by Julie Sykes
Evie was surprised at the change of subject. “Nothing,” she said, blushing. “There’s no big secret at all. Who’s this painting by?” she asked, moving on to a portrait of a previous headteacher.
“Finoula Sparrow,” said Sam, following her. “Did you know there are supposed to be lots of secret passageways and hidden rooms in the academy? I’d love to find one, wouldn’t you?” He looked at her intently.
“I guess,” said Evie uneasily.
“But you haven’t found any secret places yet?” pressed Sam.
“No, definitely not,” said Evie quickly. She turned away. “I’m going to make some notes on the statues over there.”
As she walked away from Sam, she glanced at Dr Briar and she saw her giving Sam a questioning look. He shook his head. Evie frowned, suddenly certain that Dr Briar and Sam were up to something. Why had Dr Briar asked her to help and not Lyra? Did she think that Evie would tell her more about what they were up to?
Well, they can try all they like, but they’re not going to get any information about the map from me, she thought determinedly.
She stopped by the statues and wrote down some notes. Her scalp prickled. She was sure Dr Briar and Sam were both still watching her. But why?
After lunch, in the geography and culture lesson, Ms Rivers announced that they were going on a statue hunt in the school grounds with their unicorns.
“I’ll give you a list of artefacts to find,” Ms Rivers told them. “Answer the questions about them and the first team to arrive back with the correct answers will win a prize.”
“This is the best lesson ever!” said Sienna as they fetched their unicorns.
Sam and the boys from Topaz were ready first. “We are so going to win! Watch us and weep, Ruby dorm!” he cried, before galloping away with his friends.
“I don’t know how you coped with having to spend all lunchtime with him,” Sienna said to Evie, pulling a face.
“It was a bit weird,” said Evie. She wondered whether to mention her suspicions about Sam and Dr Briar, but she didn’t have any proof so she decided to keep quiet for now.
To Evie’s relief Sunshine seemed back to her usual friendly self that afternoon. “This is fun!” she whinnied as they galloped towards the rose gardens with the others.
The girls visited the rose gardens, the safari trail, the play park, the vegetable garden and the lake, ticking nine of the ten items off their list. “We just need a winged unicorn statue now,” said Lyra.
“There’s one in the orchard,” said Evie.
As they approached the orchard, the boys appeared at a gallop from the direction of the play park. “Faster! They’re going to the orchard too,” Sienna shouted.
Ruby dorm raced into the orchard with the Topaz boys right behind them. The rearing unicorn with wings was on a plinth by a pear tree. Sunshine reached the statue first. She halted abruptly in front of it, making Evie slip sideways on her back. “Are you OK, Evie?” Sunshine said, anxiously stamping her feet.
“Yes, yes, I’m—”
But Evie broke off as there was a flash of pink and the statue exploded.
Chunks of marble flew through the air. Sunshine whinnied and scrambled backwards but she couldn’t move fast enough. A large stone wing came plummeting down from the sky towards them!
The wing hurtled towards Evie and Sunshine. Evie was sure it was going to hit them but at the very last moment time seemed to pause. The wing froze in the air above their heads. Sunshine reared backwards and then time restarted.
Whumph! The marble wing thumped into the ground exactly where Evie and Sunshine had been a few seconds ago.
“Evie! Sunshine! Are you OK?’ cried Lyra.
“What happened?” gasped Evie. “I thought it was going to hit us but it just stopped in mid-air!”
“It was Flash!” Sam burst out, jumping off and hugging his unicorn. “I saw sparks fly from his hooves and I smelled burnt sugar. He must have got his magic – pausing magic! It will mean he can make things stop for a few seconds.”
“Oh, wow!” said Evie. “That’s awesome magic. You saved our lives, Flash. Thank you so much. You’re amazing!”
Flash, a tall unicorn with a silver and green mane, looked very proud as everyone crowded round, congratulating him and Sam.
