Chapter 2

CHAPTER TWO,

The girls settled their unicorns in their stalls with hay nets and buckets of sky berries before walking back to the academy. As they crossed the lawn, Ivy gazed up at the tall marble and glass towers, bathed gold in the early- autumn sunshine, and thought about Flame's worries. She really didn't understand his impatience. If they did have to return for a second year, it wouldn't be so bad, would it? They were having such a good time, and even when her friends left she knew she'd make new ones. But Flame's words niggled at her. She didn't like knowing he was unhappy. I wish I could persuade him to relax, she thought. Sienna was talking about Sam. "I can't work him out. One minute he's being nice and the next he's spying on us for his aunt." "We'll have to be really careful around him," said Lyra. Sam's aunt was Dr Angelica Briar, a famous archaeologist, who knew about the treasure map and was desperate to have it for herself. When the girls had shown her the first piece of the map, Dr Briar had claimed it wasn't valuable, but then she'd got Sam to try to steal it. "Dr Briar will clearly do anything to get to the treasure before us," said Lyra. "Yes– I can't believe she attacked us!" agreed Evie. When the girls had visited an ancient tower to find the third piece of the map, Dr Briar had trapped them inside and threatened to leave them there unless they gave it to her. Luckily they'd managed to use Sunshine's exploding magic to escape. "At least she's not at the academy any more," said Ivy. "She may have left but I bet she hasn't given up on getting the treasure map from us," said Lyra darkly. "We could tell the teachers what's going on," Evie suggested. "No way!" said Lyra. "If we do that, they'll take the map." "And then we won't get to find the treasure!" said Sienna. "No, we're not telling anyone– agreed?" "Agreed," they all chorused. "And we should all watch out for Sam spying on us," said Lyra. "I

don't trust him." "I think Sam's OK and that he's on our side," said Evie. "Remember that when we were trapped in the tower he and Flash used pausing magic to help us escape." Sienna narrowed her eyes. "You thought he did but none of the rest of us saw it. I'm with Lyra; I don't trust him at all." They hurried indoors, arriving in the classroom seconds before their Myths and Legends teacher Ms Hazel, who was very strict about punctuality. Ivy sat next to Lyra, and Evie and Sienna sat together. "Good afternoon, everyone," Ms Hazel said crisply. Her red hair was In a neat bun and she had sharp blue eyes. "Today we are learning about the myths connected to the stars. Hands up if you can tell me the name of a constellation– that's a group of stars." Evie's and Sam's hands shot up. "Evie, you tell us," Ms Hazel said. "The Rising Phoenix," said Evie. "And there's the Wolf that snaps at the tail of the Rising Phoenix like it's trying to gobble it up!" Sam added quickly. Ms Hazel fixed Sam with a stern look. "No calling out, please, Sam. Well done, Evie. That is correct. Do you know how many stars the Phoenix constellation has?" "Eight," said Evie. "Exactly right." Ms Hazel gave an approving nod. "Now, Sam, the constellation you are referring to is actually called the Bane Wolf. Can anyone tell me how many stars it has?" Evie's and Sam's hands both went up again. Ms Hazel's lips twitched. "Sam?" she said. "Twelve," said Sam, smugly shooting Evie a look when Ms Hazel nodded. Ms Hazel began to explain why the constellation had the name the Bane Wolf and Ivy's attention wandered. She loved gazing at the stars on a clear night. She didn't know all the proper names or how many stars were In each constellation, but she liked to make up her own names for them– like the Spinning Dragons, a group of stars that reminded her of two baby dragons pirouetting, and the Curious Gryphon, a gryphon with a tail that curled like a glittering question mark. Ivy doodled a starry gryphon on the cover of her exercise book and thought how cool it would be to look at the

stars through a telescope. There was a poster of the island's observatory on the classroom wall. In the picture the ornate gold dome was half open, revealing an enormous telescope pointing into the sky. It looked just like an eye… Ivy gasped loudly. Ms Hazel heard and swooped on her. "Ivy!" she said, holding up her book. "You're supposed to be taking notes, not doodling! Perhaps some extra homework will help focus your mind. I'd like you to write me an essay on 'Autumn Constellations'." Ivy's mind was racing. "I'm… I'm sorry, miss," she stammered. "I'll listen really hard now, so maybe you can let me off the essay?" she added hopefully. Ms Hazel pressed her lips together in a tight smile. "Hand it in to the staff room before bedtime, please." Even the thought of an essay couldn't squash the excitement that was fizzing through Ivy. She was sure she'd just found the answer to the riddle and she couldn't wait to tell the others! As soon as the class ended, she grabbed her friends. "We have to talk!" she hissed. "I think I've solved the riddle!" "Really?" Lyra's eyes lit up as Ivy led them into an empty classroom and wedged a chair under the door handle.

"Tell us then, Ivy!" said Sienna. Ivy quickly explained. "I think the all-seeing eye In a starry place could be the telescope in the island's observatory!" Lyra gasped. "Of course!" "Oh, Ivy, that's so clever of you," said Evie. "The observatory is at the top of some cliff s so it is towering high, just like the riddle says." "Wait a minute," said Sienna suddenly. "All the other parts of the map have been hidden in the school grounds. Why would one piece be somewhere else on the island? Doesn't that seem a bit weird?" Lyra nodded. "It does but I still think we should visit the observatory and search it. We could go tonight." "But how will we get there?" asked Ivy. "It's too far away for us to ride." "We can use the magic map," said Lyra. "It's against the rules to use the map without a teacher's permission," Evie pointed out. Lyra grinned. "We're just going to have to break the rules then, aren't we?"