For all of my family, who made my childhood bright. And for wonderful Amelie, who makes the magic real.
With special thanks to Alasdair Malloy and The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra.
C.B.
For the beautiful Marie. A magical musician and wonderful sister xxx
L.E.A.
Contents
Cover
Dedication
Chapter One: THE BROKEN UMBRELLA
Chapter Two : THE BIRDCAGE
Chapter Three: THE MAGICAL THING
Chapter Four: MIDNIGHT MUSIC
Chapter Five: THE BOY AND THE WOLF
Chapter Six: A TRIP TO THE UNFORGOTTEN CONCERT HALL
Chapter Seven: THE THREE DOORS
Chapter Eight: A STRANGE ORCHESTRA
Chapter Nine: THE TERRIBLE THING
Chapter Ten: EDENTWINE
Chapter Eleven: HARPER’S GIFT
Chapter Twelve: THE MIDNIGHT MEETING
Chapter Thirteen: THE WILD CONDUCTOR
Chapter Fourteen: HOME
Look out for more
Copyright
Once there was a girl called Harper who had a rare musical gift. She heard songs on the wind, rhythms on the rain and hope in the beat of a butterfly’s wing. Harper could play every instrument she ever picked up, without learning a single note. Sometimes late at night, alone with her cat, Midnight, Harper heard a melody that made her heart stand still. For it seemed that it came from the stars themselves. . .
Chapter One
THE BROKEN UMBRELLA
From the fourteenth floor of the Tall Apartment Block, Harper gazed dreamily across the City of Clouds. Trams rumbled through heavy rain and bright umbrellas bobbed like little boats.
“Darling, I’m leaving with the Dutch Opera House in ten minutes sharp,” Great Aunt Sassy cooed, as she stitched a pink petticoat into a gorgeous twirly gown. “They’re picking me up by helicopter.”
Harper smiled and put her arms around her Great Aunt Sassy’s large waist, the scent of lavender tickling her nose. Sassy Miller was the chief dressmaker for the Dutch Opera House. It was her job to sew hems, knit hats and create fabulous dresses.
Every four weeks, when the moon was round and full, Great Aunt Sassy travelled to Holland to check on all her beautiful gowns. Harper secretly liked it when Great Aunt Sassy went away, as she got to stay with the other residents of the Tall Apartment Block. Tonight she was staying with strange old Elsie Caraham, who lived on the topmost floor. Tomorrow she was with Madame Flora at the ballet school, on floor three.
The sound of a whirring helicopter filled the little flat. “My ride has arrived!” Great Aunt Sassy cheered, seizing her suitcase and charging out the door.
Harper ran to catch up with her, grabbing her yellow umbrella as she went. As they stepped on to the rooftop a Heartbeat of rain drummed from the sky. Harper hardly noticed. In the City of Clouds it rained every day, in many different ways, pouring down water that was good enough to drink.
There was:
Summer Dew: a light rain that barely touched you.
Sea Mist: a soft rain which emerged from the air like fog.
Heartbeat: an even rain, steady as your heart.
Cloudburst: a downpour that soaked you to the skin.
Icefall: a hard rain that struck like hail.
Thunder Break: when the sky was alive with storms.
“Have a weekend as wonderful as you,” Sassy beamed, kissing Harper’s forehead and struggling into the helicopter.
“I will,” Harper giggled, her mind already skipping at the thought of the fun she was going to have.
But as the helicopter span into the clouds, the force from its propellers snatched Harper’s yellow umbrella and tossed it into the air. Harper gave a squeal as it was thrown in a puddle at her feet, badly torn.
From the sky above, Great Aunt Sassy peered down and almost dropped her teacup.
“Whatever will we do?” she groaned. “Everyone in the City of Clouds owns an umbrella and now Harper’s is ruined.” She leaned through the swathes of swirling cloud, took a deep breath and then – knowing that Harpers life would change for ever – called, “Darling, you must use the Scarlet Umbrella. It was left to you by…”
But Great Aunt Sassy’s words were stolen away by the wind. Harper was alone, a little girl on a rooftop with a broken umbrella.
