CHAPTER
9
Mum burst into my room, throwing the curtains open. The sunshine stretched in to wake up each and every one of the colours on my walls. I yawned, happy to see them. And then, as sure as Dark Granite clouds bring rain, I remembered Gran wasn’t with us any more. Muckle Red’s words came back to me and the familiar feeling of heaviness returned to weigh me down. It was a wonder I didn’t sink into the mattress and disappear.
“What have you been doing?” Mum frowned at the carpet.
I sat up and winced, sore from last night. That was when I realized I was still wearing my clothes. I’d been so exhausted after dragging myself in through the window, I’d crawled straight into bed without changing.
Before Mum could notice, I covered myself up with the duvet. I didn’t want to have to do a whole lot of explaining about something I wouldn’t even know where to begin with.
“Is that mud?” Mum inspected the carpet closer.
“I was out … in the garden.”
Mum continued to stare at me in a way that indicated the conversation was far from over.
“Searching for God. Must have got it on my shoes checking the flower beds. Sorry.”
“How many times have I told you to…” Mum fell silent. I followed her wide-eyed stare. There, beside my desk, was a large Ashes of Roses worm.
Skaw had escaped from the tear catcher!
Mum threw the window open. A breeze raced in, and the paint charts did a Mexican wave around the room.
She picked up Skaw, gingerly, between her thumb and forefinger.
This woke me up quicker than a bucket of ice being tipped over my head. If Skaw vanished, so would my chances of rescuing Lyart and seeing Gran.
“Mum!” I yelled, just as she chucked the worm towards the window.
Skaw flew through the air, hit the curtain and dropped to the floor.
“Look what you’ve made me do!” Mum jogged fast on the spot, flapping her arms, the way people do when they’re squeamish about something they’ve just touched.
“Don’t throw him … I mean it, out the window!” I squawked.
“Why not!” Mum shouted.
“Because it’s Isla’s,” I said, surprising myself with the lie.
“What is Isla doing with a worm? She’d pass out if a greenfly landed on her.”
“The worm is for a school project and Isla said she’d keep it – only their spaniel tried to eat the thing, so I said I’d take it.” I studied every movement on Mum’s face to see if she believed me or not.
“Where were you keeping it?” she asked.
“In a jar. With earth. And compost, so it doesn’t starve.”
“You never said.” Her puzzled expression vanished. “Of course, you haven’t had a chance what with everything…” Her words trailed off and she perched on the edge of the bed. I made sure my shoes were tucked under the covers.
“How are you feeling?” she asked.
“Tired,” I said, relieved I could finally speak the truth.
“You’ve dark circles under your eyes.” Mum smoothed the duvet with her hand.
“Thanks.”
Mum had straightened her hair. Although you’d swear it was Pain au Chocolat, when it caught the light it glowed Ravishing Red, as if the sun had just performed a magic trick. Her skin shimmered, reminding me of the inside of a shell. I’d tried putting make-up on once, but Gran had told me I resembled a lady of the night. I took this to mean someone who worked in the twenty-four-hour garage. Gran always said my eyes were the same as the ocean because all the greens, blues and greys constantly changed depending on the light and there was nothing cosmetics could do to make them any prettier than they already were.
My ribcage shrank and it was painful for my heart to beat. “Are you off out?” I asked, pushing my thoughts to the back of my mind.
Mum leaned forward and pulled a dried leaf from my hair.
“I’ve decided to return to work – is that OK with you?” Her Pink Panther lipstick and Periwinkle Dream eyeshadow couldn’t mask the paleness of her skin or cover up the sadness in her eyes. Mum knew too, if you concentrated hard on something else, you could escape from the pain of losing Gran, for a short while.
“Your dad will be here,” she said.
“Dad?”
“He’s working from home.” Mum put the leaf into the wastepaper basket and then prodded me. “If you can behave for the next few days – and stay well out the way of Miss Mirk – I’m sure he’ll ease up on you.”
How could I be on my best behaviour? I had to find a whole bunch of weird objects, release Lyart, keep an evil entity from escaping Halloway graveyard and tell Gran I loved her one last time. And avoiding Miss Mirk, after she’d kidnapped God, wasn’t on the agenda either.
