Lily and the Shining Dragons (18 page)

For a moment, Lily was infected with the same panic. Her heart raced, and she glanced around the room, searching for a hiding place. Then she laughed. She had used her magic so little at Aunt Clara’s house, and here at Fell Hall, she had almost forgotten what she could do. And now she felt so much stronger, as though the dragon had poured life into her magic.

‘We’ll see you again,’ she promised the old lady. ‘We’ll be very careful, don’t worry.’ Then she caught Henrietta up in her arms, and closed her eyes deliciously, loving the warmth of the magic as it crept over her skin on little velvet feet. There were so many things she could do. The grey spells on the house
had
been working on her, she realised, and she hadn’t noticed. She’d suddenly remembered that her magic was there after all.

‘We could let it take us outside the walls,’ Henrietta whispered. ‘We’d be free.’

‘Not without Georgie,’ Lily sighed. ‘Or Peter. And I think those walls have other spells in them – I could feel them when Elizabeth was showing us the stone. We couldn’t. Not yet, anyway.’

The dormitory
, she whispered to the magic inside her, and they saw the old lady’s delighted, frightened face as the magic whirled around them, and they disappeared.

‘D
id you hear what he said?’ Lily muttered to Henrietta.

Henrietta shook herself, silver shimmering along her smooth black fur. ‘Mmm? What? Oh, that was nice, Lily. I’ve missed magic.’

‘I know, we’ve been stupid, letting Aunt Clara put us off, and then the sneaky spells they’ve been winding round us here. Henrietta, did you hear the dragon saying he’d been clearing the mind of the old lady upstairs? What do you think he meant?’

Henrietta frowned. ‘Let’s not talk about it here. I know you girls aren’t supposed to be in your dormitory in the daytimes, but there’s always someone in and out. And they might be looking for you – weren’t you supposed to be in the kitchens all this time?’

Lily nodded, and they hurried to the door, peering round it carefully. ‘We’ll go out to the gardens, and then try to slip in later. I can say I felt ill.’

‘Be careful,’ Henrietta murmured. ‘I can hide myself quite easily – so many little hidey-holes around this house. But you’re a different matter. You mustn’t be caught, Lily. Miss Merganser already doesn’t like you. You heard what the old lady said. Too many doses of that spell…’

‘I know. But I’m sure the dragon could help. He said he was clearing her mind. Perhaps he can bring Peter back? Oh, ssshh, someone’s coming.’ She darted back behind the door, spying through the crack. ‘It’s only Georgie. I wonder if she’s looking for me?’ Lily opened the door, smiling in relief. For once her sister wasn’t with Sarah. They would have a chance to tell her what had been happening.

But Georgie was hurrying down the passage, a blank expression on her face. She walked straight past the dormitory door, and didn’t seem to see Lily at all.

The words died in Lily’s mouth, and she shook. For a moment, she was back at Merrythought, seeing her sister for the first time in weeks – and being ignored. Georgie had been so stuffed full of Mama’s magic, and her own fear that she would never be good enough for whatever it was that she was supposed to do. She had forgotten to eat, or wash, let alone pay attention to her little sister.

It wasn’t going to happen again.

Lily raced out into the corridor, and seized Georgie’s arm, dragging her round.

‘Oh! Lily. Where have you been?’ She hardly sounded interested, Lily thought furiously. She grabbed Georgie’s other hand, and shook her.

‘Listen to me!’ she snapped.

‘Not here,’ Henrietta hissed from the doorway, and Lily nodded, pulling Georgie into the linen room, and backing her up against the shelves of greyish blankets, and darned and elderly sheets.

‘Lily, we’re not allowed in here,’ Georgie said crossly. ‘We’ll get into trouble. And you’re already on Miss Merganser’s blacklist, Sarah told me.’

‘Sarah!’ Lily spat crossly. ‘Is Sarah your sister now? You haven’t spoken to me for days!’

‘That isn’t true!’ But Georgie wouldn’t look at her.

‘Are you ashamed of me?’ Lily demanded.

‘Everyone knows you’re my sister,’ Georgie muttered. ‘And you keep doing things…You keep getting into trouble with Miss Merganser.’