Chapter Two
THE BIRDCAGE
Harper blinked in amazement as the rain lightened to a soft Summer Dew. She stared at her reflection in a puddle. A girl with pale skin, dark hair and eyes the colour of a winter sea gazed back at her with a big smile. “I can use the Scarlet Umbrella,” Harper gasped.
She darted down the stairs, through the door of their little flat and into the bathroom. A shiver of excitement danced over Harper’s skin. In the corner of the bathroom stood an enormous birdcage. Locked inside its slim white bars was an umbrella of magnificent scarlet silk.
So often had Harper dreamed of opening the birdcage, but Great Aunt Sassy had never allowed her to, insisting that the Scarlet Umbrella was too old and fragile to use. Carefully, Harper picked up a tiny golden key which hung above the sink. It had been there for as long as Harper could remember, shining through her memories like a key to forgotten secrets. Gently she turned the key and with a click the birdcage was open. Harper held her breath and lifted the umbrella out. It burst open in her hands, making her jump and laugh all at once! It really was quite splendid – like a prop from one of Great Aunt Sassy’s operas. “It weighs nothing at all,” Harper smiled, for it felt as if she was holding a handful of feathers, and though it was very old, the umbrella didn’t seem fragile at all.
“Midnight!” Harper yelled, tearing around the little flat. “Midnight, come and see my amazing umbrella.”
But Midnight was nowhere to be found. Harper pulled a small piccolo flute from her pocket and played Midnight’s favourite melody. But still he did not appear. She peeked beneath the table and noticed something very odd. Midnight’s bowl of cream and peppermint mouse had not been touched. A whisper of worry crept into Harper’s heart.
You see, Midnight wasn’t quite like any other cat. Five years ago, on the night of the Fearsome Storm, he had mysteriously arrived at the stroke of twelve. The name had seemed perfect.
Midnight had mint-green eyes and jet-black fur with snow-white paws and a white-tipped tail. Wherever Harper wandered, Midnight would follow, three paces behind. Sometimes when Great Aunt Sassy took Harper to the ballet or to the cinema, Midnight would already be there, curled happily in Harper’s seat. How he guessed where she was going to sit, nobody ever knew.
Harper stood in the middle of the flat, breathing in the scent of lavender and listening to a lullaby of sad Summer Dew rain. And suddenly Harper felt terribly lonely. “Where are you, Midnight?” she whispered … and that’s when the magical thing happened.
Chapter Three
THE MAGICAL THING
Without any warning, the Scarlet Umbrella shot out of Harper’s hand and flew towards the door. With a light crash it hit the handle and slid to the floor, landing like a seaside parasol. Harper stood perfectly still, too stunned to move. Then her heart soared. “You’re magic!” she cried, swinging the umbrella into the air.
Its handle was silver and smooth. Harper clutched it tightly, pressed her eyes shut and whispered, “Will you help me find Midnight?” At first nothing happened. Then the funniest feeling came over Harper, a feeling she’d had before in a dream. A feeling of being lighter than clouds and drifting past the moon. Slowly she opened a single sea-
grey eye and found she was floating.
Harper was so surprised she let go of the Scarlet Umbrella and started falling towards the table. Quicker than lightning the umbrella flipped upside down and caught Harper in its dome. “You can fly!” she laughed, leaping out and dancing around the flat. The umbrella gave a tiny quiver, as if it understood. Harper reached up and took it by the handle, as if she was taking someone’s hand.
“Let’s find Midnight,” she smiled and set off at a run, her feet dusting the stairs as lightly as snow.
On the seventh floor, Harper and the Scarlet Umbrella paused. Carnival music echoed through the stairwells. “The Lucases must be having a party,” Harper beamed, banging on a bright orange door. The Lucas family were a troupe of percussionists from sunny Brazil. They owned every drum you could think of and never seemed to sleep.
“Welcome, Harper!” called Mariana Lucas, who was wearing a garland of flowers in her hair. Her husband, Paulo, was in the kitchen, frying fish. The twins, Augusto and Luciano, were juggling, and Isabella was performing a samba routine.
