Free Magicalamity by Kate Saunders Page A

suddenly furious—his dad was being hunted and all they could do was squabble like little girls. “Dahlia—don’t you DARE turn Lorna into a cow! She’s been great to me when you and Iris didn’t want to know! And she’s a much nicer fairy—she doesn’t cast spells on humans to make money! You both say you loved my dad—but Lorna was the only one who kept her promise to him!”
    There was silence, and the three fairies stared at their godson.
    “Thanks, Tom,” Lorna said gruffly. “Sorry I lost my temper.”
    “The demisprite is right to stand by his true friends.” Iris said.
    “Tom, darling!” Dahlia swooped down to kiss his cheek. “You’re Jonas all over again—he always used to break up our little arguments. You’re right—we should be thinking about how to help him. You’d better stay here, I suppose—I’ll get one of the husbands to make up the beds.”
    “Does this mean you’re going to help us?” Iris asked.
    “My dear Iris, I don’t have any choice, and neither do you. We each signed that godmother parchment inblood. If we ignore our duty, Tom has the right to take us to court. Goodness knows I’ve bent a few fairy laws, but I was always very careful not to break them.”
    “I don’t like staying in this house while you’re keeping all those slaves,” Iris said, “but since you ARE keeping them, tell one of them to bring me a pot of strong tea. And I’d prefer a bedroom with a garden view.”
    “I’ll sleep anywhere,” said Lorna, who had started eating again. “But it’s not right, Dahlia. You’ll have to set those poor chaps free.”
    Tom was glad she had spoken up for the enslaved husbands; it made him very uneasy to be waited on by these millionaires and captains of industry. “There must be people who are sad because they think your husbands are dead,” he said impulsively. “It’s mean to let them go on being sad.”
    For the very first time Dahlia looked seriously startled. She stared at Tom and her tight cheeks turned a little red. “You really are so like your father! And you make me wonder what he’d think of me if he were here—perhaps I have been a tad strict with my staff. Perhaps I should let them out into the garden sometimes.”
    Tom and Lorna looked at each other. “You’re not getting the point,” Lorna said. “Jonas would say you were breaking the spirit of the law by being cruel to mortals. We’re not supposed to exploit them.”
    “Oh, everyone does it!” Dahlia shrugged impatiently.“And I’m not being cruel to them—they have luxurious quarters downstairs, and they don’t have all the worry of thinking for themselves. Come along, Tom—I’ll show you up to your bedroom.”
    Tom had the feeling she was using him as an excuse not to talk about her enslaved husbands. He could tell that Dahlia was the leading fairy of the three godmothers. The other two respected her cleverness and were slightly afraid of her. Was he afraid of Dahlia? He tried to make up his mind as he walked up the stairs behind her. It was obvious, from the way she treated the husbands, that she didn’t give a toot about mortals. Unlike Iris, however, she didn’t seem to mind demisprites.
    And she had once been in love with his dad. So had Iris, and Milly Falconer. Tom didn’t like thinking about this; it was embarrassing and made him feel he didn’t know his own father. Did his mother (who sometimes giggled at Dad’s paunch, and said his gray hair was like an old nest) have any idea about his past life as a pinup and punk rocker?
    “This will be your bedroom while you’re staying here.” Dahlia opened a door and led him into a room lined with posters of singers and bands Tom had never heard of. Three electric guitars hung above the fireplace, and there was a drum kit in the bay window. A notice board near the door was covered with old schooltimetables and blurry photos of groups of boys making faces. It was one of the coolest bedrooms Tom had ever seen.
    “It