Shadow Wrack (6 page)

“Okay.”

“And I want it out of the house
tonight!
”

“Yes! Okay! I
said
okay!” Willa got up, banging her chair against the table.

Her mom's eyes were fiery. “I don't like your attitude these days. You're a different person.”

That was it. Willa's chest hurt when she breathed in. Either tears or rage were just a moment away. She chose rage.

“
I'm
a different person? Me? What about
you
?
I'm
not the one who avoids problems,
I'm
not running away from things,
I'm
not pretending my own mother doesn't even exist!”

She headed for the door, lightheaded but charged up.

“Stop right there, young lady!” she heard as the kitchen door swung shut behind her, but she kept going. She stomped past Baz, down the hall and into her bedroom, slamming the door.

The bird began squalling as soon as she saw her. Willa paced the room. Her chest felt tight, she was hot, and out of breath. She stopped and leaned in to look hard at the bird, staring into its eyes. The anger she felt brimming over she saw in the bird's eyes too. Willa thought about how the old bird Fadiyah had always calmed her down, and she became even angrier.

Horace was right,
she thought.
This bird is nothing but trouble. Selfish, noisy, and mean.
The bird let out a harsh shriek.

“Shut up! Shut up!” Willa banged the cage with her palm. The bird lunged, jabbing her beak into Willa's hand. Willa jumped back with a gasp. The puncture was small, but it really hurt; beads of blood oozed out. Willa lost it.

“You stupid, stupid bird!” she shouted. “Why can't you — why don't you just —” Willa thought her head was going to explode. She threw a towel over the cage, swinging it off the desk … and froze.

Beneath the cage was a dense black puddle, an uneven circle about the width of her hand. Willa touched it with her finger and felt a familiar cold tingle. It was just like the black stains that had appeared in the old house. The whole nightmare there had started with little spots like this one, spots that looked harmless enough until they grew larger and larger, and horrible creatures crawled out of them.

The streetlights blinked on as Willa strode through town, walking fast with the cage banging against her legs, her mind whirling. The blackness was in
her
house. Not in weird old Eldritch Manor, but in her very own home. The phoenix had caused it, that seemed clear, but what did it mean? Were more evil things on the way? Would it expand, or would it stay just one small, magicky puddle? Either way, the bird was to blame, and it was definitely time to set her free.

The darkness deepened, and she glanced at the windows she passed, glowing in the night.
Families sitting down to supper … normal families,
Willa thought fiercely. She hunched her shoulders against the chill. The cage swung in her hand, squeaking. Dark shapes filled the sky.
Do birds fly at night?
Willa wondered.
Or are those bats?

Under the towel, the phoenix was strangely silent.
She's glad to go,
she told herself, hoping she was right.

The path up the hill was dark. Willa wished she'd brought a flashlight. She stood for a moment, just past the glare of the last streetlight, waiting for her eyes to adjust to the gloom. There was movement everywhere she looked. She slowly realized that every branch of every tree and bush around her was crowded with birds.

A chill ran down her spine. She peered at them carefully, making sure they were all little birds. Cute little birds. Birds that don't attack people. She pictured a news headline,
Girl Assaulted by Chickadees
, and actually smiled. Gripping the cage tightly, she started up the hill.

At the lookout she sat down to catch her breath, the lights of the town twinkling before her. So beautiful, so peaceful. The top of the hill was above her, but she decided this spot would do. She pulled the towel from the cage and the bird lunged, trying to peck her hand again. Willa jumped back. The phoenix recoiled, looking at her with glittering eyes. Willa was frightened. Would the bird attack her when she opened the cage? Or was the bird just acting fierce because she wanted out?

Minutes ticked by as girl and bird stared at one another. Finally Willa reached out and flicked the latch on the cage. The door swung open. The bird hopped, pausing in the opening. Then, with an agonized screech, she launched herself into the air, wings spread wide. Willa fell back, shielding her face with her arms, but the bird swooped straight up into the sky. As the phoenix rose higher, Willa could just make out flocks of birds scattering to make way for the bird. She kept rising until she was lost to Willa's sight and her cries faded away. Only then did Willa notice the pain in the bird's calls.

Willa shivered.
It will be all right,
she told herself.
It will be all right.

There was a sudden clacking sound, like sticks banging together. Willa turned around slowly but couldn't make out anything in the dark. She found her way to the path and started down. The clacking soon receded behind her. Her mind was consumed in anxious thoughts as she hurried along, images of black spots, cats with human faces, butcher birds, swarms of spiders … and a massive sightless snake with a gaping mouth.

