Eye of the Storm

later, Tor!’
    She put the stone down, her heart beating fast. If the hair was still there, then maybe, just maybe, they could defeat Marianne after all!
    Erin flew towards Lookout Point with a bag on her back. She felt a bit silly but, knowing Chloe wouldn’t be with her, she had brought her mum’s diary with her for company. It was in her bag with her torch. She wished she hadn’t argued with Chloe and that they could be going there together.
    She reached the cliff tops and saw that the tide was out. If she could get the hair and use it to boost her power, then maybe she could clear the clouds blocking the moonlight just long enough for the gateway to form and for Tor to get through it.
    As Erin approached the house, she heard a noise like a stifled cough. She spun round, but the sky was empty. Her skin prickled. She cursed herself for not having camouflaged herself. She’d been too busy thinking about what she had to do.
    ‘ Camouflagus ,’ she whispered quickly. Erin vanished against the sky and flew on. But she felt spooked. She was sure she had heard someone behind her.
    Trying to tell herself she was just imagining it, she reached the house. It was dark and deserted. Erin flew round and saw that one of the upstairs windows was slightly open. She pushed it open a bit more. It was just big enough for her to get inside. As she scrambled in, she got the torch out of her bag. Its yellow beam cut through the darkness. Heart hammering, she looked around and saw that she was in a corridor. At the end she could see the stairs that led up to the attic.
    Feeling almost faint with fear, Erin ran up them and pushed the attic door open. She tensed, half feeling that something was going to jump out or that she would see something horrible, but there was just a bare room. All the boxes that had been there when her great-grandmother had lived in the house had gone. Erin hurried to the end of the room. She looked at the old beams, her heart leaping as she spotted a glint of paper in the crack underneath one. Could this be it? Could this be what she needed?

    She carefully eased out an old yellowing envelope. Opening it, she saw a lock of grey hair.
    Erin touched it in awe with a finger. She folded the envelope carefully back up and put it into her bag. She didn’t know how they would use it, but she hoped Tor would. She thought about the study downstairs. The feather might be in it still. If it was, she could take it in case they needed it to destroy the gateway. It’ll be better to get it now than to come back later , she reasoned, although she really just wanted to get out of there.
    Shining the torch in front of her, she went down the stairs. A floorboard creaked and she jumped. Every nerve in her body felt like it was on red alert.
    She reached the study on the ground floor. As she pushed open the door, her skin started to prickle again. The air was still and heavy, almost thick. It felt as if Marianne had worked magic in this room.
    The table still had the objects on it – a silver bowl, a crystal bottle, a jar of earth, a white candle and a grey feather. Erin picked them all up and put them into her bag, the feather last. She would need them to seal the gateway if they ever did defeat Marianne. As she lifted the feather off the table, an icy gust suddenly blew through the room and the study door slammed shut with a bang. Erin jumped about a foot in the air. She stared at the door. Where had that wind come from?
    There was a faint crackling sound from behind her. She spun round. Ice was spreading over the windowpane. Another gust of freezing wind swirled about her and snowflakes began to appear around her ankles. What was happening?
    She ran to the door and grabbed the handle to pull it open, but she jumped back with a cry. The metal was so cold that it seemed to burn her fingers and the whole door frame was iced up. Erin looked at the window again in panic. It was completely frosted over now and snow was settling on her hair and face. The air in the room was growing colder by the second.
    It’s a trap , Erin realized in horror. There’s no way out!

CHAPTER
Ten
    Panic clawed through Erin. She was going to freeze to death in here! Maybe Tor could help? She reached for the hair on her watchstrap, but it was brittle and frozen. ‘Tor!’ she exclaimed as a bit of it broke off in her fingers.
    But there was no reply. Her heart plummeted. The magic trap was also stopping the hair from working.
    She ran to the