“I would say thank you if you had actually got my armour,” said Aliya. “But you didn’t. And if you’d told me you didn’t have it in the first place, I wouldn’t have wasted a whole day in this village. Now, excuse me, I’m going to go to sleep – I’ll have to set off at dawn tomorrow.”

  And with that, Aliya marched off across the Croaking Frog Inn.

  “Well,” said Bedlam as they watched her go. “She was very rude.”

  When Laurel and Bedlam got home, the shop was shut. Laurel’s parents were sitting in a corner beside a bright-ideas lamp, whispering. They looked worried, and though Laurel knew it was a bad thing to do, she took some mega-hearing earrings from a shelf and put them on to help her listen to what they were saying.

  “I don’t know how we’re going to keep going,” her father said. “If we don’t get some more customers in, we’re going to have to close the shop.”

  Laurel gasped. The shop was their home! It was where she was born and had lived her whole life. Laurel had taken her first steps just in front of the counter, and she always practised her spells in the little garden out back. Yes, she sometimes found the shop a bit boring, but she didn’t want to lose it all.

  “I know,” her mother sighed. “But Laurel sold a lot today – that will help for a bit.”

  “Thank goodness for that,” her dad replied. “Otherwise, we’d be out of the shop by the end of this month.”

  Laurel didn’t want to hear any more. She crept up the stairs to the flat they lived in above the shop.

  “If only you could get that armour,” said Bedlam. “Then you’d be a hero too – for saving the shop.”

  “You’re a genius, Bedlam!” Laurel said as she came up with a plan.

  “Of course I am,” said Bedlam. “But what made you say that?”

  “Because you gave me an idea,” Laurel said. “We’re going to go on our very own quest.”

  *

  The sun was just rising and the grass on the village green was tipped with frost as Laurel and Bedlam made their way back to the Croaking Frog Inn. They were on their way to see Aliya before she left.

  “It’s so early, Laurel,” Bedlam moaned. “And you haven’t even told your parents where you’ve gone. Why don’t we head back and tidy the shop instead?”

  “You were the one who told me to do more things on my own,” said Laurel. “So that’s what I’m doing – I’m going to save the shop all on my own.”

  “You’re not really on your own, though, are you?” said Bedlam. “I’m here too.”

  Round the back of the inn, they saw Aliya sitting on a horse.

  “What are you doing here?” Aliya said to Laurel. “I told you I don’t need your help any more.”

  Laurel took a deep breath and said, “I’m going to get you your armour.”

  Aliya’s horse let out a neigh and scuffed the ground with his hoof. “We’ll go in a minute, Phoenix,” Aliya said. She sounded a lot nicer when she was talking to him.

  “How will you get me my armour?” Aliya asked Laurel. “You said you didn’t have it in stock.”

  Laurel shrugged. “I have my ways.” She walked over to Aliya now and looked up at Phoenix. She’d never been this close to such a big animal before.

  “I don’t trust you,” Aliya said.

  “Charming,” replied Bedlam. “See? She doesn’t want our help. Let’s go.”

  “Fine,” Laurel said to Aliya, ignoring Bedlam. “Then why don’t you come with me? Make sure I do my job properly?”

  “I could just go to the shopping centre,” Aliya replied.

  Laurel shook her head. “I already checked with them – they haven’t got the armour either.”

  It was the truth. Laurel had sent a message to the shopping centre, and they’d said they had almost nothing left because the last few weeks had been so busy. The only way Aliya was going to get her armour was if Laurel found it for her.

  Laurel explained all of this, and at last Aliya agreed. “But it’s only because I don’t want to go home and tell my family I failed,” she muttered.

  Laurel didn’t see what the big deal was. There would always be another quest for Aliya. If Laurel failed her quest, her family would lose their shop!

  “But one more thing,” said Aliya. “We have to take Phoenix with us. He needs a break from the stables.”

  “I’m not getting on that,” Bedlam said. “It’s weird for a cat to ride a horse.”

  “We have to,” said Laurel, though inside she felt sick with nerves. She’d never ridden a horse before; she was used to travelling by magic. But she had promised to help Aliya, and so Phoenix had to come too.

  “Want me to help you up?” Aliya asked. She was on the ground next to her horse, who was so tall that they all stood in his shadow.

  Suddenly, Laurel wasn’t sure she liked the idea of being a hero.

  “Not really,” Laurel said. “But I guess I have no choice …”

  “Oh, you’ll love it!” said Aliya. “There’s nothing more exciting than riding a horse. Promise.”

  “Mmmm,” said Laurel. Aliya was being nicer to her now, so she didn’t argue. Instead, she let Aliya push her up onto the horse’s back. Then Aliya picked Bedlam up and passed him to Laurel.

  “Do not tell the other familiars I agreed to this,” Bedlam said as he climbed onto Laurel’s lap. “I’m so embarrassed.”

  “Wrap your arms around me,” said Aliya to Laurel. “We’ll start with a gentle walk, until you get comfy.”

  “OK,” said Laurel, sucking in her breath as the horse began to move. Even walking felt scary. They tilted left and right as Phoenix walked along.