“Now you’ve found your magic, we just need to bond and then we’ll be able to graduate at the end of the year,” said a beaming Sam, giving Flash another hug.
“Something we’re forgetting to ask,” said Lyra, frowning as she looked at the chunks of marble lying on the grass all around them, “is why the statue exploded in the first place.”
“You didn’t bump into it, did you?” Sienna asked Evie.
“No!” Evie said indignantly.
“It’s really weird,” said Lyra, riding round the plinth. “Statues shouldn’t just explode for no reason. I guess we’d better tell Ms Rivers.”
“We’ll tell her,” said Sam. “We’re the fastest dorm. Come on, guys!” He vaulted back on to Flash and he and the other boys raced off.
Sienna scowled. “Sam can be so annoying.”
“He did save me and Sunshine though,” said Evie. “I wonder why that statue exploded…”
“Evie, can we go back to the stables now?” Sunshine said. “I’m feeling a bit shaky.”
“Of course,” said Evie, patting her. “She turned back to the others. “You know, there have been quite a few explosions recently.”
“What do you mean?” asked Ivy.
“Well, the sky berries exploded when you were at the stables and Sunshine’s hay net burst the day before. I thought it was my fault, that I had stuffed it too full and hadn’t tied it up properly but—”
“Evie, I really do want to go back,” interrupted Sunshine loudly. “I’m not feeling well.”
“OK,” said Evie. “I’d better go,” she told the others.
“We’ll come with you,” said Lyra, riding up alongside them. “The boys have won the treasure hunt now anyway. So you think someone might be making things explode around us on purpose?”
“Maybe it’s someone who knows we’ve found the part of the map,” said Sienna. “And they want to scare us.”
“Or injure us,” said Ivy with a shiver.
“But the only people who know we have a piece of the map are Dr Briar and Sam,” said Evie.
Lyra looked thoughtful. “The statue exploded just as Sam reached it and he was there that day in the stables when the sky berries exploded.” Her mouth tightened. “I bet Dr Briar is getting him to scare us because she knows we’ve found part of the map and wants it for herself. I knew she was interested in it, even though she pretended it was worthless!”
“But Sam can’t be making things explode. Flash has pausing magic, not exploding magic,” Evie pointed out.
“True, but maybe there’s a spell or potion that can cause explosions,” said Lyra. “Well, Sam and Dr Briar had better watch out. They’re not going to stop us finding the next part of the map. No way! We’re going to search the folly on Saturday and then the third piece will be ours!”
On Saturday the girls woke early. They had permission from Ms Rivers to go on a picnic ride, so they went to the dining room to collect their packed lunches. On the table next to their lunches there was also a packed lunch with Dr Briar’s name on it.
Lyra frowned. “Why does Dr Briar need a packed lunch?”
“Who cares,” said Sienna. “Let’s get going.”
They grabbed some fresh croissants to eat on the way and set off.
It was another gorgeous day. Sparkle Lake glittered in the bright sunshine and the air was full of birdsong. The unicorns cantered through the meadows and then paused at the stream to give the unicorns a drink. They rode on through the beautiful academy grounds, but as they got closer to Spiny Copse the birds fell quiet and a shadow seemed to cross the sun. The tall, forbidding trees clustered closely together as if they wanted to keep people out. Creepers wound round their trunk
s and the shadows between them were dark and dense. The girls halted at the start of the path, no one wanting to be the first to enter.
Ivy shivered. “What if the folly really is haunted?”
“It’s not,” said Lyra. “There are no such things as ghosts.”
“You hope!” Sienna said.
Evie thought back to what Ms Tansy had said about some students thinking they’d seen ghosts near the folly and hoped it was a rumour encouraged by Ms Evergreen to keep people away!
Lyra rode into the trees and Sienna and Ivy followed. To Evie’s surprise Sunshine hung back.
“Come on,” she said. “We don’t want to get left behind.”
Sunshine cantered after the others but Evie could feel her trembling. She frowned. Sunshine wasn’t usually timid when it came to adventures, so what was bothering her?
