Secret of the Changeling Read online

  “None taken,” grunted the fairy. “I was minutes away from fakin’ an allergy to chalk myself!”

  “So?” prompted Cleo. “Can you get past the spell around Femur’s tomb?”

  Twinkle shook his head. “I can’t do nuffink about magic that strong,” he said apologetically. “But I know someone who can…”

  Chapter Three

  The Baby

  “Peek-a-boo!” Cleo pulled her hands away from her eyes and grinned at the child in front of her. The toddler giggled joyfully.

  Resus looked on from his vantage point behind the counter in Everwell’s Emporium. “I knew she’d go gaga for that thing as soon as we got here.”

  “That thing is my niece, Poppy,” Eefa Everwell pointed out. “And if you want my help, I suggest you start being a little kinder about her!”

  The vampire blushed beneath his white face paint, which gave his cheeks a strange pink glow. “Sorry,” he muttered. “I didn’t mean she was… She’s a lovely little, er … niece. She must be, what? Six years old? Seven?”

  “She’s nearly two,” Eefa corrected. “And my sister has made a flying visit to introduce her to me – so I suggest we get on with whatever it is you’re after.”

  “Fair enough,” said Resus, glad to change the subject. “Luke?”

  But Luke didn’t reply. With his chin resting on his hands, he was staring in adoration at Eefa’s sister, Luella. The young witch’s long blonde hair shimmered in the light as she joined in her daughter’s game, and her pale blue eyes seemed to sparkle like the clear water of a tropical—

  “LUKE!”

  The cry jerked Luke back to reality. “Yes?” he grunted, wiping drool from the corner of his mouth. “What?”

  “Eefa wants to know how you’d like her to help us,” continued the vampire. “But you were lost somewhere in her sister’s enchantment charm!”

  “I was not,” retorted Luke. “I was just thinking how, er … how alike she and her daughter look.”

  “Thank you,” smiled Luella. “Whoever knew that Scream Street would be home to such a charming young gentleman?”

  “Oh, I … er…” Luke’s mouth opened and closed like a goldfish. “You really didn’t… That is…”

  Eefa stepped in for him. “Luella is beautiful – with or without her enchantment charm,” she said. “And yes, Poppy takes after her mum. But that’s not what you came to talk to me about, is it?”

  Luke finally tore his gaze away from the visiting witch. “No, it’s not,” he confirmed. “We need to return the fifth founding father’s relic – Femur Ribs’s skull – but we can’t get inside her tomb.”

  “Twinkle says it’s been sealed by magic,” added Resus.

  The fairy looked up from a display case of ruby and sapphire tiaras. “S’right,” he said. “Serious stuff it is, too. Not seen anyfink like it around here before.”

  “Will you please help us break through the spell?” Luke asked.

  “Today?” said Eefa. “But I want to spend time with my sister. I only let you in because Cleo asked to see the baby.”

  “Could you just take a look at it?” begged Luke. “Please…”

  “You could take your sister with you,” suggested Resus. “You know the old saying – two witches are better than one.”

  Eefa’s brow furrowed. “That’s not a saying.”

  “Well, then – it should be,” Resus persisted. “I’ll bet there’s no spell in Scream Street the Everwell sisters can’t break through.”

  “Flattery will get you nowhere, Resus Negative,” smiled the witch. “But even if Luella and I do go to examine this spell, what are we supposed to do with Poppy?”

  “We’ll look after her!” Resus said quickly. “I’ve been looking forward to spending time with her all morning.”

  Eefa looked surprised. “You have?”

  “Of course,” continued the vampire. “In fact, I clearly remember saying to Luke in class this morning that I couldn’t wait for lessons to finish so I could come over here and play peek-a-boo with Polly.”

  “You mean Poppy,” put in Luke with a barely disguised grin.

  “Exactly!”

  Eefa didn’t look convinced. “I don’t know…”

  “She’ll be fine with us,” Resus urged. “Just look how good I am with children…”

  Jumping down from his stool he hurried across the shop and put his cape over his face. Poppy’s eyes widened in surprise.

