Read Online One Wish by Michelle Harrison - Free Book Online Page A

bathroom, eager to wash away the day’s sweat and stickiness.
    Ten minutes later, she’d pulled on her pyjamas and slid between the cool, crisp sheets, but her uneasiness wouldn’t leave her. As she lay in the darkness, drifting into a doze, she thought she heard muffled muttering and scratches from beneath the bed. Several times she jerked awake, but only to a silent room and her own troubled imaginings. A sliver of yellow light was visible underneath the bedroom door and she could hear her mother moving about. It must be earlier than it felt. Eventually, a deeper sleep came. It didn’t last.
    When she woke again, the light beneath the door had gone. It must be late now, for her mother had gone to bed. Only a shard of moonlight lit the room through a crack in the curtains. In that thin, silver shard, dark shadows moved and, before Tanya was even properly awake, her eyelids gave a telltale twitch. It was enough to jolt her from sleep completely.
    She sat up, rubbing her twitching eyes. She could smell it now, too, on the breeze from the open window: the earthy, outdoorsy smell that gave them away.
    There were fairies in the room.
    She pulled the bedclothes closer, her heart starting to thud. Her eyes darted around the room, seeking out every dark corner. Shadows flickered and a low, snorting snuffling sounded from underneath the bed. She half ducked as something swooped past her face, skimming the tip of her nose. When she looked up again, a large, black raven had perched on the end of the bed, its scaly claws grasping the wooden frame. Next to it stood two small figures, both male. One was dark-skinned, thin and wore a suit of leaves. The other was plump and short, with a feathered cap and an unpleasant moustache that he twirled around his fingers. They both regarded her in silence.
    The raven preened its feathers briefly, then shook itself. The feathers fell away, transforming into a soft, gleaming gown. It was worn by a small woman, not much larger than the bird had been. The tips of two pointed ears poked out from her silky, black hair. Next to it, her skin was as pale as cream, glowing in the moonlight.
    ‘What do you want?’ Tanya whispered. Her body was tense, every muscle tight with dread.
    ‘What makes you think we want anything?’ Raven answered. Her voice was soft, but not exactly friendly.
    ‘You usually want to cause trouble,’ Tanya retorted. ‘To punish me for something. Well, I don’t know why you’re here this time – I haven’t done anything. I haven’t written about you, spoken about you or picked any flowers that I shouldn’t have.’
    ‘Actually, that’s not quite true, is it?’ said Raven. ‘You have been talking to someone about us.’
    Gredin, the dark-skinned fairy, nodded in agreement. ‘We saw you,’ he said. ‘Speaking to that boy.’ His yellow eyes were narrowed. ‘We didn’t like it.’
    ‘Why?’ Tanya protested, her voice rising. She racked her brains to recall what she and Ratty had spoken about, knowing that they must have discussed fairies, but not able to pinpoint anything in particular. ‘If he can see fairies, too, what have I done wrong? It’s not like I told him anything he didn’t already know.’
    Gredin’s lip curled back over his teeth. ‘No,’ he murmured. ‘Quite the opposite.’
    Tanya closed her eyes, willing her memories of the afternoon to return. Quite the opposite? That meant Ratty had been the one with the information, telling her things – important things – about fairies that she didn’t know. But what? The question niggled her, the answers just out of reach.
    ‘How was I supposed to know that it’s wrong to speak to someone else who can see fairies?’ Tanya said, remembering to keep her voice low just in time. Indignation had chased away her fear and lent her courage. ‘I’ve never met anyone else who can before!’ She glared at the three of them. ‘Why is it even wrong at all?’
    Feathercap, the third fairy, stepped forward.