Hidden Magic (14 page)

“How much longer are the boys going to be? Christian was supposed to be here to see me, not to play stupid football games with my stupid brothers,” Grace whined, but before she could carry on whinging, the boys came into the kitchen.

Dan was singing, “Championee, championee, olay, olay, olay.”

“Only ‘cos we let you win, didn't we, Chris?” Harry said.

“Yeah, we thought we'd better let you win, Dan, or else you might start crying like a girl,” Christian taunted.

“Who are you calling a girl, eh? Eh?” Dan said. He grabbed Christian in a headlock with one arm and rubbed the knuckles of his other hand on Christian's scalp. “Take it back,” he ordered, rubbing harder and harder.

“Agghh, okay, okay, I take it back,” Christian whimpered, grabbing at Dan's arm in an attempt to free himself.

Nanny Lizzy raised her finger to her lips and shushed them. “Grandad's asleep,” she whispered and pointed towards the lounge.

“Oops, sorry, Nan,” Dan whispered back, releasing Christian from the headlock and shoving him aside.

“We thought we'd better go for a walk in the woods now, Nan, so that we're back before it starts getting dark,” Dan said.

“Good idea and make sure that you all wrap up nice and warm, it's freezing out there,” Nanny Lizzy said.

Chyna seemed to have a sixth sense and before any of them had put their coats on or got the dog leads out of the cupboard, she somehow knew that she was going for a walk and she started spinning around and around in circles and screaming, the way that pug dogs do when they are overcome with excitement.

“I'm sure she understands us and listens to our conversations,” Harry said.

“Shut up, Harry, you idiot, of course she doesn't understand our conversations. Next, you'll be telling me you've had a full blown, two-way conversation with a horse because they can understand what we say to them, too, can't they? You idiot,” Dan said, condescendingly.

“Oh, whatever, Dan, you know what I mean. It's just clever how she knows things before they actually happen,” Harry grumbled.

“Have you got your phone on you, Dan?” Nanny Lizzy asked.

“Yes, Nan.”

“And have you got your gloves?”

“Yes, Nan, they're in my pocket.”

“Christian, have you got a hat?”

“No, but I'll put my hood up if my head gets cold.”

“Nan, would you stop worrying? We're kitted out as if we're off on an arctic expedition. Look at us. Even Chyna and Womble are prepared for an arctic storm!” Harry said, pointing at the pug and bulldog that were now wearing bright orange puffa jackets with fur-trimmed hoods.

“Okay, well off you go then and make sure you get back before it starts getting dark, please.”

“Yes,” they all said, bundling out of the back door in their arctic winter wear. Womble was so excited to be going out with them all that he ran down the garden so fast, he smacked full pelt into the backs of Dan's legs, lifting him right up off his feet into the air and sending him flying onto his back in the icy snow. The others laughed loudly and left him sprawled out on the snow as they raced ahead to the gate at the bottom of the garden.

“You won't be laughing so loudly when Big Foot catches you!” Dan roared, climbing to his feet and chasing after them. Growling loudly and waving his arms as he pretended to be a Yeti, he chased them all out of the back gate and they scattered into Witern Wood like children entering the school playground after a long morning of boring lessons, screaming and laughing as they ran through the snow and leaves, each seeking a suitable tree to hide behind from Big Foot Dan.

Grace stood as still as she could behind the tree's trunk, gripping the sides of her red coat and pulling them close to her body so that they didn't show and give her position away. She breathed heavily, trying to catch her breath in the cold air after the strenuous effort of running across the snow in her coat and wellies. Her face was flushed and her cheeks were almost as red as her coat, chilled by the wind that had bitten into them as she ran. She cupped her gloved hands around her mouth and breathed heavily into them in an attempt to catch hold of her hot expiration and warm up her numb, wind-chilled face.

“
Aaaaarggggghhh,
found you!” Dan shouted loudly, grabbing her by the waist, then picking her up and spinning her round.

Grace screamed. She hadn't heard him coming and for a few seconds, until she realised that it was okay, it was only Dan, she was truly terrified.

“Now you are a baby Big Foot and you must help me to find and catch the others,” Dan roared.

Grace gladly accepted her new role as a baby Big Foot and she began roaring and stomping her feet in the snow with her brother Dan, in search of Harry and Christian.

Christian was the next one to be found. Grace and Dan had spotted him hiding behind a large chestnut tree and they ambushed him from either side.

“Okay, my fellow Big Foots, now we just need to find Harry and our Big Foot family will be complete!” Dan yelled.