  “Now, watch the master entertainer at work…” With a flourish, Resus pulled the cape away and smiled his biggest, cheesiest smile. “Peek-a-boo!”

  The effect was instant. Poppy took one look at the vampire, buried her face in Cleo’s shoulder and screamed.

  “What’s wrong?” asked Resus, moving behind the mummy so he could see Poppy’s face. “You were OK when Cleo did it!”

  Catching sight of him again, Poppy began to sob uncontrollably and tried to climb over Cleo’s shoulder to get away.

  “Poppy!” cried Luella, reaching out to take her daughter. But the toddler was in hysterics and beginning to act very strangely indeed. Her eyes flashed red and she bit down hard on her mother’s outstretched hand.

  “Ow!”

  Suddenly there was a tearing sound and a long, sharp tail ripped through the back of Poppy’s nappy, making a hole in her dress. Cleo screamed and dropped her to the floor, where she began gnashing and snarling.

  “What’s happening to her?” Luella wailed.

  Poppy flicked out a forked tongue and let loose a piercing screech. Pushing past Cleo, she scampered over to some shelves and began to climb up them like a monkey. Once she reached the top, she began to pull out clumps of her own hair and hiss angrily.

  Eefa put her arm around her terrified sister.

  “What’s going on?” sobbed Luella. “What’s happened to my baby?”

  “That’s not your baby,” said Twinkle, staring up at the child. Her scalp was now red raw and beginning to bleed. “I fink it’s a changeling!”

  “A what?” demanded Luke.

  “Let me see!” cried a voice that came from the direction of Luke’s jeans pocket. Luke pulled out a golden book with The G.H.O.U.L. Guide embossed along the spine and turned it so that the face on the cover could look at the creature.

  “Oh dear,” said Samuel Skipstone. “I’m sorry to say that Twinkle is correct. That is indeed a changeling.”

  Luke continued to watch the baby, whose tail was now swishing back and forth angrily. “What’s one of those?”

  The book opened and began to flick through its pages until it found the correct entry. There was an article accompanied by an illustration of a beast not very different from the one they were all looking at.

  “Changelings are a kind of shapeshifter,” explained the author. “They were once used by dark fairies – the original occupants of the fairy realm. They roamed the land stealing children and leaving replicas in their places.”

  “But there hasn’t been no dark fairies for years and years,” said Twinkle.

  “Not until now,” agreed Skipstone. The author of The G.H.O.U.L. Guide had spent his life researching Scream Street and similar communities before committing his spirit to the pages of his work. There was very little he didn’t know about G.H.O.U.L.’s unusual residents.

  “So … that isn’t really Poppy?” asked Eefa.

  “I’m afraid not,” replied Skipstone. “It’s a copy, left behind by whoever took the real Poppy.”

  “It’s not a very good copy, if you ask me,” said Resus. “I might not know much about babies – but the tail and forked tongue are a bit of a giveaway.”

  “Something must have scared it to cause such a reaction,” said Skipstone. “Some changelings have been known to remain undetected for many years.”

  “So, where’s my baby?” asked Luella tearfully. “Who’s taken her, and why?”

  “That I cannot say,” replied the author. “And neither can the changeling. They know nothing of thei
r true purpose, and can only carry out the most basic imitation of the child they have replaced. Sadly, that deception is more than enough to fool many families – unless they discover their changeling’s secret, of course.”

  “Secret?” repeated Cleo. “What do you mean?”

  “Every changeling conceals a secret; a hidden ability or behaviour that makes them unique,” explained Skipstone. “When the creatures were in common use, it was often the only way to tell them apart.”

  “What sort of ability?” asked Resus.

  The G.H.O.U.L. Guide flipped over a page to reveal a long list. “Some of them could fly or become invisible, others could detect gold or speak a hundred languages. This list contains only the secrets harboured by changelings I was personally able to research.”

  Cleo eyed the hissing child as Luke closed the book and slipped it back into his pocket. “So, this little thing has a secret…”

  “Let’s hope it’s the language one,” said Resus. “Then it might be able to tell us where and when it was swapped for the real Poppy.”

