“Tell me about it,” said Paige’s mum with a groan.
“Mi-Mi!” Alfie said, holding up a train to Maia.
“Here’s another tunnel, Alfie,” said Paige, lifting her leg so Alfie could push a train underneath.
Just then, Paige’s mum’s phone buzzed. “Oh no,” she said as she checked the message.
“What is it?” Mrs Greene asked in concern.
“You know Elissa who goes to gym with Paige? She’s fallen off her climbing frame.”
Paige swung round. “Is she hurt?”
“I’m afraid so.” Her mum nodded as she reread the message. “Her mum says she’s sprained her wrist. She’s going to be off gym for at least a month.”
“No!” Paige’s hand flew to her mouth. “And Harriet hurt herself today, too.” Her eyes filled with tears.
Poor Paige, Maia thought. Two of her friends getting hurt in one day. We’ve got to stop this Shade. She gave Paige a sympathetic look.
“I heard about Harriet,” Mrs Greene said. “She broke her ankle, didn’t she?”
Paige’s mum nodded. “That’s two members of the gymnastics team down. You’re going to be in the display at this rate, Paige.”
Paige gave a sob. “I don’t want to be in it just because people are getting hurt.” She ran to her mum.
“Oh, Paigey.” Her mum hugged her. “Don’t cry. Your friends will be OK. They’ll just be off gym for a while.”
“It’s a bit of a coincidence that they’re both on the team, isn’t it?” said Mrs Greene, shaking her head.
Maia felt like someone had just tipped a bucket of icy water over her head. Was it a coincidence that two girls on the team had both had accidents? Or was it because they were on the team?
“I’m just going upstairs,” she said, heading to the door. She needed to talk to Bracken right away!
The moment she reached her bedroom, she shut the door and called Bracken’s name. As soon as he appeared in front of her, she burst out, “Oh, Bracken. I’ve had such a horrible thought.”
She sat down on the bed and told him. “What if someone’s trying to hurt people on the team?” she finished.
“But who would do that?” said Bracken.
“I don’t know,” Maia said. “The team wins lots of competitions. Maybe … maybe someone in one of the other teams wants to try and stop them.” She hugged him. “Bracken, if I’m right, Lottie could be in real danger. The Shade might be after her next.”
Bracken nuzzled her cheek. “Don’t worry. We’ll find out what’s going on and stop it.”
Maia buried her face in his soft fur. “We have to!” she whispered.
The girls met in the playground before school. Maia was desperate to tell the others that she suspected the Shade was targeting the gym team but she didn’t want to upset Lottie. And what if she was wrong?
Luckily Ionie took charge. Looking like she could hardly contain her excitement, she dragged them over to the wall.
“OK, so last night this is what happened,” she whispered to them. “Sorrel and I shadow-travelled to Elissa’s garden and Sorrel smelled that a Shade had been on the climbing frame. For definite. Sorrel said it was a really strong smell. So then we decided to come here – to school – and Sorrel smelled the same scent here, too. Somehow the same Shade caused both Harriet and Elissa’s accidents!”
“What do we do?” Sita said.
“We need to find out what type of Shade it is,” said Ionie.
“And how it caused the accidents,” said Lottie.
“And what object it’s trapped in,” added Ionie. She glanced at Maia. “You’re being quiet today.”
“I’m just thinking about it all,” Maia said. She glanced around at the busy playground. She wanted to wait until Bracken and the other animals were there before they worked out how to find out more about the Shade. “I think we should go to the clearing after school.”
Lottie nodded. “I was wondering if you could use your magic to try and look back at the accidents – you might be able to see how the Shade caused them.”
“Brilliant idea!” said Ionie.
Lottie looked surprised at the praise.
“All of you ask if you can come to my house after school,” Ionie went on. “We’ll go to the clearing and Maia can use her magic.”
Sita nodded. “Then maybe we’ll find out what’s going on.”
