Page 18 of The Heart and the Hawthorn

Hamish gave a weak laugh. ‘Ok. Well. That’s new.’

Then it all tumbled out. All of it, in all its ridiculousness. The fact that she might not have been concussed. The strange tappity-tap-tap of the Noz. Raz’s rainbow. Lucky. Oh, Lucky. The mist, the proximity of his fangs, the way she’d stroked his cheeks. Chirping about his dad, about losing him . . . finally . . . oh god. The fairy. The maybe real, un-hallucinated, non-extinct Level 8 potentially homicidal fairy.

For an awkward moment, her two friends just stared at her.

‘You’re saying there’s a fairy up there in those woods, right now?’ Hamish slumped against Grace’s bonnet with an audible thump.

Antony dragged his hands down his face as if he was going to short-circuit. ‘Well, you’re in luck, Fri. I can tell you categorically that that is totally not possible.’

She didn’t know why she felt so completely disappointed by this. It was the answer she wanted, after all. ‘Right,’ she said. ‘Cool. That’s good then! Mystery solved. Did you say something about waffles, Mish?’

But Hamish didn’t move. ‘What did you think was up with Frida’s eyes, just now?’

Antony startled. ‘I dunno. Just . . . ’ He made an odd face. ‘Like, a bit purple, I guess. But I imagined it. Fri’s eyes are always a bit purple, right?’ He made a little laugh. ‘That’s what your mum used to say. Amethyst. But it was just the light.’

Hamish however launched for Frida, grabbing her face to examine her. ‘Lucky is purple, guys!’

Frida’s heart lurched. ‘Can you see anything?’ she gasped.

But Hamish dropped her face, looking disappointed. ‘Nah, sorry.’

Antony seemed bemused. ‘Come on, a dragon did not change Frida’s eye colour!’ However, he was looking a bit uncertain now.

And Hamish’s eyes had gone round as saucers. ‘We’re in an Extraordinary Zoo. Anything’s possible, Ant.’

As one, they all turned to look at the sleepy wood.

Together, they took a single step backwards.

‘Huh,’ Hamish murmured. ‘Where are all the guests again?’

Frida looked again at the still empty road. There was definitely an odd feeling in the air now, like things were a bit too tight. ‘Can you smell popcorn?’ she whispered to Hamish. ‘And the ocean, Ant?’ She wasn’t sure if she could smell starlight.

Antony suddenly looking stricken. She wondered if he’d just seen a roiling blue sea, streaking across the backs of his eyelids. He cleared his throat. ‘Maybe we should call Cliff. Just in case.’

‘Yeah, good idea,’ Hamish agreed rapidly. ‘Remind us why he isn’t already here, Fri?’

Frida gazed at them both, guilt making her throat close up. Fuck, was this real? ‘Because I thought he wouldn’t believe me,’ she moaned. Suddenly, she felt as if she was falling down that very steep abyss again. It made her feel like her chest was constricting and she couldn’t breathe. ‘I didn’t think you’d believe me!’ Then, she wailed, ‘Am I going to get fired?’

‘That’s not exactly the most important thing right now!’ Hamish exclaimed.

But when she looked at Antony, pity and dread were infused on his face.

‘Look,’ Hamish said quickly. ‘It’s fine. I’m sure its fine. I’m sure there’s absolutely nothing wrong that a few days in bed won’t fix. And if we’re wrong, well – maybe this will be a nice fairy. They didn’t kill you last night, right?’ Hamish perked up, at that. ‘Maybe they’re already bored of the zoo, and they’ve headed down to Melody’s strip for some donuts and a ride on the rollercoaster. Although,’ they winced. ‘That might be worse, I suppose.’

Antony closed his eyes, and Frida didn’t think she’d ever seen him look quite so unstable, not even when she’d almost lost her ear to a rabid grootneck. ‘But Mish, no fairy has ever been nice,’ he whispered. ‘Not in any history book ever.’

There was a moment of quiet.

‘This isn’t real,’ Antony reaffirmed, opening his eyes. ‘It can’t be.’

Nobody moved.

‘But what if it is?’ Hamish’s Glaswegian drawl trailed off into the supernatural silence. Suddenly, Hamish turned to Frida, inspiration lighting their face. ‘If it is real, you could talk to them! To the fairy!’

Frida gaped at them. She hadn’t even considered that.

‘I mean, that’s what Lucky said to you, right? That you’re a linguist! And it clearly worked with Raz and the Noz. Maybe you’re like an extraordinary translation app.’