And suddenly the shadows faded, and once again Willow saw nothing before her but the echo of Nolin Sometimes’s moon garden.
Willow blinked. ‘That really happened?’ she asked. She felt creeped out by the blood, which, unlike the rest of the shadows, had glowed oddly red.
The queen nodded. ‘Yes. Silas read the thousand-year-old journal of the so-called “god”, Wol, who was in fact nothing more than a magician named Wollace Humperdink who reinvented himself after the world believed he was destroyed by the elths. He fooled many men and gathered them as his followers – the Brothers of Wol – and they spread word that magic was unnatural and evil, promising to cleanse the world of it. But Wol’s secret plan was to keep all of that magic for himself, so he could become the sole sorcerer of Starfell.’
Willow felt uneasy. In Wolkana, when Silas had claimed that the Brothers had been lied to for years, and that the true goal of the war had been to hoard the magic for themselves, she hadn’t known whether to believe him. She certainly hadn’t realised that Wol had never been a god at all. She’d heard of that old magician, Wollace Humperdink, but she’d never put the two together before.
The queen went on. ‘The Brothers failed to completely eradicate magic a thousand years ago. That we all know. But this memory reveals something catastrophic – that Wol recorded the tale of how he stole the magic of Starfell, so that if he could not complete his mission, one day a worthy successor might finish the task.’
Willow panicked. ‘But – but if that’s true Sometimes would’ve said something! He would have warned everyone after he had this vision!’
The queen shook her head. ‘He didn’t understand the relevance of the memory. Wol didn’t spell it out in plain language – he was more careful than that. But I pieced this memory together with the other clues I’ve gathered from my sources, and I learnt the truth. Even now, as we speak, Silas seeks vengeance for his thwarted plans, and this time he intends to go to extremes to ensure that he is never defeated again!’
Willow felt as if she’d been doused in ice. ‘What is he going to do?’
‘Don’t you understand, child? He is uncovering Wol’s method – a terrible ritual that will allow him to rip out all the magic from Starfell! If he succeeds, he will take every last thread of magic from every witch and wizard, every elf and elth, every enchanted creature and plant, from the forest of Wisperia, and my queendom of souls. It will ALL be HIS.’
Willow gasped, horrified, as she tried to imagine her family, and every magical person or creature she knew, drained of their magic …
‘Unless I act now!’ cried Umbellifer. ‘Do you see now how I might need a man who can read the past – by reading the memories of everyone he comes across – and a woman who sees the future? Don’t you see what assets they will be in fighting this new war? With these skills, I will be able to work out the enemy’s weaknesses, identify traitors and predict their next moves! And you, child – you are more powerful than you realise. Your magic is growing. You have already thwarted Silas once, and I believe I can use your powers to fight him again.’
‘Y-you’re wrong – my powers are broken! They don’t work,’ protested Willow. ‘There must be another way to prevent the war – you don’t need to keep us here!’
The queen shook her head. ‘This is the only way.’
With that, Umbellifer commanded the shadowy mists again, and they swirled round all three of them, whisking Willow, Sometimes’s prone body and the queen back to the forest floor below.
When they landed, Willow barely had time to steady herself before the queen snapped her fingers, and a shadowy figure brought Moreg forward and laid her down next to Sometimes. Her body too had grown still, like his, and her eyes were white.
‘No!’ shouted Willow, who felt as if her heart had been plunged in ice at the sight of Moreg paralysed by the queen’s magic. ‘There has to be another way! They would help you if you asked – we’re on the same side!’
The queen seemed to sigh as she floated above Willow. ‘Humans don’t help – they cause destruction. Their emotions, their passions, desires and petty jealousies get in the way. Just look at you. So useful – yet so clouded by your emotions that you can’t even see what you have. I need their memories and their abilities – but not their messy human drama. It’s not how I like to do things, but needs must. And the time has come for me to add your magic to my collection too.’
Suddenly there was a low, cawing cry. A raven with a smoky blue-black wing appeared above, talons outstretched as it made a dive … at the queen.
Sprig attempted to tackle Umbellifer as he landed, transforming into a boy, and he shouted, ‘Run, Willow! Quick!’
Willow tried to run, but only got a few steps before thick vines crept across the forest floor and tangled round her feet, holding her tight.
‘You dare defy me?’ the queen challenged Sprig. ‘After everything I have done for you – you who could rule by my side?’
‘Yes, because you’re wrong! It doesn’t have to be this way. I’ve seen how people can come together. We could fight as a team,’ argued Sprig.
‘Like we did the last time, when magic was nearly ripped out of the world?’ the queen scoffed. ‘You silly boy, you forget where you are. In my queendom, you will play by my rules.’ And then she flicked her fingers and vines restrained him, even as he thrashed. In the next moment, Umbellifer’s smoke and shadows swirled round him and he was whisked out of sight.
Suddenly it was just Willow and the queen again. Willow sank down helplessly to her knees.
‘Look at what all this emotion has cost you. Your friends are here now, lured by their misplaced faith in you,’ said the queen. She swirled a hand and a swathe of misty fog appeared, carrying within it the shadowy image of Willow’s three missing friends. The mist settled near Moreg and Sometimes, leaving the ghostly impressions of Feathering, Essential and Oswin beside them, looking as if they were sleeping.
Willow gasped. ‘But I made them disappear! How are they here … with you?’
‘Because, though your magic works down here, this is my world, and it must play by my rules. You lost your friends, and this is where lost souls end up after all …’
Willow felt a sob rise in her throat as she rushed forward towards the lifeless figures of Sometimes and Moreg and the misty image of the others.
Nolin Sometimes was closest. He looked so drained of life. She thought of his love for strange magical plants, his wonderful treehouse home, the way he fainted every few minutes when he was bombarded with memories, how his eyes lit up when he got excited about new discoveries, his loud, barking laugh.
Next she approached Moreg. It was strange to see her face so placid, her usually dark eyes white and devoid of their fire. It was like the thing that made her Moreg was gone …
With a heavy heart, Willow turned to the smoky image of her other friends. She stared at the large, motionless figure of Feathering, his pearly feathers seeming dull somehow, and she felt her lip start to shake. She looked from him to Essential, her dear new friend who made her feel like every day could be an adventure. Then her gaze moved to Oswin. Her grief began to cascade over her as she saw the kobold – green now, his fur soft, his beloved crotchety face still and his eyes unseeing – and the tears came at last.