To Maia’s relief, nothing happened to Lottie that day at school. She decided she would tell the others about the third vision when they got to the clearing and could talk about it properly, with the Star Animals there, too. She watched the clock, willing the school day to be over.
“What? You four want to meet up again?” Maia’s mum said when Maia ran over to her in the playground and asked if she could go to Ionie’s house. “Don’t you see enough of each other in school? Well, OK, I guess. Be back by teatime though.” Maia nodded. “Now, did you ask everyone if they want to sleep over tomorrow night? Should I go and have a quick word with their parents?”
“Oh.” With everything that had happened, Maia had completely forgotten about the sleepover. “I … um … asked Lottie and Sita,” she said. “They can come.”
“And Ionie?” Mrs Greene said.
“I haven’t asked her yet,” Maia admitted.
“Her dad’s over there. I’ll go and ask him.” Mrs Greene headed off and Maia went to join Ionie and Sita.
“Mum said it’s fine for me to go to your house,” said Maia. “Also, I’m going to have a sleepover at mine tomorrow,” she said to Ionie. “Do you want to come?”
Ionie’s face lit up. “A sleepover? Yes, please!”
Maia felt guilty about not mentioning it sooner. Ionie hadn’t been anything like as annoying the last few days. She’d even been nicer in class. Maybe Sita had been right about her just really wanting to be friends.
Lottie came running over. “Mum says I can be out for an hour but then she’s going to pick me up because I’ve got a piano lesson and she won’t let me miss it. Come on. Let’s go.”
They dumped their bags at Ionie’s house, grabbed a packet of crisps and an apple each, and then set off down the lane towards the clearing.
“OK, I’ve been thinking about the accidents and what we can do…” Ionie began.
“Shh,” said Maia, spotting a woman riding up the hill towards them on a big grey horse.
Ionie lowered her voice so the rider couldn’t hear. “The most important thing is to find out what object the Shade is trapped inside. Then we can try and get hold of it and—”
Before she could finish her sentence, they heard the horse rider shout out. Looking up, they saw the horse rearing up on its back legs. The rider grabbed for the reins but as she struggled to keep control of the horse, she lost her balance and fell to the ground. The horse bolted towards the girls at a gallop.
“Watch out!” yelled Ionie. She grabbed Sita and Maia, who were on either side of her, and pulled them to the side of the lane.
To Maia it seemed as if time slowed down. The horse’s hooves clattered on the stones, its nostrils flaring as it thundered up the lane. Maia thought she caught sight of a flash of red and green in the bushes at the side of the lane, but she only registered it for a second before she realized the horse was galloping straight at Lottie.
“Lottie!” gasped Maia as she saw her friend’s eyes widen in fear.
Maia felt magic rush through her. She saw the horse’s glowing outline starting to swerve to the right to avoid Lottie but at that exact moment Lottie made to dive the same way to try and get out of its path.
“Go the other way, Lottie!” shrieked Maia.
Lottie’s magic must have been coursing through her, too. In the blink of an eye she had thrown herself to the other side, somersaulted in the air and jumped to her feet, unhurt.
The horse swerved just as Maia had seen it would. It stumbled and regained its balance then slowed and came to a stop. It stood trembling at the side of the lane, its sides h
eaving. Sita ran over to it and took its reins. She touched the horse’s neck and murmured to it. Maia saw the horse’s breathing steady and its eyes start to lose their panicked look as Sita’s magic began to calm it.
The rider came running up the lane. “Oh my goodness. Are you all OK?”
“Yes, we’re fine,” said Lottie, although she looked very shaken.
“I don’t know what just happened. Duke’s never reared or galloped off like that. Something in the bushes must have spooked him.”
Maia remembered the flash of movement she had seen and peered into the undergrowth. With the magic running through her, she could see every leaf, every twig and every branch, but there was nothing unusual. Still, something had made the horse rear. Something red and green…
Sita led the horse over. He nuzzled his rider on the arm.
“You silly thing, what was all that about?” his rider said. She gave the girls a relieved look. “I’m glad you’re safe. I thought he was going to knock you down,” she said to Lottie. “I’m really sorry if he scared you.”
