Starfell Willow Moss and the Lost Day (Starfell #1) - Dominique Valente Page 0,38

‘Heva spice, heva spice! Throw it at your enemies, blast them off their feet!’

‘This place is a little dodgy, isn’t it?’ said Willow. ‘Can’t believe this is one of my mother’s stops …’

There was a sound like ‘Mimble mumble,’ and she turned and saw that Nolin Sometimes’s eyes had gone all white and glassy, and he was just about to pass out in a dead faint. ‘Oh no!’ cried Willow, catching him.

‘Absolutely bonkers,’ said Oswin, looking out from the hole within the bag.

‘It must be all the people – all their memories!’ guessed Willow. ‘Now what am I going to do?’

‘I’ll tell you what you’re going to do,’ came a rather familiar voice from behind, a voice that caused Willow’s ears to burn a bright red. ‘You are going to explain what on Great Starfell you are doing here.’

Willow turned round slowly. A tall, stern-looking witch dressed in maroon and gold with several shawls across her shoulders stood with her arms crossed. She had long black hair down to her waist, golden hoop earrings and blazing green eyes.

Willow cringed. ‘Hello, Mum.’

A few minutes later, Willow was being dragged into the back of her mother’s large red-and-gold travelling wagon. Her sister Camille, meanwhile, had moved Nolin Sometimes to the guard’s tent with her mind.

Facing Willow, Camille crowed. ‘Ooooh, you’re in for it now … Dad sent a raven asking if Mum had lost her mind taking you along to the fair … and of course she hadn’t!’

‘Enough, Camille!’ said her mother, holding up a hand. Her green eyes flashed fire. ‘Your sister is right, though. We’ve been worried sick! You left your father a note saying you were joining us – why? And where have you been? Why did you leave the cottage? Who was that old man? Explain yourself,’ she said, crossing her arms.

‘He’s not an old man!’

Willow’s mother’s nostrils flared. ‘Fine, the man with the white hair then. Who. Is. He?’

Willow sat in a small chair across from her mother and sisters, took a deep breath and tried to explain. ‘I. Well. You see, Moreg Vaine came to the cottage, looking for help.’

‘Moreg Vaine came to our cottage?’ scoffed Camille.

‘YES.’

Her oldest sister, Juniper, looked incredulous too, but she tried to understand. ‘Really? But why?’

Juniper and Camille started speaking at once. But their mother held up a hand for silence. ‘She was looking for me?’ she asked. ‘Why didn’t you just send a raven? I could have come back, or she could have met up with us on the road?’

Willow shook her head. ‘Um, no – she came looking for me.’

‘You?’ said Juniper. Her eyebrows shot up into her hairline.

Camille laughed. ‘Moreg Vaine came to look for you? What was wrong? She’d lost her marbles?’ She sniggered.

Her mother shot Camille a look, and she stopped sniggering at once. ‘Go on,’ she said, though it was clear she too was struggling to believe Willow.

Willow frowned. ‘She needed my help. It’s last Tuesday. You see, well, it’s gone missing and she needed me to help find it.’

‘Last Tuesday has gone missing,’ repeated her mother, somewhat incredulously. She turned back to Willow, breathing heavily. ‘And where is Moreg now? Can she confirm this at all?’

‘You can’t tell me you believe this story—’ said Camille.

Her mother shot her another silencing look.

Willow continued. ‘She – well, she got arrested.’

‘Arrested!’ Juniper exclaimed.

Camille gasped. ‘The most powerful witch in Starfell arrested?’ She started to snigger, and Juniper joined in.

Their mother looked at Willow, her expression sad. ‘Willow, I know you think that I don’t take you with me because I don’t want you with me, but that is just not true. You are too young to be here. But you didn’t need to make up some far-fetched tale to get yourself here.’

Willow stood up. They were wasting time. ‘I’m not lying!’

An angry bright-orange fur-covered head popped out of the carpetbag and growled. ‘Oi! Yeh cackling hens, she’s telling the truth!’

Camille’s eyes widened, disgust smeared across her face. ‘You brought that – that thing along with you? I mean, I thought I smelt something horrid, but I assumed it was just you …’

Willow’s eyes flashed. ‘He’s more useful than you. At least he listens.’

Willow’s mother pinched the bridge of her nose and took a deep breath. ‘If that were remotely true, I’m sure we’d notice that the day was missing—’

‘But just think – what were you doing on Tuesday? Please, Mum, you’ll see what I mean.’

Willow’s mother closed her eyes, then shook her head sadly. ‘Willow, I’m disappointed