The Fairy Rebel Read Online Free PDF Page B

brought clippers!” cried Jan in dismay.
    “Clippers or no clippers,
you’re
not going in there,” said Charlie. “Wait here. I’m going to try to push through.”
    He tried. The briars seemed to have a plan of their own. Their thorns clutched at his coat and scratched at his face. Jan, watching, saw them swaying, reaching for him like thin snakes. There was no wind, so it could only have been some awful magic.
    Wijic was crouched on her shoulder.
    “Please, Wijic, help him,” Jan whispered.
    He shook his head.
    “You don’t understand,” he whispered. “If the Queen knew … It’s bad enough that I brought you here.”
    Charlie was pushing farther and farther in. Jan could hear him swearing at the briars and letting out little shouts every now and then as a thorn clawed at him or tore his trousers. It seemed to Jan that the opening he had forced through the bushes was closing up behind him.
    “He’ll be trapped!” she whispered. She felt very frightened suddenly. “Wijic, oh, please! Just a little magic—nothing that would show! Please! Don’t you want us to rescue Tiki?”
    “Oh—all right,” said Wijic, not at all willingly. He shut his eyes and clenched his fists and Jan could see his lips moving slightly. Suddenly Charlie began tomove faster. The rude words stopped. And in another few minutes he’d reached the oak tree.
    “I’m through!” he called back. “Now, where’s the nest? Oh! I see it—it’s right up at the top of the tree!”
    Jan looked up, and now she could see it too—a thing like a gray football, stuck among the highest branches of the leafless oak. It had a lid of snow on it. Jan shivered when she thought how cold, as well as frightened, hungry and lonely, Tiki must be.
    “Fairies can’t be lonely,” she reminded herself. But it didn’t comfort her. Tiki didn’t have her magic anymore, so perhaps she had some feelings fairies don’t usually have.
    Meanwhile, Charlie was struggling to climb the tree. He seemed to be having trouble. The tree wasn’t very tall and the branches looked to Jan as if they would be easy to climb. But every time Charlie put his foot on one of the lower branches, it slipped off again.
    “Everything’s covered with ice,” he shouted. “I can’t get a grip.” His hands kept slipping too. Jan looked down at Wijic, who was now standing up on her shoulder, watching Charlie.
    “That’s not ordinary ice,” he muttered.
    Charlie had just managed to pull himself up onto the lowest branch. He seemed to have a good grip. Then suddenly, for no reason, he fell off again. Luckily he landed on his feet.
    “What’s wrong with me today?” he said angrily.
    “Nothing’s wrong with you, mate,” muttered Wijic. “You need a bit of help, that’s all.” And he pointedboth forefingers across the brambles and said, “Bili-wiki!” in a high, ordering voice.
    There was a cracking noise, and suddenly all the ice and snow broke off the tree and came crashing and tinkling to the ground. A lot of it fell on Charlie’s head.
    “Hey—!” he said, brushing a big bit of ice, like glass, off his hat. He looked at Jan. “What’s going on around here?”
    “Tell him to climb. Quick!” Wijic whispered into Jan’s ear.
    “Climb, Charlie! Get the nest, hurry!” called Jan. She still felt frightened. It was so cold and still now that the noise of the falling ice had stopped—it was as if nothing were alive anywhere except them.
    Wijic was hugging his own shoulders and jumping up and down.
    “I’ve done it now! She must have heard that!” he cried. “Listen, I can’t stop here, I must go. Wish I could ride back in the car, but I daren’t wait. G’bye!” And he leapt into the air and was gone before Jan could say a word more to him.
    Charlie was near the top of the tree now. He leaned along one branch and stretched his right hand up for the nest. As he did it, Jan heard something. It was a very strange noise, a sort of whining hum. It was coming