Toffee's Trick

Chapter 25

Star's heart was beating very fast and her palms were slicked with sweat. The absence of her wand felt like a gaping hole in her mind- it was like waking up one day and finding yourself without your teeth.

Trembling slightly, she descended the steep and narrow stairs into the swirling blackness below, wondering what Toffee had put in stall for her and constantly worried about Marco.

Finally, after what seemed like an age, she reached the bottom step. The darkness became intense. It swallowed her like black water. She squinted and searched through the shifting ebony, smelt must, mildew and old stone. The ground beneath her feet was cracked and the walls on either side were really close together, creating a difficult walkway to squeeze through. Star glanced over her shoulder and saw a stamp sized square of light which was the top of the stairs, high above her. She took a deep breath and once again summoned her wand, stepping into the jet abyss.

-

When she found it, she let out a small sob of joy.

It lay on a hip high pedestal surrounded by a mysterious glow, intact but with a deep crack down the centre. The lights around it created a shifting orb of protection: this must be what Toffee had used to stop the wand exploding.

Slowly, Star reached out and touched the force field. It felt like a thick bobble which she couldn't break through with her fingers alone. She reached down and picked up a large rock from the stone floor, flinging it down at the bubble with all her strength. It bounced off and the force field remained intact.

Star swore.

Suddenly an idea popped into her head; she closed her eyes and thought it through quickly before nodding to herself and then getting to her knees in front of the wand.

She took a deep breath, and once again, recited the Whispering Spell.

For a few seconds, nothing happened. Star sat up on her heels like a meercat, staring intently at it, waiting.

Then the crack in the wand seemed to shiver.

It morfed and twisted, and began to slowly reseal itself. The wand was fixing itself.

When the last sliver of crack had slid shut, the whole wand quivered. Star knew what was coming and ran for cover- but nothing happened. She had been expecting the force field to explode, but it stayed intact.

"What...?" Star whispered to herself, approaching the wand again. It was whole and mended, but inside Toffee's damned bubble.

Star swore again and leapt on the bubble, punching, kicking and biting it with all her might. Her anguish and fury, guilt and worry all burst from her chest as she fought against it, sobbing uncontrollably. The hearts on her cheeks broke and shattered.

As soon as her tears splashed onto the force field, it began to quake and wobble. Star looked down at it and then quickly jumped off- it almost looked like it was going to melt away.

And then it did.

Star's wand was free.

She grinned and snatched it up, saying,

"Oh, wand, I'm so sorry- I'll never lose you again!" She held it tight to her chest and flipped open the lid. The unicorn inside looked up at her and smiled widely.

"You're back!" He neighed. "And you fixed us!"

"That's right Uni, and I'm never letting you out of my sight again!" Star cried. "Now, back to business. Let's go fix Marco!"