SWNOVELS Chapter 17: Dangerous Plans
Night finally moved in with its dark shadows and grey mist. Fully awake, the fairies waited and listened to the two guards Jar-Ed left outside. When all was quiet, Molly crawled on hands and knees to the doorway, carefully peering through the darkness. The guards, now quiet, sat on chairs right outside the entrance. Several long knives lay on the ground beside them. One of the men appeared to have dozed off, his chin resting on his chest. The other sat gazing silently up at the stars.
Having devised a plan as she lay in the darkness, Molly was eager to begin. Her wand was still in the pocket of her dress and she pulled it out, hoping there was enough of its magic left to do what she wanted it to do. If there wasn’t, they would all be in trouble.
Lying flat on her stomach, she inched slightly past the opening, aiming the wand at the guard who was awake. Pointing it at the man, Molly whispered the words that she hoped would put him in a sleep as deep as the one she had been in. “Sleep deep, sleep long.” There was a slight ringing chime from the wand right after. However it seemed much weaker than usual.
Molly closed her eyes, afraid to look, afraid she had already used all the magic the wand had left. Hearing nothing but silence, she opened her eyes to find that the guard was sound asleep and snoring loudly. Without hesitation, she aimed the little yellow wand at the other guard, even though he was already asleep. “Deeper and longer into that sleep you go,” she whispered. This time there was no ringing sound at all and she feared the magic had left the wand.
The other fairies remained as they were. Their bound wings and arms would only hamper them, they all agreed. She guessed Jar-Ed had not bothered to bind her wings because he knew they were too damaged for her to fly anywhere.
Crawling past the two guards, careful not to
awaken the second one, Molly rose to her feet when she felt she could no longer be heard. Ahead of her was a difficult descent. Hopefully, King Simon and Hoddi would soon appear with the king’s men. She could not imagine what might have happened to Ran-Da.
Clutching at trees and grasping the branches of the bushes that grew down the side of the hill, she slowly descended. Halfway down the hill she rested. Out of breath from her efforts, her arms and legs were scratched and sore from the brambles and thorns.
At long last, Molly stood at the foot of the largest hill, listening for any sounds that indicated she was being followed. She heard nothing but the wind rustling in the leaves and the sound of insects chirping in the moonlight. With a huge sigh of relief, the fairy moved closer to sacred ground.
In a short time Molly was standing next to the stone circle. The jars containing the potions were as the fairy had left them before she and Ran-Da found the Mobi tree. Now her task was to find the buried magic embers so she could relight the fire.
Climbing into the centre of the stone circle, Molly faced north. Counting out the steps aloud, she walked fifteen and one half steps. Falling to her knees, the Spungle fairy began digging. The silky magic soil fell away with ease when her fingers closed around one of the jars.
“Please be lit with the magic power,” she pleaded into the darkness of the night. Molly held her breath as she dragged it out, hoping with all her might the magic embers had not turned to purple ash. With great relief, she saw them sparkle, writhing with energy in the confines of the jar. Removing the lid, she poured the embers among the dark purple ashes within the circle. Knowing she must have at least two jars to light the entire fire, she returned to dig up a second.
At that moment Molly heard the sound of breaking twigs and running footsteps coming from the hill. Someone hurtled, cursing, down the hillside. Terror froze her on the spot where she knelt.