Cloud Magic Page 5

  ‘I’ll still go,’ Erin said, looking out uneasily at the grey clouds. ‘I can help clean tack and muck out and stuff, and I’m meeting Chloe there.’

  Jo smiled. ‘So how are you two getting on? She seems really nice.’

  ‘She is,’ Erin said, settling back in her chair, pleased it was just her and Jo in the kitchen. ‘We’re best friends now. We –’

  Jake burst in. ‘Where are my tennis shorts, Mum?’

  ‘By the ironing board. Oh, Jake, don’t!’ Jo said as Jake picked up the orange juice and was about to drink it straight from the carton. ‘Get a glass!’ She turned back to Erin. ‘Sorry, sweetheart. You were saying?’

  ‘Just that Chloe’s really nice.’

  Jo smiled. ‘I like Nicky, her mum, too.’

  ‘Can Chloe and I have a sleepover one night this week?’ Erin asked.

  Before Jo could reply, the back door opened and Sam came in. He was wearing his running things and his hair was wet from the drizzle. ‘Morning, squirt,’ he said, grinning at Erin. ‘Hey, Mum, any chance of bacon and eggs for breakfast?’

  ‘Bacon and eggs?’ Ben said, coming in from the little room off the kitchen where he had been watching a sporting channel in his dressing gown. ‘I’ll have some too.’

  ‘And me. Where are my trainers, Mum?’ Jake said, looking around.

  ‘Boys, I’m trying to talk to Erin!’ Jo said. She shook her head in despair as she looked at Erin. ‘Of course you can have a sleepover. Just let me know what night and I’ll talk it over with Nicky. Now, do you want bacon and eggs too?’

  ‘No, thanks.’ Erin put her plate in the dishwasher and escaped from the noisy kitchen. She did love her stepbrothers, but they were very loud when they were all in one room. She wondered what Chloe would make of them if she did stay over. Maybe I’ll ask if I can stay at hers! she thought.

  It was a cold, wet day at the stables and even Chloe seemed subdued. They didn’t get many chances to be on their own, but Erin was sure Chloe was thinking about the night before. She couldn’t stop thinking about it herself. How could Marianne hurt Tor like she did?

  Power, thought Erin with a shiver. Just because of power. She shivered. They had to stop her. If only she wasn’t the one who had to do the spell.

  The air felt heavy with rain when the girls met on the beach that evening.

  ‘Xanthe rang,’ Chloe said. ‘I sent her a mail this morning. She said dark spirits are very dangerous and we have to be really careful. We mustn’t go near Marianne again.’

  ‘But what about helping Tor and finding the hagstone with the hair?’ Erin protested.

  ‘Xanthe says it’s too dangerous for us to go to Marianne’s house. She’s coming to stay at my house tomorrow and said she will decide what to do then – she says we’re not to do anything about him until she’s here.’

  Erin felt a mixture of relief and frustration. It would be brilliant to have a grown-up to help them and not to feel they had to do it all on their own, but she wanted to free Tor as soon as possible. She didn’t want to wait even a night.

  ‘I was thinking we could ask if you could stay over at my house tomorrow,’ Chloe went on. ‘Then you’ll be able to talk to Xanthe more, not just see her in the evening.’

  ‘Brilliant,’ Erin said eagerly. She looked around. ‘So what are we going to do tonight?’

  ‘Well…’ Chloe hesitated. ‘When we went into the feed room, the very first time we went to Marianne’s house, I’m sure I saw some keys on a big red ring hanging on a hook opposite the door. They looked like the keys she had last night. Maybe we should go and see if they are the keys to the hut in the woods.’

  ‘But Xanthe said we’re not to go near Marianne’s house,’ Erin pointed out.

  ‘It’s not like we’re going to the house, is it?’ Chloe said persuasively. ‘I’m sure it’ll be safe. We can camouflage ourselves and just look through the window. We might not be able to go looking for the hagstone until Xanthe’s here, but at least if we find the right keys that’s a start.’

  Erin nodded. She agreed completely.

  They flew straight to Lookout Point. There was a light on in one of the downstairs rooms of the house.

  ‘Look!’ Erin said in a low voice.