“I’m eighteen today!” Isabella screamed, pulling Harper into a hug.
“Happy birthday!” Harper yelled. “Is Midnight here?”
At once the room went silent and Harper felt a coldness sweep over her skin. Liliana Lucas, who was only three, began to sob. “Katarina’s gone missing,” she wept. Katarina was the Lucas family’s beloved cat.
“Perhaps Katarina and Midnight are having an adventure together?” said Isabella brightly. But Harper wasn’t so sure.
On the fifth floor, the Scarlet Umbrella came to rest outside a flat so crowded with books it could have been a library. Papers, postcards and half-finished poems spilled across the floor. Liesel, the littlest member of the German family, was busily playing with a string of paper mice. Ferdie, her older brother, was lounging on the sofa, trying to read a serious play.
“Good morning, Harper!” called their mother, Brigitte, offering Harper a pretzel.
“Good morning, Little Harp,” called Peter, their father, who was a famous German writer.
Harper gave Peter a wave and peered into his wonderfully messy study. The thought of all the new stories being typed brightened her heart.
“Is Midnight here?” she asked hopefully.
“No, and nor is Ludo,” said Liesel coolly. Liesel was small with tangled blonde hair and filthy nails. She loathed cats but loved mice. It was a great relief to her that cats were going missing.
Ferdie, her brother, gave a serious frown and threw down his play. “Ludo has left us and we don’t know why.”
Harper swallowed anxiously. “I think Midnight’s missing too,” she stammered. Ferdie leaped up from the sofa and flung an arm around Harper’s shoulders.
“Midnight would never leave you,” he said confidently. “I promise you he will come back.”
On the third floor, the Scarlet Umbrella leaned softly towards the ballet school. Harper, Ferdie, Liesel and her string of paper mice slipped through the door.
Madame Flora sat alone at the cherry-wood piano. Harper’s fingers longed to stroke its ivory keys. But instead, she found herself scanning the dance studio for Snowflake, the ballet school’s cat.
She stared sadly at the empty basket. “Is Midnight here?” she asked quietly.
Madame Flora’s face became pale with sorrow. She folded her arms across her chest like two graceful wings. “No,” she whispered. “Nor is Snowflake.”
Harper sighed and blew Madame Flora a kiss goodbye. Ferdie gave her a swift bow and Liesel bobbed a little curtsey which was so perfect that for a moment it made Madame Flora smile. Then the three children and the paper mice were gone.
Cats across the City of Clouds were disappearing. Something had to be done.
Chapter Four
MIDNIGHT MUSIC
Elsie Caraham was the oldest resident in the Tall Apartment Block. She owned a wonderful collection of violas that she often let Harper play. But tonight they were making no sound at all. Tonight Harper and Elsie were listening.
They perched on the rooftop beneath a canopy of storm blooms – flowers that only bloom in the rain. Harper was curled beneath the Scarlet Umbrella, her dark hair tucked away, her ears open. Elsie was huddled in an emerald-green cape that matched her emerald-green eyes, making her look like a fairy-tale witch.
“When the clock chimes twelve, a strange music starts up and all the cats follow it,” Elsie hissed softly. “Most of them never return.”
Elsie was furious that her own two cats, Memphis and Tallulah, had vanished too. Cats are as much a part of the city as the clouds are, thought Harper. The only household she knew of that didn’t have a cat were the Nathanielsons on the tenth floor. They had a wolf instead. Not a wicked wolf, or a wild wolf, or a wolf you might find in a magical wood. But a strange, intelligent creature with glowing golden eyes.
The wolf belonged to Nate Nathanielson. Nate was visually impaired, and could only see lightness or dark. He had found the wolf as a cub, mistaken her for a dog and brought her home. The wolf had remained at his side ever since.
An odd note of music sliced through the air and Harper forgot about Nate and his wolf. She strained her ears to listen. From somewhere below the rooftops and above the cellars came a strange lilting tune. It was music like nothing Harper or Elsie had ever dreamed of. Music that could steal your soul.
