Away With the Fairies Read Free Page A

kitchen behind her and her brow creased in a frown of irritation. Bloody fairy! She'd deal with it later, after she'd got Lucy back. She put the washing-line under her arm and, as an afterthought, also picked up a large reel of gardening twine.
     
    In the kitchen, the fairy peeped out from the cupboard beneath the sink and watched her go past. What a dreadful place this was! All hard surfaces and sharp angles, no trees, no food. He had sniffed at dozens of evil-smelling things and tasted some that didn't smell so bad, but none of it was food. His ears drooped in despair.
     
    When Monica came back into the bedroom, both Ben and June were staring at the gateway in the wall. June turned round and smiled. “Dad's really good at it,” she said. “Miles better than me. He did it first time!”
    Ben's lips twitched in a smile. “I can do the 3D pictures as well,” he said, then looked up at his wife. The wall snapped back into place the moment he looked away.
    Monica looked slightly alarmed. “It's all right,” he said. “I can get it back straight away. Now, what's the plan?”
    Monica handed him the reel of twine and began to tie the clothes-line round her waist. “I'm going in to look for Lucy,” she said. “You and June stay here and for Christ's sake keep the door open.”
    “Just a minute!” Ben put out his hand. “Shouldn't I go? I'm more likely to be able to handle trouble.”
“Oh, there'll be no trouble,” Monica said between clenched teeth.
    Ben looked at her admiringly. Under normal circumstances his wife was a very placid woman, easy-going and slow to anger. The weeping woman of a few hours ago was completely out of character. Monica was practical and organised, not a woman who cried easily. It was, he imagined, the horror of the situation and the feeling of powerlessness which had reduced her to tears. But here was yet another version. Here was the tigress looking for her lost cub, and woe betide anyone who stood in her way.
    “OK,” he said, “but take something as a marker.”
    Monica looked up from tying the knot at her waist and raised one eyebrow questioningly.
    “We don't know what you can see from the other side. You might not be able to find the gate again. You need something bright to mark the place.”
June bounded across to the wardrobe and pulled out a rainbow-coloured scarf. “Will this do?”
    “It's perfect, Sweetness,” Ben said, and hugged his eldest daughter briefly and fiercely. She had become so much more precious in the last few hours.
    Monica finished tying the knot and took the scarf. “Right, here we go,” she said, her lips pressed together in a thin line.
    All three of them stared at the wall and the gateway instantly appeared. Monica gave a little gasp. “I told you he was good, didn't I, Mum?” June said smugly.
    Monica took a deep breath, and paying out the rope behind her, walked into Fairyland.
     
    It was much darker on the other side. She looked up at the canopy overhead. She could see tiny patches of blue sky between the thick foliage. Not night-time, then. Just shadow.
    “Lucy!” she called. “Lucy, it's Mum.”
    Nothing stirred in the forest.
    She turned back to the gateway and there, incongruously, was a patch of her daughters' bedroom, superimposed surreally in a space between the trees. She walked over and tied the lurid scarf to the tree on the left, and stepped back to admire her handiwork. “It looks pretty good,” she said to Ben and June, but they just stared back blankly.
     
    “She's trying to say something,” June said. Ben risked a quick look sideways at her. “Keep it open,” he said. “I'll try phoning.” June dutifully continued to stare at the wall while Ben got his phone out of his pocket, pressed speed dial and put the phone to his ear. “The number you have called,” said a metallic voice, “is unavailable.”
    Monica had pulled her own phone out and was staring at the screen. She looked up and shrugged. No signal. Ben