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“Mum –” Maia felt a bit nervous but she knew she had to get to the bottom of this – “Mrs Crooks has just asked us if we want to see inside her shed. Is it OK if we do?”

  “Jenny’s got some animals in there,” said Mary.

  “Sure,” said Mrs Greene. “I’m just popping to the shop to get some cheese and ham. I can pick you up on the way back. Dad’s made some pizza dough so you can make your own pizzas for tea.”

  The girls nodded and followed Mrs Crooks into the house. There were pictures of animals on the walls and the kitchen smelled of baking bread.

  “Come through this way,” said Mrs Crooks.

  As the girls stepped through the back door into the garden they all gasped. There were pottery gnomes everywhere! They all had jolly faces – some were fishing in a pond, others pushing wheelbarrows or carrying baskets.

  There were also pottery toadstools and animals. “Oh … wow!” said Maia.

  “I collect garden ornaments,” Mrs Crooks said, looking pleased at their reaction.

  Mary smiled. “Do you like them, girls?”

  “Yes,” said Maia, looking around in astonishment. Sorrel had been right, there were lots of gnomes … but they weren’t sinister. The garden was like a fairy tale woodland scene.

  “I’d love a garden like this,” said Sita.

  “Jenny’s been collecting since we were children,” said Mary. “Some of them are really valuable now.”

  “Is that why you have such a high fence?” Lottie asked.

  Mrs Crooks nodded. “I had a couple of pieces stolen from the garden at my old house so I had the fence put up when I moved in here.” She headed up a winding gravel path. Reaching the shed, she put her finger to her lips and opened the door. It was dark inside and the air was filled with the scent of hay and animals. There were cages just as Maia had seen in her mirror. Some were empty but others had animals in – the girls could see that some of them had bandages or wounds that had been recently stitched up. The animals blinked warily at the girls in the dim light.

  “There’s a squirrel,” whispered Lottie.

  “And rabbits and a baby badger,” murmured Ionie.

  “These animals will all be released into the wild again soon,” Mrs Crooks said in a low voice. “When I find an injured animal I bring them here first. The vet comes to assess them and takes the ones that need a lot of veterinary help to the sanctuary.” Her face softened as she looked at them. “They’re my little beauties and I try my best to help them so they can be set free.”

  Maia swallowed. She suddenly realized that they’d been so, so wrong about Mrs Crooks. She wasn’t the person doing dark magic. She was just an old woman who loved animals.

  “Jenny goes out into the woods looking for injured animals,” said Mary.

  “I’m sorry if I’ve been bad-tempered with you, girls,” Mrs Crooks said gruffly. “So many young people don’t think about how their actions affect the wildlife – they leave litter, set off fireworks that scare animals, disturb their nests and habitats.”

  “We’d never do that,” Sita said.

  “I realize that now,” said Mrs Crooks. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have been so quick to judge.”

  She pulled the door shut and the girls followed her back up the garden path. As Maia saw the gnomes again, she thought of something. “Mrs Crooks, did you give a gnome to the Eastons?”

  “The Eastons? No, I don’t know who you mean,” said Mrs Crooks.

  “They live on Brook Street. There’s a big trampoline in the front garden,” said Maia, feeling puzzled. She’d definitely seen Mrs Crooks with the Wish Gnome – so either the magic had been wrong or Mrs Crooks was lying.

  Mrs Crooks’s face cleared. “Oh, I know that house. They do have a gnome in the garden, don’t they? I picked it up to look at it a week or so ago when I was passing. I couldn’t resist. It was a nice specimen, and yes, just like some of mine, but no, I didn’t give it to them.”

  Maia’s breath left her in a rush. So the image she’d seen had been Mrs Crooks admiring the gnome, but she hadn’t been the person who had given it to Paige’s mum. “Thank you for showing us the animals,” she said.

  “Yes, and we’ll come and visit the sanctuary soon,” said Sita.