Elsie raised her spyglass to her unusually bright eyes and peered through the Sea Mist rain. “Look!” she cried wildly.
Harper squinted through the spyglass and froze. Cats of every shape and size were prowling across the city.
“They’re headed for the Unforgotten Concert Hall – in our basement!” Elsie croaked.
Harper leaped to her feet. “I have to find them,” she said boldly.
Elsie’s eyes twinkled like stolen emeralds. Then she winked and said, “Go!” Harper fled from the rooftop.
As she dashed down the stairs, she noticed that the Tall Apartment Block seemed different in the dark. Shadows moved of their own accord. Late night chatter floated all around. Far away someone was dancing.
But Harper wasn’t afraid. This was her home – she knew every inch of it. Especially the Unforgotten Concert Hall; it was one of her favourite places. Its front entrance was on the street, but the hall itself and its cobweb-laced dressing rooms were in the basement of the Tall Apartment Block.
Harper tried the stage door. It was locked. Then she spotted a small grimy window, just a little bit taller than her. If I could just reach it, she thought.
No sooner had the thought danced through her mind than the Scarlet Umbrella rose up high, pulling Harper with it, so she was eye-level with the window. She took a breath and peered through the dirt.
Inside stood a terrifyingly tall man in a sweeping satin coat. His hair was the colour of magpie feathers. His nose crooked as a wizard’s. His skin as brown as fallen leaves. But all Harper saw was the cat he carried in his arms.
“Midnight!” she cried, and her voice, so much louder than she intended, rang out as clear as a nightingale’s.
Midnight gave a fierce meow. The terrifyingly tall man span round in fury. For an awful moment Harper found herself gazing into two hateful brown eyes. Then the Scarlet Umbrella whisked her away, up the stairs and back to safety, her heart beating like a bird inside a cage.
They didn’t slow down until they reached the tenth floor. Then the Scarlet Umbrella lowered Harper to the ground and she sank on to the stairs, trying to gather her scattered thoughts. What was the terrifyingly tall man doing with Midnight? Where was that bewitching music coming from? And how was she going to rescue Midnight and all the other cats? Something growled in the darkness and Harper’s blood turned cold. There in the murky gloom of the stairwell glowed the golden eyes of a wolf.
Chapter Five
THE BOY AND THE WOLF
/>
The wolf gave a low warning growl. Harper almost let out a scream.
Then she saw a boy step from the shadows.
“Don’t worry. You just gave her a fright,” said Nate Nathanielson calmly.
Harper wilted with relief and smiled, then blushed, remembering that Nate probably couldn’t see her smiling.
Nate’s skin was deep black but his eyes were as clouded as morning fog. People thought the wolf was like a guide dog. But as Harper stared at the fierce and beautiful creature at Nate’s side, she wasn’t so sure. The wolf wasn’t on a lead.
“I didn’t mean to startle her,” said Harper shyly.
“It’s OK,” said Nate. “Your feet made no sound. If it wasn’t for your shadow I wouldn’t have known you were there.”
For a moment Harper was still. She looked at the boy and the wolf, wondering if she dare tell them about the Scarlet Umbrella and the missing cats. She had known Nate all her life, but never really spoken to him. She’d wanted to make friends before, but something about the wolf made her fall silent.
She gripped the umbrella closely and said, “The reason you didn’t hear my footsteps is because I was floating.”
She expected Nate to laugh. But he put his head on one side as if he was thinking.
“It’s my umbrella,” Harper continued. “It’s very old and sort of enchanted!”
Nate reached out and ran his hands over the scarlet silk. “It feels powerful and strong,” he said quietly.
“It is,” Harper smiled, her eyes lighting up with an idea. “Would you like to try it?”
For a moment Nate hesitated. Then the wolf raised her head and padded softly over to Harper. Harper didn’t dare move. The wolf didn’t touch her but lay at her feet and gave a growl so soft it sounded like a purr.
Harper and the Scarlet Umbrella Page 1