Pale Peak Burning

by Paula Harrison

  “OK. I have to go!” Laney ran on.

  “Be careful,” Simon called after her.

  The road curved round and a signpost pointed the way to Cowton Lane. A group of Blazes, including Hillburn, the Elder, were gathered at the crossroads. Laney’s heart tightened as she saw the wreckage of a car. Its windscreen was shattered – and a long scorch mark zigzagged across the roof. The car lay with its rear end sticking up and its front wheels in a ditch.

  Desperate to see her aunt, Laney raced across the field and into the ravine. The cave was right at the opening of the chasm, its entrance lined with jagged rocks like a monster’s teeth. Laney clambered along the narrow tunnel, water dripping down her neck from the cave roof. Mrs Embers lay on the rocky ground with Laney’s uncle kneeling beside her and Tyler pacing up and down. Briana leaned against the cave wall nearby and she swung round to glare at Laney.

  “How is she?” Laney’s voice echoed off the walls.

  Tyler didn’t seem to hear the question. He stopped pacing and fire blazed in his hands. “We have to go after this Shadow. Right now.”

  “You can’t!” Laney burst out. “He’s so powerful! Hardly anyone is strong enough to face him.”

  Tyler clenched his fists. “I can’t just do nothing!”

  Laney touched his arm. “Don’t go after him, please! I’ve already seen my dad get hurt…”

  Mr Embers leaned over his wife. “Sarah, can you hear me?”

  Mrs Embers didn’t move.

  Laney’s throat tightened. Her aunt was so pale and still. Why had the Shadow come here? And why now? Was he searching for another Myrical?

  A thought jumped into her mind. The herbs! “There were herbs that the Thorns got me to use on my dad after he was hurt. They didn’t work but maybe they might have if I’d got them sooner.”

  Her uncle spun round. “What were they?”

  Laney searched her memory. “Comfrey and vervain.”

  “Will you stay with her until we get back?” Her uncle rose quickly.

  Laney nodded. “Yes, but where will you find the plants?”

  Mr Embers didn’t answer. “Tyler, I need you to come with me. Briana, find the Elder and ask him to make sure no one enters the chasm.”

  Stones crunched under their feet and then they were gone. Laney clambered over a boulder to get closer to her aunt. She put a hand on the cave wall to steady herself and found that the rock was warm under her fingers. The tunnel ahead stretched on into darkness and the cave floor quivered beneath her feet. It was like being inside a monster, ready to be swallowed whole.

  She knelt down by her aunt and touched her hand. It was ice cold.

  “Aunt Sarah?” she whispered, but her aunt didn’t move.

  She held her aunt’s hand in the darkness and the minutes ticked by. Surely her uncle wouldn’t be long? Her eyes adjusted to the gloom as she watched her aunt’s still face. So the Shadow had left Skellmore. He must be looking for another Myrical. Maybe he already knew one was hidden close by.

  She shivered, remembering how it felt to be struck by the Shadow’s red lightning. Noticing a mark on her aunt’s wrist, she pushed up the coat sleeve. A vein of blue ice ran down her aunt’s arm, ending in a star-shaped burn. The Shadow’s lightning must have struck right here. Laney touched the vein of ice and it melted, leaving little drops of water on her aunt’s skin. Taking her aunt’s arm, Laney closed her eyes and thought of fire and warmth. Little by little, her aunt grew warmer and the colour returned to her skin.

  When Laney opened her eyes, the drops of water hung in the air like floating jewels. Startled, she dropped her aunt’s arm. She’d used Mist magic again. But having Blaze and Mist powers at the same time wasn’t supposed to be possible. Chips Delaney, who had parents from different tribes too, had reminded her of that.

  She touched one of the drops as it floated in mid-air. First she’d used water magic then fire magic. Did she have powers far apart just like the red moon prophecy said?

  There were sounds at the cave entrance. Laney snatched at the water drops, catching them in her hand and rubbing the wetness on her jeans. Her uncle and Tyler hurried up the tunnel towards them.

  Her uncle gave Laney the herbs. “Do you know what you’re doing?”

