A Little Touch of Magic | The Callers #1

Chapter Three

In the first quiet moment I could spare, I squeezed myself into the space at the back of the linen cupboard and closed my eyes tight.

'I know you're always with me,' I chanted, 'and you're never far away. So come on out, my little friends, it's time for us to play.'

I kept my eyes closed until I felt the faint flutter of wings brushing against my cheek. I smiled and peeked out one eye to see a flash of purple whizz past me. It was followed by orange, then yellow. Looking down, I spotted little balls of white, blue and pink. More than I had expected, if I was being honest.

'You guys must be seriously bored to all be coming to see me at once,' I said, laughing as they bobbed up and down in front of me.

It had taken me a long time to distinguish the little figures that were hiding behind the balls of light, blinding as they often were, but now I was able to spot them easily. I could even tell if they were a boy or a girl, which was something I was quite proud of.

'Listen, I need to ask you guys something super serious,' I whispered, leaning in towards them. 'There's an old man who might adopt me soon.'

I paused as I let them celebrate this fact; the faeries had been with me as long as I could remember and had listened to me every time I cried after a line up that resulted in me being ignored again. When they had finally settled back down, I took a deep breath and continued.

'His name is Mr Ravencroft and he seems kind of scary... and weird,' I said, twisting my fingers together. 'I'm not sure if I want to go with him if he does want to adopt me. I'd never be able to feel like I could be myself around him. That's not what I needed to tell you though. He knows. He knows about you and I think he knows about me, too. How could he possibly know about you guys?'

There was an anxious flutter of wings and the faeries scattered without so much as a goodbye. I sighed and rested my head against my hand, blowing a wayward curl out of my eyes. Whatever Mr Ravencroft knew about faeries, I wasn't going to get any help out of my little friends. I would have to investigate it on my own.

I jumped, banging my head on the shelf above me, as the door to the cupboard was thrown open and Lucas's face appeared.

'Who are you talking to?' he asked, leaning in further to see.

'No one,' I replied without hesitating. 'I was playing pretend.'

'Little old for that, aren't you?' He scrunched up his nose.

'You're never too old to use your imagination,' I responded, shuffling along the shelf to squeeze out the door past him. 'Life is rather dull without it.'

Lucas didn't follow me into the dorm room, thankfully, but I found Annie sitting on her bed. She was gazing out of the window, lost in a dream, and I wondered if that was the same look I got on my face whenever I was away in my own world.

'So,' I said, plonking down on my bed, 'that was different.'

'Yeah, it was.' She didn't look away from the window, but she nodded. 'What do you think he meant?'

I had hoped she wouldn't ask that. 'I have no idea.'

I couldn't let her know about the faeries. I couldn't let anyone know. They had been my secret since forever and I wasn't sure what other people would say about them. I didn't want anyone to try and steal them away from me, or pull of their wings. I had to protect them.

'I guess we'll have to wait and see what he says when he comes back,' Annie said, looking away from the window to give me a small smile. 'I'm going to help with lunch.'

I let her leave before lying back on my bed. Mr Ravencroft wasn't due back for an entire week. One whole week where I would be thinking about the message he gave for us and what it could mean for me and the faeries. What if he wanted to hurt them? Or me? What if he wasn't as nice a man as he appeared to be and really tormented the children that he took into his home?

It took me a long time to realise that I wasn't alone in the dorm room anymore. I sat up and noticed the faint light glowing under my blanket at the end of the bed. I glanced around to see if there were any other kids there - I shared the dorm with three other girls - but it was empty.

'Hey, little friends,' I whispered, leaning in close. 'What are you doing here?'

The little purple light moved until the slim girl faerie popped out of the blanket and padded over towards me. I don't like to play favourites, but I'll admit I find it hard when it comes to Papua. She was the first faerie to appear for me - I think I was around four - so I had a soft spot for her.

'Papua, what's wrong?' I asked.

She twisted her fingers, in much the same way I do, and glanced up at me. I didn't know what it was that she was about to tell me, but I knew it was going to be important. The faeries rarely actually spoke to me, so that alone made it important.

'It's okay,' I prodded. 'You can tell me.'

'Oh Ilaina,' Papua said in her tiny little voice. 'If only I could.'

'What? Why can't you?' I asked, shuffling forward.

A look of fear crossed her small features and she flittered away, across the room and away from sight. The blanket vibrated as the others emerged and followed after her.

I was left sitting on my bed as Annie burst back into the room.

<><><>

Hello! Thank you for reading this chapter of A Little Touch of Magic. I plan to update this story every Thursday so be sure to add it to your Reading List so you don't forget to check for updates! If you've enjoyed reading this story, please do take a moment to vote and comment and I'll make sure to respond to any comments received.

Thank you so much again for reading. I hope you have a lovely day :)

-Heather