  Luella dissolved into another flood of tears and Eefa did her best to comfort her. “Where’s my little girl?” she wailed.

  Luke glanced at Resus and Cleo before answering. “We don’t know,” he admitted. “But we’re going to find her.”

  Chapter Four

  The Plan

  Resus pulled Luke aside. “We’re going to find Poppy?” he whispered. “How?”

  Luke shrugged. “I don’t know,” he said. “But we have to try.” He paused for a moment. “I remember when my mum had her first werewolf transformation. I thought I’d lost her; that there was some sort of monster in her place – I can imagine how Eefa’s sister must be feeling.”

  “It’s a nice idea,” said Resus. “But why us?”

  “We can’t expect Luella to go looking for her, the state she’s in,” said Luke, watching Eefa pour her sister a cup of tea. “And apart from her, we’re the only ones who’ve ever really been outside Scream Street.”

  “He’s right,” agreed Cleo. “We are the most qualified to do this.”

  “Maybe so,” said Resus, “but don’t we already have enough on our plates? Aren’t we supposed to be finding a way into Femur’s crypt?”

  Eefa handed the tea to her trembling sister and then came over to join the trio. “If you do this for us,” she said, taking Luke’s hand, “Luella and I will help all we can. If you manage to find Poppy, we’ll break that shield spell and get you into the tomb.”

  Luke smiled. “You’ve got yourself a deal.”

  “But whoever’s got Poppy could have taken her anywhere in the world,” Resus pointed out. “We can’t just start walking and hope we eventually bump into her!”

  “He’s got a point,” Cleo admitted.

  Luke turned to look at the changeling. The creature had relaxed a little and was busy stuffing its mouth with sweets from a glass jar on a nearby shelf. “There’s got to be some sort of clue to get us started.”

  “Well, it’s an ugly little critter,” said Resus. “Is that a clue?”

  “Don’t be so cruel,” Cleo snapped.

  “I’m just saying I don’t think I’ll be going in for another game of peek-a-boo!”

  “Just as well,” said Cleo. “You were the one to frighten it.”

  Luke’s eyes widened. “He was, wasn’t he! The changeling took one look at Resus and then flipped out.”

  Resus bristled. “You’re no oil painting yourself, Watson.”

  “I don’t mean that,” said Luke impatiently. “But the baby was quite happily playing with Cleo until you tried to join in.” He took a step away and looked from Cleo to Resus and back again. “What’s the difference between the two of you?”

  “How long have you got?” Cleo asked.

  “It’ll be the face,” Luke said, ignoring her. “When you play peek-a-boo, all you see is the other person’s face. But why would that make a difference?”

  Cleo shrugged. “I’m pretty much covered in bandages, so the changeling won’t have seen much of my face to begin with. It’s just the eyes and the smile, really.”

  “Hm,” said Luke. He turned to Resus. “Try to play with her again.”

  “Are you daft?” exclaimed the vampire. “Have you seen the teeth on that thing?”

  “I’m hoping she’s more interested in yours. Now, do it!”

  With a sigh, Resus hid his face behind his cape and went to stand by the shelves. Whipping the cape away, he grinned up at the changeling and shouted, “Peek-a-boo!” The changeling screeched in terror and leapt across to another shelf, then began to hurl model unicorns at the children below.

  “OK,” said Luke. “Try again, but this time take your fangs out first…”

  Resus unclipped his false fangs and stuffed them into his pocket. He steeled himself for another scream as he pulled the cape away a second time. “Peek-a-boo!”

  To his amazement, the changeling collapsed into a fit of giggles. Its tail began to shrink and curly golden locks appeared through it’s scalp, covering the bald patches.

  “It’s the fangs,” breathed Cleo. “The changeling’s scared of vampires!”

  Resus pulled his teeth back out of his pocket and stared at them. He’d never had that effect on anyone before, and secretly he felt a little proud.

  “Skipstone said that dark fairies used to swap changelings for children,” said Luke. “Could there be a link between dark fairies and vampires?” He turned to Twinkle. “I don’t suppose there are any vampires in the fairy realm, are there?”