‘Georgie, why do you care about that?’ Lily frowned at her. ‘It isn’t as if we’re staying here! We’re getting away, as soon as we possibly can. If it wasn’t for the spells embedded in the walls, we would have gone the first night. We have to find Father and get him to destroy the spells inside you. The sooner the better, because I wouldn’t put it past those Dysarts to be making trouble for him too.’

Georgie sighed, in a very elder-sisterly way. ‘Lily, it’s all very well to make plans, but the walls are
there
! We can’t get out of this place!’ She looked up at Lily. ‘And I’m not sure we should be trying to, anyway.’

Lily stared at her. ‘What?’

‘You want us to find Father so he can get rid of Mama’s magic inside me – well, that’s what Miss Merganser and everyone here are trying to do, Lily! We need to let them!’

Lily shook her head, slowly. ‘You’ve given in. Henrietta said you would, but I wouldn’t believe it. Georgie, they don’t want just the bad spells, they’ll take everything! And they’ll probably turn your mind to custard doing it. Look what they’ve done to Peter!’ She caught her sister’s arms, staring into her eyes desperately. ‘Georgie, I know your magic frightens you, but you can’t let them do this!’

‘I have to,’ Georgie muttered stubbornly. ‘Magic’s wrong. You should let them clean yours away too.’

Lily slapped her. She felt ashamed for a second afterwards, but she was so angry, she couldn’t stop herself.

Georgie fell back against a pile of blankets, her hand on her cheek, her eyes watering with the blow.

‘I don’t want it cleaned! It isn’t dirty!’ Lily hissed. ‘Don’t you dare say that! You’re a Powers, and magic is part of you. It always will be.’ She closed her eyes, feeling the magic in her blood wrapping around her hand. Her fingers stung where she had smacked Georgie – she had probably hurt herself as much as her sister.

Lily lifted her hand again, and Georgie flinched. But this time Lily stroked her sister’s cheek, the magic making the scarlet mark across Georgie’s pale skin glitter. She could feel the spell on the house resisting her magic, but she wasn’t performing any very difficult spells. ‘I’m sorry,’ she murmured. ‘I didn’t really mean to do that.’ She sank the magic into the mark, and it melted away.

‘It’s all right,’ Georgie said shakily. She put her own hand across Lily’s, holding it there. ‘I haven’t felt any magic for so long. It was lovely.’ Her knees seemed to give way, and she sank to the floor, pulling Lily down next to her. ‘I’m so stupid,’ she murmured. ‘It’s as if there’s a fog all round me, and now the sun’s burning it away. I believed them. How could I believe them?’

Lily put her arms around Georgie, holding her tightly. ‘Henrietta reckons it’s Mama’s spells. You’ve already been weakened, you see. The cocoa works better on you. It’s full of spells, we’re sure. Spells to make everyone do as they’re told. Henrietta can taste them.’

‘Wonderful.’ Georgie gave a miserable little laugh. ‘I’m useless.’

Lily sighed. ‘You aren’t. You’re just a bit…’

‘Broken,’ Henrietta put in helpfully, resting her nose on Georgie’s knees and staring up at her.

Lily frowned, but Georgie laughed again, a little less bitterly. ‘Always so tactful, darling Henrietta.’

‘Georgie, we might have found someone who can mend you a little bit,’ Lily told her persuasively. ‘I don’t think he’ll be able to get rid of Mama’s spells, but he might be able to wash away everything Sarah’s been saying.’

‘Who?’ Georgie stared at her worriedly. ‘Lily, what have you been doing?’

Lily patted her cheek again, encouragingly. ‘It’s all right. We’ve woken up a dragon, that’s all.’

‘I’m such a terrible actress,’ Georgie whispered, as she sat on Lily’s bed, cupping her cocoa in both hands, and taking little pretend sips. ‘I almost dropped the mugs, my hands were shaking so much.’

‘It’s all right. Sarah’s so bespelled she wouldn’t notice if you’d gone blue in the face, as long as you took both our mugs. Tell me when no one’s looking, so I can pour them out of the window.’

‘We can’t stay here once it gets colder,’ Georgie murmured. ‘They’ll close the windows then.’

‘We’re not staying anyway,’ Lily growled. ‘A few more days, that’s all. Even if I have to promise him half a treasury.’

‘Does he like gold?’ Georgie whispered, fascinated.

