Cloud Magic

happy.’
    ‘I’m fine,’ Erin said quickly. ‘It’s just… just a sad bit in my book.’
    ‘You need cheering up then,’ her dad said. ‘How does a hot dog and chips followed by a banana split sound?’
    Erin forced a smile. ‘It sounds great, Dad. Thanks.’
    And, trying to push thoughts of the hagstone and the sky stallion into the back of her mind for now, she followed her dad towards the bright and bustling café.

C H A P T E R
    Three
    Before Erin went to bed that night, she went over to the wooden box on her windowsill and ran her fingers through the smooth hagstones, searching for something buried deep inside them. Her fingers found the scrap of paper that her mum had always kept in the box with the stones.
    She took it out. It was old and the writing had faded. At some point in time someone had spilt some water or a drink on the bottom half of the page and the ink there had washed completely away leaving only a few faint marks. The bits she could read sounded almost like a poem. She knew it well.
    When the dark one returns, the door shall be reopened
    And danger will threaten all living below.
    If the binding is broken, they can be protected,
    But one coming willingly lets the dark’s power grow.
    Until…
    And that was it. The rest of the words had been washed away.
    She reread the first line again. The dark one. The words had been niggling at her. Just before Tor had stopped speaking to her she was sure he had said: ‘The dark one is here.’
    Erin shivered. Was it just coincidence? Oh, Tor , she thought longingly, speak to me again.
    She got into bed. Exhausted by everything that had happened that day, she soon fell asleep, her hand holding the hagstone. She didn’t know how long she had been asleep, but some time later she was aware of a voice in her head.
    ‘Weather weaver!’
    ‘Tor! Is that you?’ she said, not knowing if she was dreaming or awake.
    ‘Yes. Come and find me near World’s End,’ he said urgently. ‘Search for the black weathervane of a rearing horse. You will find me close by. I need your magic to return to the skies and stop the storms.’
    ‘But what magic?’ Erin asked, confused.
    ‘Your weather-weaving magic. You have many powers, Erin, that you do not know about yet, but to learn about them you must first discover your stardust form.’
    ‘W-what’s that?’ Erin stammered in confusion.
    Tor broke off with a squeal and there was silence.
    Erin suddenly found herself blinking her eyes open. She realized she was in her silent bedroom, lying in her bed in the dark. Clutching the stone, she sat up.

    She swallowed. She was sure the stallion speaking to her hadn’t been a dream. She thought about what Tor had said. She didn’t know anything of the ‘stardust’ he had mentioned, but World’s End – she knew that.
    Almost before realizing what she was doing, Erin jumped out of bed. She was filled with an irresistible urge to go to World’s End. Glancing at her clock, she saw it was well past midnight. The house was quiet. Everyone must be asleep. Pulling on her jeans and T-shirt, she left the room. She knew she shouldn’t go, but something was pushing her on. She tiptoed down the stairs and let herself out of the back door.
    Seconds later, Erin was running down the deserted street. Her heart pounded in her chest so hard she could hardly breathe. She knew that if Jo and her dad found out she was outside the house in the middle of the night, she would be in real trouble. She would never have gone out on her own normally, but all she could think about was going to World’s End and seeing if she could find Tor. Erin’s imagination overflowed with the magic and adventure of it all. She ran down the lane past Aunt Alice’s house. I have to go to World’s End. He’s near there. If I find him, he’ll be able to tell me more and tell me what I can do to help.
    The moon was full and lit her way across the cliff top. She scrambled and slipped down the path to the beach near World’s End where she had first seen the horses among the clouds. Reaching it, she paused and looked around at the waves moving in and out, pulling at the shingle. What should she do now? She didn’t know. She took a deep breath. Suddenly she felt very alone, out there in the starlit night.
    ‘ Tag! ’
    Erin jumped as a girl’s voice came out of the sky.
    ‘Got you!’

    ‘No, you didn’t!’
    ‘Yes, I did!’
    Erin looked around wildly. There was no one there.
    ‘No, you