  “Make sure you come and find me when you do,” said Mrs Crooks, leading them through the house and letting them out of the front door. “And I’ll give you a guided tour.”

  They said goodbye and she shut the door.

  The girls looked at each other. “OK, so maybe we got it wrong,” said Lottie slowly.

  They all nodded. “We really did,” said Maia.

  “But if Mrs Crooks didn’t conjure the Shades, who did?” said Sita.

  “I still think it must be someone who knows we’re Star Friends,” said Ionie.

  Maia lifted her chin. “Well, they can try all they like but they’re not going to stop us – we’re going to find out who’s using dark magic.”

  “They’ve got no chance against us,” Lottie said. “Not with Sita’s power.”

  “It’s all of our powers that will stop them,” said Sita.

  Lottie smiled. “The important thing is that we did it – we sent all four Shades back to the shadows.”

  “And next we’ll deal with whoever it is using dark magic,” said Maia. “Won’t we?” She held her up hand.

  “Definitely,” they all chorused, high-fiving her.

  Just then there was a pip of a car horn and Mrs Greene pulled up alongside them. “Ready for some homemade pizza, girls?” she asked, and the friends all piled into the car.

  Maia looked out of the window at the pretty village of Westcombe as they drove back to her house. Together with her friends and their Star Animals, they would keep everyone safe and happy. Nothing and no one was going to stop them.

  Maia Greene lay on her bed with Bracken the fox cub snoozing in her arms. Stroking his russet-red head, she felt her heart swell. It was hard to believe that she and Bracken had known each other for such a short time. But it was just two weeks and two days since she had seen him in the woods for the first time. Two weeks and two days since her life had changed forever.

  Maia hugged Bracken closer. To start with she had thought he was just a young fox with unusual indigo eyes. But then he had spoken to her and she had found out that he was a Star Animal – a magical animal from a faraway place called the Star World.

  Bracken’s eyes blinked open. Seeing her gazing at him, he put his head on one side. “What are you thinking about, Maia?”

  “When you first told me you were a Star Animal,” Maia told him softly.

  Bracken wriggled into a sitting position. “You should have seen your face when I first spoke to you,” he teased. “You looked really shocked.”

  “Of course I did. It was the first time anything magical had ever happened to me,” said Maia.

  Bracken licked her nose. “And now you’re my Star Friend and know all about magic.”

  Maia nodded. It was amazing and she could still hardly believe it. Every Star Animal who came to the human world had to find a child to be their Star Friend. Star Friends were able to hear and see the Star Animals because they believed in magic. Together they used the magic that flowed between the human world and the Star World to do good and to stop bad people who used dark magic to make others unhappy. Whenever Maia wanted Bracken, she could call his name and he would appear – but he was always careful to vanish when there were other people around.

  Maia had been absolutely delighted when her best friends, Lottie and Sita, had also become Star Friends. Lottie’s Star Animal was an energetic squirrel called Juniper and Sita’s was a gentle deer called Willow. They were all having a brilliant – if sometimes scary – time learning about magic together.

  Bracken jumped off the bed and shook himself. “Why don’t you practise your magic? The more you practise, the better you’ll get at it.”

  “OK,” Maia said. Jumping up eagerly, she went to her desk with Bracken bounding
around her legs. The desk’s surface was covered with animal magazines, animal stickers, pens, pencils and books. Pushing them to one side, she leaned forwards, staring into her mirror.

  One of the first things that Maia had learned when she started doing magic was that different Star Friends had different magical abilities. Her own magic was to do with sight. If she looked into a shiny surface, she could see things that were happening in other places. She could also see glimpses of the future and Bracken had told her that if she kept on practising she would be able to see into the past one day, too.

  Focusing on the surface of the mirror, Maia let the rest of the world fade away and opened herself to the current of magic. It tingled through her body, making her feel like every centimetre of her skin was sparkling. What should she ask to see? She thought for a moment and then decided.

  Show me the future. Show me something I need to see.