  “I feel sick,” said Bedlam.

  “Me too,” said Laurel.

  “So,” began Aliya, “what’s it like being a witch?”

  Laurel didn’t know how to answer that question. She’d been a witch her whole life, spent all of her time with witches, and lived in a village busy with lots of working witches.

  “For starters,” she said, after thinking about it, “we don’t have to ride horses.”

  Aliya laughed. “I love riding. It’s the best part of being a hero. I know Phoenix and I can’t speak to each other the way you and Bedlam do. But I really think we understand each other … like we’re connected.”

  “She’s not as mean when she talks about horses,” Bedlam said. “Get her to talk some more about them if you can.”

  Laurel asked Aliya questions about Phoenix, and then they talked a bit about what her hero training had been like. They’d actually started to trot, and Laurel hadn’t even noticed because she’d been chatting so much.

  “This isn’t as bad as I thought,” said Laurel.

  “I told you, didn’t I?” Aliya replied. “Try this: close your eyes and forget where you are. Picture yourself on a broom or something.”

  Laurel snorted. “Heroes are so annoying. One witch rode a broom once and suddenly that’s all we ride. We can put a spell on anything and make it move for us. I prefer armchairs. More comfy.”

  “OK, then,” said Aliya. “Close your eyes and pretend you’re in a magic armchair. Take in the sounds and feel the breeze as we move …”

  Laurel closed her eyes and did as Aliya said.

  “Now just try to relax,” Aliya continued. And even though she couldn’t see it, Laurel could feel Phoenix speed up along the path. Aliya was right. It was wonderful hearing the morning birds and nice to feel the cool breeze. It was just like flying.

  *

  “I’m afraid I can’t help,” said Opal, the smith-witch, when they arrived at her workshop. The smith-witch had a great big oven where she melted silver and mixed it with magic to make enchanted weapons and armour. Normally, there was a roaring fire in the oven, but today the fire was out and her workshop was cold and dusty.

  “Why not?” asked Laurel. Her plan had been to visit Opal and ask her to make the armour that Aliya needed.

  “My stardust delivery hasn’t arrived yet,” said Opal. “Without stardust, I can’t keep my fire going and do any work.”

  “So, what you’re saying,” said Laurel, “is that if I get you the stardust, you can make the armour?”

  “Sure,” said Opal with a laugh. “If you get me stardust today, I’ll make your armour.”

  “Well, I guess that’s it then,” said Aliya as they left the workshop.

  “What do you mean?” asked Laurel. “I thought you were a hero? Heroes are always ready for a challenge!”

  “But you heard her,” said Aliya. “She needs stardust, and the delivery isn’t coming for a few days. It’ll be too late by then.”

  “All we have to do,” said Laurel, “is find a post-witch, get the stardust delivery from them and take it to Opal. Easy!”

  This time Laurel climbed onto Phoenix on her own.

  “Oh, great,” muttered Bedlam as they trotted back through the village. “More horse riding.”

  It was almost noon when Laurel and Aliya met up with one of the post-witches – Marigold, who delivered parcels and letters to the shop.

  Marigold was a tall witch, and she wore a long cloak and a pointy hat. She looked just like a witch from a picture book, except for one thing. She travelled around in a flying boat.

  “Laurel!” said Marigold. She waved at Laurel and Aliya, and then made her boat drop down to the ground. “What brings you here? And with a hero too.”

  Laurel got slowly down from Phoenix – her legs were hurting after all the riding. “Hi, Marigold, how are you?” she said, walking up to Marigold’s boat.

  Marigold smiled at Laurel as her turtle familiar scuffled around the bottom of her boat.

  “Oh, come on, Laurel,” she said. “Get to the point. You know I hate small talk. It’s boring.”

  “Sorry,” said Laurel. “I need some stardust,” she explained.

  Marigold looked confused, so Laurel began to explain. “I need the smith-witch to make Aliya – that’s the hero …”

  “Hello,” said Aliya, with a small wave.

  “… some armour,” Laurel went on. “But the smith-witch has run out of stardust, so I thought I’d come to you, to speed up her delivery.”

  “Well, I’m afraid I don’t have any parcels of stardust to deliver just now,” Marigold said. “There’s been a bit of a hold-up.”

  “What do you mean?” asked Laurel.

  “There’s a very fiery reason why no one has any stardust at the moment,” said the post-witch mysteriously. “You’ll see. Hop into my boat.”

  Laurel, Aliya and Bedlam left Phoenix to eat some grass and got into the boat. Marigold lifted them up, up, up into the air.

  “Wow,” said Aliya as the ground vanished from under them.

  Laurel grinned. “I know you said riding a horse is like flying, but what do you think of actual flying?”

  “It’s amazing!” said Aliya. “But I think I’m a bit afraid of heights …”

  Laurel laughed, but as they flew above a hill and she saw the valley below, her smile vanished. Now she could see why no one had any stardust.

  There were lots of witches riding all sorts of magic things. Some had boats like Marigold’s, while others had armchairs or brooms, and there were even a few rugs. But the witches were all stuck in a long queue, because flying in front of them were lots and lots of dragons.

