Night Shade
Page 7
“We deserve it,” declared Ionie. “It’s been a very busy day.”
“A busy, magical day,” said Maia. They all grinned. “I think I know some others who deserve tea, too,” she went on. She nodded to the large table covered with a tablecloth. “There’s plenty of food left,” she whispered. “We could call the animals. If they hide under the table no one will know they’re here!”
The girls exchanged mischievous looks. They knew they shouldn’t but they all wanted to!
They checked that Mary was busy talking to a customer, then they called their animals’ names. The four animals appeared in a shimmer of light and looked around in surprise.
“Quick! Under the table!” Maia whispered. They all bounded under the tablecloth.
Soon, Bracken and Sorrel were eating ham and tuna sandwiches while Willow ate the apple and Juniper nibbled on a strawberry. The girls could feel their soft bodies pressing against their legs.
Maia slipped her hand under the table and stroked Bracken’s fluffy head, feeling happiness rush through her. They still had a lot to find out, but right now all that mattered was that she was with her best friends and their animals, and everyone was safe.
“This really is the best tea ever!” she said with a smile.
Maia Greene sat cross-legged on her bed. Magic tingled through her, making her feel as if every centimetre of her skin was sparkling. Her Star Animal, Bracken the fox, sat beside her but her eyes were fixed on the small mirror in her hands. Through her bedroom door, she could hear her older sister Clio shouting to their mum that she couldn’t find her favourite skirt.
“Show me where Clio’s favourite skirt is,” Maia whispered.
The surface of the mirror shimmered and a picture appeared. It showed a red skirt lying screwed up underneath the chest of drawers in Clio’s bedroom.
“Found it!” Maia said in delight. When she had first started learning how to do magic, it would take her quite a while to connect with the magic current but now she could do it almost instantly.
Maia had been able to use magic ever since Bracken and some other animals from the Star World had appeared to find Star Friends. Only those who truly believed in magic could hear the Star Animals speaking. Together, a Star Friend and their Star Animal would use the magical current that flowed between the two worlds to help people. Each Star Friend had different magical abilities and when they used magic for good it strengthened the current.
Bracken nuzzled Maia, his soft fur tickling her skin. “You’re getting so good at using magic!” he said.
Maia breathed in his familiar sweet scent – the smell of grass in the woods on a warm autumn day. “Good. I need to be strong if we want to stop whoever is using dark magic. We all need to be.”
Maia’s three best friends, Lottie, Sita and Ionie, were also Star Friends. Together they had discovered that someone nearby was using dark magic to conjure Shades and that this was weakening the magical current. Shades were evil spirits who brought misery and unhappiness into people’s lives, and Star Friends could use their magic to send them back to the shadows.
“We’ll find whoever is conjuring Shades and stop them,” Bracken declared. “Are we meeting up with the others today?”
“Yes, we’re going to Ionie’s house later this morning. I thought I’d call in at Auntie Mabel’s on the way.”
Auntie Mabel had been friends with Maia’s granny before she had died. She was the only adult Maia knew who could do magic – she wasn’t a Star Friend like Maia but used crystals and stones.
Maia heard her sister shouting on the landing again. “Oops, I still haven’t told Clio where her skirt is.”
Bracken disappeared in a shimmer of starlight as Maia opened the bedroom door. None of Maia’s family knew about him – the Star World had to be kept secret from people who didn’t believe in magic.
Clio was standing at the top of the stairs shouting, “I’ve looked everywhere!”
“Wear something else then,” her mum said.
“But I want to wear my skirt!”
Maia went into Clio’s messy bedroom and hurried over to the chest of drawers. She crouched down. Just then, Clio came into the room. “What are you doing in here?” she asked.
“I thought I’d help you look for your skirt,” said Maia. “Is this it?” She pulled the red skirt out from under the chest of drawers.
“Yes!” Clio gasped. She frowned. “Did you put it there?”
“No!” Maia protested. “Just a lucky guess.”
Their mum appeared in the doorway. “Clio, this room is a tip. It’s no wonder you can’t find anything!”
“Mum! Maia’s found my skirt!” Clio said. “You keep doing this – finding things that are lost. How do you do it?”
Maia hid her smile. If only Clio knew the truth! “I guess I’m just good at finding things.”
“I think you’re psychic,” said Clio, staring at her. “You should start a YouTube channel!”
Maia laughed it off but thought perhaps she should be a bit more careful about how she used her magic from now on.
“Clio, I hardly think Maia’s psychic,” Mum said, smiling. “I think you’re just very bad at looking. Now get changed quickly and I’ll drop you off at your friend’s house. What are you going to do this morning, Maia?” Mrs Greene asked as they both left Clio’s room.
“I’m meeting the others at Ionie’s house. Is it OK if I go to Auntie Mabel’s on the way?”
“Of course,” Mrs Greene said. “Auntie Mabel always loves to see you. Tell her I’ll call in for a cup of tea soon.”
“OK,” Maia said and she hurried down the stairs.
Copyright
STRIPES PUBLISHING
An imprint of the Little Tiger Group
1 Coda Studios, 189 Munster Road,
London SW6 6AW
Text copyright © Linda Chapman, 2018
Illustrations copyright © Lucy Fleming, 2018
First published as an ebook by Stripes Publishing in 2018
eISBN: 978–1–84715–991–5
The right of Linda Chapman and Lucy Fleming to be identified as the author and illustrator of this work respectively has been asserted by them in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988.
All rights reserved.
Apart from any use permitted under UK copyright law, this publication may only be reproduced, stored, or transmitted, in any forms, or by any means, with prior permission in writing of the publishers or, in the case of reprographic production, in accordance with the terms of licences issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency.
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
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