The Jewel Fairies Collection Page 10

  Lucy shook her head sadly. The three friends fell silent, trying to think of a new plan to rescue the diamond.

  Then, suddenly, a smile appeared on Lucy’s face. She started dancing up and down. “That’s it! Of course!” she laughed. “Kirsty — you’re a genius!”

  “I am?” Kirsty replied, looking surprised.

  “Yes — because Pegasus will help us!” Lucy cried. She grinned at the girls’ blank expressions. “He’s a winged horse who lives right here in Fairyland. He’s wonderful! I’ll see if I can use a spell to call him.”

  Kirsty’s and Rachel’s eyes widened. Pegasus! They waited excitedly as Lucy waved her wand, sending ice-white sparkles spiraling into the air. Suddenly, the girls felt a strong wind swirl around them. They looked nervously up at the sky, afraid that they’d see Jack Frost flying toward them. But then both girls gasped in delight. There, beating his great, feathered wings, was a silvery-white flying horse!

  Pegasus whinnied softly as he landed next to Lucy and nuzzled her shoulder.

  The little fairy stroked his silky white mane. “Oh, Pegasus, thank you for coming,” she said. “We need your help!”

  As Lucy told Pegasus what was going on, Kirsty and Rachel both realized that they couldn’t take their eyes off the winged horse. His mane and tail sparkled in the starlight, and his body seemed to glow with a magical white light.

  Pegasus nodded his great head and stamped a hoof.

  “He’ll do it!” Lucy cried, and threw her arms around his neck. “I knew he’d help!” She beamed at the girls as she climbed onto Pegasus’s back.

  “While you two distract Jack Frost, Pegasus and I will fly up behind him and get the diamond,” Lucy declared.

  “Hooray!” cried Kirsty. “Let’s go!”

  Kirsty, Rachel, and Pegasus all flapped their wings and flew up into the dark night sky. Lucy waved her wand, sending a stream of sparkling white stars ahead to light their way.

  Kirsty and Rachel looked nervously at each other as they got closer to the diamond. “Come on,” Kirsty said, grabbing Rachel’s hand. “We can do this. We have to — the fairies need our help!”

  The two friends kept flying, trying to be brave. Here above the clouds, the air was cold but calm again. Jack Frost’s storm had stopped.

  “There’s Jack Frost,” Rachel hissed. He was zooming around between the stars. “Are you ready?”

  Kirsty nodded. “Ready,” she said.

  The girls flew toward Jack Frost.

  “Back again, girls?” he taunted, when he spotted them. “Well, you’ll never get past me!”

  “We’re not scared of you!” Rachel called out loudly. “You’re full of hot air, Jack Frost!”

  Jack Frost gave a gleeful cackle. “Did you say hot air?” he asked. “This should cool you down!” He stretched out a bony finger. Bolts of magic ice lightning shot from his hand and flew straight toward Kirsty and Rachel!

  Kirsty and Rachel swerved aside in alarm! The lightning bolts thudded into the Twisty Tree behind them with a crash.

  Rachel’s heart pounded in fear, but she was not going to give up. “We have to keep him distracted,” she muttered. “Come on, Kirsty!”

  The girls bravely flew on toward Jack Frost.

  “Haven’t you learned your lesson?” he cried.

  Another lightning bolt zigzagged toward the girls. They both veered away and it, too, whacked into the tree, knocking off a branch. Kirsty gulped. The ice lightning had come so close to her, she had felt it whistle past her wings.

  But again, she and Rachel turned back to face their enemy. And then, to her delight, Kirsty saw Pegasus galloping through the night sky behind Jack Frost! As they got closer to the diamond, Lucy clung to Pegasus’s silvery mane. Kirsty heard Rachel gasp with excitement and realized that she had also seen the Diamond Fairy. Now the girls had to make sure Jack Frost didn’t take his eyes off them for a second, or else he might spot Lucy and Pegasus!