Dan, Grace, and Christian ran together in a group, searching for Harry. Chyna ran alongside them, occasionally darting off into the trees to follow the scent of a squirrel that she had picked up.

“Womble, no! Leave it, leave it!” Harry could be heard shouting in the distance.

“Aha, this way,” Dan said running and following the direction of Harry's voice.

As Dan rounded the sharp corner of a narrow woodland path, Harry was running at speed from the opposite direction and the pair collided with a wallop.

“Go back, go back!” Harry yelled, shoving at Dan's chest with his hands.

“Why, what's wrong?” Grace asked.

“Oh, er, nothing, sis, it just looks like it's gonna be dark soon and we need to get back!”

“It ain't gonna be dark for ages yet, you muppet,” Dan pointed out.

Harry glared at Dan and it was at that moment that Dan knew something was seriously wrong! “Actually, Harry is right, it does get dark early now, so we'd better start heading home.”

“Oh, but we're having fun. Do we have to go now?” Grace moaned.

“Yes, we do!” Harry snapped.

“I'll tell you what, let's race back and the last one home has to make us all a lovely cup of hot chocolate,” Dan said, trying to lighten the mood and not scare the younger ones.

“With marshmallows?” Christian asked hopefully.

“Yeah, with marshmallows,” Dan replied.

“Come on, Chyna,” Grace said excitedly.

Then Grace, Christian and the little black pug dog in her bright orange puffa jacket ran as fast as they could back through the woods towards Grace's back garden.

Dan and Harry held back.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” Dan asked.

“Let's get out of here, I'll explain on the way back,” Harry said, clipping Womble's lead onto his collar and heading home.

“Well…?” Dan asked.

“I was hiding in the woods round the back of old Mr Avery's house when Womble started snuffling around in the snow. Anyway, he was obsessed with something and he went into an opening in a large bush, a bit like a den, at the base of a tree and I thought that it looked like a good hiding place so I followed him inside and…”

“And what?” Dan asked impatiently.

“And inside were twigs and branches that were fire-singed and the den was full of bits…”

“Bits of what?”

“Bits of bodies!”

“Christ… Harry, we'd better call the police! Are you saying someone has been murdered, chopped up into small pieces and dumped in the woods by our house?”

“No, not human body parts, animal. Lots of different animals!”

“Bloody hell, don't scare me like that! I thought we were living with a psycho axe murderer in our midst and it turns out it's just a fox's den,” Dan said, with a sigh of relief.

“That definitely weren't no fox's den. In fact, judging by the strip of bone with a piece of brush-like tail on one end of it that I had to get Womble to drop, I'd say that a fox was probably one of the victims on the menu. And anyway, what about the fire-singed branches? Foxes don't set fire to things, do they!”

“Do foxes even eat other foxes?” Dan puzzled, still convinced that the only explanation could be that it was a fox's den. “Anyway, I'm sure it's nothing to worry about. Come on, we'd better catch Grace and Chris up.”

“Don't tell Grace, will you, Dan? You know what she's like. She'll be scared stiff, she'll have to sleep with Womble on her bed and we'll have to leave the light on in the hallway every night for at least a year if she knows anything about this.”

* * *

Grace and Christian were sitting at the kitchen table with Nanny Lizzy and Grandad Arthur. Dan came in through the back door and put his coat and boots in the coat cupboard.

“Yay, Harry's the last one home!” Grace cheered. “He makes the best hot chocolate ever.”

Harry took his and Womble's coats off and then joined the others in the kitchen.

“Okay then, who wants cream, marshmallows and chocolate sprinkles on top of their hot chocolate?” Harry asked. And each and every one of them waved their hands in the air, including Grandad Arthur and Nanny Lizzy.

“There you go, Cranky, last but not least,” Harry said, as he placed the towering chocolate treat in front of his grandad.

“Lovely jubbly, would you look at that. Thanks, H,” Grandad Arthur said. Then he raised the drink and took a mouthful, giving a contented grin framed by a deliciously rich cream and chocolate sprinkle moustache.

The house was quiet and peaceful, with no sound except for the occasional snore from the dogs that were sleeping under the table, worn out from their woodland adventure. And then there was the occasional
mmmmmm
noise of heavenly indulgence that came from Cranky after every mouthful that he took of the delicious hot chocolate. The peace was broken when Chyna suddenly awoke and came out from under the table, spinning around and around in circles and screaming with excitement, just as she had done earlier on before her walk.

