The Wildwood Arrow (16 page)

Pulling herself away from the ring, Laney unfolded her wings and flew along the riverbank until she got closer to Skellmore. Then she ran the rest of the way back to Oldwing Rise. The house was horribly quiet and empty, with half a cup of tea standing on the side in the kitchen and Toby’s toys strewn across the sitting room. She felt a twinge of sadness at being away from Kim and Toby, especially while her dad was hurt. She would ask Claudia’s mum to drive her back to Pennington Hospital in a little while but before that there was something she had to know.

She went to the bookcase and took down the blue shoebox with her birth certificate and the old photos inside. She took out the birth certificate and read the date:
15th July
. Then she looked at the line below with her mum’s name,
Cordelia
, and the smudged surname next to it. Her dad had told her for years that her mum had been called Cordelia Brightsea. But now that she looked closely, the barely decipherable capital letter of the second name didn’t look like a B. It looked more like an E.

She stared at it until her eyes started to go fuzzy. There was something strange about all this – the smudge over the surname and the way her dad had never wanted to talk about marrying her mum. Surely he’d kept something that would tell her more. She searched through the whole shoebox but
it was all receipts and gas bills in her dad’s name. Running upstairs, she went into her dad and Kim’s room. Feeling guilty, she rifled through drawer after drawer. There was nothing, just clothes and an old book at the bottom of her dad’s bedside table. She pulled it out. It had a picture of a couple of animals in a rowing boat on the front. Why was he keeping a copy of
The Wind in the Willows
in his bedside drawer? She picked it up and a tattered bookmark fell out. She flicked backwards through the yellowing pages till she came to the front.

There was a name in the inside cover, written in round, childish handwriting:
Cordelia Embers
. This had been her mum’s book.

Embers.
It had to be a Blaze tribe name.

Laney sat down on the bed, holding the book tightly. Her mum had belonged to the tribe with power over fire. Her dad hadn’t married another Mist faerie after all.

She traced a finger over the name Embers. If her mum had been a Blaze faerie then what did that make her? She’d been so sure that she was a Mist and her dad must have believed that too. He must have thought she’d inherited his Mist powers rather than her mum’s Blaze ones. He’d always refused to have any fire in the house – no candles, no matches, nothing. Was it because fire reminded him too much of losing her mum? Or had he wanted to
make sure any traces of Blaze power stayed hidden deep inside her?

Taking the book with her, she went downstairs and tidied up all the papers and her birth certificate back into the shoebox. Before putting the box away, she took out her favourite photo – the one of her mum standing in the bare, windswept garden holding her as a baby. She slipped the picture inside the front cover of
The Wind in the Willows
and hid the book at the bottom of the shoebox.

Closing her eyes, she switched to faerie form and felt a new sense of warmth underneath the rush of power. She looked into the mirror above the mantelpiece. Her eyes were gold-ringed and a blue dress clothed her faerie form as it always had. But her wings … she flexed them and her throat tightened. Her pale-blue wings were tinged with flame-like orange all around the edges. The coppery tint caught the light as she flexed them.

She’d changed and instinctively she knew there was no going back.

Her hands grew hot and she opened her fingers to release the little flames that danced in the centre of her palms. It wasn’t a safe kind of power, this Blaze magic, but it was hers and having it made her feel stronger.

Fletcher and Claudia were waiting for her on the
bridge sharing a big bag of toffee popcorn.

“Guess what!” Claudia smoothed her dark hair. “My mum’s gone off to meet the other Elders for a War Council about the Shadow. I bet they don’t even thank us for finding out about him in the first place.”

“It doesn’t really matter as long as they catch him,” said Fletcher calmly.

“It won’t be easy,” said Laney. “The Shadow won’t give up. He knows the tribes will argue with each other and he’ll be ready to use that against them.”

“You’re very wise all of a sudden!” Claudia scrutinised Laney. “Are you ready to reveal your Grand Secret now?”

Laney’s stomach lurched; suddenly she felt worried about what they might think. “Don’t be shocked, but it’s kind of unusual.” She took a deep breath.

“Is it about that prophecy and how you Awakened on the night of that red moon?” said Claudia. “That was my guess. You’ve found something out about the prophecy – how does it go? Something about breaking a faerie ring and a child of fever?”

“Child of Aether,” corrected Fletcher. “Although I don’t know what that means.”

“No, it’s nothing to do with that.” Laney dragged her fingers through her fair hair. “You’re making it harder.”

“Sorry!” Claudia clamped her lips shut and fixed her cat-like eyes on Laney.

Laney took another deep breath but she couldn’t think of the right thing to say so she just held out her hands. The flames from her palms leapt high, full of golden heat. “I think my mum was really a Blaze faerie. Her surname was actually Embers. I found it written inside an old book. She must have passed her Blaze power on to me.”

Claudia’s eyes grew round. “A Blaze! Well, that explains
a
lot
! And your dad never said anything about it?”

“He told me her surname was Brightsea – a Mist name,” Laney admitted.

“I’ve heard of people marrying someone from another tribe and getting into huge amounts of trouble,” said Fletcher. “Maybe that’s why he didn’t tell you.”

Laney said quickly. “This is just between us. I can’t ask my dad any more till he’s better so I’d rather not tell the Elders.”

“No wonder the Mist training didn’t go well.” Fletcher shook his head. “Don’t worry, I won’t say anything to anybody.”

Laney flushed with relief. “I know it’s all been weird – with my powers and stuff…”

“Relax!” Claudia grinned. “I guess I’d better stop calling you Water Girl now. Flame Girl suits you
better anyway.”

“I just thought I should tell you.” Laney closed her hands again. “I ought to go back. I need to visit my dad at the hospital.” She turned back across the bridge with the others by her side.

“So the flames in your hands don’t hurt then?” Claudia asked curiously. “And could you throw one at an enemy – like a fireball? Or could you point at something and make it melt? Or—”

“Leave her be,” said Fletcher. “She doesn’t know yet.”

Laney grinned. “I’m not ready to show off any fire skills yet. But when I am you’ll be the first to know.” She felt warmth pulsing in the palms of her hands and her heart rose. There was so much more to find out about being a Blaze. She’d only just begun.

Thanks to everyone at Nosy Crow for being tirelessly supportive and for believing in me. A special thanks to Kirsty who patiently pushed me to the next level and was insightful and wise.

A big thanks to my writing group, including Nick Cross, Penny Schenk, Nicki Thornton and Jo Wyton for reading endless variations of the first chapter. Particular thanks to Amy Butler Greenfield and Sally Poyton who read the whole thing. Also thanks to Teri Terry for being there. There have been many people in SCBWI who offered friendship and encouragement along the way. You all helped me on the days where it seemed there was so far to travel.

Thanks to my mum and dad, and my sister, whose enthusiasm has given me such a boost. Thanks to my children for sharing this with me and for keeping my feet on the ground. Most of all, thanks to James for being prepared to live with someone who doesn’t realise that dinner needs cooking, and who walks into the kitchen and starts a conversation with: “Well, if Laney doesn’t realise until it’s too late then everything will reach a climax in the next chapter…”