I sighed, except not for the reason Mum thought I was.
She leaned forward to give me a kiss, and then used her thumb to wipe the lipstick off my cheek. “Coral?”
I raised my eyebrows at her.
“Do you think the worm will be OK? It hit the carpet quite hard.”
“They’re tougher than you’d imagine.”
“Just as well. I wouldn’t be any good at giving it CPR.” Mum wrinkled her nose up as she got off the bed and walked out the room. Seconds later, her head reappeared around the side of the door. “Don’t forget to clean the carpet,” she added.
As the noise of her heels clattering on the stairs grew faint, I threw back the covers and leapt out of bed.
Skaw was nowhere to be seen.
I got down on my hands and knees and searched all over the floor. I checked under my desk, inside my trainers and behind two sketch pads. I moved Tatty, my old stuffed squirrel, to one side and found a hair tie, before lifting up a corner of the beanbag.
“What is it with everyone thinking it’s OK to hurl me about left, right, and centre? I’m no’ a plastic toy out of a cracker,” bellowed Skaw from the shadows.
“You were the one trying to escape.” He was cool to the touch and squirmed in my fingers. The top of his head was a much darker pink than his tail and each segment of his body shone, as though Mum had lacquered him in clear nail polish. His Slate in the Rain eyes met mine.
“I’m starving.” Skaw stuck his tongue out. “Your trainers taste pure disgusting, by the way.” He smacked his lips. “Where’s the jar you were havering on about?”
“You can have all the earth and compost you want as soon as you help us find witch’s tears, cannibal bones and a wrecker bird.”
He scowled, pulling the corner of his top lip up.
I opened the wardrobe, grabbed my rucksack and lifted out Moonzy’s head, carefully placing it on my duvet.
She lay silent with her eyes shut.
“Moonzy?” I waited for her to stir.
The worm wriggled to the edge of the desk.
I knelt down by the side of the bed. “Hey, sleepy! Time to wake up.”
Skaw tutted. “Have you completely lost it? You’re talking to a lump of stone.”
“Any idea how you wake up a gargoyle?” I asked, not holding my breath for an answer.
Something tapped me on the leg and I glanced down.
There, looking up at me, was Tatty, my toy squirrel. It raised its tufty ears and twitched its nose. Two crooked Almost Oyster felt teeth poked out from its mouth.
“I’ve just had the sleep of the dead – I’m a new me.” The squirrel flicked its bushy tail.
My jaw dropped open.
The squirrel twitched its plastic nose. “I feel a million times lighter now. Watch this!” The stuffed toy raced over the floor, leapt from the radiator on to the top of the wardrobe before jumping off and landing on the beanbag, where it rolled over on its front, propping its head up with its paws. “I love how colourful your room is. My eyeballs are going to pop with happiness.”
A noise I’d never heard myself make before escaped from my lips.
The squirrel tilted its head to the side. “Oh! So
rry. Should have said. I’m not a real squirrel – it’s me! Moonzy!”
Skaw peered at the stuffed toy, who scratched its belly before shaking itself.
“This place is a total madhouse,” muttered the worm.
The squirrel swivelled its head to see who had just spoken. It was the first time I’d ever heard Tatty growl. The Autumn Russet fur on the back of its neck stood on end as the toy bounced on to the desk, pinning the worm down. Skaw’s colour changed from Ashes of Rose to Vigorous Violet.
“Where is he?” squeaked the squirrel. “What have you done with Lyart?”
It really was Moonzy! I hurried over to the desk, where it took me three goes to separate them.
“What did you do that for?” Moonzy glowered at me.
Skaw spluttered, his sides heaving as he gasped for breath.
“Killing the worm isn’t going to do any good,” I pointed out.
“It’d make me feel a whole lot better,” Moonzy snarled.
“Who is this?” Skaw sat up straight as periscopes, wary.
“Skaw, this is Moonzy, a friend of Lyart’s.”
“What is that worm doing here?” The squirrel threw a glance at Skaw that was dirtier than a mudslide.
“Skaw is going to help us,” I replied.