  “Missed us,” Kirsty called out. “You need to get your eyes tested, Jack Frost. You’re not throwing straight!”

  Jack Frost let out a thunderous roar of rage. “That does it!” he bellowed. “This time, I’ll knock you pesky girls out of the sky!”

  But just as he started muttering a spell, Kirsty saw that behind him Pegasus and Lucy had reached the diamond. Lucy plucked it out of the sky and gave the girls a thumbs-up sign. Then Pegasus soared away, his wings beating powerfully.

  Jack Frost heard the sound of Pegasus’s wings and broke off his spell. “What’s that?” he cried. He turned and let out an angry yell as he spotted Lucy on the winged horse. He had been tricked! “Come back!” he roared, pointing his wand at Pegasus.

  The magical horse neighed and tossed his head as a freezing bolt of lightning hurtled toward him. Pegasus dodged the bolt but had to swerve so sharply that Lucy almost slipped off. She clutched at his mane to keep herself from falling. As she did, she lost her grip on the diamond! Rachel and Kirsty watched in horror as the jewel tumbled through the air.

  “I’ll get it!” Kirsty yelled, diving toward the diamond as it fell. She flung out a hand, stretching to reach the jewel. “Yes!” she cried as her fingers closed around the diamond. “Got it!”

  Jack Frost snarled. “Oh, no you don’t!” he shouted, before calling out a spell.

  Kirsty gasped as she felt her wings freeze and go numb. Jack Frost’s spell had turned them to ice. She couldn’t fly!

  “Help!” Kirsty screamed, trying desperately to flap her icy wings. But it was no use — they were frozen solid. She kept falling, still clutching the diamond in her hand.

  “Hold on, I’m coming!” Rachel cried, swooping toward her friend as fast as she could fly.

  Jack Frost pointed his wand at Rachel, too, and a flood of icy sparkles shot toward her. But Rachel managed to dodge his magic and kept zooming after Kirsty at top speed. She finally reached her friend and grabbed Kirsty’s hand. She flapped her wings as hard as she could, trying to drag her friend upward, but it was hopeless. Rachel’s wings just weren’t strong enough to carry two fairies. She found herself and Kirsty sinking faster and faster toward the ground.

  Jack Frost laughed nastily. Rachel thought that she and Kirsty were doomed to crash! But suddenly, Lucy and Pegasus were there, swooping beneath the girls.

  Rachel and Kirsty landed on the horse’s back with a jolt.

  “Oh, thank you, Pegasus!” Kirsty gasped in relief. “And I still have the diamond!” she added.

  “Take us to the royal palace, Pegasus,” Lucy urged.

  Just then, Rachel felt an icy blast behind her. She turned to see Jack Frost chasing after them on a gust of wind.

  “Quick, Pegasus!” she cried. “Fly as fast as you can!”

  Jack Frost was closing in on them, but Pegasus surged through the cloud layer. Soon, they had reached the warmer skies over Fairyland.

  Kirsty peered down and saw the royal palace below. King Oberon, Queen Titania, and the six other Jewel Fairies were waiting in the courtyard.

  “Hold out the diamond, Kirsty,” Lucy called. As Kirsty stretched out her hand, Lucy touched the end of her wand to the magic jewel. The diamond vanished in a fountain of sparks. But as Pegasus landed and the three friends slid down from his back, it reappeared, shining like a star in Queen Titania’s crown.

  Magic in every color of the rainbow sparkled around the Fairy Queen. She smiled at Kirsty and Rachel.

  “Wonderful job, girls,” she called in her soft, musical voice as she undid the spell on Kirsty’s wings.

  But at that moment, a terrible howl of rage echoed through the air. It was Jack Frost! He had followed Pegasus through the clouds and was hovering in the sky overhead. “You girls have ruined everything!” he thundered. Then he waved his wand in a complicated pattern.