‘Actually, I don’t know,’ Lily admitted. ‘We’ve only spoken to him a few times. He was quite keen on eating Henrietta, but I’m not really sure what he wants.’

Lily’s pillow quivered indignantly.

‘I expect she’d be a bit stringy,’ Georgie giggled, and Lily glared at her.

‘Don’t go getting hysterical.’

‘I can’t help it! A dragon!’ Georgie whispered back. ‘Honestly, Lily, I go and get myself bespelled for a few days, and you find a dragon. Typical.’

‘You’d better go back to your bed, and pretend to be asleep. We have to wait until no one notices us going.’ Lily quickly poured both cups of cocoa out of the window.

The other girls were already settling down for the night, but every time Lily thought it was safe to get up, someone else would turn over, or mutter something, and she would have to lie down again, kicking frustratedly at her blankets.

‘Lily…’ Georgie was sitting up in bed, staring at her. ‘Can’t we go yet? I’m sure everyone’s asleep.’

Lily blinked. The room was quiet, except for the patter of Henrietta’s claws, as she trotted up and down, sniffing at each bed. ‘She’s right. They’re all sleeping. Come on!’

Lily slipped out of bed, and followed Henrietta to the door. Georgie’s hand slipped into hers, and they made their way to the stairs, hurrying up to the third floor, and the room with the overmantel.

Georgie stroked the carving delicately, smoothing her fingers over the scales. ‘Is this what he looks like?’ she asked, and Lily nodded. ‘Even the colour. I don’t know if he was always this sort of silvery blue, or it’s just that we used the marble to call him.’

‘I am a little larger than that now,’ a voice said solemnly, and Georgie squeaked.

Even Lily drew in a sharp breath, and she had seen him before. But now the dragon was enormous, crammed into the room with his spiked spine pressed against the ceiling, and his tail wound in and out of the furniture.

‘You may have to start summoning me outside,’ the dragon suggested.

Lily nodded. ‘Are you real yet?’

‘Touch me.’

Lily reached out a hand, and brushed her fingers over his scales. ‘You feel real.’

‘I thought so too,’ he said, sounding pleased. ‘All of me is here now. Nothing left down in the cavern. The others are starting to wake too,’ he added, twitching his tail and watching it admiringly.

‘Others?’ Georgie whispered, staring at him. ‘There are more of you?’

‘Twelve altogether.’ He nodded. ‘But I don’t know if all of them will wake up,’ he added, swinging his head from side to side rather unhappily. ‘We have been asleep a very long time.’

‘Can you appear and disappear still, now you’re real?’ Lily asked worriedly. She wasn’t sure he was ever going to be able to get out of the room, if he couldn’t.

‘Only in Fell Hall, since I’ve been here so long. I’m part of the house, so I can disappear through the carvings. If I leave, I shall be solid.’ He stretched out his claws. ‘But I wouldn’t mind that. I’ve been half a dream for such a very long time.’

Georgie swallowed. ‘He’d fit in the theatre, Lily. There’s masses of space.’

‘The theatre?’ The dragon’s eyes glittered as he brought his massive head down closer to the girls. ‘Where they have plays? There was a troupe of actors at the Hall once.’

‘This one has dancing, and songs, mostly,’ Lily admitted. ‘But recitations sometimes. And very good juggling. Georgie and I were part of an act once.’ It seemed a very long time ago. She wondered for a moment if Daniel had found another assistant.

‘So if I were to take you away from here, I might be able to stay in this theatre?’ the dragon suggested.

Lily nodded slowly. She had been planning to beg him to help them escape. It was rather strange to have him suggest it instead.

He gave a little snort of amusement, and wisps of smoke curled from his huge black nostrils. ‘Hmf. A long time since that has happened. Dear little cousin, you do not have to tell me that you need me to help you escape. I can feel you needing it. Your thoughts are buzzing with it.’ He lowered his massive head, and stared at Georgie, his saucer-sized eyes gazing into hers.

Georgie stepped towards him, hypnotised by the great, glittering eyes, and Lily swallowed. He had wanted to eat Henrietta. What
did
he eat? Now he seemed so much larger, and so much more solid, it was easier to imagine…

But then Georgie reeled away, her hands flying to her ears, and staggered across the room to collapse gracefully on a chair.

It’s the theatre training
, Lily found herself thinking.
She even faints nicely
.