“Mum and Dad are nearly back then. See, I told you that Chyna knows things before they actually happen!” Harry said, grinning smugly at Dan. And a few moments later, Evan and Mary's car could be heard pulling around the corner as they drove into Cherry Blossom Close.

Mary and Evan struggled through the front door with armfuls of bags that were bursting to the brim with food, drink and decorations for the party.

“Wow, look at all this stuff!” Grace said, delving into each and every bag. “I'm
soooo
excited!” she squealed, squeezing Christian so hard that he stuck out his tongue and gasped for breath, pretending to suffocate.

No sooner had Evan closed the front door behind him after bringing in the last of the bags, than the doorbell rang.

“Not today, thanks!” Christian yelled out, recognising his mum's silhouette through the glass of the front door.

“Hi Sharna, come on in,” Mary said, opening the door and pushing some of the many bags aside to make a walkway through to the kitchen. “Would you like a cuppa?”

“No thanks, Mary, I can't stop. Kyle's just dishing up our dinner and I wanted to get Christian before we sat down to eat.”

“Doh… do I have to go home?” Christian moaned, holding onto Grace tightly as if by not letting go, he would be saved from having to go back home with his mum.

“Yep, come on, sunshine, you've been here for hours now and we're coming back tomorrow for the party, aren't we? Anyway, I picked up your costume today, so you need to come home and try it on to make sure that it fits.”

“Okay,” Christian said, feeling a little more excited about going home now.

“What do you say to Mary and Evan and Grace's nan and grandad?” Sharna asked.

“Thank you very much for having me,” Christian said, fumbling to get his arm into his coat sleeve once again.

“You're very welcome, Christian,” Nanny Lizzy called from the kitchen.

“'Bye… thanks again… see you tomorrow,” Sharna said as they left.

“'Bye!” Grace shouted from the front door into the cold and dark early evening air. “One more sleep… tomorrow it's party time!” she shouted excitedly.

“Yeah, one more sleep. See you tomorrow!” Christian yelled back as he ice-surfed his way back across the close to his house.

* * *

That night, Grace knelt on her bed, pulled the curtains up over her head and looked everywhere in the hope of catching a glimpse of Mr Fox again. Everywhere except for over by Mr Avery's house, that is. Something still bothered her about the orange lights that she had seen in the upstairs window there the night before and something stopped her from wanting to look anywhere in that direction. So she focused instead on the cherry blossom tree in the centre of the close and the gardens that lay to the right of her house, but poor old Mr Fox was nowhere to be seen.

Back in the forest, the group had been way too exhausted following their mountain expedition to be able to make the return journey back to the meadow straight away. Instead they refreshed themselves, washing, eating plenty and sleeping soundly. Francis had spent a considerable length of time warming up in front of the fire before he was even able to speak, let alone wiggle a talon, flap a wing or eat a mere morsel of food. Aaron had been quite attentive to the little owl's needs. Keeping the fire stoked and burning, he brought ladles of hot water for Francis to sip from, to help hydrate and warm him in an effort to aid his recovery. It was after all his fault (or so he thought) that Francis had ended up in the freezing cold waters of the lower falls pool and he did indeed owe the little owl his life. So this was the bolshie stallion's way of saying thank you, without actually having to say the words. What Aaron didn't realise was that Francis was actually finding it more and more difficult to keep the creatures of Bluebell Wood camouflaged and this was the real cause of his weakness; it was depleting his energy much, much more than the icy dip in the pool had.

Zavier had spoken to Takoda at great length that day, explaining the increasing attacks that they had all been under from the Nomeds, particularly over the past few days, his fear that the Nomeds may be breeding an army, their journey so far, his brush with death, the losses that they had endured and the glimmer of hope that he clung to, the hope that the Great Prophet had some information that may just help them all to win the fight against this ever-growing evil. Their task was complete. They had collected all of Liberty's Berthold. Once Francis was strong enough and they had all rested sufficiently, they began the final stage of their journey, the return to Maytime Meadow.

It had been early that afternoon that they had left the cabin, ensuring that they travelled in the safer hours of daylight and it was a little before sunset when they had reached the meadow. They had dropped off their bags at the meadow house and released the Fire Fairies from their pods. Then they gathered the rest of the meadow's inhabitants and, as the sun was setting over Maytime Meadow and the rich red poppies glowed in the last of its light, they assembled around the base of the grand old weeping willow tree, in eager anticipation… waiting for the whispers… the whispers of the Great Prophet that would tell them just what it was that they were expected to do next. But never in a million years did any of them expect to hear those words… the words that were very soon to be whispered!