“Don’t worry,” said Lottie. “I’m all right.”
Luckily, Maia thought in her head.
The rider said goodbye, mounted and rode off.
Maia glanced round at the others. “We need to talk.”
As soon as they ran into the clearing, the animals appeared.
“What’s happened?” Bracken said, looking at Maia’s face.
Maia hugged him and drew in a deep breath. She felt better now that he was with her. Looking up, she saw that the others were close to their animals, too – Juniper was on Lottie’s shoulder, Sita was hugging Willow and even Sorrel, who was normally so haughty, had jumped on to Ionie’s lap.
Maia began to tell Bracken about the incident with the horse and the others chipped in, too.
“If Maia hadn’t yelled at me to jump the other way then that horse would have knocked me down,” said Lottie.
Juniper jumped round to her other shoulder in concern. “Do you think someone was trying to hurt you?”
Lottie swallowed. “I suppose it could just have been an accident.”
Sorrel jumped off Ionie’s lap. “If a Shade caused that horse to bolt, I’ll be able to smell it on the lane.” She leaped into the bushes.
They waited anxiously until Sorrel came bounding back out of the bushes, her tail puffed up. “A Shade was there,” she said with a hiss. “The same one. That horse galloping at Lottie was no accident.”
“We need to do something!” said Ionie.
“I don’t want to fight a Shade again,” Sita said in a shaky voice.
Willow nuzzled her comfortingly.
“Um… I think I need to tell you something,” Maia said. “The three visions I saw in the mirror have all come true and we now know the accidents all involve the same Shade. Well, I think they’re linked and that someone is deliberately trying to hurt people on the gym team.”
They all stared at her.
“On the gym team?” echoed Lottie.
“Of course,” breathed Ionie. “Harriet, Elissa and Lottie are all on the gym team.”
“But why would someone want to hurt people on the team?” Lottie said.
“Could it be someone in a rival team?” Bracken said.
“No! The teams are competitive but none of them would want to hurt someone else,” said Lottie.
“But someone’s responsible for this,” said Juniper.
“We have to find out who it is,” said Sita.
Ionie caught her breath. “Maia – why don’t you ask the magic to show you!”
“I can try,” said Maia eagerly.
She pulled the mirror out of her pocket and opened her mind to the magic. As it tingled through her, she concentrated hard, like Auntie Mabel had told her, and thought, Show me the person conjuring the Shade that hurt Harriet and Elissa and tried to hurt Lottie.
The mirror flickered and then went dark.
Maia blinked. “That’s weird.”
“What’s going on?” asked Sita. “What can you see?”
“Nothing. The mirror’s just gone black. What does it mean, Bracken?”
The fox looked worried. “The person using dark magic may have cast a spell so they can’t be seen by magic.”
“Oh.” Maia’s hopes deflated. “Well, how about I try and see the Shade?” she said. “If I ask to see it, maybe we’ll find out what object it’s trapped in.”
“Good idea!” said Ionie.
Maia took a breath and focused on the mirror again. Show me the Shade who made the horse bolt, she thought.
The darkness faded and a picture appeared in the mirror. There was an expanse of green lawn, some trees, a bench and a shed in the distance.
“What can you see?” asked Lottie eagerly.
“A garden,” said Maia in surprise.
“Is there anything there that might have a Shade trapped inside it?” asked Bracken.
“No, there’s just grass and trees and plants,” Maia said.
“There must be something there,” said Sorrel impatiently. “Look harder.”
“I am looking,” said Maia in frustration. “I can’t see anything.”
“Could the Shade be invisible?” suggested Sita.
“No,” said Bracken. “Some Shades can move very fast but they’re not invisible.”
Ionie sighed. “This isn’t getting us anywhere.”
“It’s not Maia’s fault!” Lottie said defensively.
“Ionie didn’t say it was,” Sita said quickly. “Why don’t you try looking at the accidents? Maybe we can work out how the Shade caused them,” she said to Maia.