  Instantly, the air turned bitterly cold. An icy wind sprang up and chased away the clouds. Above, the Fairyland stars seemed to tremble.

  Kirsty looked up and cried out in fear. Showers of gli
ttering, razor-sharp icicles were raining down on her and Rachel!

  Quickly, Queen Titania lifted her own wand. Magic crackled from the tip in golden sparks. As the fiery sparks touched the icicles, the ice was transformed into rainbow-colored sparkles that drifted down harmlessly around the girls.

  “NOOO!” Jack Frost shouted. He swung his wand toward the queen. At once, an icy wind rushed at her.

  Queen Titania’s wand flashed in the sky as the Fairy Queen cast another spell and sent a stream of rainbow-colored magic shooting toward Jack Frost. While the girls watched, the queen’s magic collided with the icy wind. There was a huge explosion, and the night sky lit up with streaks of rainbow colors.

  “It’s like fireworks!” Rachel gasped.

  “And look, Queen Titania’s spell is stronger than Jack Frost’s!” Kirsty cheered. The girls watched as the queen’s spell forced Jack Frost’s ice-white magic back at him.

  Jack Frost shouted in rage as he was sent tumbling through the night sky by his own icy spell. The girls watched him grow smaller and smaller as he spun off into the distance.

  “That should keep him out of trouble for a while,” the queen said with satisfaction. Then she turned to Rachel and Kirsty. “My dear girls,” she went on, taking their hands. “You’ve saved Fairyland again — and with such a daring rescue! I can’t tell you how wonderful it is to have all the jewels back in my crown again.”

  “You were amazing,” Lucy added, hugging the girls. Then the six other Jewel Fairies rushed over to thank Kirsty and Rachel, too.

  “Now it’s time to recharge everybody’s magic supply!” the queen announced. “Kirsty and Rachel will be our very special guests for the ceremony,” she added. “Take your places please, fairies.”

  Kirsty and Rachel watched as the royal band, including their old friend, Bertram the frog footman, came out of the palace and began to play. At once, fairies came from all directions, laughing and cheering as they lined up behind the king and queen.

  The queen motioned for Rachel and Kirsty to join her as she and the king led the procession into the palace.

  “This is so exciting,” Kirsty breathed as they marched through the Great Hall. “I hope it isn’t just a nice dream that India has sent me!”

  The procession entered a small room. The girls held their breath as the queen took off her crown and placed it on a red velvet cushion. Instantly, a fountain of sparkling light shot up from each jewel. The beams of light met in midair above the crown, and formed a twinkling rainbow of fairy dust.

  “Wow!” Rachel exclaimed. “It’s so beautiful!”

  The king and queen dipped their wands into the rainbow, and the tips glowed brightly. Then Lucy did the same, and a faint outline of her wings reappeared on her back. It grew brighter and stronger until her wings shimmered and shone with pure, sparkling fairy magic.

  One by one, every fairy in the procession did the same, recharging each wand with the power of the jewels’ magic. And as their wings reappeared, each fairy’s face lit up with happiness. “Look!” Kirsty said, nudging Rachel. The two girls peeked out of the window to see the courtyard outside the palace filled with happy fairies, fluttering and flying in circles just for fun.

  When all the fairies had recharged their wands, the king and queen led Rachel and Kirsty out into the courtyard, too. There was so much magic in the air, it was filled with sparks from all the fairy wands.

  “Thank you again for your hard work, girls,” the king said, smiling. “We would like you to have these as a token of our thanks.” He handed each girl a beautiful ring.

  “Oh, thank you,” Rachel said, slipping the ring onto her finger. It fit perfectly, of course! “Look, Kirsty, in the rings are all the gems of Queen Titania’s crown: moonstone, garnet, emerald, topaz, amethyst, sapphire, and diamond!”

  “Every time I wear this ring, I’ll remember the adventures we’ve had with the Jewel Fairies,” Kirsty said.

