Owlbert was standing above the purse, ready to carry the purse to safety, Charlotte still inside it, if the situation got out of hand.
The polar bears, still shaking with laughter, had rolled themselves into a circle around the wolves. The wolves backed up into each other as the polar bears surrounded them, and when the bears stood on their hind legs they formed a towering fence around the wolves.
Ava raced towards them and, ducking under the legs of one of the polar bears, entered the circle.
“Ahh, it’s you,” said one of the wolves, his ears flat against the side of his head.
Ava faced the wolves and asked them to repeat their message.
“Our master wishes to speak to you,” said one of the wolves in a low, angry voice.
“You’ll meet her by the lake at sunset,” said the larger wolf, his amber eyes fixed on Ava’s.
“You’ll be dead if you start giving commands in this talking circle,” warned the polar bear with the blue scarf.
“We’ve said what we came to say,” rumbled the angry wolf.
“Let them go,” Ava cautioned. “It might come to a fight, but we shouldn’t be the first ones to strike.”
The polar bears looked at one another, and then slowly shuffled to make space for the wolves to exit. The wolves looked up at six pairs of black eyes and, yelping, fled into the forest, disappearing into the growing darkness of the woods.
“What unpleasant animals,” sniffed the Professor, leaping to the ground from the safety of his tree branch.
“This forest is a dreadful place for them,” replied the tree, “and it will grow more disagreeable before the night is over, I would imagine.”
“Don’t worry about those boneheaded fleabags,” said the polar bear with the yellow scarf. “One year I fought a whole wolf pack over a caribou. I ended up eating them all for dinner!”
“It wasn’t a pack,” said Old Noir. “It was three, and if I hadn’t heard you screaming and come to save you, it would have been them eating you!”
“It wasn’t three, it was five. And you showed up at the last minute.” The yellow bear sat down.
“Three, five, twenty, I’m sure you have plenty of delightful stories. But right now, we have to decide what to do. Are we meeting Wraithlana at the lake?” Charlotte said, finally emerging from her purse. She held a funny looking bottle in her hand labelled Invisibility Spray.
Suddenly, there was a shriek from the picnic table.
“Help him!” Anja cried, holding onto Robbie. Robbie had collapsed into her arms, and his eyes were closed.
Ava raced to her brother and sister. She shook Robbie gently without taking him from Anja’s arms, and Robbie opened his eyes slowly, as if waking from a dream.
“He’s there,” said Robbie meekly, trying to sit up. “I can see him. He’s in a spooky little cedar shack.”
“Who is?!” said Ava and Anja together.
“Our father!” Robbie exhaled and slumped back into Anja’s arms.
“Your father!” burst out Tempo in surprise.
“I knew he was alive!” Ava declared.
“Where is the shack, Robbie? Did he look well? Is he harmed? Who is with him?” Anja gushed, smoothing Robbie’s hair as she peppered him with questions.
“He’s all alone, in the dark, and he looks miserable,” whispered Robbie.
Anja burst into tears.
“What is wrong with Robbie?” Ava turned to Tempo.
Tempo shuffled closer. “He’s in shock, I think. The last time he saw your father, the man was happy and healthy and sitting in your living room. Robbie’s only five, imagine how this affects him. Let’s give him some room now, and let him recover from his vision.” Tempo dug into his coat pocket and pulled out a handful of mints. “Here, Robbie! Take a few of these!”
“Did you take those from the train?” Ava crossed her arms, an amused smile beginning to stretch across her face.
“Of course! There was a ton of them, just sitting there in a beautiful bowl! I supposed they were meant to be taken! I’ve got two pocketfuls.” Tempo beamed.
“Sunset will come sooner than we think,” the Professor said, coming to stand beside Ava. “We must make a decision.”
All eyes turned to Ava. The polar bears, Owlbert, Charlotte, Tempo, The Professor, and her siblings – everyone was waiting for Ava to speak.
Ava cleared her throat.
“We’re going to meet Wraithlana. We’re going to rescue my father. We’re going to do both of these things tonight.”
