Shadow Wrack Read Online Free PDF Page B

woods.
    â€œMab! RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW!”
    The only way to get them in line was to mean-teacher them. If it was at all possible to intimidate the Queen of the Fairies, that is. It didn’t help that she could hear Robert behind her, laughing and stomping with glee. That’s okay , thought Willa, maintaining her scowl. I have a secret weapon.
    Mab sauntered up, hovering in the air at Willa’s eye level. Sarah followed, a little less sure of herself, hiding behind her boss. Willa narrowed her eyes.
    â€œMab. This is no joke. Wake them up this instant!”
    â€œWake who up?” Mab batted her eyelashes.
    Willa bit her lip, furious. She stared Mab right in the eye.
    â€œIf you don’t wake them, I’ll tell Miss Trang.”
    It made her feel like a schoolyard tattletale, but it got results. Mab hesitated, her eyes flashing. Then she turned to Sarah.
    â€œDid Sarah put someone to sleep? Bad Sarah-pie ! Go wake them up. Go on!”
    Sarah smiled sweetly, bowing her head. “It’s already being done, your High-and -Mightyness.”
    Willa turned to see a crew of fairies running the end of the garden hose into the basement.
    â€œNoooo!” she wailed, rushing over. Too late. She arrived just in time to see the water hit the dwarves, who jumped up, stumbling over their entwined beards and hair, crashing into each other, knocking heads, roaring in anger. The fairies let loose with peals of laughter. The dwarves lunged at them, tripping over each other again, and the wee folk buzzed away, up and around Willa, out into the sunshine.

    After that outburst all was quiet. The dwarves shut themselves up in the basement, and the fairies disappeared into the woods. It was so quiet, Robert grew bored and retreated into the darkness of the stable for a nap. The dwarves are plotting something , mused Willa, and I don’t blame them one little bit . She was starving but afraid to go home for lunch. She had no idea what might happen next.
    It was while she paced back and forth that she saw a dark shape slip into the yard.
    â€œHorace! Am I glad to see you!” Willa started to tell him about the fairy-dwarf war, but she could see he wasn’t listening. He was a million miles away, his brow furrowed with worry.
    â€œHorace, what’s wrong? Did you find your cufflinks?”
    He looked at her in confusion. “My what? No, no, something strange is happening. I’m seeing worrisome signs.”
    Willa didn’t know what to say. She couldn’t help but be a little annoyed. Horace’s worrisome signs were always fairly vague, and she didn’t particularly want to hear about them.
    Willa sighed. “Come on, Horace. Tell me all about it.”
    They made their way to the gate, stepping over Tengu, still asleep. Horace didn’t seem to notice him, but Willa tried again to shake him awake without success. Horace waited at the gate as she took a last look around. Everything was quiet. Dead quiet. Please, please don’t start fighting again. At least wait until I get back, she thought, picking up her bike and rolling it through the gate.
    Horace walked Willa back to her house, talking the entire way about bird migrations. Willa was having trouble following what he was saying, but she got the impression that more birds than normal were passing through town.
    â€œThat’s the worrisome sign?” She couldn’t keep the skepticism out of her voice. She didn’t know much about Horace’s practice of augury, but it seemed like he was always seeing bad news on the horizon. She wasn’t entirely sure that he was very good at predicting the future at all. “Maybe it’s just because of weather patterns or something.”
    â€œNo.” Horace shook his head vigorously. “Something or some- one is upsetting the balance of things.”
    â€œSomeone?”
    Horace looked around cautiously before answering in a low voice. “I’m not