Chapter 8

CHAPTER EIGHT,

"He's got the map! After him!" yelled Lyra. They leaped on their unicorns and thundered into the woods, chasing Sam. Ivy clung to Flame's mane as he weaved round trees, leaping over fallen logs and swerving to avoid tree roots and rabbit holes. Sam looked over his shoulder and yelled something to Flash. The unicorn dived to the left and pulled up behind a twisted old tree. He stamped on the ground and a few sparks spluttered from his hoof. Ivy felt Flame slow. Looking across to the others, she saw that their unicorns had too. Then all at once everyone sped up once more. Sam leaned forward, urging Flash to go faster as they galloped away again. "Flash must be tiring. His magic isn't working properly," Lyra shouted. "Come on! We can catch him and get the map back!" They burst out of the woods and galloped back over the hill and down the other side. As they rounded a bend in the track, Ivy saw the towers of Unicorn Academy glinting in the autumn sunlight. Flash seemed to get a second wind as he raced towards the school. "He's getting away!" cried Lyra. "I'll use my magic!" whinnied Sunshine. Stopping, she stamped her hooves into the ground. There was a loud bang and the path ahead of Sam exploded in a fountain of dirt. Flash skidded to a halt. Sienna and Sparkle raced towards Sam as Flash recovered, swerved round the rubble and began to gallop over the grass towards the lake.

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The pause gave Misty a chance to use her magic. She sent a huge bubble shooting towards Sam and Flash. The shimmering wall bent round them, swallowing them up. The bubble bounced lightly over the grass, carrying Sam and Flash back to the girls. Sam began to gesticulate, pointing wildly behind them. Ivy looked round. Horror filled her. Someone was galloping towards them on a tall unicorn. "It's Dr Briar!" she cried. "Yes! Quick, move it!" Sam shouted, the bubble wall reverberating and muffling his voice. The bubble landed close to the girls and popped, depositing Flash and Sam on the ground. "Flash, help them!" Sam begged his unicorn, stroking Flash's neck. "Please!" With a look of fierce determination Flash stamped his front hooves and

silvery green sparks spiralled into the air. Dr Briar was almost upon them when her unicorn, Solomon, froze. Dr Briar remained like a statue on his back, leaning forward with her hands halfway up his neck. "It worked! Well done, Flash!" cried Sam. "Here, take this and go!" he urged, thrusting the final part of the map into Evie's hands. "Flash can't freeze time for much longer. Keep this away from my aunt!" "What's going on?" asked Evie in astonishment. "Sam, why did you take the map?" "Later," said Sam. "Just take it and go!" Ruby dorm galloped to the barn beside the stables. They raced inside and the girls jumped off their unicorns, but as Lyra and Sienna went to shut the enormous doors they heard a voice shout, "Wait up!" In a moment Sam and Flash had clattered inside. Sam jumped off Flash and ran back to the door to help the girls close it. "Phew!" he exclaimed as the door clanged shut. "Just as Flash's magic faded, Ms Nettles and Ms Rivers came riding round the lake, chatting together. My aunt saw them and galloped away. She won't risk getting caught on the school grounds." Sienna put her hands on her hips. "OK. Enough, Sam. What exactly is going on? What are you playing at?" "Yes, whose side are you on?" asked Ivy in confusion. "Yours." Sam spread out his hands. "Look, I'm sorry– I wasn't at first. I've been spying on you ever since you found the first part of the map. When you showed it to Aunt Angelica she suspected it might be valuable so she looked into it and discovered it was from a treasure map showing the location of the Unicorn's Diamond." "We know all that," said Lyra impatiently. "That's why Ms Evergreen, the headteacher here a hundred years ago, hid it," Sam went on. "The diamond has the power to give anyone who holds it their heart's desire. My aunt wants it. I thought she would use it for good and so I went along with her plans, but the more she talked about it, the more I realised she wants it for selfish reasons. Her goal is to have the biggest and best collection of precious artefacts on the island. Once the Unicorn's Diamond has helped her achieve that, she plans to hide everything away In a private collection. That's not right. Ancient artefacts should be displayed for everyone to enjoy. When Aunt Angelica trapped you in the tower, I was shocked. That's when I knew she'd stop at nothing

until she had the map." "So you helped me escape from her?" said Evie. Sam nodded. "But why have you carried on spying on us?" demanded Sienna. Sam bit his lip. "I've been worried about what my aunt might do. When I found out you'd left your dorm the other night, I guessed that you'd solved the next riddle and were looking for the final part of the map. I knew she would know too. Solomon has listening magic; it only works when the person or people he's spying on are outside, but he can hear them from any distance. I decided to follow you today in case you needed help. And I'm really glad I did." "I am too," said Sienna. "If Flash hadn't used his magic, I'd be a splat on the forest floor!" "But why did you take the map?" asked Lyra in confusion. "I knew if I did, my aunt would chase after me to get it back. I thought that if she caught me, she'd be kinder to me than you." He sighed. "I guess I can wave goodbye to ever being an archaeologist now. As well as being a guardian of the island, I was going to be her assistant when I left school. I suppose that's not going to happen. She's going to be super mad at me." Evie pushed a strand of wavy brown hair back behind her ears. "Sam, you don't need your aunt. You're really clever and one day you'll be just as famous as she is." "You'll also be much nicer," said Ivy. "It's true," added Lyra, smiling at Sam. "Your knowledge of archaeology IS incredible. I hate to say it but it's even better than mine. You don't need your aunt to become an archaeologist; you can do that on your own." Sam turned a deep red. "So what happens now?" asked Sienna. "That's up to you," said Sam, shrugging. "You have all four pieces of the map now. You can give them to the teachers or try to find the treasure. But if you decide to go after the Unicorn's Diamond and find it, promise me you'll only use it for good."