.’
Sapphire trotted over and nuzzled him. ‘Oh, Troy.’
‘I wish I hadn’t been so stupid,’ he said.
Willow felt a rush of relief. It had been horrible to think of Troy going off without them. ‘You came back,’ she told him. ‘That’s all that matters. Oh, Troy, I’m so glad you did.’
‘Me too,’ he said. ‘How’s Littleclaw?’
‘Flying again,’ said Storm. ‘He’d lost his puff but Willow healed him.’
‘Cool!’ Troy said, looking admiringly at Willow.
‘The only problem is that now he can’t remember his way home. He thinks he lives in a place called Dragon’s Peak,’ said Willow. ‘But he doesn’t know where it is or how to get there.’
Troy stamped a hoof. ‘I do.’
‘Really?’ said Willow.
Troy nodded. ‘Dragon’s Peak was marked on several of the old treasure maps I learnt in the library. It’s not marked on our map because none of our clues led us there, but I’m sure I can find it.’
‘What are we waiting for, then?’ Willow said in
delight. ‘Let’s go!’
Chapter
Eight
Dragon’s Peak
Willow and her friends flew into the sky. Littleclaw was waiting for them, looking worried.
‘It’s all right, Littleclaw!’ Willow called. ‘Troy’s come back and he thinks he knows how to get you home to Dragon’s Peak.’
‘It might be a good idea just to check that’s where you really do live and that your parents are there,’ said Sapphire, ‘rather than fly all the way there and find it’s not the right place.’
‘How can we do that?’ said Littleclaw.
‘Rose quartz,’ said Sapphire. ‘I can use it to look at any place in Arcadia I want. There’s some in the trees.’
They all flew down and Sapphire touched her horn to the rose quartz she had seen. ‘Dragon’s Peak,’ she murmured.
There was a purple flash and the rock glowed like a mirror. Smoke spread out over the surface. As it cleared, Willow could see a picture in the rock. It showed a mountain with a summit covered in a pink cloud. There was a cave in the mountainside and a large green dragon was standing outside the cave, calling out anxiously.
‘That’s my mum!’ cried Littleclaw.
‘So that is your home! You do live on Dragon’s Peak,’ said Sapphire.
‘Let’s go, then!’ said Troy.
Sapphire took her horn away from the rock and the picture vanished. The unicorns and Littleclaw rose into the air. As they flew above the trees a few flakes of snow swirled down.
Littleclaw shivered as the snow fell on his wings. ‘I don’t like flying in the snow. It’s really cold!’
‘Fly close to me,’ Willow told the little dragon. ‘We don’t want to risk your fire going out again!’ She thought warm thoughts and the next second purple stars were shooting out of her horn.
‘Oh, wow!’ Littleclaw gasped, looking up in wonder at the purple rainbow that arched over him and Willow, keeping the snow off them. ‘You’re so clever! All of you! I’m really glad you’re here to look after me.’
Unicorn School: the Treasure Hunt Page 3