Black spots and dark suspicions

W
illa
awoke to sunshine and scratching sounds at her window. She thought maybe the fairies were back, but it turned out to be little sparrows hopping about on her windowsill. The room was blessedly quiet without the phoenix, and she lay there a moment enjoying the peace. At breakfast her mom was humming cheerfully. Willa felt guilty about her behaviour the night before, but all seemed to be forgiven. In fact, her mother was smiling, a sight Willa hadn't seen in quite a while.

“Thank you for setting the bird free, Willa. It was the right thing to do.” Her mother set her a place at the table. “What would you like on your toast, hon?”

She had hoped the stain would disappear when the bird did, but no such luck — it was still there on her desk, blank and mysterious. Even shining a light directly into it didn't reveal anything. It was like a black hole from outer space. She stared at it, remembering the last time, when the spots had grown and spread. They were openings to the Other Side, whatever that was, and as soon as you had openings, creatures could come through them into our world. She'd never gotten a proper explanation of the Other Side, but judging by the horrible beasts that came from there, it wasn't a place you wanted to mess with, that's for sure.

And now there was one simple little spot on her desk. Willa felt a desperate need to tell someone, but not her mom.
When Mom gets worried about something, she falls to pieces
, she reflected.
Who else can I tell?

Belle's door was ajar. She was watching her little TV — another nature show. This one was about dolphins.

“Belle?”

“Hm.”

“Do you remember the black spots that were all over the old house before … you know.”

“Before all hell broke loose. Yeah, I remember.” Belle didn't look up, but at least she wasn't angry.

“I found a spot. Here. In my room.”

Belle snapped her head around, and Willa caught a flash of fear in her eyes.
That's got her attention.

“Sure you didn't spill some ink?”

“It's not ink. What do you know about the spots? And the ‘Other Side'?”

Belle screwed up her face thoughtfully. “I stay away from all that business. Don't like it. You'll have to ask Horace.”

Of course!
Willa felt suddenly cheered. She and Horace could figure this out. “I'll go see him after school. If you see any more spots around, could you let me know?”

Belle was riveted to her TV again. “Sure thing, sweetie.” Willa backed away quietly, not wanting to risk upsetting Belle and ruining the moment.
She called me sweetie.

After school, Willa biked to the hotel and raced up to Horace and Tengu's room.

Tengu answered the door. “He's gone.”

“Left for the day?”

“No. He's disappeared. Didn't come home last night at all.”

Willa's heart sank.
Great. Just great.
“Did he say anything? Was he acting weird? Was he confused?”

Tengu shrugged, not looking too concerned. “No, he said he was going for a walk, and then he didn't come back. He's probably gone off somewhere to think. Kind of a
time-out
.” He smiled at Willa's panicked expression. “He's over two thousand years old, Willa. I'm pretty sure he can look after himself.”

“But he gets so muddled. His memory conks out sometimes, and it really upsets him.”

“I don't think you need to worry. Not yet, anyway.”

That didn't sound so reassuring. Willa bit her lip. “I let the phoenix go last night.”

Tengu's eyes widened at the news. “Oh!”

“My mom couldn't take it anymore.
I
couldn't take it anymore. And I found one of those … black stains. Under her cage.”

Tengu sat down heavily, taking it all in. “Oh.”

“I thought she'd be better off outside, free and everything, you know,” Willa's words rushed out. “And I think she's okay. There are plenty of other birds to keep her company, anyway.”

“Yeah,” chuckled Tengu, gesturing to the ledge outside his window, which was lined with pigeons. “Loads of birds. It's been driving Horace nuts.” He caught Willa's expression. “Not
nuts-crazy
, I mean
nuts-distracted
.”

“I took her up Hanlan's Hill.” Willa suddenly felt she was about to cry. “I
had
to let her go.”

Tengu patted her hand. “You did the right thing. She'll be fine. And
he'll
be fine too. You can't look after everybody, Willa. Miss Trang will be back soon.”

Willa nodded, sniffing. Tengu suddenly brightened, rubbing his hands gleefully. “In the meantime, I'm going to round up some weapons.”

“What? Why?”

“Something to do, that's all,” he reassured her. “Weapons are my hobby, you know. Like collecting stamps.” He was pulling on his coat and heading for the door.

Willa smiled. “I'll leave Horace a note in case he comes back.”

“
Right-o
. Just pull the door shut behind you,” Tengu called back over his shoulder as he hurried off. Willa looked around for some paper. She pulled on an old envelope sticking out of a stack of books, and a pen rolled off the table onto the floor.

As she knelt to pick it up, Willa's eye caught something in the corner of the room. A black spot.

Willa strode along the street, her eyes fixed on the ground. She couldn't shake the fear that was creeping through her. Two black spots meant there could be others. The most likely location would be in Eldritch Manor, or what was left of Eldritch Manor. She had to find Horace; she was desperate for his advice.

