Wild Magic by Cat Weatherill

Author:Cat Weatherill
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: ebook, book
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Published: 2010-04-07T04:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER

THIRTY-FIVE

Moller jumped at the sound of Marianna’s voice and ducked, as if something might be thrown in his direction. “Who’s there?”

Marianna emerged from the shadows. Immediately her father grabbed a rock and prepared to throw it at her.

“NO!” cried Marianna. “PAPA! It’s me. Marianna.”

The rock fell to the ground, along with Moller’s lower jaw. He stared at her wildly, not wanting to believe his eyes. But he had seen the fox’s lips move. Heard the voice, familiar yet different.

“Are you sure?” he said.

Marianna let out a deep sigh. Elvendale hadn’t worked any magic on her father, it seemed. He was as stupid as ever.

“Of course I’m sure,” she said. “I’m under an enchantment.”

“Who did this to you?” he said, suddenly getting angry. “Tell me.”

“Why?” said Marianna. “So you can punch him?”

Moller didn’t reply, just turned away. He couldn’t bear Marianna’s hot gaze.

“It was the Piper,” said Marianna at last.

“Did you do something to annoy him?”

“No!” cried Marianna. She was starting to feel angry now. Why did he always assume she was to blame?

“Then why did he do it?”

“I don’t know,” said Marianna. “It wasn’t just me—he turned everyone into animals. He was angry and upset and didn’t want us anymore. It was awful. We didn’t see it coming.”

Moller shrugged. “He’s an elf.”

“We didn’t know that.”

“I did,” said Moller.

Marianna stared at him scornfully. “How could you know? And why didn’t you say so, back in town? Why didn’t you try to stop him?”

“I was . . . elsewhere at the time.”

“Oh really? I can’t guess where that was.” Marianna sighed. She was growing tired of the conversation and the company. “What are you doing here?” she asked wearily. “I can’t believe you came for me.”

“No, I didn’t,” admitted her father. “I came for Jakob.”

“What?”

“He’s here,” said Moller. “At least, I think he’s here. Either that or he’s run away from home.”

“I don’t understand,” said Marianna in a fluster. “He didn’t make it. I saw the door closing and he—”

“—was left behind. As usual.”

“I thought he was with me,” said Marianna. “If I’d realized, I’d—”

“It wasn’t your fault,” said Moller, unexpectedly letting her off the hook. “It was the Piper. You were enchanted then as you are now.”

“But how did Jakob manage it? We came through a magic door. It was the only one.”

“No,” said Moller. “There are dozens of them. Jakob must have gotten lucky.”

Marianna wondered how her father knew about elf doors, but she didn’t ask. There were more important things.

“How long has he been here?” she asked. “Have you seen any sign of him? Has anyone told you anything?”

“Since last night,” said Moller. “And no. I’ve spoken to no one.”

“He could be anywhere,” she said, beginning to fret. “I’ve got to find him. There’s danger here.”

“For some,” agreed Moller darkly.

“There’s a beast,” said Marianna, not hearing him. “A terrible thing.”

“You’ve seen it?”

“Yes,” said Marianna. “It’s the Piper. I saw him change.”

Moller’s eyes grew wide. “This is bad, Mari,” he said, shaking his head. “I don’t understand that Piper. Elves can be spiteful creatures, I know, but to steal you all away like that .

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