Becca Fair and Foul by Deirdre Baker

Author:Deirdre Baker
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction
Publisher: Groundwood Books Ltd
Published: 2018-04-18T15:26:38+00:00

* * *

“‘All the infections that the sun sucks up from bogs, fens, flats, on Prosper fall!’” growled Jane as they tromped along.

“I wish I could be Caliban,” Lucy said. “Miranda’s so gushy.”

“We should hurry up,” said Becca, “or it’s going to get dark before we finish. Especially in the forest.”

“It’s still light here on the trail,” Lucy said.

“And you sound like Merlin,” Becca added. “Going on about Shakespeare’s lovers being drips. But you get to be Ariel, too, and that’s fun.”

She tried to hurry them up by walking extra fast.

“Do you think I could paint my body green? Or maybe fly?”

“Green?” Becca asked. Now that Lucy was all keen on helping Annie the veg lady, was she trying to be a vegetable?

“Come on,” said Jane. “Let’s run. The rehearsal place I’m thinking of is a long way.”

She broke into a trot, and then, when Becca and Lucy started running along with her, upped it to a canter and then a gallop.

“Yes, green,” Lucy said, as calm and steady as if she wasn’t pounding along like a champion sprinter. “Don’t you think Ariel’s kind of earthy?”

“Caliban’s … earthy,” Becca panted. “Ariel’s … airy.”

Something happened in the air then. Becca felt her hair blow up the back of her neck, lifted by a peculiar wind.

“What was that?” asked Jane.

“It was — ow!” Lucy shouted. “Ow! Get off me!”

But whatever it was, was gone.

“It hit me!” she cried. “Run!”

“It was a giant bird!” Becca shouted.

Lucy was going too fast now. Becca and Jane couldn’t keep up with her.

That was why Becca saw everything.

She felt another swoosh of air, and a dark, wide presence swooped over her and Jane. It wafted above them and went straight on towards Lucy.

Its spread wings brought a quick twilight over them.

Becca had time to see its gray-and-black markings, its powerful shoulders. She had time to hear the almost silent rush of air it displaced.

“Lucy!” she cried.

“Ow!” Lucy screamed, and the bird silently reached for her hair.

“Let go!”

It had her ponytail in its talons. It pulled and tore at it, as if it wanted to root it right out of Lucy’s head.

“Ow! Buzz off!” Lucy shrieked, beating around her head with flailing arms.

The bird let go and flew off, but before Becca and Jane could catch up to Lucy, it came around again.

“Hide!” hollered Jane, but again huge barred wings spread over Lucy like a smothering canopy. The bird raked at her and grabbed at her hair with great clawing talons, pulling and tugging as if it was trying to seize Lucy right off the face of the earth.

Becca and Jane sprinted towards her.

“Go away!” Lucy screamed. “Begone!”

An attack! Becca thought. The park had always been peaceful before. Why would something go after Lucy?

Gran’s island had no scary attackers she knew of — not humans or bears or cougars, or even the apes or adders or tumbling hedgehogs in Shakespeare’s play.

Or did it?

“Get off!” Lucy yelled. Whack! Whack! “Get out of here!”

Was Lucy crying?

The great bird banged her in the head once more and then soared upward, disappearing into the forest as if it had never been.

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