Free The Midnight Carnival by Erika McGann Page B

Jeez.’
    Jenny nodded like it was all sorted, then took off again with her too-fast walk. Adie fell to the back of the group and Grace followed her.
    ‘Are you okay? You seem quiet. Is it alright with you if we don’t bring up the future too much with the teachers?’
    ‘I’m fine. It’s alright with me.’
    ‘You look a bit tired.’
    ‘Didn’t get much sleep last night.’
    ‘Is there something bothering you?’
    Adie smiled, but it looked forced.
    ‘No, I’m fine. Nothing to worry about.’
    Grace was about to push further, but her friend hurriedinto a jog to catch up with the others.

    It was getting dark. The moon was rising beyond the river causing the shadows of the trees to stretch all the way to the bank. Adie tried to ignore the black shadowy fingers that seemed to reach for her as she stood by the water.
    She wasn’t the most skilled witch amongst her friends, but she had one undeniable talent – controlling water. She didn’t know why, but ever since her first lesson with liquid it had seemed eager to bend to her will. She played with it absent-mindedly now, warming up her magic muscles, making small spikes dance across the surface of the river. If she was to catch the faery before anyone found out about it, this was how she would do it.
    Mr Pamuk had been curious when she returned for another batch of twice-burned mugwort.
    ‘Your water-messaging went well, little witchlet?’
    She had smiled and nodded. It hadn’t gone well. It had been a complete disaster. But if this supernatural creature had invaded her world via the mugwort, then surely she could send it back the same way. All she had to do was trap it, and hopefully her mind could drag it back to Hy-Breasal on another water-message. It all hung on whether or not the faery would return to the river.
    She had been waiting for nearly an hour, patrolling thetrees on either side of the river for that familiar, quick shadow.
    There! A shape flickered in the dark.
    Adie held her breath and waited, watching. There it was again. Too fast to be a human, too skinny to be an animal.
    Quiet as a mouse, she crept up the bank, never taking her eyes from the figure in the woods. It danced around tree trunks like a moth around a flame, flitting back and forth, making no noise at all. Adie was aware of how loud her steps were, no matter how carefully she moved. The crunch of dry leaves and the shush of weeds stepped on. She was moving in slow motion when she saw the figure stop suddenly. It swayed gently in the mottled light of the moon through the leaves. It was watching her. But it didn’t run. Maybe it wanted the company.
    ‘Hey there,’ Adie kept her voice low and soft. ‘How’re you doing?’
    The creature continued to sway in time with Adie’s footsteps.
    She could see its twig-like hair now, and the outline of its oval face. A step closer and its big, round eyes glinted like saucers.
    ‘Remember me?’ Adie asked. ‘You came with me to the river. Not sure how you did that, you little rascal.’ The faery didn’t respond, and she wasn’t sure it could understand her. ‘But you’ve gotta go back now. You can’t stay here, okay? I’m going to help you get back. Alright?’
    The creature hunched its shoulders. Adie dropped to one knee, flinging an arm behind her to summon the water she had already been shaping beneath the surface of the river. Thick liquid strands erupted near the bank, clashing in the air to form a lattice. The creature grinned and turned, but Adie lashed the woven water after it, snapping her hand into a fist as the lattice closed around the faery in a ball-shaped cage.
    ‘Gotchya!’
    She laughed in relief and guided the ball towards her.
    ‘See?’ Adie said. ‘That wasn’t so bad.’
    The faery didn’t seem distressed, in fact it seemed amused. It smiled down at her with its horrible triangular teeth, then wagged its finger.
    The water hit her so fast, Adie wasn’t sure what had happened. She tumbled backwards,