The Magic Book series, book 1 by Elsa Bridger

burst
he flew towards them to snatch The Book, greedy anticipation
distorting his otherwise handsome face.
    Just as he
grasped The Book, Campion and Sorrel appeared from the shadows
behind Nightshade and took hold of the girls’ hands to complete the
circle around him. Nightshade was trapped! Suddenly realising this
he tried to release The Book but seemed unable to do so, his hands
invisibly bound to it.
    Now Queen Tara
appeared, and glided towards the circle.
    “Free me this
instant, and I might take pity on you and your human…..pets!”
snarled Nightshade, with palpable distain. Sophie doubted that he
would!
    “Oh, but don’t
you know, your powers are much weakened in here?” came Queen Tara’s
rhetorical question in a cool, controlled voice, with just a
flicker of a smile playing on her lips.
    Campion and
Sorrel began to chant in unison, and the girls joined in.
    “We call upon
the powers of children’s disbelief
    To rid us
all
    Of The Wicked
One’s rule
    And return us
all to peace.
     
    Be gone the
wicked spirit
    Within our dear
Nightshade
    Return him to
our kind and
    To the ways in
which he’s made.
     
    We call upon
the powers
    Of children’s
disbelief
    To bind this
spirit over
    And cause us no
more grief.”
     
    They seemed to
repeat it over and over with very little change in Nightshade, but
then just as doubts were creeping into the girls’ minds, his hands
fell away from The Book as he slumped to the floor. It was as if he
were asleep. His breath came steadily but slowly. Beads of
perspiration shone on his brow, a sign of the struggle that he had
suffered in vain to try to overcome their magic.
    Sophie and
Felicity held their breath and looked towards Queen Tara. She gave
a nod and a relieved smile.
    “You may relax
now,” she reassured them.
    There was a
collective sigh as everyone’s hands dropped back to their
sides.
    “Is he going to
die?” asked Felicity in a small, choked voice. He’d been such a
threat to the fairies, but now he looked so small and helpless
lying heaped on the floor like a rag doll.
    “Oh no, I’m
sure he will recover,” Queen Tara said comfortingly. “We must let
him rest now. Campion and Sorrel, please take Nightshade to the
secure room and set him on the bed. The girls and I will watch over
him until we are sure all is well. Come, Sophie and Felicity, while
we wait I’m sure you have many questions you’d like to ask me.”
    The girls
nodded their agreement and followed. It was going to be hard to
know which of the many questions they had racing about in their
minds to ask first!
     
     
Joining the
Dots

    With Nightshade
settled in the secure room and still sleeping soundly, Bryony
arrived carrying in food and cool water for the girls, and oh, how
they needed it!”
    “May I?” asked
Queen Tara, holding out her hand, gesturing for The Book.
    “Oh yes,
certainly.” Sophie had quite forgotten that she was still holding
it and gladly handed it over.
    As they ate
hungrily, Queen Tara began answering some of their questions as
promised.
    “I thought
Nightshade was born bad,” pondered Sophie. “The enchantment we all
said just then made it sound like there was an evil spirit or
something making Nightshade do the things he did.”

    “True, I did
think that he was born bad originally,” agreed Queen Tara. “Whilst
I was confined inside The Book it gave me time to reflect on it
all. A question came to me; how could Nightshade have become so
powerful? As an answer formulated in my mind, it suddenly became
clear to me how it must have all begun. You see, when he was born,
he almost didn’t live. He should have died, he was such a sickly
child. We always wondered how he managed to survive, but I gave
little time to it really as I was just so glad that he had - we all
were! The Wicked One must have taken the chance to breathe life
into Nightshade during those first few vulnerable moments of his
life, and from that point on she was able to dwell within
Nightshade.