Chapter 5

CHAPTER FIVE Zara waited until she and her friends were all back in the dorm and ready for bed before calling a meeting. She told them how she'd followed Mr Longnose to the tower room and how he had vanished into thin air. Phoebe's eyes widened. "Maybe Mr Longnose can use magic to disappear?" Zara frowned. "But how? He hasn't got a unicorn and I don't think there's any other magic that can make you vanish. We must keep spying!" The following day at lunch, Ms Nettles announced that afternoon lessons were cancelled so that the staff could hold an important meeting. "Let's go and sneak into Mr Longnose's room while the meeting is going on," said Zara. The others agreed. They waited until all the

adults had gathered together and then they hurried to his room. They tried the door but it was locked. Zara groaned in frustration. She felt sure if she could search Mr Longnose's room she would find a clue that would prove he was the culprit responsible for the bad weather. "Never mind," said Lily. "It's boiling inside. Let's make the most of having no lessons and take the unicorns to the meadow. We can all paddle in the stream." "Not that there's much stream left." Aisha sighed. "I really hope this heatwave doesn't go on much longer. All the streams and rivers are starting to dry up." They exchanged anxious looks. The water from Lake Sparkle was magical. Unicorns needed to drink the water in order for their magic to stay strong. It flowed away from the lake around the island in rivers and streams where it nourished crops, people and animals. If the water dried up then the unicorns would lose their magic powers and all of Unicorn Island would suffer. The girls headed to the stables. "I've had another vision!" Moonbeam told Zara excitedly when Zara entered her stall. "It happened just now. I saw a dark tunnel. It felt dangerous."

Zara patted her. "OK, well, we'll watch out for dangerous dark tunnels and avoid them," she said, trying, but failing, to hide her grin. Moonbeam stamped a front hoof. "Don't laugh at me! I'm not making these things up, Zara!" "Sorry!" Zara said. But it was clear Moonbeam felt hurt. She refused to join Zara in the stream when everyone paddled, even when the paddling ended in a huge water fight. Zara tried being extra nice to her but nothing she said could tempt Moonbeam to join them in the water. As the sun started to sink in the sky, they headed back to the stables to get the unicorns some sky berries before going in for their own dinner. Sky berries were the unicorns' favourite food. They were full of the vitamins they needed to stay healthy and keep their magic strong. As they passed the barn next to the stables, Zara noticed the big doors were ajar. Hearing a noise, she peeked in and gasped as she saw a tall, thin figure duck behind some hay bales at the far end. "Come on, Zara, I'm starving!" called Aisha. Putting her finger to her lips, Zara frantically beckoned her friends over. She pointed to the bales of hay. "Someone's there," she mouthed. "I think it's Mr Longnose!"

She heard a rustle behind the bales and a soft click. Zara ran up to the wall of bales. "Got you!" she shouted. She stopped in astonishment as she looked over the top of them. "There's no one here!" she exclaimed.

Phoebe burst out laughing. "You're seeing things, Zara." "I'm not!" she exclaimed. "I'm sure I saw Mr Longnose!" She saw her friends swapping disbelieving looks. Zara flushed, suddenly realising how Moonbeam must feel when she wasn't believed. "There was someone here." "OK, but where?" Lily joined her and searched the barn. Suddenly she gasped and pointed to the floor. "What's that?" Crouching down, she showed Zara a sturdy ring in the floor that had been hidden under the loose hay. Zara brushed the hay away with her hands. The others, realising they'd found something, crowded round. "It's the handle of a trap door!" Zara heaved it open and it fell back with a heavy thud. "It's a secret passage," breathed Phoebe. "Oh, wow! My mum told me the school has lots of secret passages and tunnels," said Lily. "She and her friends found some when they were here. Maybe this is one of them." "Let's investigate," said Zara eagerly. "The person I saw just now must have escaped down it. Let's find out where it goes."

"Zara, wait!" Moonbeam stepped forward. "I'm sure this is the dark, dangerous tunnel from my vision." "Vision?" echoed Phoebe, looking at Moonbeam. "What are you talking about?" "It's nothing," Zara said quickly. She didn't want her friends and their unicorns all laughing at Moonbeam. "Just Moonbeam daydreaming as usual. You know what she's like!" She saw a hurt expression cross Moonbeam's face and felt bad, but she was sure that if Moonbeam said she could see into the future everyone would tease her. "Come on," Zara urged. "Let's see where this goes." She looked round encouragingly at her friends then stepped down into the darkness.