  ‘Maybe Marianne’s in there. Let’s check,’ said Chloe. ‘If she is, we know we’re safe to look in the feed room.’

  Erin nodded and, keeping themselves camouflaged, they flew cautiously towards the house. The window with the light on was open slightly and the curtains had not been drawn.

  Marianne was inside, sitting at a large polished table, a piece of paper in her hand. She looked deep in thought and seemed to be speaking out loud to herself. Erin strained her ears to listen through the open window.

  ‘He is too stubborn… too proud…’ Marianne was muttering, looking down at the piece of paper. She read for a moment and then ran a hand through her hair. ‘But one coming willingly lets the dark’s power grow.’ She nodded slowly. ‘Of course. It needn’t be him. Just one with royal blood. Now, why didn’t I think of that before?’ Getting to her feet, she hurried out of the room.

  ‘What was all that about?’ Chloe whispered, mystified.

  ‘I don’t know,’ Erin answered uneasily.

  They both jumped as they heard the front door open and Marianne stalked out. She was wearing her cloak. Underneath it Erin could see the glint of her pale-blue dress. Marianne took off into the skies and headed swiftly towards World’s End.

  An idea flashed into Erin’s mind. ‘Quick! Let’s have a look around the house before she comes back!’

  Chloe hesitated. ‘But we don’t know how long she’ll be.’

  ‘We’ll just have a quick look,’ urged Erin.

  ‘But it will be like breaking in.’ Chloe bit her lip.

  ‘I know,’ Erin said. ‘But we have to help Tor, don’t we? And that means going inside to find the hagstone.’ She saw Chloe’s troubled face. ‘We’re not going to be taking anything else and we have to find the stone. This could be the perfect chance, Chloe, but look, it’s OK if you don’t want to come in – stay out here and keep guard.’

  ‘No, I’m coming in too,’ Chloe said immediately. ‘I’m not letting you go in on your own!’

  The window was open just enough for Erin to get her hand through to unhook the catch and push it fully open. ‘Where shall we start?’ Chloe said as they squeezed inside.

  ‘I don’t know,’ Erin whispered. Even though she knew Marianne was out, she felt the urge to stay as quiet as possible. She had the uncomfortable feeling that the house itself was somehow watching them.

  They looked around the room. There were shelves and tables with things piled on, strange things – old books, a silver bowl, a glass bottle, a grey feather and some black cord.

  ‘Look!’ said Chloe, going to an old-fashioned bureau in one corner. On top of it were ten hagstones of different shapes and sizes. Erin hurried over with her. Maybe one of them would be the hagstone they needed!

  But none of them had any hair wrapped round it.

  Chloe gingerly opened the bureau. Inside there were lots of small drawers and shelves.

  Erin’s eyes fell on a box on the bottom shelf. It reminded her of her mum’s box. It looked as if it was made from exactly the same type of dark wood. It was much smaller though. She took it out and opened the lid.

  ‘Chloe!’ she breathed. ‘Look!’

  There, nestling on a green baize lining, was a grey hagstone with a single hole. Through the centre of it three long strands of blonde hair were wound round and round.

  ‘You’ve found it!’ whispered Chloe.

  Erin took it out, her fingers trembling slightly. ‘It’s just like Tor told me.’

  ‘Let’s take it and go,’ Chloe said quickly

  ‘We can’t just leave the box empty,’ Erin pointed out. ‘If Marianne checks inside, she’ll realize that someone has taken it and she’ll know they would only have taken it if they were trying to destroy the
rope.’

  ‘But what can we do?’ Chloe asked.

  Erin studied the stone. It looked very like the stone she had found on the beach the first day she had seen the cloud horses. She had that stone in her pocket, but she didn’t need it. She could use any hagstone with a single hole in to look at the cloud horses. She pulled it out of her pocket. It really did look very similar to the stone Marianne had used – apart from one thing…

  Erin quickly pulled three hairs from her head and wound them round the stone in her hand.

  ‘Brilliant!’ said Chloe. ‘Your hair’s exactly the same colour as Marianne’s!’

  ‘Now she might not realize it’s gone,’ Erin said. She slipped the stone into the box and tucked Marianne’s stone into her pocket. They had got what they needed. ‘Come on,’ she said quickly. ‘Let’s get out of here right now!’

