Chapter 8

CHAPTER EIGHT "Is this a good idea?" Lily asked anxiously as Zara ran to Mr Longnose's tent and lifted the entrance flap. "What if he catches us?" "I'll watch out and if he comes back unexpectedly then I'll pretend to have heatstroke!" said Phoebe. "I'll help Zara search. Lily, you keep a lookout with Phoebe," said Aisha. Zara ducked into Mr Longnose's tent. It was very neat and tidy. A pair of checked pyjamas was folded neatly on top of his sleeping bag. "These are identical to my grandad's," giggled Aisha. "He's got a teddy bear!" she added, snorting with laughter. She held up a small bear covered with pink love hearts. "Look at this!"

"Hang on. I've found something!" Zara held up a slim green exercise book from Mr Longnose's rucksack. The book triggered a memory. Someone had mentioned a green book recently, but who was it? She opened it. It was filled with notes and diagrams. She squeaked as she read a heading: How to Cause Purple Tornadoes. Heart racing, she carried the book outside. Why did Mr Longnose have a book with notes on how to cause purple tornadoes? There was only one possible explanation! Moonbeam whinnied in surprise. "Zara! I know that book! I've seen it in my visions. Was it in Mr Longnose's tent?" "Yes," said Zara. "Are you sure it's the one you saw in your vision though?"

Moonbeam nodded hard. "Open it and you'll find a brown ring on the inside cover that looks like it was made by a cup." Zara turned the book in her hands. The cover page was ripped and it was impossible to read the title. Opening it up, she saw a faded brown stain the same size as the base of a cup just as Moonbeam had described. She caught her breath. How was that possible? "I told you I saw it," said Moonbeam softly, nudging her with her nose. "Wow! You really saw it in a vision? That's amazing, Moonbeam!" said Phoebe. Moonbeam nodded. "I… I think I might be a seer. It's a rare kind of magic that allows glimpses of the future." "You've found your magic?" said Lily in delight. "I can't believe you didn't tell us!" Moonbeam looked uncertain. "I don't know for sure yet. Zara doesn't think it is." Zara bit her lip as her friends all gave her surprised looks. "We'll talk about this later," she said quickly. Hurt flashed across Moonbeam's eyes. "I'm sorry, Moonbeam, but for now we need to focus on this book. It's real evidence that Mr Longnose is involved with all the environmental

disasters." She held it up. "It's got notes on how to cause a purple tornado and also–" she flicked the pages over– "how to cause a volcano to erupt and how to direct a tidal wave. This is the proof we need!" "I knew it!" cried Phoebe. "Now we can tell everyone what an evil villain he is!" "Are you sure it is Mr Longnose's writing?" Aisha asked. "I don't know," said Zara, suddenly realising she hadn't thought about that. "It's got to be his book if it was in his tent," argued Lily. "It seems likely but Aisha's right– how do we know for sure he made these notes?" admitted Zara. She leafed through a few more pages. "Hey, have any of you heard of sun pearls?" she said, seeing a page entitled: How to cause a drought with sun pearls. They shook their heads. Zara's eyes skimmed the page. "It says here that while rain seeds can be used to make it rain, sun pearls can be used to cause a drought." She read the notes out loud: "Once the sun pearls are safely hidden in a place where the sun will shine on them all day, the drought spreads rapidly. The spell can only be reversed by finding

the sun pearls, putting them in a dried-up water source and asking a unicorn to shed a tear on them." She turned the page over but it was blank. "Maybe Mr Longnose is using sun pearls to cause this drought!" "And if we find the sun pearls he's used, we can stop it!" said Lily in excitement. "But how do we find them?" said Aisha. "They could be anywhere!" Moonbeam stepped forward. "Maybe my magic can help?" she said shyly. "I could try to have a vision about them– it might give us some clue as to where they are." "Go on– try!" urged Phoebe. "I don't know if it will work," warned Moonbeam. "Visions usually just come to me, I've never tried to have one on demand. But I'll have a go." Zara burned with embarrassment as Moonbeam took a few steps away from them and closed her eyes. If this failed, Moonbeam was going to look so silly. Lily squeezed her arm. "It's OK," she whispered. "Even if it doesn't work, it's worth trying. Go and tell Moonbeam you believe in her. It'll make her magic stronger." Zara reminded herself about the stain inside the

book. There was no way Moonbeam could have known about that unless her visions were real. Maybe she's right and I'm wrong, she thought. She walked over to Moonbeam and put her arms around her neck. "You can do this, Moonbeam," she said. "You can see into the future. I believe you." Moonbeam gave her a grateful look and then shut her eyes. For a moment nothing happened but then she started to sway slightly. "I see a barren red desert," she said dreamily. "And there's a rock that looks like a bear. There's something on its nose. A shiny silver disc with some tiny white beads suspended above it. They're burning hot."