  Her own reflection faded and a picture of a girl appeared in the mirror. She was crouched on the ground, hugging her ankle and crying. Maia frowned. The girl seemed to be wearing the red and grey uniform of Maia’s school but Maia couldn’t see her face. Who was she? What had happened to her?

  I want to see more, Maia thought. But instead of the image becoming clearer, another image appeared. This time it was a different girl on a climbing frame. Maia couldn’t see who it was but she was swinging from the top bar by her hands. As Maia watched, she lost her grip, cried out and fell.

  Maia caught her breath as the girl hit the ground.

  “What are you seeing?” Bracken asked curiously. Only Maia could see the images in the mirror.

  “Two girls, in two separate images,” Maia replied. “Both getting hurt. Wait, the image is changing again…”

  Shock jolted through her as a new picture appeared – a skinny girl with shoulder-length black curly hair. She was staring at something that was coming towards her and she looked terrified.

  “It’s Lottie!” Maia exclaimed, recognizing her friend.

  The image disappeared, leaving Maia looking at her own reflection, her wide green eyes staring back at her and her dark-blond fringe falling across her face. She swung round. “There was something coming towards Lottie and she looked really scared. Do you think she’s OK?”

  “Use your magic to find out,” Bracken urged.

  Maia turned back to the mirror. I want to see Lottie wherever she is right now.

  A new image appeared in the glass – Lottie was in her bedroom, practising handstands, her black curls brushing the floor. To Maia’s relief, she looked just fine. A red squirrel with a fluffy tail and bright, inquisitive eyes was scampering along the top of the bunk bed.

  Maia’s breath rushed out. “It’s OK, she’s with Juniper in her bedroom.”

  “What did you ask the magic to show you when you saw those images?” Bracken said.

  “I asked it to show me something in the future that I needed to see.”

  Bracken looked troubled. “Then the magic will have shown you those things for a reason. Maybe they’re going to happen because of dark magic.” His ears flattened.

  Maia stared at him. “You mean, you think there might be another Shade nearby?”

  Bracken nodded and Maia’s heart beat a little faster. People who used dark magic could conjure horrible spirits called Shades from the shadows. The Shade would then either be set free to bring chaos and unhappiness wherever it went, or it could be trapped in an object and given to someone who the person doing dark magic wanted to harm.

  Maia had already encountered one Shade, which had been trapped in a make-up compact. It had talked to Clio, her older sister, from within the little mirror, twisting her mind and making her feel jealous of her best friend. Thankfully Maia, Lottie and Sita had managed to defeat it and send it back to the shadows. But only with the help of another Star Friend, Ionie.

  Bracken padded round anxiously. “I think you should talk to the others. If there is another Shade, we must try and stop it.”

  “You’re right. I’ll get them to meet me at the clearing.” Maia picked up her phone and typed in Lottie and Sita’s names. After a moment’s hesitation, she added Ionie into the message, too.

  She and Ionie used to be friends when they were younger but they didn’t get on at all now. Still, like it or not, Ionie was a Star Friend and had helped send the last Shade back to the shadows. Maia had to include her. She tapped in her message.

  Need 2 talk 2 u all. It’s important. C u at

  clearing in 45 mins. Mx

  She pressed send.

  Copyright

  STRIPES PUBLISHING

  An imprint of the Little Tiger Group

  1 Coda Studios, 189 Munster Road,

  London SW6 6AW

  Text copyright © Linda Chapman, 2018

  Illustrations copyright © Lucy Fleming, 2018

  First published as an ebook by Stripes Publishing in 2018

  eISBN: 978-1-84715-968-7

  The right of Linda Chapman and Lucy Fleming to be identified as the author and illustrator of this work respectively has been asserted by them in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988.

  All rights reserved.

  Apart from any use permitted under UK copyright law, this publication may only be reproduced, stored, or transmitted, in any forms, or by any means, with prior permission in writing of the publishers or, in the case of reprographic production, in accordance with the terms of licences issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency.

  A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from

  the British Library.

  www.littletiger.co.uk