  Laney rubbed the herbs between her hands and put them on her aunt’s forehead. “This is what Gwen told me to do before. I’m not a Thorn though…”

  A heavy silence fell on the cave and the only sound was water dripping from the roof. Then Laney’s aunt coughed and opened her eyes. She looked around, dazed. “Connor…”

  “Don’t try and talk,” said Mr Embers. “Just lie still.”

  “I remember what happened.” Mrs Embers pushed herself up shakily. “I drove around the corner and he was standing by the side of the road looking towards Beggar’s Chasm. His hood was low and I couldn’t see his face. I was so shocked that I lost control of the car – I veered towards him – then he stretched out his hand and a tree branch smashed into my car. It was just horrible!”

  “Then he must be a Thorn – or he was once,” said Tyler.

  “But there was ice on her arm where the lightning struck,” said Laney. “And that’s a Mist skill.”

  Tyler came forward in the gloom. “So he’s a Mist or a Thorn. Now all we have to do is find everyone from those two tribes and work out who it was. Then we can nail him. We’ll tell everyone—”

  “No!” Mr Embers told him. “We’ll tell the Elder and that’s it. We don’t know what’s going on or why the Shadow attacked your mother.”

  “We don’t need to know why!” Tyler yelled. “We just need to track him down and kill him.”

  Mr Embers faced his son. “Just think for a minute! We tell every Blaze and Greytail in the village to look for a Thorn or a Mist. What then? The only Thorn round here – half Thorn – is Christopher Delaney, and less than half an hour ago he gave us the plants that helped heal your mother. Do you want to hand him over to an angry crowd? And when they start searching for a Mist, where do you think they’ll look? The only person living round here with a Mist-tribe parent is Laney.”

  Laney swallowed. “But if we know who the Shadow is it’ll be easier to beat him.”

  Briana ran up the tunnel. “The Elder’s here now and most of the tribe.”

  “Thank you, Briana. We’re coming.” Mr Embers gave Tyler and Laney a warning look before helping his wife to her feet.

  A crowd had gathered outside the mouth of the cave.

  “Everyone listen!” said Hillburn, the Blaze Elder. “If the Shadow’s here, it’s because there’s a Myrical to be found. Our beloved Sparkstone was hidden at a time of great danger and I have long believed it must have been placed among these hills. We must find it before that monster does. A Shadow faerie who gets his hands on Blaze power could unleash a terrible fire, threatening many lives.”

  Laney shuddered. She’d seen the Shadow possess the Thorn Myrical, the Wildwood Arrow. Seeing him take the essence of Thorn magic and turn it evil had been terrifying.

  “We’ll begin searching at nightfall,” continued the Blaze Elder. “And we’ll stop anyone from another tribe who comes into this area. If they don’t have a reason for being here, they won’t be allowed in.”

  There was a murmur of agreement and the air filled with heat. Hillburn instructed the tribe to divide up and search different areas for the Myrical. Laney didn’t know a lot of the places he named. She studied the determined faces around her. The natural quickness of the Blazes had transformed into a shimmering anger. They didn’t seem to be afraid of the Shadow. Or maybe they just hid it well.

  As soon as her aunt felt better, Laney took the herbs and persuaded Kim to drive her to the hospital. She placed the herbs on her dad’s pillow and searched his face for any change – a flicker of the eyelids or a change in his breathing. Anything.

  She sat by his side till sunset. Pictures ran through her head: red lightning striking her dad’s chest … her aunt laying in the cave with
the warm walls … the drops of water hanging in the air…

  A magpie landed on a bush near the window. It was alone, which made it “one for sorrow” – just like the rhyme. The bird turned its head and gave a harsh squawk. Laney frowned. Why did she feel like it was staring at her?

  “Laney, are you OK?” said Kim, returning from the hospital canteen with Toby.

  Laney quickly put the herbs out of sight. “Yes, I was just daydreaming.”

  “Well, I have some good news,” Kim said brightly. “Monique Lionhart rang me. Claudia’s staying at her cousin’s house for a few weeks and I said we’d have her round for tea. I know it’s been hard on you, moving up here. I don’t want you to lose touch with your Skellmore friends.”

