âTollie always does.â
Hayley hastily dropped the card by the markers and let herself be pulled towards the garden shed at the side of the paddock.
It was a simple brick-built shed with a pointed roof, but when they came to it, Hayley was highly delighted to find that the top half of the door was of panes of stained glass, in nine different colours. As Troy pulled the door shut behind them, Hayley saw Lucy pass slowly across outside, from thundery yellow, to stormy red and then to twilight purple as she walked out of sight. Inside, the old lawnmowers and the stack of deckchairs were in a sort of rainbow dusk. Troy, keeping hold of Hayleyâs wrist, edged them past the lawnmowers â and through some thick, dusty cobwebs that caught unpleasantly on Hayleyâs hair â and on into coloured twilight beyond. Shortly, it was almost dark. But there seemed to be a passage there, or perhaps even a path, and Troy led her firmly along it.
Path, Hayley decided, as they brushed among leaves and out into some kind of cold dry place. It was verydark here, but Tollie was clearly visible when he rushed suddenly and jeeringly across their way.
âStupids!â he called out. âYouâre on the wrong strand!â
Hayley stopped.
âTake no notice,â Troy said, pulling at her. âHeâs always trying to put people off.â
âYes, but where are we?â Hayley said.
âOut in the mythosphere by now,â Troy answered. âI think weâre nearly halfway, but itâs bound to get more difficult as we go on.â
âThen thatâs all right,â Hayley said. âIâve been out here before with Flute. How can you and Tollie do it too?â
âOh, we can all do it,â Troy said. âAll our family belongs to the mythosphere, didnât you know?â
âWhat? Even Grandma?â Hayley exclaimed.
âOf course,â Troy said. âBut sheâs one of the ones, like Mercer, who does what Uncle Jolyon says andââ
Here Tollie rushed across their path again, coming the other way. âIâm telling of you!â he shouted, and vanished away into the dark.
Hayley almost stopped again.
âDonât you believe it!â Troy said, hauling her onward. âIf he tells tales, he couldnât play. Uncle Jolyon would stop this game like a shot if he knew we were playing it. And,â he added, âHarmony would get it in the neck worse than any of us, for inventing it.â
Hayley hoped Troy was right. She did not trust Tollie one bit.
They could see the strand they were on now, a silvery, slithery path, coiling away up ahead. The worst part, to Hayleyâs mind, was the way it didnât seem to be fastened to anything at the sides. Her feet, in their one pink boot and one black, kept slipping. She was quite afraid that she was going to pitch off the edge. It was like trying to climb a strip of tinsel. She hung on hard to Troyâs warmer, larger hand and wished it was not so cold. The deep chilliness made the scrapes on the front of her ache.
To take her mind off it, she stared around. The rest of the mythosphere was coming into view overhead and far away, in dim, feathery streaks. Some parts of it were starry swirls, like the Milky Way only white, green and pale pink, and other more distant parts flickeredand waved like curtains of light blowing in the wind. Hayley found her chest filling with great admiring breaths at its beauty, and she stared and stared as more and more streaks and strands came into view.
She was taken completely by surprise when a comet came fizzing past her face, with its tail roaring out behind like a rocket. âIâm telling, Iâm telling!â it shouted in Tollieâs voice. And Hayley went sideways with the shock of it. She had to save herself by clutching the sharp, icy edge of the strand.
Troy hauled her upright. âOh, go away and play your own game!â he shouted
Hayley hastily dropped the card by the markers and let herself be pulled towards the garden shed at the side of the paddock.
It was a simple brick-built shed with a pointed roof, but when they came to it, Hayley was highly delighted to find that the top half of the door was of panes of stained glass, in nine different colours. As Troy pulled the door shut behind them, Hayley saw Lucy pass slowly across outside, from thundery yellow, to stormy red and then to twilight purple as she walked out of sight. Inside, the old lawnmowers and the stack of deckchairs were in a sort of rainbow dusk. Troy, keeping hold of Hayleyâs wrist, edged them past the lawnmowers â and through some thick, dusty cobwebs that caught unpleasantly on Hayleyâs hair â and on into coloured twilight beyond. Shortly, it was almost dark. But there seemed to be a passage there, or perhaps even a path, and Troy led her firmly along it.
Path, Hayley decided, as they brushed among leaves and out into some kind of cold dry place. It was verydark here, but Tollie was clearly visible when he rushed suddenly and jeeringly across their way.
âStupids!â he called out. âYouâre on the wrong strand!â
Hayley stopped.
âTake no notice,â Troy said, pulling at her. âHeâs always trying to put people off.â
âYes, but where are we?â Hayley said.
âOut in the mythosphere by now,â Troy answered. âI think weâre nearly halfway, but itâs bound to get more difficult as we go on.â
âThen thatâs all right,â Hayley said. âIâve been out here before with Flute. How can you and Tollie do it too?â
âOh, we can all do it,â Troy said. âAll our family belongs to the mythosphere, didnât you know?â
âWhat? Even Grandma?â Hayley exclaimed.
âOf course,â Troy said. âBut sheâs one of the ones, like Mercer, who does what Uncle Jolyon says andââ
Here Tollie rushed across their path again, coming the other way. âIâm telling of you!â he shouted, and vanished away into the dark.
Hayley almost stopped again.
âDonât you believe it!â Troy said, hauling her onward. âIf he tells tales, he couldnât play. Uncle Jolyon would stop this game like a shot if he knew we were playing it. And,â he added, âHarmony would get it in the neck worse than any of us, for inventing it.â
Hayley hoped Troy was right. She did not trust Tollie one bit.
They could see the strand they were on now, a silvery, slithery path, coiling away up ahead. The worst part, to Hayleyâs mind, was the way it didnât seem to be fastened to anything at the sides. Her feet, in their one pink boot and one black, kept slipping. She was quite afraid that she was going to pitch off the edge. It was like trying to climb a strip of tinsel. She hung on hard to Troyâs warmer, larger hand and wished it was not so cold. The deep chilliness made the scrapes on the front of her ache.
To take her mind off it, she stared around. The rest of the mythosphere was coming into view overhead and far away, in dim, feathery streaks. Some parts of it were starry swirls, like the Milky Way only white, green and pale pink, and other more distant parts flickeredand waved like curtains of light blowing in the wind. Hayley found her chest filling with great admiring breaths at its beauty, and she stared and stared as more and more streaks and strands came into view.
She was taken completely by surprise when a comet came fizzing past her face, with its tail roaring out behind like a rocket. âIâm telling, Iâm telling!â it shouted in Tollieâs voice. And Hayley went sideways with the shock of it. She had to save herself by clutching the sharp, icy edge of the strand.
Troy hauled her upright. âOh, go away and play your own game!â he shouted
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