Moonzy snorted. “You mean spy on us.”
I sat on the bed, pointing at the gargoyle’s head. “I think you’ve got some explaining of your own to do. One minute you’re a lump of stone and the next you’re Tatty, my favourite childhood toy.”
Moonzy hopped down from the desk, thudding on the carpet. With a shake of her tail she bounded up on to the bed beside me. When she spoke, she wasn’t even out of breath. “I’m a poltergeist.”
“What is that?” I furrowed my brow.
“I’m a ghost that can inhabit different objects, which means I can be anything I please.”
“Is this why you can leave the graveyard but the other ghosts can’t?”
“Exactly, Coral!” grinned the squirrel. “But as I mentioned before, I’ve not left Halloway in for ever and I’m frightened that what lies beyond the walls will bamboozle me. However, I’ll be fine with you there.”
“Who are you kidding? You only change into different things because your real face would make onions cry,” muttered Skaw out the corner of his mouth.
“At least I’ll never be stuck in a useless body such as yours, Skaw,” she fired back.
Skaw whacked a pen with his tail. It shot like an arrow towards Moonzy, who ducked as it whizzed past her. “Being a poltergeist means I can read auras too,” she said, sticking her nose in the air and ignoring the worm.
“What are those?” I put the pen on my bedside table, in case Moonzy decided to launch it at Skaw.
“It’s the energy field around the body, and you can tell a lot about someone depending on what colour it is. Lyart’s aura is the best: it’s the purest form of bright green, which means he’s kind and loves people, animals and nature. Worm-head’s over there isn’t so good – it’s black and muddy pink, so he’s fearful, guarded and dishonest. No surprises there, then.”
The worm shook his head. “You’re talking out of your—”
“Skaw!” I chided.
“Coral, you have a grey aura and this means you’re sad because you’re grieving.”
I swallowed hard, determined to stop my eyes from filling up. “Whether we like it or not, we’re all going to have to work together and figure out how to get witch’s tears, cannibal bones and a wrecker bird. And right now, thanks to a school trip, the only thing I know is there might be a witch buried under a boulder on Guiltree Hill. And if it’s true, the stone is so enormous, I doubt even Superman could shift it, let alone us. Any thoughts?”
“I sneeze whenever there’s a witch nearby.” Moonzy cleaned her nylon whiskers with her paws. “It might help us find another one in a café or an amusement arcade.”
“Thank you, Moonzy. Skaw? Anything?”
Skaw’s Slate in the Rain eyes darkened. “It’s against my better judgement to collaborate with a vile squirrel and a girl whose room looks as if there’s been an explosion in a paint factory.” Skaw flushed the entire length of his body. “However, I want the spell imprisoning Muckle Red to be broken.”
Moonzy’s ears fell back as though his words were difficult to hear.
The worm stared out of the window at the cauliflower-shaped clouds lit Imperial White by the sun. “Muckle Red’s been desperate to leave Halloway for ages. He’ll be much happier when he’s away from the graveyard; it’ll be better for his health.”
“Better for his health maybe, but not anyone else’s. He’s a murderous, coffin-dodging, crooked sack of bones and he makes me sick!” Moonzy’s eyes flashed and her tail stiffened.
Skaw whipped his head round at her. “You don’t have a clue what you’re talking about. He’s no’ into any of that nonsense any more; he’s a reformed character. He wouldn’t harm a fly these days!”
Moonzy laughed, clutching her belly. “That’s the funniest thing I’ve heard. He’s got you fooled good and proper.”
“Ach, away and boil your head,” snapped Skaw. “Just so we’re clear – I will lend a hand, but only because it means Muckle Red and I can leave Halloway.”
“OK, you two; enough. We don’t have to get on, we just need to figure this out, together,” I said.
Moonzy scampered on to the chair, using her tail to keep her balance. “You’re right, Coral. Time is not on our side – there are only three nights until the Hallow moon and the question is: where do witches, cannibals and wrecker birds hang out? I always ask Lyart when I don’t know something. Who do you ask, Coral?”
“Google,” I said with a shrug.
“Who’s she?” Moonzy blinked.
