The Wildwood Arrow (3 page)

Dizzy ran on to the bridge and sniffed the air, her tail held high, and Claudia and Fletcher emerged from the hedgerow on the riverbank.

“Did you hear all that?” asked Laney.

“Most of it.” Claudia smoothed back her dark hair. “Greytail super senses, you see! So you’re off to your first training session at last!”

Laney’s stomach flipped over again. “Yeah. At last.” She checked her watch. “Actually, I’d better get back.”

“See you later.” Fletcher smiled. “And good luck.”

Laney slipped out of the house after tea. Her dad was out on a plumbing job. She’d wanted to thank him for getting her the invitation to the training session but at the same time she was glad he wasn’t around. Her stomach was churning and she didn’t think she could bear any last-minute advice.

She crossed the High Street, quickening her pace. A shimmering flock of sprites swooped down, making empty sweet wrappers skitter along the pavement. She breathed in, trying to get her heart to slow down.

She was worried about what the other Mists would say when she turned up at training, as the strange circumstances of the night she Awakened had made many faeries suspicious of her. It had been her birthday and hanging in the sky had been a Wolf Moon – a blood-red full moon, the worst omen in the faerie world. It had all led to the Elders performing the painful Seeing Thread test to check her power. She pushed the memory of it away. She had to concentrate on tonight.

The sun dipped in the sky and her pulse began to race again. She needed to get moving. She only had twenty minutes to get round the edge of Hobbin Forest to where they were meeting, and she’d been told that she mustn’t fly. The risk of a human seeing her was too great if she used her wings before dark.

Her phone beeped. It was a message from Steph, her best friend, who lived in town.

It had been hard knowing what to say to Steph lately. Steph was human, so she couldn’t be told a single thing about what Laney had been going through all summer. Feeling bad, Laney pocketed the phone again. She’d have to talk to her later.

Crossing the High Street, she walked through the yard behind the minimart that was full of recycling bins and empty packing crates. Then she climbed over the fence into the field behind the shop. Hobbin Forest lay on the opposite side of the meadow, a dark mass of trees with the
burnt-orange
sun hovering above them. Breaking into a run, she followed the path to the edge of the trees. The path ran along the side of Hobbin Forest for a couple of miles.

Hurrying through the deepening dusk, Laney thought of the Shadow faerie and shivered. What if he was in Hobbin Forest right now? She glanced at the trees to her right. For a second, she wished Claudia and Fletcher were with her. Then she reminded herself that she couldn’t turn up to her first Mist training with a Thorn and a Greytail.

She’d thought that the terror of meeting the Shadow would start to fade, but there were times when his cold laugh still echoed inside her head. Before the flood he’d invaded her dreams and,
even when that nightmare ended, nowhere felt completely safe.

Branches creaked above her and great black wings spread wide. Laney gasped and stumbled. She recovered her balance and stared at the black crow, flapping off through the treetops. She had to get a grip on herself.

She stepped over a patch of brambles and carried on, trying to shake off the feeling of being watched. The path grew stonier and her feet ached. Thinking she heard voices, she stopped and peered through the half-light to see if there were any other Mist kids ahead of her.

A faint rustling came from the ground and something crept over her trainer. She glanced down and noticed a long twig lying across her foot. Shaking it off, she took a few more steps before she felt something coil itself around her ankle. She reached down and unhooked the knobbly stem that snaked away across the ground.

Suddenly she realised it was a tree root. It had a thin gnarled look about it from a lifetime spent underground. Why wasn’t it buried deep in the earth? Then, from the corner of her eye, she saw movement. She lifted her head and froze.

A towering figure dressed in a long black cloak and hood glided down the path towards her. In a heartbeat, Laney felt transported back to the
moment she found the Crystal Mirror. She pictured the Shadow towering over her and sliding the Mirror easily from her helpless fingers.

She heard a shout and the figure on the path raised one black arm. Laney screamed and ran.

Laney stumbled over bumps in the path, expecting at any moment to feel the burning pain of the Shadow’s red lightning.

No lightning came.

She ran on, not daring to look back. Perhaps the Shadow had taken to the air? He could be about to land right in front of her, spreading out his monstrous bat-like wings.

Struggling for breath, she pounded down the footpath, hoping for a glimpse of Faymere Lake and the other Mist faeries. The ground grew stonier and she could see the glint of water in the distance. She fixed her eyes on the water and tried to gain speed.

She was nearly there, so close – but then her foot caught on something hard sticking out of the path and she fell. Her hands and knees smacked into the stony ground. The world spun over and as she lay gasping she heard someone laugh.

Stumbling up, she turned to look for the Shadow, her heart still hammering. She was right by the edge of the lake, in the centre of a group of kids, and a figure was walking down the path from the trees. He wore a long coat that flapped as he walked and the light from the setting sun shone on his face – a kind face with a broad nose framed by fuzzy dark hair.

There was no hood, no vast black wings. This wasn’t the Shadow.

She brushed the dirt off her jeans, feeling stupid.