  The dragons were amazing – their scales shone with every colour of the rainbow. But it was clear they were causing a big problem.

  “Until the dragon crossing is done, no one can get anywhere,” explained Marigold. “The dragons are heading south for the winter, and it looks like it might take them another two or three days.”

  This was bad news. Aliya had to finish her mission before the dragon crossing was over. But from what Marigold was saying, they wouldn’t be able to get the stardust until then, let alone make the armour.

  Before Laurel could say anything in response, the ground rumbled as if there was an earthquake. Up ahead, two dragons were fighting. A great gust of wind blew Marigold’s boat, making it tip over. Laurel stumbled and fell out of it, heading for the ground far below. But before she hit the ground, she began to sway left and right like a feather, and in the end she landed in a soft heap.

  “Laurel?” Bedlam asked. “Laurel, are you OK?”

  Marigold lowered her boat almost to the ground. Bedlam jumped out right away and ran over to Laurel, licking her face.

  “I’m fine,” Laurel said, pulling herself up. “That didn’t even hurt!”

  “That’s because Marigold did a spell to save you,” said Aliya. “I saw the whole thing. It … was … amazing.”

  Marigold shrugged. “It was nothing.”

  “Thanks, Marigold,” Laurel said before turning to Bedlam.

  “You were worried about me,” she said to her familiar.

  “I wasn’t!” said Bedlam. “I was just telling you off for not flying safely.”

  “You panicked,” said Laurel. “Go on, admit it. You do like me really, don’t you?”

  “That’s not the point,” said Bedlam. “It’s my job to keep you out of trouble, that’s all.”

  “Sure,” said Laurel, grinning at Bedlam. But she noticed he made sure to stay very close beside her.

  Once everything was calm again, Laurel began to think about her quest. “What are we going to do?” she asked Aliya.

  “There’s nothing we can do,” Aliya replied. “It’s too risky to go any further, even for me. And we haven’t got any stardust. Maybe we should just head back to the village?”

  “Sure,” Laurel sighed. As she said goodbye to Marigold, she hoped she’d get another bright idea along the way.

  Aliya and Laurel walked to where they had left Phoenix. “Let’s take the scenic route back to the village,” Laurel suggested. She wasn’t ready to go home yet and admit that she’d failed her quest.

  “We should hurry,” said Bedlam as they got back up on the horse. “It’ll be dark soon.”

  “Relax. It won’t be dark for a few hours,” Laurel replied as Aliya looked at her. Only Laurel could understand Bedlam, but she could tell that Aliya was trying to work out what he might be saying.

  “Your parents will be worried,” said Bedlam.

  “They’ll be fine,” Laurel replied. “And I want to ride through the pretty fields!”

  “Well, I want to have a nap somewhere cosy,” Bedlam replied.

  Suddenly, from the other side of a patch of trees, pink-purple smoke clouds puffed out above them from three separate chimneys.

  “Hang on!” said Laurel, and Aliya quickly told Phoenix to stop. “That’s stardust smoke!”

  With the smoke came the smell of brewing potions. Maybe, just maybe, Laurel thought, we might have found someone who can help us.

  Behind the trees was a cottage. Its door was open and inside stood a witch with curly red hair and a striped apron. Laurel hopped off Phoenix and stepped towards the door for a closer look. Inside the cottage were three enormous cauldrons, all bubbling away beneath their own chimneys.

  “Hello, Laurel,” said Celeste, the potion-witch. “What can I get you?”

  Aliya and Bedlam had now joined Laurel and were peering into the cottage too.

  “Hello,” Laurel said. “We were wondering if we could borrow some of the stardust you’re using for that fire. Only you and the smith-witch use stardust because you both need your fires to burn extra hot.”

  Laurel introduced Aliya and told Celeste all about her quest. Then she explained why she needed the stardust for the smith-witch. After listening carefully, Celeste nodded. “Lucky for you I’m switching over to lunar power and so I do have some stardust I can spare. I was just using up the rest of my store. Lunar power is much better for the environment; I should really get Opal onto it …”

  “Wait,” said Laurel. She couldn’t believe her plan had worked. “You’re saying you can give us the stardust?” She looked over at Aliya, who was grinning.

  “Yes,” said Celeste. “I’ll give you some stardust if you’ll do me a little favour in return?”

  “Of course!” said Laurel. She felt her insides bubbling with excitement like the potions all around her. “Anything. We’ll do anything to help.”

  *

  Five minutes later, Laurel and Aliya had each put on a colourful apron. They both stood in front of a small cauldron where a big magic spoon was stirring the potion inside. Celeste explained that her new assistant was ill and so she was a bit behind with her orders. She needed their help in exchange for some stardust.

  “You need to watch over the spoon,” explained Celeste. “Make sure it doesn’t stop stirring and make sure it only moves clockwise. Then you need to put in exactly what I’ve written on this list, and exactly the right amounts. Got it?”

  Laurel nodded, but Aliya looked terrified. “Don’t worry,” Laurel said when Celeste went back to her own cauldron. “I’ve been learning to mix potions at school, so I can do most of it. Could you read me the list of things we need to measure?”

 

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