First Aid for Fairies and Other Fabled Beasts (17 page)

Read on for a sneak preview of Helen’s next adventure in Lari Don’s new book,

Wolf Notes and Other Musical Mishaps.
 

Helen walked up to the boy with the dark red hair and the chestnut horse’s body, whispering, “Hello, Yann.”

“Healer’s child!” The centaur’s voice was sharp with surprise.

She glanced at the pale girl by his hooves. “Does your friend need my help?”

Rather than waiting for an answer, Helen slid her hands under one side of the bookcase. The centaur leant down as low as he could and grasped the other side. On his whispered count of three, they heaved the bookcase off the girl. She groaned, but didn’t move.

They propped the empty bookcase between a flowery armchair and the wall, then started lifting books and sheet music off the girl.

The bookcase had been filled with printed music, but metronomes and music stands had also been piled onto its deep middle shelves.

After Helen and Yann had shifted the loose paper, they realized that a metal joint from a music stand had stabbed the girl in the upper arm. When she saw Helen staring at her, the girl bared her teeth in a growl, or possibly an attempt at a smile through the pain.

Helen knelt beside her. “I’m going to pull the metal out of your arm, then cover the wound, if you’ll let me.”

The girl looked up at Yann, who smiled reassuringly. The metal spike had penetrated the girl’s skin, but hadn’t cut too deeply into her arm.

“Yann, hold her tight. This might hurt.”

Yann’s front legs knelt on the floor and he grasped the girl’s shoulders. Helen put one hand on the girl’s left elbow and with the other she steadily pulled the length of metal out of the girl’s arm. The girl whimpered, once.

The wound started to overflow with blood. Helen opened the rucksack. She stemmed the bleeding with sterile swabs, then lifted the arm high, to slow the flow. “Hold it up for a minute, then I’ll bandage it.”

She kept her hand curled round the girl’s elbow to take the arm’s weight, then finally looked straight at Yann.

“What are
you
doing here?” they both whispered at once.

There was a moment’s silence. Then they both spoke again.

“What are …?”

Helen sighed. Yann scowled.

“You first,” offered Helen.

“Me first,” demanded Yann.

She grinned. He cleared his throat. “Your home in Clovenshaws is many miles away, to the south and east of these forests. What are you doing here?”

“I’m here for the music summer school; the one I was auditioning for when we met last
winter. Professor Greenhill has rented the lodge for our school and, at the end of the week, we’ll be performing nearby for a specially invited audience. You live miles from here too, Yann. Why are you here? Why have you and your friend broken into our rehearsal room?”

“I can’t tell you why we are here, just that you must leave. This is not a safe place for human children, especially ones so skilled in music. You must go. Now!”

“You’ve got to be kidding!” Helen’s whisper cracked into a yell. The girl between them said softly, “How do you know this human child, Yann? Did you know she was here? Is that why you wouldn’t let my brothers howl tonight; why you wanted me to be tame, just ripping drums and biting strings, rather than scaring the sleepers themselves?”

Helen twisted round to look at the shelves of instruments under the window. Two African djembes had rolled onto the floor, their drum skins torn open.

“Did you slash those drums?” Helen snapped.

The girl ignored her. “Who is this human, Yann, who speaks to you as if you were her friend and to me as if I were her dog?”

Yann said in a formal voice, “Let me introduce you. This is Helen Strang, the healer’s daughter, who helped me and my friends when we fought the Master of the Maze last winter. She healed my leg, gave Sapphire back her sight, saved Lavender’s life and answered many riddles. She is a friend to fabled beasts.”

He gestured at the girl on the floor. “This is Sylvie …”

“Don’t tell her who I am!”

Yann smiled. “This is Sylvie Hunt, a shy friend of mine. I’m helping her defend the fabled beasts’ territory in the West Highlands. But you won’t be able to help us, healer’s child, as your presence — and your music — will aid our enemies. So you must go.”

“No! I’m not leaving until after the midsummer concert.”

“You are leaving now, girl.” Yann’s voice was harsh. “Or we will drive you away.”

“Why is this place so dangerous? Is the Master of the Maze here?”

“No, he has returned to his old labyrinth to heal his wounds and grow his hair. But here is a greater danger for a human child than even the Master. We can’t tell you any more, as knowledge can draw humans towards the danger. I can only ask you to leave. Please, Helen.”

Yann had never called Helen by her name before, not to her face.

“Please go home, Helen.”

She acknowledged the offer of deeper friendship with a smile. “Thank you for caring about my safety, Yann. But my week at this summer school isn’t about safety, or even about friendship. It’s about music. This is a once in a lifetime chance to play the greatest music, with the greatest musicians. I’m not running away.”

The girl on the floor laughed.

“They’ve enchanted her already! ‘A once in a lifetime chance!’” she repeated sarcastically. “It would be a lifetime! Human girl, listen to your
friend. If his gentle persuasion doesn’t work, my brothers won’t be so soft.”

This time, she did growl.

Helen laid the bandaged arm in the girl’s lap and looked at her thin face.

“What
are
you?” Helen asked bluntly.

“I’m Sylvie. Yann told you.”

“He told me
who
you are. Hello, Sylvie. Nice to meet you, Sylvie. Now
what
are you? And why are you trying to drive me away?”

“Do you really want to know?” The girl’s yellow eyes narrowed, her lips drew back and her long teeth gleamed white in the light from the lacy lampshade above.

“Do you
really
want to know?”

Helen felt the hairs on the back of her neck bristle …

To be continued…