Chapter 6

CHAPTER SIX, The wing hurtled towards Evie and Sunshine. Evie was sure it was going to hit them but at the very last moment time seemed to pause. The wing froze in the air above their heads. Sunshine reared backwards and then time restarted. Whumph! The marble wing thumped into the ground exactly where Evie and Sunshine had been a few seconds ago. "Evie! Sunshine! Are you OK?' cried Lyra. "What happened?" gasped Evie. "I thought it was going to hit us but it just stopped in mid-air!" "It was Flash!" Sam burst out, jumping off and hugging his unicorn. "I saw sparks fly from his hooves and I smelled burnt sugar. He must have got his magic– pausing magic! It will mean he can make things stop for a few seconds." "Oh, wow!" said Evie. "That's awesome magic. You saved our lives, Flash. Thank you so much. You're amazing!" Flash, a tall unicorn with a silver and green mane, looked very proud as everyone crowded round, congratulating him and Sam.

"Now you've found your magic, we just need to bond and then we'll be able to graduate at the end of the year," said a beaming Sam, giving Flash another hug. "Something we're forgetting to ask," said Lyra, frowning as she looked at the chunks of marble lying on the grass all around them, "is why the statue exploded in the first place." "You didn't bump into it, did you?" Sienna asked Evie. "No!" Evie said indignantly. "It's really weird," said Lyra, riding round the plinth. "Statues shouldn't just explode for no reason. I guess we'd better tell Ms Rivers." "We'll tell her," said Sam. "We're the fastest dorm. Come on, guys!" He vaulted back on to Flash and he and the other boys raced off. Sienna scowled. "Sam can be so annoying." "He did save me and Sunshine though," said Evie. "I wonder why that statue exploded…" "Evie, can we go back to the stables now?" Sunshine said. "I'm feeling

a bit shaky." "Of course," said Evie, patting her. "She turned back to the others. "You know, there have been quite a few explosions recently." "What do you mean?" asked Ivy. "Well, the sky berries exploded when you were at the stables and Sunshine's hay net burst the day before. I thought it was my fault, that I had stuffed it too full and hadn't tied it up properly but—" "Evie, I really do want to go back," interrupted Sunshine loudly. "I'm not feeling well." "OK," said Evie. "I'd better go," she told the others. "We'll come with you," said Lyra, riding up alongside them. "The boys have won the treasure hunt now anyway. So you think someone might be making things explode around us on purpose?" "Maybe it's someone who knows we've found the part of the map," said Sienna. "And they want to scare us." "Or injure us," said Ivy with a shiver. "But the only people who know we have a piece of the map are Dr Briar and Sam," said Evie. Lyra looked thoughtful. "The statue exploded just as Sam reached it and he was there that day in the stables when the sky berries exploded." Her mouth tightened. "I bet Dr Briar is getting him to scare us because she knows we've found part of the map and wants it for herself. I knew she was interested in it, even though she pretended it was worthless!" "But Sam can't be making things explode. Flash has pausing magic, not exploding magic," Evie pointed out. "True, but maybe there's a spell or potion that can cause explosions," said Lyra. "Well, Sam and Dr Briar had better watch out. They're not going to stop us finding the next part of the map. No way! We're going to search the folly on Saturday and then the third piece will be ours!" On Saturday the girls woke early. They had permission from Ms Rivers to go on a picnic ride, so they went to the dining room to collect their packed lunches. On the table next to their lunches there was also a packed lunch with Dr Briar's name on it. Lyra frowned. "Why does Dr Briar need a packed lunch?"

"Who cares," said Sienna. "Let's get going." They grabbed some fresh croissants to eat on the way and set off. It was another gorgeous day. Sparkle Lake glittered in the bright sunshine and the air was full of birdsong. The unicorns cantered through the meadows and then paused at the stream to give the unicorns a drink. They rode on through the beautiful academy grounds, but as they got closer to Spiny Copse the birds fell quiet and a shadow seemed to cross the sun. The tall, forbidding trees clustered closely together as if they wanted to keep people out. Creepers wound round their trunks and the shadows between them were dark and dense. The girls halted at the start of the path, no one wanting to be the first to enter. Ivy shivered. "What if the folly really is haunted?" "It's not," said Lyra. "There are no such things as ghosts." "You hope!" Sienna said. Evie thought back to what Ms Tansy had said about some students thinking they'd seen ghosts near the folly and hoped it was a rumour

encouraged by Ms Evergreen to keep people away! Lyra rode into the trees and Sienna and Ivy followed. To Evie's surprise Sunshine hung back. "Come on," she said. "We don't want to get left behind." Sunshine cantered after the others but Evie could feel her trembling. She frowned. Sunshine wasn't usually timid when it came to adventures, so what was bothering her? The path was narrow and gloomy, the trees blocking out the light. The wood was strangely silent and the air felt like icy fingers stroking their faces. As the unicorns pushed their way along the overgrown path the branches tugged at their legs and tails and the shadows deepened. "I really don't like it here,' said Ivy nervously. "Neither do I," said Sunshine to Evie. "It's so dark." An eerie "WHOOOO-OOOO" rang through the air and a pale shape glimmered for a moment high in the trees before disappearing. Ivy shrieked and Evie grabbed a handful of mane as Sunshine shied violently. Sienna gasped. "Was that a ghost?" "It can't have been," said Lyra. She stroked Misty, who was trembling. "Ghosts aren't real." "I really don't like this, Evie," said Sunshine, her voice quivering.

Evie took a deep breath to calm her racing heart. "Don't worry, I'm sure we'll be OK," she reassured her. "Lyra's right: ghosts aren't real." "It's not the ghosts; it's the…" Sunshine's voice trailed off. "It doesn't matter," she muttered. "We've got to keep going," said Lyra, urging Misty forward. "Look, there's something over there, through the trees!" Evie caught a glimpse of golden stone in the distance. "I bet it's the folly. Come on, Sunshine, we're almost there!" They all rode on. As the track widened out, Evie saw a tall tower made of yellow stone In a clearing ahead. Its crumbling walls looked like they were being held together by the thick swaths of dark-green ivy that covered them. There was an old wooden door with a stone bench outside it. Excitement bubbled up inside Evie, squashing her fears. This could be it! They could be about to find the third piece of the map! Sunshine halted by the bench. "Oh, wow," breathed Evie, dismounting and walking towards the tower.