The polar bears roared.
“Wolf stew!” they clamoured, slapping each other on the back happily.
Tempo lifted Robbie off the picnic table, and Anja climbed down and stood beside Ava.
“I believe in you,” Anja said softly, wrapping her arms around Ava, and Ava felt her whole body relax.
“But even the bravest heroes need a team,” said Charlotte from behind them. She pointed her pencil at the picnic table, and it evaporated. “And Ava, we are here for you.”
Ava looked around at her team, her unlikely assortment of allies, and a small part of her was glad she was on this adventure. Her life now was completely different than it had been before, and sometimes, thought Ava, sometimes that’s a good thing.
They set off, headed towards Meech Lake, to meet the witch Wraithlana.
The path to the lake wound around mossy rocks and old, timeworn roots. The trees no longer sang as they passed by. Instead, they whispered to each other and occasionally a stray leaf would float down, swinging lower and lower through the air, until it landed on Ava.
Be strong, the leaves seemed to say to her.
Ava thanked the trees for their gift and carried on.
The last of the sun was slipping out of sight when they came to the shores of Meech Lake. There was no wolf in sight, but there, on a grassy patch of the shoreline, bordered by trees, was Wraithlana.
She looked the same as she had before. She was hunched over her cane, her long white hair flowing down to her knees, her black jacket draped over her, and a black hood covering her evil face. She reached out a gnarled hand to halt them.
“Only the girl,” she creaked.
Ava stepped forward.
“Your father, he’s waiting for you,” the old witch rattled. “I only need the key, and he’ll be set free.”
“This key?” asked Ava, reaching for the chain around her neck. She unfastened it and held it up for Wraithlana to see.
The old witch gasped.
“You’re only a child, you don’t know what you hold. Give that key to someone worthy,” Wraithlana moved forward, her hand grasping the air as she moved towards Ava.
“Are you worthy?” Ava asked, her voice clear. “When your heart desires only revenge?”
From behind her Ava heard movement, but she didn’t want to turn around and take her eyes off Wraithlana. Ava knew that Charlotte and Tempo stood with their wands out, and that the Polar Bears were ready to attack, and probably looking forward to it.
“Revenge,” the old witch seethed, “is not all my heart desires. I want that key.”
“The Logicals killed your mother, but you killed my mother. Should I want revenge also? Where does this end?” Ava lowered the key into her hand and made a fist around it.
Wraithlana jerked her head back and laughed, the frightening sound filling the air. She threw down her cane.
Ava watched in horror as the old woman straightened her crooked back and stood up to her full height, growing before her eyes. Wraithlana threw back her hood and stared down at Ava with hard, mean eyes. Her long hair began to twist about like two snakes, curling upwards, making a silver crown upon her head. Her wrinkled face smoothed out, and Wraithlana’s face became like stone.
She opened her black jacket and a flock of crows shot out, swirling through the air in a circle above them, flapping their black wings. Wraithlana was wearing a long dress made from crow feathers, and her coat, Ava could see now, was a wolf skin, the fur gleaming bl
ack in the light of the moon.
“Do you want revenge, little girl? Are you powerful enough to fight me?” Wraithlana jeered. “Do you have some hidden talent that will make you my match?”
“Yes I do,” declared Ava, her eyes meeting Wraithlana’s.
“I have the same power that all of us have. The power to change my fate, and your fate, and the world, with one little word.”
“And what word is that?” Wraithlana spat.
“The word no!” Ava shouted.
Behind her the polar bears roared, their voices beating like a drum.
Wraithlana lifted both her hands slowly, calling forth the wolves that had been waiting at the tree line. They crept forward, snarling, frothing at the mouth, their eyes hungry and hateful. Among them bounced a little pug dog, who was also snarling and frothing at the mouth.
“Miss Potter!” cried Robbie, and, as usual, Robbie was correct.
“Stupid, senseless pet,” said Professor Ronald. “Apt to bark at a leaf.”
“I think the new look suits her,” muttered Anja.