  Then the queen touched her wand to each of the girls’ golden lockets. “I refilled your lockets with fairy dust,” she said. “You can come and find us if ever you need our help.” She hugged both girls warmly. “And now, it’s time for you to go home.”

  “Thank you for everything,” Rachel and Kirsty called. The king waved his wand in the air and a haze of rainbow sparkles swirled around them. At once, the fairies’ laughter faded and Rachel and Kirsty found themselves back in Rachel’s bedroom.

  “Oh, Kirsty,” Rachel cried, gazing at her fairy ring. “What an adventure!”

  Kirsty nodded, but before she could speak, there was a knock at the front door.

  “We’re just in time! My mom and dad must be here,” Kirsty said, tucking her fairy ring safely into her bag.

  “What an incredible week!” Rachel said, sighing. “I can’t wait until our next visit.”

  Kirsty nodded happily. “Who knows what fairy adventures we’ll have then!”

  The two friends grinned at each other and hurried downstairs to the front door.

  Rachel and Kirsty have rescued

  all of the magic jewels, but now

  need their help!

  Join their next adventure with

  “Catch!”

  Kirsty Tate tossed a baseball into the air. She watched as her friend Rachel Walker ran across the grass to catch it. It was the first day of spring vacation and Rachel had come to stay with Kirsty’s family for a whole week. The two girls were playing in the park while Kirsty’s parents were out at the grocery store. The sun was shining brightly and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. It felt like perfect spring weather.

  Rachel held up the ball triumphantly. “Your turn,” she called. “Ready?”

  Before Kirsty could reply, loud barking rang through the air. Both girls spun around to see a large black dog bounding past them.

  Rachel jumped back as the dog raced by. “Is that a squirrel it’s chasing?” she asked, watching the dog run off.

  Kirsty shielded her eyes from the sun to take a better look. “No, it’s a kitten!” she exclaimed. Her eyes widened at the sight of a tiny white-and-gray kitten scrambling across the grass as fast as it could. “What’s a kitten doing in the park?”

  “I don’t know — but that dog’s about to catch it,” Rachel said in alarm. “Come on!”

  The two girls started to run after the animals. But they hadn’t gotten very far before a sudden flash of bright light flickered through the air. A cloud of amber-colored sparkles swirled around the kitten. Seconds later, the kitten had vanished — and an enormous striped tiger had appeared in its place!

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  e-ISBN 978-0-545-60563-2

  The Jewel Fairies #1: India the Moonstone Fairy copyright © 2005 by Rainbow Magic Limited.

  Illustrations copyright © 2005 by Georgie Ripper.

  The Jewel Fairies #2: Scarlett the Garnet Fairy copyright © 2005 by Rainbow Magic Limited.

  Illustrations copyright © 2005 by Georgie Ripper.

  The Jewel Fairies #3: Emily the Emerald Fairy copyright © 2005 by Rainbow Magic Limited.

  Illustrations copyright © 2005 by Georgie Ripper.

  The Jewel Fairies #4: Chloe the Topaz Fairy copyright © 2005 by Rainbow Magic Limited.

  Illustrations copyright © 2005 by Georgie Ripper.

  The Jewel Fairies #5: Amy the Amethyst Fairy copyright © 2005 by Rainbow Magic Limited.

  Illustrations copyright © 2005 by Georgie Ripper.

  The Jewel Fairies #6: Sophie the Sapphire Fairy copyright © 2005 by
Rainbow Magic Limited.

  Illustrations copyright © 2005 by Georgie Ripper.

  The Jewel Fairies #7: Lucy the Diamond Fairy copyright © 2005 by Rainbow Magic Limited.

  Illustrations copyright © 2005 by Georgie Ripper.

  All rights reserved. Published by Scholastic Inc., 557 Broadway, New York, NY 10012, by arrangement with Rainbow Magic Limited.

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  First Scholastic printing, July 2007

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