  Twinkle’s bottom lip began to quiver, then he suddenly burst into tears. “Just one!” he bawled, running from the shop and out into the square.

  “Well, I wasn’t expecting that,” admitted Resus. “We should go and find him.” He made for the door, but Cleo stopped him.

  “Aren’t you forgetting something?” she asked.

  Resus shrugged. “I don’t think so.”

  Cleo gestured to the changeling, who now looked exactly like Poppy once again. “We have to take her with us, dummy.”

  “We can’t take that thing with us!” cried Resus.

  “We don’t have any choice,” said Luke. “She’s our only hope of finding out where the switch took place.”

  “All right,” sighed Resus, “have it your way. But if it starts biting and scratching again, don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

  “How will we get her down?” asked Cleo.

  “Don’t look at me,” snorted Resus. “You’re the one with all the bright ideas!”

  The changeling let out a loud burp and then giggled.

  “Maybe she’s hungry,” suggested Cleo. She pulled a tiny, brown object from her bandages and held it up towards the little girl. “Here you go…”

  “What’s that?” asked Luke.

  “The magic bean Twinkle gave us in class this morning.”

  “The changeling has been taught to mimic a little girl, not a hamster,” scoffed Luke. “What’s Poppy’s favourite food?” he asked Luella.

  “What does it matter?” the witch sniffed. “That’s not really her!”

  “No, it’s not,” he said, “but the changeling has learned to act exactly like Poppy – so if we give her something Poppy likes, it might just work.”

  “Well, she does love apples,” said Luella.

  “Coming right up,” announced Resus, pulling a large, red apple from his cape and tossing it to Cleo. As soon as the changeling saw it, she jumped down from the shelf and into the mummy’s arms.

  Luella reached out and stroked the changeling gently on the cheek. “She looks so like her,” she croaked, her tears beginning to flow again.

  “We’ll be back with the real Poppy before you know it,” Luke assured her. And with a final smile to Luella, he ushered Resus and Cleo out of the emporium, the changeling snuggled happily in the mummy’s arms.

  They found Twinkle sitting on the kerb outside, dabbing his eyes with a frilly handkerc
hief. “Do you fink they noticed?” he asked.

  “What, that you burst into tears and ran off like a big girl’s blouse,” said Resus. “Nope. No one noticed at all.”

  “That’s good,” sniffed the fairy. “I didn’t want to give Eefa’s sister another fing to worry about.”

  “I think she’s about as worried as she’s going to get,” said Cleo.

  Twinkle fought back his own tears. “But… But she knows you’re taking that fing into the fairy realm to try to find the real little girl…”

  Luke nodded. “Is that going to be a problem?”

  “Y-yes!” A bubble of pink, sparkly snot burst from Twinkle’s nose as he began to cry again. “The fairy realm is at war!”

  Chapter Five

  The Attack

  Luke, Resus and Cleo peered through the Hex Hatch into an idyllic woodland scene. Beams of sunlight dappled through the trees and skipped playfully across a small clearing. Birds trilled happy melodies and a family of deer pranced across a path of red brick that wound lazily away into the distance.

  “Well,” said Resus eventually. “It doesn’t exactly look like a warzone.”

  “And I never imagined a Hex Hatch could look like this!” said Cleo, examining the window in the air. Pink sparkles fizzed around the edges of the newly opened entrance to the fairy realm. “It’s an overdose of cute.”

  Twinkle had opened the Hex Hatch in a secluded spot at the rear of Everwell’s Emporium, but when Luke asked him which part of the realm it linked to, the fairy had resumed his sobbing and flown off.

  “What do you reckon?” asked Luke as he watched a pair of butterflies dance across the glade. “Is it safe to go in?”

  As if in answer, the changeling jumped out of Cleo’s arms and through the Hex Hatch into the woodland glade, where she began to toddle about and collect flowers.

  “Ditto seems to think it’s OK,” said Cleo.

  Resus frowned. “Ditto?”

  Cleo nodded. “Well, she’s not the real Poppy – so we can’t keep calling her that. I thought I’d come up with a new name.”