The Secret. Ariana Chambers
wonder if they’re plotting what tricks to play this time. I take a deep breath and think of Aunt Clara and how she’d hugged me when I left and whispered the Silver Witches’ incantation: Silver me, Silver you, Silver us, Silver true. I feel a shiver going up my spine. Yesterday Izzy and the others caught me off guard, but not today. Today I’ll be ready for them. I watch as Eve trudges over to Miss Black. She’s wearing the clothes she came in as her rucksack still hasn’t turned up. She says something to Miss Black and Miss Black blows her whistle to get us all to be quiet.
‘Do any of you girls have some spare clothes you could lend Eve, please?’
Izzy and Vivien immediately start giggling.
Miss Black glares at them. ‘Is something wrong, girls?’
Izzy shakes her head, her perfect ringlets bouncing. ‘No, miss.’
‘Well, what’s so funny?’
‘Nothing. It’s just that . . .’ She pauses and smiles sweetly. ‘I don’t think Eve would really suit any of my clothes.’
‘I don’t think they’d fit either,’ Vivien adds, looking at her thin legs stretched out on the ground in front of her.
Eve’s face flushes. Her usually neatly bobbed hair is all flat on one side from sleeping and she looks tired and drawn.
‘You can borrow something of mine,’ I call across.
‘Thank you, Nessa,’ Miss Black says.
‘Creep,’ Vivien mutters.
Izzy and Stephen just smirk.
Eve trudges back across the clearing. ‘Thanks,’ she murmurs, looking down at the ground.
I crawl over to our tent and pull a clean T-shirt and some clean underwear from my bag. Thankfully Aunt Clara insisted on me bringing spares of everything. ‘You never know when you might need it,’ she said. I bundle the clothes up and hand them to Eve.
‘Thanks,’ she mutters again and disappears off into her tent.
Miss Black blows her whistle again, causing Mr Matthews, who’s sitting next to her, to spill his cup of tea all over himself.
‘Right,’ Miss Black barks. ‘The shower block is open for those of you who want showers.’ The boys all laugh and shake their heads. ‘You have half an hour to get clean and then it’s time for our hike to the caves.’
Izzy and Vivien groan in stereo.
‘How far is it?’ Izzy asks, pouting.
‘It’s three K,’ Miss Black replies. ‘Barely any distance at all.’
Izzy arches her thin eyebrows. ‘Three kilometres is miles!’
‘It’s one point eight miles,’ Miss Black retorts, getting to her feet and brushing the twigs and leaves from her tracksuit. ‘As I said, barely any distance at all.’ She puts her hands on her hips. ‘Now, when we get to the caves we’re going to split into two groups. Half of you will be with me and half of you will be with Mr Matthews.’
Mr Matthews nods his head eagerly. Much as I like him, I’m kind of hoping I’m in Miss Black’s group. Mr Matthews is so scatty I can’t imagine it would take much for him to get lost.
‘It’s very important that you all stay together in your allocated groups while we explore the caves,’ Miss Black continues. ‘The floors are likely to be very slippery and uneven. So no running and no fooling around. Do you understand?’ She glares at us and we all nod meekly – apart from Stephen who sighs, like he’s the world’s greatest action hero, and Izzy and Vivien who exchange sly smirks. My heart sinks. Surely they wouldn’t be stupid enough to pull one of their stunts inside the caves? But then I think back to what they did in Aunt Clara’s kitchen and how they nearly set fire to the entire building. Of course they’d be stupid enough. I look at Holly to see if she’s thinking the same and her grim expression confirms it.
Miss Black starts reading out the names for each group. Holly, Eve and I are in Mr Matthews’s group, along with Izzy, Stephen and Vivien. Great. But at least if they do try anything stupid we’ll be there to stop them.
After a freezing-cold shower in the shower block, which somehow managed to leave me feeling grubbier than before, we set off for the caves. Miss Black’s group have marched on ahead of us and are now out of sight but Mr Matthews prefers a more leisurely approach. It’s less of a hike and more of a meander really, as he stops to tell us what every single flower, plant, bird and tree are en route.
‘Look! Look!’ he cries as we round a bend in the track. ‘A toadstool ring!’
There, in a small clearing, is a perfect ring of toadstools. They’re the red and white spotted ones that I’ve only ever seen in drawings before.
Izzy leans against a tree and sighs like we’ve just scaled a mountain rather than ambled as slowly as snails.
‘Ancient folklore believed this to be a fairy ring,’ Mr Matthews continues. ‘That fairies would come and dance inside.’
Stephen groans. But I can’t help finding Mr Matthews’s enthusiasm infectious. All of his little anecdotes are really bringing the woods to life and, unlike the stories last night, in a good way.
‘Can we just get to the caves, please?’ Vivien says sullenly.
‘What?’ For a moment, Mr Matthews looks as if he’s forgotten the whole purpose of our walk. ‘Oh yes – yes of course.’ He holds his clipboard aloft. ‘This-a-way. Follow me!’
‘If we actually find these caves with him in charge I’ll eat my copy of Watership Down,’ Holly mutters.
What feels like two hundred bird, tree and flower sightings later, we make it to the caves. Miss Black’s group are sitting on the ground looking bored.
‘Where have you been?’ Miss Black snaps.
Mr Matthews looks genuinely puzzled. ‘Following you.’
‘We got here half an hour ago. What took you so long? Oh, never mind, you’re here now.’ Miss Black blows on her whistle, even though there’s no need as we’re all sat in silence. ‘OK, guys, remember what I said. You must stick together at all times and no running or messing about. I’ll go at the front and, Mr Matthews, can you bring up the rear, please?’
‘Of course.’
‘Now, it will get pretty narrow in there in places. None of you are claustrophobic, are you?’ Miss Black looks around the group.
Stephen frowns. ‘What does that mean?’
‘A fear of small places – you know, like your brain,’ Holly mutters.
‘Shut it!’ Stephen snaps and he, Izzy and Vivien glower at us.
Miss Black starts leading us all into the entrance of the cave. Annoyingly Izzy, Vivien and Stephen hang back so they’re right behind Holly, Eve and me at the end of the group. At first the cave doesn’t seem too bad. A shaft of sunlight has burst through the clouds and it shines pale yellow on the walls. But as Miss Black leads us further in, the caves start to get narrower and darker. Behind us, Mr Matthews turns on his torch. The beam casts around, eerily reflecting on the stalactites that are shimmering with damp. Up ahead of us, David lets out a ghostly howl and the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end.
‘Stop messing about!’ Miss Black barks from the front of the group.
‘Stop messing about!’ she barks again from right behind me, causing me to almost jump out of my skin.
‘My goodness, there’s a powerful echo in here,’ Mr Matthews says. But I hear Vivien giggling and know that she’s been mimicking again. In the darkness, I feel Holly grab my arm and squeeze it tightly. It’s OK, I tell myself. They aren’t the only ones with powers. We’re just as strong as they are. But in the cold, damp darkness it’s