Maia hesitated. She hadn’t yet managed to look into the past. Could she do it now? She remembered Auntie Mabel’s advice about needing to really focus. Staring at the mirror and frowning in concentration she whispered, “Show me Harriet’s accident.”
A blurry image started to appear in the mirror. Maia peered closer. Work, she thought. Work now. But the picture only grew more blurry.
“I can’t do it!” she told the others. She willed the mirror to show more but the image remained fuzzy.
Bracken nuzzled her. “Don’t worry. Looking into the past is hard.”
To Maia’s surprise, Sorrel nodded. “The fox is right. Don’t feel frustrated, child.”
“We’ll have to think of some other way to find out what’s going on,” said Lottie. She glanced at her watch. “I’m going to have to go. Mum’s meeting me at Ionie’s soon. I can’t be late.”
“But what about the Shade?” said Ionie.
“It’ll have to wait until tomorrow,” said Lottie. “We’ll have lots of time to try and find out what’s going on when we’re at Maia’s for the sleepover.”
“Good idea,” said Sita. “Come on. Let’s all walk back together. You shouldn’t be on your own, Lottie, in case something else happens.”
Maia swallowed down her frustration. She didn’t want to have to wait until the next day. She wanted to do something right then and there. She’d just have to try even harder, as Auntie Mabel had said. Thinking that made her realize that she still hadn’t asked Auntie Mabel if she had discovered anything. I’ll go and see her on the way home, Maia decided.
On the way to Auntie Mabel’s, Maia texted her mum.
Finished at Ionie’s. Going 2 c Auntie Mabel. Is that OK? Mxx
A text quickly pinged back.
That’s nice of you. I think she’s lonely without Granny Anne. I’ll pick you up from there. xxx
Maia hurried up the road. This time the lights were on at Auntie Mabel’s house and she was dusting a display of glittering crystals and stones that were on the windowsill in the lounge. Spotting Maia through the window, Auntie Mabel waved and came to open the front door.
“Maia! Come in.”
Maia followed her inside.
“So, what’s been going on? Let me get some drinks and biscuits, and you can tell me everything,” Auntie Mabel said. She bustled aro
und, fetching a tray and glasses.
Soon they were sitting in the lounge beside the log burner. Maia started to tell Auntie Mabel everything that had been happening.
“That’s awful!” said Auntie Mabel, looking shocked when Maia told her about the horse bolting up the lane. “Poor Lottie must have been so scared.”
“She was. It was a Shade that caused it. Sorrel went back and she sensed one had been there.”
Maia nibbled a biscuit. “Have you managed to find out anything, Auntie Mabel?”
Auntie Mabel sighed. “I’m afraid not. The crystals aren’t showing me anything. I just see darkness when I try and look.”
Maia felt a rush of disappointment. “That’s what happened when I tried to look. Bracken says the person who trapped the Shade must have cast a spell to stop themselves being seen.”
“Yes, that’s what I’ve been thinking, too,” said Auntie Mabel quickly. “Well, I guess all we can do is keep on trying. This can’t be allowed to continue.”
“Thank you,” said Maia. Just knowing Auntie Mabel was trying to help made her feel better.
“Tell me as soon as you discover anything else,” said Auntie Mabel.
“I will,” Maia said.
There was a knock on the door. “That’s probably my mum,” said Maia.
“No more talking about magic then,” said Auntie Mabel with a smile. “And I’d better make a fresh pot of tea.”
When Maia got up the next morning, she tried using her magic to see the local gym clubs in her bedroom mirror, to check whether there was anything suspicious going on. But all she saw were teams practising their routines.
Halfway through the morning, her mum knocked on her door and looked into her room.
Maia hurriedly picked up her phone as if she were writing a message.
“Come on,” her mum said. “You’ve been shut in here too long. Time to come downstairs. You can help me tidy up.”
“OK,” said Maia reluctantly.
Her mum shook her head. “You girls and your phones. You’re on them far too much.”
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