“You children better climb up here,” a nearby willow tree breathed. “Come sit where it’s safe.”
The tree coiled her long branches around Robbie and Anja and lifted them up to the top of her trunk, nestling them high up from the impending fight. Robbie and Anja looked down below, and then to each other, and then whispered their thanks to the tree.
The Polar Bears advanced, standing in a line behind Ava.
The wolves advanced, standing in a line behind Wraithlana.
Charlotte and Tempo moved forward, their wands ready.
Owlbert hopped forward, his wings tucked in.
“So,” said Wraithlana, speaking to the crowd. “The answer is no.”
Ava lifted her chin up.
It was at that moment that Owlbert leaned forward, his giant eyes narrowing as he looked closely at the wolf nearest to him, then he opened his beak and clamped it down upon the wolf, and in one moment he threw the wolf into the air and leaned back to swallow him whole.
There was silence.
Then Owlbert shifted his weight to one talon, burped, and coughed up a wolf-sized owl pellet.
“CHARGE!” shrieked Wraithlana.
Old Noir was right behind Ava, and as the wolf pack leapt forward he crashed down, his massive body landing over top of Ava. She could stand up straight underneath him, and while the wolves circled him and snapped at her, she knew they were scared of Old Noir.
From underneath the polar bear, Ava could see Charlotte and Tempo battling Wraithlana. Charlotte shot spell after spell at the witch, her wand sparking and changing colour every time her spell changed. Tempo was doing the same from the other side, trying to disarm her, but Wraithlana plunged her own wand towards each of theirs, casting off their spells.
The other polar bears had ferociously stormed the line of wolves, and each bear was fighting two or three wolves at a time, hurling them to the side or hammering them with their giant paws. The wolves would stagger backwards and shake their bodies, and then throw themselves forward again, lashing and biting and scratching the bears.
“Aye, you’re no bigger than a bear cub!” bellowed the polar bear with the grey scarf as he held up a wolf by the tail.
“But just think how pretty he’d be as a centerpiece!” shouted the green-scarfed polar bear as he peeled a wolf from his back.
Ava couldn’t help but smile as she watched the polar bears take on the wolves so cheerfully. She turned to search for Owlbert, who she spotted flicking wolves into the forest with his outstretched wings.
Everywhere Ava looked, she saw good fighting evil. The crows were circling the tree where Robbie and Anja were hidden, but the willow cracked her branches like a whip, sending crows sailing through the air like a sling-shot.
The wolves were relentless, but the Polar Bears were stronger, and while it seemed like the fight might continue for some time, Ava was certain that the wolves would not win.
Tempo and Charlotte had Wraithlana backed up against the shores of the lake. Wraithlana was still pronouncing curse after curse, her remarkable power on display, but Charlotte and Tempo were determined, and Ava knew that they could hold her, at least for a while.
Now was her moment. She had to find her father.
Ava took a deep breath and prepared herself to run through the fight into the trees, but before she could shoot out from under Old Noir there was a yapping noise at her feet and Ava looked down to see Miss Potter eating her shoelaces with a vengeance.
“You should have been fired,” Ava bent down and flicked the pug on its nose.
Miss Potter jumped back and, perhaps because it was dark, or perhaps because she had no brain, she began to chase her own tail, growling furiously at it as Ava backed away.
Old Noir seemed to sense that Ava needed to leave. He stood on his hind legs, towering above the fight, and looked down at the brave girl who had defied the witch. He nodded his head at her, and then he let out a terrible roar, and joined the fight at last.
Ava fled into the trees.
She ran in the direction the wolves had come from, sure that the cedar shack that held her father must be somewhere close by. Wraithlana, she knew, would not have left her prisoner far away.
Ava moved quickly, and the trees seemed to move out of her way as she stumbled through the darkness. Before long she was far enough away from the fight to hear footsteps behind her.
Ava whirled around to find the Professor.
“Even the bravest heroes need a team,” he said, quoting Charlotte.