  “Thanks!” Laney beamed. Claudia was staying in Kirkfield at last! But would her mum take her straight back to Skellmore when she found out the Shadow had been seen?

  Kim walked over to the bed and touched her husband on the cheek. Laney noticed how worried she looked. “He’s worse instead of better, isn’t he?” she said.

  “The doctors said he might have ups and downs,” Kim replied. “But he’s in the right place and he’s got experts looking after him. Come on, you’re just tired. Get your things and we’ll go.”

  Kim filled the silence in the car, talking about the news Simon had brought from Skellmore. Although her stepmum knew nothing of the faerie world, Laney could tell a lot from what she relayed. Injured cats. Broken trees. It was clear the tribes were still fighting each other, especially the Greytails and the Thorns.

  They picked up Claudia from her cousin’s house in Kirkfield and then carried on to Little Shackle. Laney knew from Claudia’s meaningful look that she had heard about the Shadow’s attack in the village, and as soon as the two girls were alone, back at Laney’s house, she demanded information.

  “I knew there must be a Myrical hidden in this area!” Claudia said when Laney had finished telling her everything.

  “I don’t remember you saying that before,” Laney replied.

  Claudia brushed this off. “Course I did.” She leaned in. “And by the way, there’s someone listening at your window.” She whirled round, snapped the window open and grabbed Tyler’s arm, pulling him in backwards.

  “Ow! Watch it!” Tyler collapsed on the floor, his dark-red wings crooked. “How did you know I was there?”

  Claudia raised one eyebrow. “You can’t spy on a Greytail. We have sharper senses than anyone. I could have heard you a mile away.”

  “This is Tyler, my cousin,” Laney told her. “Tyler, what were you doing outside my window – don’t you trust me or something?”

  Tyler shifted back to human form. “Yeah, I trust you. I don’t trust her though. Everyone knows Greytails only care about themselves.”

  “Everyone knows Blazes are really moody and stink of smoke,” replied Claudia.

  “Stop it – both of you!” said Laney. “Tyler, tell me why you were outside my window.”

  “We have to check all the new people coming into the village. And she’s new!” Tyler said.

  “You’re lying! I can tell by the way you won’t look us in the eye,” Claudia snapped. “Anyway, the Greytails living here have already told your Elder all about me.”

  “OK, fine! The truth is I just came to say thanks,” Tyler said to Laney. “It was lucky you knew what to do to help my mum. It was horrible seeing her injured. It made me think about how hard things have been for you with your dad so ill.” He met Laney’s eyes. “So I came to ask you how he is. If there’s anything I can do to help, I will.”

  That night the Blazes began searching for the Sparkstone. They took candles lit with pale-blue flames into the hills. These gave off enough light to search by but were hard to spot from the village below. Laney wanted to help but she was told they had plenty of people. From listening to their conversations, she realised they were concentrating their Myrical hunt on the hills and the caves beneath them. She thought of the cave at Beggar’s Chasm and wondered how far it stretched under the hills.

  Claudia settled in at her cousin’s house and she and Laney met up quite often in Kirkfield. March turned into April and the days at school dragged by. The scent of warm earth filled the air and Mrs McKee from next door was in her garden every day, planting vegetables. Buds appeared on the branches of the trees and daffodils opened on the roadsides. Laney watched them nodding their golden heads as Kim drove her to school each morning.

  Shafts of sunlight lit up Groaning Tor by day. Amber light flickered on the peak by night. Laney thought of the story of the giant hidden underneath the hill. Every evening, she sneaked into the field behind their cottage after Kim had gone to bed and practised Blaze skills in the dark. Sometimes she conjured up flames over and over until her hands were sore. At first her fireballs vanished in mid-air and her circles of fire were just wobbly lines. But as the weeks went by, she got better until even Tyler admitted that she was doing well.

  Maybe if she could pass the test on the night of the Kindling and become a proper Blaze, everything else would be all right too: her dad would wake up, he’d be well again and they’d all be together. If only she could get the fire magic right. She longed to tell her dad about her Blaze powers. She wanted to see that look in his eye that told her he was proud of her.

  “Show me how to make the frost flames again,” she said to Tyler. “I can never get them cold enough.”