The path was narrow and gloomy, the trees blocking out the light. The wood was strangely silent and the air felt like icy fingers stroking their faces. As the unicorns pushed their way along the overgrown path the branches tugged at their legs and tails and the shadows deepened.
“I really don’t like it here,’ said Ivy nervously.
“Neither do I,” said Sunshine to Evie. “It’s so dark.”
An eerie “WHOOOO-OOOO” rang through the air and a pale shape glimmered for a moment high in the trees before disappearing.
Ivy shrieked and Evie grabbed a handful of mane as Sunshine shied violently. Sienna gasped. “Was that a ghost?”
“It can’t have been,” said Lyra. She stroked Misty, who was trembling. “Ghosts aren’t real.”
“I really don’t like this, Evie,” said Sunshine, her voice quivering.
Evie took a deep breath to calm her racing heart. “Don’t worry, I’m sure we’ll be OK,” she reassured her. “Lyra’s right: ghosts aren’t real.”
“It’s not the ghosts; it’s the …” Sunshine’s voice trailed off. “It doesn’t matter,” she muttered.
“We’ve got to keep going,” said Lyra, urging Misty forward. “Look, there’s something over there, through the trees!”
Evie caught a glimpse of golden stone in the distance. “I bet it’s the folly. Come on, Sunshine, we’re almost there!”
They all rode on. As the track widened out, Evie saw a tall tower made of yellow stone in a clearing ahead. Its crumbling walls looked like they were being held together by the thick swaths of dark-green ivy that covered them. There was an old wooden door with a stone bench outside it. Excitement bubbled up inside Evie, squashing her fears. This could be it! They could be about to find the third piece of the map!
Sunshine halted by the bench. “Oh, wow,” breathed Evie, dismounting and walking towards the tower.
“This is so exciting!” said Lyra, as Misty stopped beside Sunshine and she jumped off too. “I hope we find the—”
Then she gasped as the door opened and Dr Briar walked out!
“Hello, girls.” Dr Briar smiled brightly as a tall, slim unicorn came out of the tower beside her. “Ms Nettles mentioned you were going out for a picnic ride today. I hope you weren’t planning on exploring this folly?”
The Ruby girls gaped at her. Even Lyra seemed lost for words.
Dr Briar sighed. “It is a very interesting building but I’m afraid that you can’t come inside. My research suggests that a previous headteacher may have hidden a special artefact here. Ms Nettles has given me permission to conduct a search. The tower and these woods are now out of bounds to all students until I have completed my work. I’m sure you understand.” She continued to smile but Evie saw a distinct hint of triumph in her eyes.
“How did you get here so fast?” said Lyra, finding her voice at last. “You were still at school when we left.”
“Solomon and I used the magic map,” said Dr Briar, patting her unicorn. “It makes travelling between here and the school so much easier, but, of course, students aren’t allowed to use it. Now, off you go. I’m sure you can find another place to have your little –” she paused – “picnic.”
Evie couldn’t bear the thought of Dr Briar finding the next clue before them, but there was absolutely nothing they could do about it. She walked heavily over to Sunshine but as she reached her, her foot snagged on a tree root, sending her sprawling.
“Are you OK?” Ivy called.
“I’m fine.” Evie put her hand on the stone bench to pull herself up but as she did so her eyes fell on a small round indentation under one arm of the bench. The circle contained a tiny picture of a crying unicorn. Evie gave a strangled gasp. It looked exactly like the button that opened the staircase to the hidden room where they had found the first part of the map.
A line from the clue jumped into her head: A cold place to rest hides the circular key. Could this be it – the way to find the third piece? After all, the bench was definitely a cold place to rest …
“Evie?” said Lyra in concern. “Are you hurt?”
“N-no,” Evie stammered, getting to her feet. She could feel Dr Briar watching them but didn’t want to say anything in front of her. “I’m fine. Let’s go.” She got back on to Sunshine and the girls left.