The man with the long coat walked straight over. “Are you all right?” he asked. “I thought you must be a Mist on your way to training and tried to catch up with you, but you ran off.”

The kids whispered to each other and there was a sharp burst of laughter.

Laney flushed a deep red. She knew everyone was staring, dozens of gold-ringed eyes all fixed on her. “I was hurrying. I just didn’t want to be late,” she said lamely.

“It was a good way to make an entrance, if that’s what you were aiming to do.” Laney turned at the sound of Frogley’s voice, and he frowned at her over his half-moon spectacles. “OK, everyone, are we all here now? This is Joe Fenworth. He’s come to help us.” He indicated the younger man with the long coat and thick, dark hair. “Gather round now and we’ll start.”

The kids crowded closer and Laney edged to the back. There was a mixture of younger and older kids, some from the villages of Gillforth and Pyton. She spotted Leah Millbrook with her shiny grey glasses and the tall figure of Cathy Rainer, who she knew from school. She hadn’t known they were Mists, but it made sense somehow. A boy in front of her looked round and nudged the girl next to him, who glanced round too. Laney’s heart sank
when she saw who it was: Jessie Weir.

Jessie’s eyes gleamed and she shook back her curly dark hair as she whispered to the boy. Then they both sniggered. Laney felt her cheeks turn red again. Jessie had always been the Queen of Mean and she hadn’t expected anything else.

But now she was getting funny looks from Cathy and Leah too, even though they’d always been friendly before. She guessed that Jessie had done a good job of filling everyone in on her late Awakening.

Mr Frogley cupped his hands and breathed into them. Letting them open, he released a thick blue vapour that went swirling up into the air. The mist spread out, forming a barrier around the edge of the lake. Then he released several glowing white orbs that floated into the air, casting a pale light over the surroundings.

“We are cut off from human eyes for a while.” Mr Frogley chuckled as he looked round at them. “Safe and sound, eh? All the same, there will be no flying during this session and you must get back home on foot. Better safe than sorry.”

At this news, there was some grumbling from the older kids, but Frogley ignored it. “As you know, we’ve missed training for a few weeks, but now we must work on our skills more than ever. Some members of the other tribes blame us for the flood,
even though we worked hard to stop it. We must stay strong against the other tribes…”

Laney stared at the lake as Frogley carried on talking. The surface of the water looked dark and enticing. Faymere was meant to be really deep. The thought of all that water made her want to dive in and use her water wings.

She touched her shoulders, thinking of what it felt like when her wings unfolded … that sudden swish as they spread out behind her and the feeling of freedom as she climbed into the air. Frogley hadn’t told them to change into faerie form though, and she didn’t want to mess up at her first training session. She dug her hands into the pockets of her jeans. She had to act normal – the same as any other Mist faerie. She tried to tune back into what Frogley was saying.

“Sevensies, you can go with Mr Fenworth. Flyers, you’re with me. Divide up, please.” He waved a bony arm, indicating that they should move.

Laney looked around, confused. What did he mean – Sevensies and Flyers? She wished she’d been listening properly.

Everyone around her shuffled into two groups; the older ones stood together while the younger ones moved to where Joe Fenworth was standing. Laney stood in the middle on her own. Feeling awkward, she edged towards the older ones. All the
kids she recognised from school were in that group.

“You’re with the Sevensies for now, Laney.” Mr Frogley pointed at the younger group. “Better to start at the beginning, eh? Everyone has to learn to toddle before they can run.”

There was a spurt of laughter from Jessie, and Laney flushed again. Leah and Cathy were smirking too, she noticed; in fact, most of the older group were grinning. She should have known she’d be put with the younger kids. She pushed tendrils of hair off her face and stood with the Sevensies, ignoring all the stares. Swinging his skinny arms, Frogley strode down to the water’s edge and his group drifted after him.

“OK, everyone!” beamed Joe Fenworth. “As it’s my first time helping here, I’d like someone to show me what you’ve been working on. Who wants to go first?”

The little kids started jumping up and down, their hands in the air. “Me! Me!” shouted a curly-haired boy at the front.

“OK, Sam,” laughed Joe, “why don’t you have a go then? Just take your time.”

Laney hunched her shoulders, trying to disappear at the back of the group. How embarrassing to be with a bunch of kids who were barely up to her waist. The heavy feeling that had been bothering her all day grew stronger. It filled her body until
every movement felt like a huge effort.

The curly-haired boy picked by Joe Fenworth walked over to the lake and the group followed. He closed his eyes and pointed his finger at the water with tight-lipped concentration.

Three large drops of water lifted from the lake’s surface and rose into the air, catching the pale light from the glowing orbs as they turned. The boy opened his eyes. His face grew redder and his pointed finger trembled. Then he let go of his breath and the water fell back into the lake.

“That’s great!” said Joe. “Next time see if you can breathe while you do it. We don’t want you passing out every time you try to use your powers! OK, guys! Let’s start with moving water drops like Sam did. Just a few small drops though – no drenching anybody!”