Ava smiled. “I do need you, Professor. I don’t know where I’m going.”
“I don’t know where you’re going either,” said Professor Ronald, “but the door to the Magical world is that way.” He pointed with his paw. “North.”
“I have to get my father first,” Ava reminded him.
“Of course!” said the Professor. “Then I still don’t know where you’re going. I don’t know where the cedar shack is.”
“It’s somewhere near here,” Ava said, sitting down on a fallen tree. “It’s just so hard to see in the dark.”
“What is in your pocket?” whispered a voice from the darkness.
“Who said that?” Ava demanded.
“You don’t need to shout, you’re sitting right on me,” came the reply.
“Sorry,” sighed Ava, patting the tree trunk. “It’s been a long night.”
“What is in your pocket?” asked the tree trunk again. “It’s making a humming noise.”
Ava reached into her pocket and pulled out the compass. It was humming, and it was glowing, and the needles on the face of the compass were spinning wildly.
She held it out for Professor Ronald to see, and they watched as the compass spun in the dark.
All of a sudden, the compass stopped.
Go, Ava it said.
Ava held the compass to her heart.
It was the voice of her mother.
Chapter Fifteen
A
va ran.
The forest had grown darker. Thick, black clouds had gathered, blocking out the silvery moonlight, and thunder cracked behind Ava as she swerved through the bush, following the needle of the glowing compass. Lightning broke across the midnight sky, and Ava knew it was Anja. She thought of the battle she had left behind, and ran faster. If Wraithlana won, her father would be killed. This she knew.
Professor Ronald was at Ava’s heels, his feet light and his step sure. He bounded over tree roots and fallen branches and leapt to Ava’s side whenever she turned or changed course.
Suddenly, Ava stopped. The light in the compass had gone out.
“I can’t see anything! I don’t know where to go!” she cried out frantically, putting her hand in front of her to feel for something to steady herself.
“Ava! The shack is right there, only a few feet away! I can see it perfectly,” said the Professor, who had forgotten that humans don’t have nig
ht-time vision.
The air around them began to change. An inky mist, which had lifted from the ground and clung to the forest floor, now blew towards the lake, as if it were headed to the battle. Leaves flew from their branches and whipped across Ava’s face. The rushing sound of wind could be heard in the tree-tops, an angry sound, and Ava threw herself down onto the ground.
“Anja! Robbie!” she shouted, scared for her sister and brother. But her words were swallowed up by the ominous weather.
Suddenly Professor Ronald was by her side.
“Keep moving, Ava. Crawl along the ground, and follow me. We must get to the shack.”
Ava and the Professor inched along the forest floor, struggling against the wind, until finally Ava felt the wooden walls of the shack.
“Where is the door?” she asked the Professor as loudly as she could.
“I don’t see a door!” the Professor shouted back. “But there is a window!”
Ava felt up the side of the shack until her hands found the windowpane. Then she reached down to the ground, her fingers searching for something to break the window. When her hands closed around a rock the size of an apple, she arched her hand back, screamed with all her might, and threw it towards the direction of the window. She heard it shatter, and knew she had hit her target.
“Dad?” Ava asked the darkness, sticking her head through the broken window.
“Ava?” came the reply.
“Dad!” shouted Ava, hoisting herself through the window. Professor Ronald jumped in behind her.
Ava fell onto a dirt floor and banged against a few objects in the dark.
“I don’t suppose there’s a light switch in here,” Ava said.
“Your father is right here!” called the Professor from a corner.
“Who is that? Who is with you, Ava?” asked the voice of Mr. Smith.
“Oh, that’s the cat!” said Ava, making her way to her father.
“What?” asked Mr. Smith.
“Never mind,” said the Professor. “Are you able to stand, sir?” he looked at Mr. Smith and noticed that his feet and hands were tied together by a rope.
“Don’t worry, Sir. I can untie this, just hold still.” The Professor got to work and nimbly untied the ropes that bound Mr. Smith.
The Adventures of Ava Smith: The Secret of the Enchanted Forest Page 11