Indigo Magic by Victoria Hanley Read Free Book Online Page A

use it either? And what about all of Lily’s stolen radia?
    ‘What’s wrong?’ asked Laz. ‘Afraid? Mab’s marshmallows, Zaria! You can’t win big without a little risk.’
    I glared at him thoughtfully. ‘If I destroyed Lily’s magic, billions of radia would be lost for ever.’
    ‘No doubt.’ The genie tugged the brim of his leprechaun cap.
    ‘Would it kill her?’
    ‘Might.’
    But if she dies, she can’t tell me about my family
.
    ‘We could never fix the durable spells,’ I said.
    Laz sneered. ‘Always the good little fairy. Why would the durable spells concern
you
? The less magic there is in Feyland, the more powerful
you
will be.’ He bowed to me with a false flourish. ‘You’re still Violet, aren’t you?’
    ‘Powerful in a dying land?’ I cried. ‘What good is that?’
    ‘Good.’ Laz spat the word as if it were a bitter sprig of bannerite. ‘Don’t be a fool. Will you or won’t you do what must be done?’
    Rotten smuggler! He had no right to push me. None. How I’d love to fly away this minute and never see him again. But I needed one more answer. ‘I don’t know,’ I said. ‘But I have one last question.’
    He shrugged. ‘The more you ask, the richer I get.’
    ‘How is the aevum derk made?’
    The genie looked at me sourly. ‘That’s my question for
you
. How did you do it, Zaria? How did you transform troll magic?’ His murky eyes were at half mast as usual. Then they popped wide. ‘Hobs and hooligans! Why didn’t I see it before?’
    ‘See what?’ I demanded.
    ‘You’re one of the Feynere,’ he whispered.
    ‘The what?’
    ‘The Feynere.’ He peered at me. ‘Your kind died out so long ago it’s a wonder there’s a word for you. And yet, here you are.’ He swept me a shaky bow. ‘Banburus Lazuli, at your service.’
    ‘What do you mean?’
    ‘A long, long time ago, Zaria,’ he rasped, ‘there were fey folk with astounding powers. Each one had Violet reserves of radia and Level One Hundred magic. They could protect themselves with unknown spells. And they had magic that could do unexpected things.’ He grinned an eerie, twisted grin. ‘You’re one of them. A Feynere.’
    ‘I don’t believe you. How could I be one of them when I’ve never heard a single word about them?’
    More grinning. ‘I know how I missed it. A Feynere should be magnificent! Not a smallish fairy with rather plain colouring. No disrespect intended.’
    Laz was looking at me as if he knew my darkest secrets. I had to get away from him.
    ‘I need to be going,’ I said, realizing I had lost count of the questions I’d asked. ‘How much do I owe?’
    His eyeballs snicked back and forth as he began ticking on his fingers. ‘One,’ he said, and then murmured to himself. ‘Two .’ More murmurs. ‘Three. Four.’ Laz grinned and went on counting. ‘Fifteen questions. Seven hundred and fifty radia will cover it.’
    ‘What!’
    He drew his wand again. ‘When it comes to bargains such as this, I never cheat.’
    I couldn’t prove he was overcharging. And I couldn’t wait to leave. So even though I hated to pay him, I did, while the drums pounded and the fiddles whined, and someone bellowed another verse to the same song: ‘…
human folk, earthen ware, mud in your eye
…’
    Before I left, I gave Laz what I hoped was a sinister stare. ‘You swore to tell no one,’ I said. ‘And that means no one, for any price.’
    He put up his hands as if the thought of selling me out had never crossed his greedy mind. ‘Of course.’
    ‘If you betray me again, I’ll visit you when you least expect it. I’ll sprinkle that cap with aevum derk; I’ll sprinkle your head too.’
    He smiled. ‘I want only to serve you, Zaria Tourmaline.’
    I didn’t say farewell. Slinging the bag around my neck, I shot into the dark sky.

Chapter Fourteen
    O NCE UPON A TIME, GODMOTHERS AND GODFATHERS WOULD INTERVENE IF THEY PERCEIVED THEIR GODCHILDREN IN TROUBLE, BUT THIS HAS BECOME RATHER RARE . T