Backwards Moon by Mary Losure Page A

this—your fathers are there, waiting, on the other side of the Door! Don’t you want to see them?” She paused, watching them. “I know the way,” she said. Her voice was sweeter, coaxing. “All we need is that stone.”
    â€œThat can’t be right,” said Bracken. “Our mothers weren’t like that.”
    â€œThe whole world is like that,” said Toadflax. “This world is ruined, child,” she said softly. “Give me the stone, and I’ll take you to a new one. Hurry!” Already the shimmer on her dress was beginning to dull.
    â€œThe Fading,” said Nettle, staring in horror.
    â€œHurry!” shrieked Toadflax. “I don’t have long! Come,” she wheedled. “It was the only way. Don’t you see? There’s a
new world
, just waiting for you, and all you have to do is give me that stone.”
    â€œIt’s not right, what you say. It can’t be,” said Nettle.
    â€œGive it to me!” shrieked Toadflax. A spark flared from her finger and shot toward Bracken’s chest.
    â€œNo,” cried Nettle, casting her own spark back.
    The two sparks met, snapping and flaring.
    Then the spark from Toadflax’s finger thinned and grew pale. “Fah!” she spat, as it sputtered and went out. Now her dress was gray as ashes. “Fools,” she cried again and sank into dust.
    Nettle stared at the glittering pile, breathing hard. “I didn’t . . . I didn’t mean for her to die.”
    â€œThe Fading killed her,” said Bracken shakily. “Not you.” She picked up the Woodfolk cloth where it had fallen and wrapped it around the stone. “She had a bad heart. A selfish heart.”
    â€œBracken,” said Nettle suddenly. “Did we do the right thing?”
    â€œWe did the right thing,” said Bracken miserably. “To go with her, to leave the others behind, it would have been wrong. It would have been evil.”
    Slowly, Bracken put the stone in her pocket. Nettle walked and Bracken hobbled down the hall to the little window. They climbed through and crouched on the roof. Nettle reached for her broomstick, then stopped, staring down.
    Two men, both dressed alike in blue, were walking toward the house.
    â€œThe
police
!” said Nettle suddenly. “I think those humans are police!”
    â€œPolice?”
    â€œThey punish people who steal things.”
    The men had lights in their hands and were beaming them back and forth. One man’s light swept across the garden wall and stopped. The door hung open. The two men walked toward it, shining their lights.
    â€œBracken,” said Nettle, staring down. “Do you think they might think Dee and Anna stole the stone?”
    â€œOr Ben,” moaned Bracken. “They might think it was Ben!”
    â€œHumans put people in
prison
! If you take things, and they catch you, they lock you away.”
    â€œFly!” said Bracken. “Hurry.”
    They swooped down, and even as they landed Bracken was muttering the spell. “Stop!” she cried and at her voice the two men froze, staring right through her.
    â€œDon’t move,” said Bracken. Her fingers were spread wide, aimed at them. “Calmly, calmly, walk the way.” She twirled as best she could and breathed out the spell. “You will tell all the other police humans that there was nothing at all that you noticed tonight,” she said. “You have NO IDEA who stole anything, anything at all from this house, and you never will. You and all the other police humans will never, ever catch anybody, and no one will ever be locked away for taking things from this house. Do you understand?”
    The men nodded.
    â€œYou will forget this ever happened. Now go!” said Bracken, and the two men turned and walked away.
    â€œThat was hard,” said Bracken, dazed. “Really hard.”
    â€œGood for you, though.