The Flying Glass (Fanglewick School of Magic Book 1)
Page 22
‘I can’t leave her here over the holidays,’ Marnie said.
‘Good luck.’ Charlie sneered. ‘I suspect the demons will swallow her whole.’
‘Nasty boy,’ Bella said.
‘Listen to the thing yowling.’ Charlie laughed. ‘I’ve made it jittery.’
‘What did you do with your owl?’ Seb asked Charlie.
He shrugged. ‘Father arranged to have it cared for at the Imporium. Not my worry.’
Seb shook his head at Charlie.
‘Anyway, why don’t you have one?’
‘Because I was worried about taking one through the halo and wasn’t sure how it would handle Earth.’ Seb raised his chin to look at the vortex spinning towards them. ‘Next vortex is ours?’
Charlie stood beside his boxes and cases. ‘I suppose so.’
‘Okay.’ Marnie waved to Lissa, who was waiting with a group of eager elves. ‘Bye, Lissa. See you in the new year.’
‘Goodbye, see you all next term,’ Lissa yelled.
Marnie clung to her case with one hand and the travelling bag in the other.
‘You don’t have to hold them so tightly,’ Charlie said. ‘They’ll come with us as long as they’re in the same vortex.’
‘One, two, three,’ Seb said.
The three of them stepped into the whirling vortex and for a few minutes were tossed and shaken as they spun with the turbulent purple cloud. This time Marnie saw no demons. One by one the vortex spat them onto a platform before an open doorway. They gathered their luggage and staggered through the opening where Earnest Day, the turtle man who had sold Marnie her ticket to Fanglewick waited on the frost covered ground to check their cards.
‘Step through, that’s it,’ he said with mist billowing from his mouth. ‘No loitering, thank you.’
Soon they emerged into the grey light of the Downfell allotment, where a driver waited for them. Marnie quickly unzipped the travelling bag a fraction to check Bella. She looked up at her and winked.
‘It’s freezing,’ Charlie complained.
‘Mr Arnold says you’re all to come with me,’ said a man dressed in an old-fashioned butler’s uniform.
‘I hope you have the heater running, Alistair.’ Charlie left his bags and boxes and clambered into the front seat of the car while the butler picked them up.
Marnie and Seb gathered their belongings and dropped them in the open boot before jumping in the back seat.
As they drove along the Downfell streets past the church, school and library, Marnie felt as though they’d never been away. They marched up to the front door and while Mr and Mrs Arnold greeted and hugged Charlie, Seb and Marnie slunk away to their old rooms.
‘You live up there?’ Bella said standing with her front paws on the first rung of the ladder.
‘Yep, you’ll love it. Up you go.’
Bella scrambled effortlessly up the ladder with Marnie following.
‘See, you can see everything from here and I can open the latch and let you out at night. I’m sure you’ll find plenty of mice and rats in Downfell.’
Bella tiptoed across the floorboards to the window ledge. ‘A worldly view. Have you always lived here?’
‘No, I lived most of my life in an orphanage miles away. I only spent a few weeks here before going to Fanglewick.’
‘An orphan you say?’
Marnie nodded. ‘Since I was a baby. I don’t know anything about my parents, other than the fact they were witches and they left me at an orphanage.’ For some reason she decided not to share the discovery of the glasses and telescope—not yet anyway.
‘I never asked you, where did you come from?’
Bella glanced outside the window. ‘You know it. We only visited Croak and Furnows a few weeks ago or have you already forgotten?’
‘You were born there?’
‘No.’
Marnie waited for Bella to explain, but she began to lick her coat instead. Perhaps they both had their secrets. She decided the winter holidays would be a perfect opportunity for her to get to know Bella better.
‘Would you open the latch for me? It’s getting dark and I feel the urge to hunt.’
‘Careful, it’s colder than Fanglewick and you don’t know Downfell.’ Marnie opened the window. ‘You’ll find a ladder down the side of the house although I don’t suppose you’ll need it.’
‘Good night. Don’t worry or wait up for me.’
Nothing had changed at the Arnolds. The following morning, Molly eyed them over breakfast with a look of jealousy and resentment. ‘So, why did you get to go to the fancy Scottish school with Charlie?’
Instead of pretending, Seb looked her straight in the eye. ‘Why do you ask? Did you want to come with us?’
Molly didn’t flinch. ‘You think you’re special, don’t you? Well I am too.’
‘Well tomorrow, I suggest you come with us to the Downfell library to discover if you’re special enough.’
Molly swirled the porridge with a smug expression. ‘Or maybe I won’t have to go the sneaky route like you.’
When Molly wasn’t looking, Seb raised his eyebrows at Marnie.
‘Mrs Arnold has been teaching me all year and I’m going to do the exam you all sat.’
‘You do know where this special school is?’ Seb asked.
‘Of course and I’m fully qualified to cross you-know-what. As I’m a strong reader, Mrs Arnold said it should be a breeze given Marnie got through.’
Marnie ignored her.
‘You do know the test includes puzzles and number problems,’ Seb said.
‘Of course. I’m perfectly capable of doing them too.’
‘Well, we could help you, if you want,’ Seb said.
‘I won’t need it.’
Charlie emerged from the library and into the kitchen. ‘Mother wants you to clean the windows this morning—all of you.’
‘We were just talking about the entrance exam to the ...,’ Seb coughed, ‘to the Scottish school. Tell Molly how you were the top student.’
Charlie bit his lower lip. ‘I don’t like to talk about it.’
‘I don’t blame you. It must be ....’
‘Embarrassing,’ Charlie said.
‘Yes, that’s the word I’d have picked too.’
‘I don’t like to skite. Hurry up, everyone. Get to work.’ Charlie left in a hurry.
Marnie grinned at Seb. She no longer cared about Charlie or the Arnolds. She hoped the holidays at the Arnolds’ mansion would pass as quickly and painlessly as possible. In a few weeks it would be her fourteenth birthday, so when she returned with her best friends for her second year at the Fanglewick School of Magic, she would be a fully-fledged witch able to brew potions, fly a broom and cast spells. She could hardly wait.
THE END
Author’s Note
Thanks for reading The Flying Glass, the first book in the Fanglewick School of Magic series. If you enjoyed the book, please consider leaving a review.
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e.m.cooper@outlook.com
@XJ_emcooper
www.emcooperwriter.com
For details of other books I’ve written, check out the list below.
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