“Haven't seen him in days,” reported Robert. Everything seemed under control at the house. The truce was holding. The dwarves were working out of sight in the basement, and fairies flitted happily through the woods. Willa told Robert about the black spots; he said he hadn't seen any but would keep his eyes open.

Willa saw Sarah fly by. “Sarah! Where's Mab? I need to speak with her.”

Sarah consulted her clipboard. “Her Gloriousness is in a meeting. Would you like to make an appointment? She's got half an hour open next Thursday at two thirty. Shall I pencil you in?”

“I need to talk to her right now. About …” Willa dropped her voice, “… the time talisman. The knitting. She's still knitting, right?”

“Affirmative.”

“I'm worried about keeping it secure. Has she got it in a safe place?”

Sarah smiled proudly. “She's appointed me in charge of security, and I found the
perfect
hiding place for it!”

Willa waited a moment. “You're not going to tell me where it is, are you?”

“Nope!” Sarah chirped merrily. “Now, did you want to make that appointment for Thursday?”

“Where is she?” snapped Willa, and Sarah jumped a little.

“Um, Her Enchanting Eminence is … resting.”

“I thought you said she was in a meeting.” Willa strode past her. “Is she in her tree? Mab! Maaab!”

Sarah scooted in front of her. “No. She's not here.”

Frowning, Willa leaned in very close to the little fairy and hissed, “Where is she?”

Sarah didn't like being stared down. Her voice shook. “Her Utmost Perfection is resting in the fancy house.”

This took Willa aback. “Fancy house? What's that? Where on earth has she found a fancy house?” She stared steadily at Sarah until the fairy looked away, casting a quick glance toward … the house next door.

Willa smacked her forehead. “The Hackers'. You have got to be kidding.”

The best way to sneak up on the Hackers' house was from the back. The fence was a little bit lower in the back corner of the lot, and there was a large hedge on the other side to block it from view. Willa climbed the fence and dropped in between it and the hedge, shuffling along sideways until she came to the end of the bushes. Peeking out, she could see both Hackers in the kitchen. Mrs. was stirring something on the stove, and Mr. was sitting reading the paper. Willa felt a tickle by her ear. Sarah was peeking out at the house too.

“What room is she in?” whispered Willa.

“Front room,” squeaked Sarah nervously. “They never go in there.”

Willa nodded. She knew that room from being in the house once or twice, when they'd called her in to listen to their complaints. It was a very formal parlour, so formal that there was probably no visitor the Hackers would consider of sufficient quality to be allowed entrance. Certainly not Willa; she had merely peeked in from the hall. There was a plastic cover over the sofa, shelves of dainty porcelain figurines, and a couple of plants so perfect they had to be fake.

Crawling on her hands and knees to stay out of view, Willa crossed the yard and continued along the side of the house. A couple of people passed on the sidewalk but didn't look her way. There was a window at the front corner of the house, and by climbing up on a rainbarrel, Willa was able to peer into the front room. From this angle, she could see the corner of the room she hadn't seen from the front hall. In that corner stood a gorgeous antique dollhouse.

“The fancy house,” muttered Willa. “Just Mab's style.” She turned to Sarah, who was still nervously shadowing her. “We have to call her out of there. Any ideas?”

Sarah considered. “You could maybe go in and …?” She stopped as she saw Willa shaking her head and then shrank back. “
I
could go in and …” Willa nodded.

“Do whatever you have to do to get her out here.”

Sarah gulped. “She won't like it.”

Willa smiled. “That's too bad. I must speak with her. It's extremely urgent. In you go.” There was a wooden wedge holding the window open just a crack. Sarah squeezed into the room, tumbling immediately off the windowsill into a plasticky fern. Willa watched as Sarah climbed out and flew slowly across the room. She was halfway to the dollhouse when Mr. Hacker's footsteps sounded in the hall. Sarah zipped back to the plant as he passed the doorway, engrossed in his paper. He picked up the mail from the front mat and headed back to the kitchen.

“What's another word for ‘sea eagle'?” he called to his wife as he disappeared from sight.

Willa breathed a sigh of relief. Sarah started across the room again, this time reaching the dollhouse. She landed and knocked softly on the front door. Mab answered it, looking irritated. Willa could see Sarah speaking and pointing to the window. Mab looked over and shook her head. Then she slammed the door in Sarah's face with a loud bang.

Sarah froze. There were murmurs from the kitchen, and Hacker's footsteps approached once more. Willa ducked lower, so the fern shielded her from view. Sarah was still frozen in place, trapped. Looking wildly around, she dove behind a tiny dollhouse tree just as Hacker entered the room, looking around. His eyes fell on the dollhouse. Willa held her breath. Reaching behind the tree, he picked Sarah up and peered closely at her. She had the good sense to remain stiff and staring, like a little doll. The clock ticked. Willa gripped the windowsill.