  They flew out of the window and raced to Tor’s building.

  Erin touched the door. ‘Tor! It’s us! We’ve got the hagstone!’ she whispered.

  The sky stallion whinnied in delight. ‘Where did you find it?’

  ‘It was in the house,’ Erin told him. ‘Does this mean we can do the spell?’

  ‘When we have a rope of bindweed,’ Tor said. ‘And the keys.’

  ‘Well, we think the keys might be in the feed room,’ said Chloe. ‘And there’s loads of bindweed in my garden. I heard my dad going on about it.’

  ‘Make a rope of it and bring it tomorrow night,’ Tor instructed. ‘If you can find the keys to let me out, I will tell Erin how to perform the unbinding spell.’ He looked at her. ‘It will be difficult, but I am sure you will be able to do it.’

  ‘Tomorrow?’ Erin said nervously.

  ‘Yes,’ Tor replied. ‘You have done so well.’ He snorted. ‘Maybe tomorrow I will be able to return to the skies.’

  ‘And then Marianne won’t be able to hurt you any more,’ Chloe said.

  Tomorrow, the word echoed through Erin’s head.

  She only barely registered Tor whinnying. ‘You should leave now. The dark one has not been here tonight yet. She may come to see me at any time. Go!’

  ‘OK. Bye, Tor!’ Chloe exclaimed, flying upwards.

  Erin didn’t move.

  ‘Come on, Erin!’ Chloe said, flying back and pulling at her. ‘Let’s go!’

  Thoughts racing, Erin followed her into the sky.

  C H A P T E R

  Ten

  When Erin got home, she placed Marianne’s hagstone on the window ledge, but it made her feel odd seeing the hair wound round it, so she covered it up with a book.

  She lay in bed, feeling far from sleep. She was really pleased they had got the hagstone, and relieved that Xanthe was going to be there the next night when she had to do the spell to break the rope. But she couldn’t stop thinking about the magic she would have to do.

  What if I get it all wrong? she thought worriedly. Tor had said the spell was going to be difficult. What if I can’t do it? I can’t even make it rain or hail properly yet. How can I possibly do difficult weather-weaving magic?

  Sitting up, she took a hagstone from the box beside her bed. She turned it round in her hands a few times and then looked at the sky through the hole.

  The horses looked darker at night, but she could still see them. They were all moving in different directions – heads tossing and half rearing as they wheeled around and occasionally lashed out at each other with hooves and teeth. They looked more restless and agitated than she had ever seen before.

  A strange cloud shape near some trees caught Erin’s eye. It was an almost circular cloud with a hole in the middle; she was suddenly reminded of the round stone at World’s End. It looked just the same!

  A foal was standing by it, staring at the hole. Something about this colt reminded Erin of Tor – the proud curve of his neck, the dark eyes rimmed by grey shadows, the prick of his intelligent ears. He was staring into the hole, almost as if he could see something.

  Whatever he was seeing he didn’t seem to like. He tossed his short mane and swung round in a circle before looking at the hole again. This time, he half reared in agitation.

  A mare came trotting over to him; she was snow white and very beautiful. Erin recognized her as the mare who was usually bossing about the groups of young horses and leading the other mares and foals. Her dark eyes were bright and her mane and tail were long and silken. The colt nudged her anxiously with his nose and then half reared again.

  Something was clearly troubling him. Erin wondered what it was, but there was no way of telling. Maybe he was Tor’s son, Mistral. He must be missing his father. Determination flooded through her.

  I’ll help Tor get back to you, she vowed, cradling the hagstone in her cupped hands. However difficult it is, I’ll do the unbinding spell. I will!

  By the next morning a fierce wind had built up. It was much too windy and wet to ride, but Erin and Chloe still hung around at the stables helping tidy the rug room and clean tack. Nicky and Jo had agreed to the sleepover and Nicky collected them at tea time.

  As Nicky drove them back from the stables, Erin watched the rain pouring down. Water was spilling on to the roads from the surrounding fields. If the rain didn’t stop soon, then there would be massive floods. The radio was on and she could hear the weatherman on it talking about the dreadful weather they were having, issuing a flood warning and telling people to take care.