“That’s too easy!” groaned a small girl with plaits. “Why can’t we do something harder?”

“Well, if you’re all amazing at that we’ll move on to freezing water and making rain showers,” Joe Fenworth told her. “All right, spread out, everyone!”

The kids spread out into a line along the edge of the lake with Laney on one end, feeling
giraffe-sized
next to the others.

The Sevensies began their exercise and a collection of water drops rose into the air. Laney watched them, unable to pull her gaze away. All the
Mist tribe children seemed oddly similar. Maybe it was the way they moved so smoothly or something about the ever-shifting thoughts behind their eyes. Something united them, and whatever it was she just didn’t know if she had it too.

She saw Joe Fenworth coming over and realised she should be doing the water-moving exercise. Hurriedly she stared down at the lake, desperately hoping this wouldn’t go wrong.

“Laney! First time, is it?” Joe gave her a kindly smile.

“Yes.” Laney flushed again and tried changing the subject. “Why’s this group called the Sevensies?”

“It’s the lowest of the three levels of faerie skill. It’s actually called the Moon Learners. When you know a bit more you’ll move into the Moon Flyers. The very top level is the Mystics but you have to be able to do pretty awesome things to reach that stage.” He nodded towards the Mist Elder. “Mr Frogley is a Mystic.”

“But why did he call this group Sevensies if it’s actually the Moon Learners?”

Joe Fenworth coughed. “Um … it’s a nickname that began because most of the kids in the group are about seven years old.”

“Oh.” Laney’s shoulders sank.

“So, anyway! Let’s make a start. Show me what you can do.”

Laney stared at the lake, willing a water drop to rise out of it. The water rippled but nothing else happened. She rubbed the burn mark on the end of her middle finger.

“Just relax, Laney!” urged Joe. “Let your mind connect with the water.”

The other Sevensies had gathered round them now, watching Laney with curiosity. Laney stared at the water, but it didn’t move. She wished the heavy feeling inside her would go away.

There was a shout from the Flyers group further along the shore. A shining column of water spurted high into the air and looped down in a perfect arc. Then another column rose and another. Laney bit her lip. Obviously the Flyers could manage something a bit more complicated than floating a few drops in the air.

“Concentrate, Laney! You won’t be able to do it unless you clear your mind of distractions,” said Joe.

“Sorry!” Laney turned back to the water. This time she managed to slip past the heavy feeling and her mind drifted to the lake. She sensed the sway of the water – how it flowed and moved with each tiny droplet acting as one. She sought out a water drop and lifted it, willing it into the air.

It wouldn’t go. It slipped from her grasp and trickled away.

Patiently she took another drop … but this one slipped away too.

A giggle broke through the shell of Laney’s concentration.

“Shh, Sam!” said Joe. “Keep quiet.”

The heavy feeling pushed at Laney and her hands grew hot. She wasn’t going to be laughed at. She was going to make this water move right now.
Move
! she told it silently, and pointed at the lake. The water boiled at her feet like a cauldron, rolling and seething, until it exploded upwards and sent a fist of hot liquid straight down on their heads.

The Sevensies shrieked, water dripping from their clothes.

Laney watched the water drain back into the lake, surprised at the sudden drenching. Strangely, the heaviness inside her was gone and her mind felt clear. It was such a relief to be rid of the horrible, pent-up feeling – as if she’d climbed her way out of a small, dark cage.

Mr Frogley left his group. “What happened here? Who did this?” He looked at Laney.

“I was just trying to move one drop,” she said.

“But look what you did!” Frogley’s eyes glinted in his bony face. “This is monstrous … outrageous … to turn water into that!” Laney followed the jerk of his head. A patch of lake water had darkened and black lumps floated on the surface.

“If you were struggling to move a few water drops, then how did you manage to orchestrate this kind of catastrophe?” said the Mist Elder. “Making water boil is a high-level skill and cannot be learned without a great deal of practice.”

“I really didn’t do it on purpose. I’m sorry.” Laney clasped her hands together. They were cooler now but the patch on her middle finger prickled. The lumps floating on the lake’s surface looked like strange black rocks. Had she really made that happen?

Frogley stepped closer to Laney, his pale face furious. “You need to start explaining yourself, young lady. You were tested with the Seeing Thread when you Awoke – Miss Reed told me about it – and it showed that you had very little power.”

Laney winced. The test had been painful. She didn’t want to remember it.

“Perhaps Miss Reed reported it wrong,” suggested Joe. “It’s a pity we can’t ask her about it but I think she planned to be away up north for a while.”

“Visiting the north! She’s sulking because she didn’t get made tribe leader.” Frogley rounded on Laney; his breath smelled sour.

“Well? Tell me the truth, girl. You’ve been Awake for several weeks so you must have some idea of your own capabilities. Was the test not done properly? Is it not true that it revealed you have
very little power?”

Laney folded her arms. For weeks she’d barely been able to move a water drop but she wasn’t going to admit that to him. “I think I have as much power as anyone,” she said.