“A search engine on the computer my dad is working on today.”
The squirrel didn’t move one muscle. Not even an ear twitched.
Skaw wriggled away from the sunlight on the desk, twisting in Ashes of Roses and Drizzling Mist spirals. “You two are as much use as a tyrannosaurus rex with no teeth. Everyone knows there’s only one person in Saltbay who will have all the answers.”
“Don’t tell me – a wise old goblin who lives in an enchanted dell in a drainage pipe under the motorway?”
“No,” said Skaw, frowning at me. “A librarian.”
“Of course! Mrs Shellycoat – she’s a friend of my gran’s.” I paused. “She was a friend of my gran’s.” My bottom lip trembled.
Moonzy scampered on to the bed, her ears swivelling out to the sides. “Don’t worry, Coral, we’ll track everything down so we can rescue Lyart and you can be with your gran again.” The squirrel patted my hand. “My mum used to tell me if you picture something really good happening in your head, it makes it come true.”
The worm raised his eyes as if he was concentrating hard. “I’m visualizing you under the wheels of a bus.”
“Skaw!” I warned.
Moonzy carried on. “Even if you don’t believe me, thinking about something good makes you feel much better than thinking about something bad, and that’s a fact.”
If I was ever upset or afraid when I was younger, I would cuddle the squirrel, and now here it was comforting me, for real. I smiled at Moonzy and then my face fell. “I’ve been grounded.”
Skaw gave such a deep sigh the Post-it note stuck on the lamp fluttered.
Moonzy sprung on to the floor, pacing back and forth, deep in thought. Just as I was going to ask her if she had a plan, there was a knock at the door.
I leapt into bed, covering myself with the duvet. Skaw recoiled and Moonzy flopped over on her side.
“Are you awake?” said a muffled voice through the door.
“Yes,” I replied.
Dad appeared carrying a mug of tea and a plate of toast smothered in lemon curd, which was my favourite. He plonked the tea on the bedside table. It sloshed over the side of the mug and as he bent to put the plate down, the toast slipped
off it. I managed to catch it before it landed on the covers.
“It is fortunate I’m not a waiter, otherwise we’d be destitute.” Dad patted the top of his head, checking his hair wasn’t sticking up.
“What does that mean?” I took a bite of the toast, which tasted all buttery and zingy with lemon.
“It means we wouldn’t have a penny to our name. Your mum was telling me we have a house guest.”
I nodded, taking another huge bite of toast.
Dad spotted Skaw on the desk. “Oh, he’s an impressive fellow.” Dad scratched his beard. “I didn’t know worms had eyes?”
“He’s a rare breed from … Perth.”
Dad gave me a sideways glance. I thought it might be a good idea to change the subject. “Has anyone been in touch about God?”
He picked some fluff off his shirt and stuck his hands in his pockets. “I went on to the site earlier; there have been quite a few shares of his picture.”
I swallowed the last of the toast and sipped at the tea. Dad tapped the side of his mouth with his finger. Patting around my lips, I found the blob of lemon curd. I wiped it off, only to make my fingers stickier than superglue. “Sorry about yesterday,” I said, rubbing my hands together. The last thing I needed right now was to fall out with Mum and Dad.
“I’m not saying what you did is OK – we’re all off kilter at the moment, so thanks for the apology. However, don’t think for a minute I’m letting you off the hook. You broke my trust, Coral.”
“Do you know anything about witches in Saltbay?” I asked.
“Coral, if this is a ploy to let you go out on Halloween, it’s not going to work.” Dad sounded exhausted, even though the day had barely begun.
I had another thought. “I know I’m grounded but I really need to return a book to the library because it’s overdue and I don’t want to upset Mrs Shellycoat, especially when she’s been so kind.”
Dad walked towards the window, unaware Moonzy was right in his path.
I held my breath.
Dad stepped over her.
I let it out, relieved.
He still hadn’t said no, so I decided to carry on. “I’d go straight there and once I’ve chosen another book, come right back. I’ll ask if Mrs Shellycoat could put up a poster of God on the library noticeboard too.”
The True Colours of Coral Glen Page 7