  They were practising in the field behind Laney’s cottage again. The sun had set, leaving a thin line of gold on the horizon.

  “It’s easy!” Tyler clicked his fingers and a flame lit in his hand as pure white as a burning icicle. “Don’t let the fire burst out like you do with a normal flame; just keep it small and tight.”

  Laney wrinkled her forehead. “Sure – no problem! Except that’s what I’ve tried to do the last fifty million times.”

  “Great, more Blaze practice!” Claudia yawned, perching on top of the fence. “Don’t you think it’s weird that you don’t burn your own hands? It’s like you’re flame-proofed or something.”

  Tyler’s frost flame shot upwards, turning his fringe white. “Where did you spring from?”

  Claudia grinned. “I’ve been sitting here for five minutes.”

  “It’s a Greytail stealth thing,” Laney told him. “You get used to it. I didn’t know you were coming over tonight, Claudia.”

  “My mum dropped me off. She, Gwen and Frogley are having some kind of super-important meeting with the Blaze Elders.” Claudia stifled another yawn. “They’re all in the village right now.”

  Laney bit her lip. She knew the Skellmore Elders had visited Little Shackle a couple of times since she’d moved here. They’d probably come to talk about the search for the Myricals. She hoped she didn’t run into Frogley. The Mist Elder was always horrible to her.

  “Come on, Laney,” Tyler said impatiently. “Try making that frost flame.”

  “OK hold on.” Laney clicked her fingers and concentrated on making a really small flame. For a second she thought it would burn yellow but it leapt up small, cold and white. Her stomach turned over. The flame felt icy cold on her skin.

  Tyler grinned. “Finally! A frost flame.”

  Claudia shuddered. “Yuck! At least normal fire keeps you warm.” A small black cat jumped on to the fence beside her and mewed. “See, Dizzy agrees with me. So, you crazy fire people haven’t had any luck at finding your Myrical then.”

  “Mind your own business.” Tyler glared at her.

  Claudia swung down from the fence, suddenly tense. “Watch out – someone’s coming.”

  A minute later, Frogley walked into the field. He was followed by Tyler’s dad, who wore a troubled look on his face. “I don’t see why you need to speak to my niece,” he said to the Mist Elder. “It’s not as if she’s from your tribe.”

  Frogley smiled thinly. “No, she isn’t! Apparently the whole of Little Shackle knows she’s a Blaze faerie even though she was coming to Mist
training sessions back in Skellmore.” His eyes glinted as he turned to Laney. “I shall be telling everyone how you pretended to be part of our tribe. What do you think they’ll say about you then?”

  “I wasn’t pretending!” Laney told him. “I didn’t know I was a Blaze back then.”

  “How can you not know what you are?” Frogley’s cold eyes flicked to Tyler. “I wonder what your new family have to say about that.”

  Laney’s heart sank. Tyler was looking confused. What would her uncle, aunt and cousin think of how she tried to join the Mists back in Skellmore? Would they start doubting whether she should be allowed into the Blaze tribe?

  Frogley smiled at her silence. “All you are is a liar and a Tainted.”

  “That’s enough!” Laney’s uncle clapped a hand on Frogley’s shoulder. “You’ve said your piece. Now, go before I make you leave!”

  Frogley shrugged his hand off. “She Awakened on the night of a red moon. Did she tell you that?”

  Laney paled. A red moon, sometimes called a wolf moon, was the most frightening omen in the faerie world. No one else knew the secret she’d discovered just before she left Skellmore – that her dad had hidden the truth about the date she was born. He’d told everyone she had a different birthday and changed the date on her birth certificate. She hadn’t just Awakened on the night of a red moon, she’d been born on one too. The words of the prophecy started running through her head:

  Born under a Wolf Moon

  The Child of Aether joins together powers far apart.

  He binds the opposites

  And drives a splinter through the faerie ring’s heart.

  But all that couldn’t be about her, could it?

  Frogley smiled as if he knew he’d won the argument. Laney’s uncle stepped towards the Mist Elder, but Frogley turned and hurried back to the road.

  “Nasty little man!” Mr Embers said, watching Frogley go. “If he bothers you again just let me know, Laney.”