A Little Touch of Magic | The Callers #1

Chapter Twenty

'Ilaina!' Peter's voice rose above the angry humming of the faeries' wings. 'Control them!'

'How?' I pleaded.

The sight was frightening. The wall of red bodies in front of me was vibrating and angry. I had lost sight of Papua as her anger spread to the others. I know that she was protecting me, but I still felt afraid. I think it would be hard not to.

'Ilaina!'

'I can't!'

Slowly, the faeries moved, diving one at a time towards Peter. I caught a glimpse of him through a gap one of the departing faeries made and I tried to run to him immediately. Their tiny little hands were pinching and scratching as they flew around and around his head.

'Stop!' I shouted, throwing my hands up at the faeries in front of me.

They turned to me, confusion on their tiny faces.

'He's my friend,' I pleaded.

Slowly, the red faded from their bodies, returning them to their normal colours. Papua had been floating somewhere above Peter's head but she darted over to me the moment I shouted.

'What is it, Ilaina?' she asked, floating before me. 'What do you need?'

'She needs you to listen to her heart and not what you see before you,' Peter said, wiping away a drop of blood that spilled from a cut in his cheek. 'We're trying to help her be stronger, but she needs your help to do it.'

'We know how to help her when she needs it,' Papua pouted. 'We don't need you telling us anything.'

I could tell Papua really didn't like Peter. I suppose I couldn't blame her. I mean, he was throwing fireballs at me.

'Speak to them, Ilaina,' Peter said, turning his attention back to me. 'They need to know what you expect from them, otherwise you'll never connect the way you're supposed to.'

'What am I supposed to say?' I replied. 'I need them to help me take down my father? I need them to protect me when I can't protect myself? I don't know what to expect from them, or what they can expect from me.'

'And that is why you must grow together,' Peter said. 'Do you think the fire always came when I called? I accidentally set my mother's dress aflame because she shouted at me for something trivial.'

I reached out a hand and Papua landed on it, so softly that I barely felt her. 'I want us to work together, but I also want you to be free to do as you wish. You're not my puppets to make dance.'

'Don't worry, child,' she replied. 'You're our first priority always. We want to protect you.'

I nodded, not sure what to say. I had never seen them show such power before. I had no idea they were even capable of it. Peter watched us carefully. I didn't blame him for being wary of my little friends after the way they had attacked him.

'It's time for us to move forward,' Mr Ravencroft said, surprising us.

'She's not ready,' Peter stated.

'Be that as it may,' Mr Ravencroft said. 'Time waits for no one and she needs to move.'

'Move?' I panicked. 'Move to where?'

Visions of being sent back to the Home feeling about as unwanted as a slug on a bare foot flashed through my head. Mr Ravencroft seemed to sense my thoughts though, because he placed a comforting hand on my shoulder and squeezed.

'How'd you like to live with your dear old daddy for a bit?' he said.

***

'I don't think this is a good idea,' Peter said.

He was pacing in front of us as we stood in the same clearing we had escaped to during the attack on the manor. I was definitely on his side. Ever since I had learned exactly who my father was, I wanted nothing to do with him. It wasn't like he'd ever wanted anything to do with me. I wondered if he had even known he was talking to his daughter that day in the woods. He had sent those dust creatures after me though, perhaps he had sensed something.

'Maybe you should ask her what she wants?' Peter said, nodding his head towards me.

'Forgive me, child, but what you want is not the key here,' Mr Ravencroft said, turning to me. 'You need to play your part, same as all of us.'

Peter tutted and turned away from us. I could feel something wriggling in my stomach. When I left the comfort of the Home, I hadn't expected my life to change quite so dramatically. And I had always pictured meeting my real parents but discovering that one of them was the evil man who lurked in the bushes trying to lure the young children away... well, that wasn't quite what I'd hoped for either.

'I can do it,' I said, meaning it. 'We all have to play our parts.'

I turned to see them looking at me carefully, sizing me up.

'Is he still down there?' I asked, turning to look back at the home I had barely begun to know.

'We don't know for sure that he was there in the first place,' Peter said, a frown forming. 'But someone will still be there, for sure.'

I swallowed the lump that was lodged in my throat and nodded at them. 'I can do it,' I repeated.

I took a deep breath and started the climb down the hill towards the manor. I tried to keep everything that Mr Ravencroft had told me in my mind. It was important that I did this right. I went tumbling down half the hill as I tripped on a root sticking out of the ground. Spitting dirt out of my mouth, I wiped my tongue on my sleeve and glanced up at the manor. It was dark, no lights, no smoke. If I didn't know that half a wall was missing - and worse - I wouldn't think there was anything different to my first night there.

'Well,' I said to the air, 'time to meet my father.'

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Heather x