“I can’t believe Dr Briar is searching the folly!” Lyra hissed when they were out of earshot.
“It’s so not fair!” said Sienna.
“Dr Briar’s bound to find the next part of the map before us now,” groaned Ivy.
“Maybe not,” said Evie, her eyes shining.
They all looked at her. “What do you mean?” asked Lyra.
“I’ll tell you when we’re somewhere properly private,” said Evie, glancing around at the trees. There was no knowing who or what was lurking in them. “Come on!”
Only when they reached a meadow far away from the copse did Evie ask Sunshine to stop. She slid off and the others joined her as she sat down on the grass. “I saw something,” she said. Even though they were absolutely on their own, she kept her voice low as she told them about the button she’d spotted under the bench.
“Think of the other two bits of the map,” Evie said eagerly. “They were really well hidden. There’s no way Ms Evergreen would have just left the third piece lying around in the tower. She’s bound to have put it in a good hiding place. I think the button is important. Remember the riddle. It says:
In a new folly that phantoms keep safe
There’s a space you can enter and leave with no trace.
A cold place to rest hides the circular key,
Press once and enter the dark cavity.”
She looked at her friends. “I think the button is the circular key, and the map’s hiding place – the dark cavity – will be revealed if we press it!”
“I bet you’re right!” Lyra cried.
“So Dr Briar won’t find the map unless she finds that button,” said Sienna, smiling. “But because she hasn’t seen the second piece, she won’t even know to look for it!”
“We can still beat her!” exclaimed Ivy.
“How are we going to get into the tower without her seeing?” asked Evie. She sighed. “I guess we just have to wait until she abandons her search.”
Lyra grinned. “Or we go to the tower when she’s not there – at night!”
“No way!” Ivy squeaked.
“I’m with Ivy. Those woods are scary enough in the day,” agreed Sienna.
“You want to find the map, don’t you?” Lyra said.
They nodded.
“Then stop worrying about ghosts and get ready for a midnight adventure!” she declared.
“I don’t understand. Why is Dr Briar searching the folly?” said Sienna as they got into their beds that night. They had decided to get some sleep before setting off at midnight when everyone else in the school would be in bed. “I mean, how did she guess there’s a piece of the map there?”
“I don’t know,” said Lyra, pulling her red-spotted duvet cover up to her chin. “You didn’t say anything when you were helping her, did you, Evie?”
“Evi
e wouldn’t,” said Ivy loyally.
Evie felt uncomfortable. “I didn’t say anything but it might have been my fault that she guessed about the folly.” Her friends looked at her as she confessed. “I bumped into Dr Briar that time I went to the library and she saw me taking out the book on follies. She must have decided that I was interested in the school folly. I’m really sorry I wasn’t more careful.” She glanced up, wondering if the others were going to be cross with her, but they all just shrugged.
“It’s not your fault. There’s no way you could have known Dr Briar was going to be in the library as well,” said Ivy. “Or that she’d realise why you had a book on follies.”
“And if you hadn’t borrowed that book, we might never have known about the folly ourselves,” Sienna pointed out.
“I’m glad you went to the library that day,” said Lyra.
Evie felt a rush of relief.
“If it’s anyone’s fault, it’s mine and Sienna’s,” Lyra went on. “We were the ones who were shouting about treasure. I bet Sam told Dr Briar about it and that made her suspicious. I reckon she was listening in when we were talking about going to the folly. Remember there was that noise outside our door? It could have been her.”
“Or Sam,” added Sienna.
“You’ve definitely not got anything to feel bad about, Evie,” said Ivy, smiling at her. “If it hadn’t been for you, we’d never have found the secret button at the folly.”
“Or the one that opened the staircase to the hidden room,” said Lyra.
“I only found those buttons by falling over,” said Evie.
“It’s a very special talent, Evie,” Sienna said.
“I’d call it unique,” Lyra joined in with a grin.
“Definitely!” chuckled Ivy.