Chapter 4 ‘Rabbit, Chicken, English, Fortune-telling…’
‘Omigod Vic, I can’t believe he’s back, it’s just awesome. Isn’t he just the coolest thing ever? Just wait ‘til you see all the stuff he can do, he’s amazing.’ Demi-Lee rabbited on, hardly pausing to draw breath, all the way back to Vicky’s house. According to Demi-Lee, Blackbird was cute and funny and wise, full of fun and magic. He could disappear and reappear instantly in another place, change his shape and do all sorts of conjuring tricks. And he’d once saved Demi’s skin by mending a glass vase she’d accidentally broken, ‘He just melted all the pieces back together. It was awesome. And he’s so cute, isn’t he?’
Vicky didn’t totally disagree with the last statement. Beneath the grime and bad attitude, the fairy was dainty and graceful, and the big green eyes were appealing. But so far Vicky had found him rude, impatient and unfriendly. She hadn’t seen him do anything magical; she hadn’t even seen him smile. He’d managed to charm Demi around after upsetting her earlier, but that was all.
Was this fairy who he claimed to be? But an impostor would have acted like the Blackbird Demi remembered, not someone else. What was going on here? And why did he use that bird cape to fly – surely fairies had their own wings. When Demi paused for breath, Vicky asked her, ‘Demi, when he came before, did he have wings? Could he fly properly?’
‘I thought he did. It was always night, full moon. I’ve never seen him in daylight before. But I remember him flying around the room, doing somersaults and bouncing off the walls, trying to make me laugh. So he must have had proper wings to do that, right?’
‘I get the feeling something odd has happened to your Blackbird,’ Vicky said. ‘Haven’t you noticed how moody he is? I don’t think he came back just to entertain you – he wants something from you, so be careful what you promise him. You know how people get into trouble when they speak without thinking in front of his kind!’
‘Oh, flippin’ typical’ Demi huffed. ‘First you won’t believe in him, and now you’ve got to admit he’s real you just criticise him. Just because something good’s happened to me for once.’
‘Demi, I’m not having a go for the sake of it,’ Vicky replied. ‘But fairies and tree-spirits don’t turn up for no reason. She may be our great-great-whatever granny, but we’re not Aelwen’s only descendants, think about it, there’s probably hundreds. There’s other girls just on our side of the family. What makes us so special? Why you, and not your mum?’
‘Pfft. Can’t imagine Mum cooking up a spell. She can’t even make a cake,’ Demi said.
‘Exactly. But it’s through her you’ve got whatever power you inherited from Aelwen,’ Vicky said. ‘Just be careful, that’s all. Don’t agree to anything without thinking it through first. Insist on a cooling-off period.’
‘Oh, whatever!’
Vicky let that hang in the air for a while – she was starting to learn that you couldn’t force Demi into anything. The kid seemed determined to do the opposite of whatever Vicky suggested. Eventually, Vicky continued. ‘Your mum’s coming home tomorrow. We need to find a reason to keep you here so you can learn from Blackbird and Aelwen. Can you think of a good excuse to miss the last half-term of school?’
‘I could always get excluded,’ Demi-Lee suggested merrily. ‘Turn up drunk, or tell them I’m pregnant.
‘Don’t even think about it!’ squeaked Vicky. ‘Tell them you’re pregnant and they’ll watch you like a hawk! Last thing we need. Whatever you do needs to be subtle. A good witch keeps her head down; doesn’t attract attention.’
‘Maybe I could pretend I’ve got some sort of disease – a sort of reverse hayfever which means I need to be out in the fields,’ Demi suggested.
‘I think we’ll have to come up with something better than that. And another thing, the grove is right by that old folks’ home,’ Vicky said. ‘I know you put a cloaking spell on it, but someone’s gonna notice us walking down the lane every day.’
‘Maybe I can cast some more spells and disguise us as old ladies,’ Demi said.
‘Hey, maybe that’s the key,’ Vicky said. ‘Find a reason to visit the old folks, and we’ve got the perfect excuse. Maybe Heledd could go and interview them about their lives, use it as research. Have you done your work experience yet, hun?’
‘No,’ Demi said, ‘I was supposed to go work in a shop, but then I got caught shoplifting.’
‘You really are your own worst enemy. We’ll have to find a way around that. Tell them you’ve found God or something. But they’re bound to want voluntary workers. I could run some art and craft workshops, and it would get mum and dad off my back about finding a job.’
‘Vicky, you’re a genius!’
By the end of the week they’d managed to get themselves accepted at Golden Grove, and for the next fortnight their lives fell into a pattern. With Vicky’s guarantee that she would keep an eye on her cousin, the manager of the home was prepared to overlook Demi’s criminal past. Heledd started gathering stories about old Tanybryn, all the folklore and superstitions the residents remembered. Vicky and Demi-Lee helped out with the craft groups, and Vicky made herself popular helping the admin staff sort out their IT problems.
Every day after work, they slipped over to Aelwen’s grove, where Demi-Lee worked harder than Vicky had ever imagined was possible, learning herb lore and magic. Watching her blossom was wonderful. Aelwen was getting used to her new form, and starting to speak – in Medieval Welsh, which only Blackbird and Heledd could understand – and show facial expressions. And the fairy – was he starting to relax a bit, snap and snarl a bit less – or was Vicky just getting used to him? But she took food for him every day. Most of the time he remembered to thank her, and once or twice he almost smiled.