  They had just gone back to the house when Xanthe arrived. Her long blonde hair was tied back with a scarf and she had a wide smile on her face. She hurried through the wind and rain to the doorway and kissed Nicky. Then she turned to the girls. ‘Hi, Chloe!’ She swept her goddaughter into a hug and then smiled at Erin. ‘And you must be Erin.’

  Erin nodded shyly. It was strange actually meeting Xanthe properly after hearing about her so much.

  Xanthe leant down to kiss her cheek in greeting. ‘We’ll talk later,’ she murmured in a voice only Erin could hear.

  It seemed ages before she and Chloe got Xanthe on her own. First of all, Xanthe had a coffee and chat with Chloe’s mum and dad, and produced a present for them – tickets to the theatre that evening and a night staying at a hotel.

  ‘But we can’t just go!’ protested Nicky. ‘What about Chloe – and Erin?’

  ‘I can look after them,’ said Xanthe. ‘I know how stressed you’ve both been with the house move and, seeing as it’s your wedding anniversary next week, I thought this would be the ideal early present.’

  ‘It’s wonderful, Xanthe! Thank you!’ said Nicky in delight.

  When Xanthe went upstairs to unpack her bag, Chloe and Erin finally got a chance to talk to her. As soon as they were in the spare room, Xanthe commented, ‘Well, you two, it seems like a lot’s been going on.’

  ‘Loads,’ Chloe said.

  ‘Do you know what I’ll have to do for the unbinding spell?’ Erin asked anxiously. ‘Tor’s told me that it’ll be very difficult.’

  Xanthe took her hands. ‘I’m afraid I don’t know any more than that myself. I wish I could do the spell for you, but only a weather weaver can work binding and unbinding magic of this sort. I will try to keep Marianne out of the way to give you time to perform the spell though, so at least you will not be in danger from her. Does she know that you are stardust spirits and that you have met Tor?’

  ‘No,’ Erin said.

  ‘Good,’ Xanthe replied, looking relieved. ‘In which case she will not be suspecting that anyone is trying to free him.’ Her eyes met Erin’s. ‘Try not to worry,’ she said softly. ‘All you can do is try your best and hopefully by the morning the stallion will be free and back in his cloud kingdom where he belongs.’

  When Chloe’s parents left the house, Xanthe helped the girls gather enough bindweed from the garden to plait into a long rope. The rain was starting to slow down. By the time it was dark and they turned into stardust spirits it had finally stopped, but more heavy clouds were already gathering on the horizon and there was a dangerous fee
l about the air. It seemed charged with electricity. Erin could feel it tingling across her skin.

  ‘There’s Lookout Point,’ Chloe said to Xanthe as they approached the house. ‘Erin’s gran used to live there.’

  ‘She would have been a weather weaver too,’ Xanthe said. ‘Weather weavers pass their abilities down through the generations. You will have come from a family of weather weavers, Erin. Your mother would have been a weather weaver as well.’

  ‘My mum?’ But deep down Erin realized she wasn’t that surprised. Ever since she had found out about weather weavers, a part of her had wondered if her mum had been one too – if that was why she had kept a box of them and why she had kept the bit of paper in the box that talked about a dark one coming.

  Xanthe nodded. ‘The gift of weather weaving passes down the generations through the female members of the family. When all this is over, you must learn how to use your powers properly. They are very, very special. However, now let’s concentrate on the night ahead.’

  ‘The lights are on in the house,’ Chloe said warningly.

  ‘I wonder if Marianne is inside,’ Xanthe replied.

  ‘Yes, look!’ Chloe said as Marianne appeared at one of the windows, drawing the curtains.

  ‘Excellent,’ Xanthe said. ‘I will go and keep her talking. I will tell her there is concern about the weather along the coast and ask if she knows anything about it. You must be as quick as you can.’ She smiled at them. ‘Good luck! And remember the important thing with magic of any kind is to believe you can do it. Believe it and it will happen!’

  She flew off. The girls raced to the feed room and pulled open the door as quietly as they could. The ring of keys was still hanging opposite the door. Chloe grabbed them and they flew straight to the woods.