‘But why did he tell the duke?’ gasped Willow.
Moreg’s lips twitched. ‘Couldn’t help himself – forgotten tellers see things as if they just happened. And they often blurt it out before they realise. They aren’t stupid – they’re just not always aware of what happens to them when they’re having a vision. Making for rather awkward social situations. As a result very few oubliers have lived to tell their tales and have an alarming capacity for turning up buried beneath people’s floorboards or at the bottom of wells. They often carry their own food for fear of being poisoned. They’re deeply suspicious of gatherings of people, partly because they get flooded with other people’s memories, and partly because the more visions they have the more chance they have of getting themselves into trouble by offending people. So the few that have survived are virtually hermits, who start running the minute they see anyone approaching …’
‘Oh,’ said Willow with a frown. ‘How are we going to find one, then, if they’re impossible to find?’
‘Tricky, I said,’ grinned Moreg. ‘But not impossible, if you know where to start.’
‘And you do?’
‘Oh yes. I’ve found in life that sometimes it’s useful to look back a little, to see when you need to go forward.’
‘Huh?’
‘We’re going to visit his last known address.’
‘Oh,’ said Willow, blinking at the ominous use of ‘we’.
‘I think you may need to pack a bag.’
‘Oh dear,’ Willow whispered.
Meanwhile, far away in a hidden stone fortress, where no magic had been able to penetrate for a thousand years, a figure stood alone in the tower and waited.
Waited for the raven, and the message that could lead to his downfall, betraying his plans before he was ready to seize power.
There were shadows beneath his eyes; sleep was a tonic he could ill afford.
But no raven came this day. Just as it hadn’t come the day before.
At last he allowed himself to breathe a sigh of relief; at last he allowed himself to believe. It had worked.
He put the box inside his robes, keeping it close to his heart. It had done its job well. Never again would he let the witch get the better of him.
He left the tower, and found his faithful followers waiting on the winding stone staircase for the news. ‘She can’t remember?’ asked one, his face dark, hidden behind the hood of his robe. ‘Does that mean she won’t be coming?’
He gave a low, mirthless laugh. ‘Oh, she will. I have no doubt of that. But this time I will be ready.’

3 Contents Cover Title Page Copyright First published in Great Britain by HarperCollins Children’s Books in 2019 Published in this ebook edition in 2019 HarperCollins Children’s Books is a division of HarperCollins Publishers Ltd, HarperCollins Publishers 1 London Bridge Street London SE1 9GF The HarperCollins Children’s Books website address is www.harpercollins.co.uk Text copyright © Dominique Valente 2019 Illustrations copyright © Sarah Warburton 2019 Cover design copyright © HarperCollins Publishers Ltd 2019 Dominique Valente and Sarah Warburton asserts the moral right to be identified as the author and illustrator of this work. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this ebook onscreen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins. Source ISBN: 9780008308391 Ebook Edition © April 2019 ISBN: 9780008308414 Version: 2020-08-28 Dedication For Catherine, who loved it first, to Helen for helping to make a dream come true and to Rui for always believing that it would Map 1. The Girl Who Found Lost Things 2. A Question of Time 3. The Monster from Under the Bed 4. The Portal Pantry 5. The Broom-makers 6. The (Newly) Forbidden City of Beady Hill 7. Amora Spell 8. The Sometimes House 9. The Dragon’s Tale 10. The Forgotten Teller 11. The Lost Spells of Starfell 12. The Moon Garden 13. The Midnight Market 14. The Hag Stone 15. Wait and Forget 16. Calamity Troll 17. The Troll Army 18. The Witch’s House 19. Magic in Wolkana 20. Enough to Make a Kobold Explode 21. Yesterday Again Acknowledgements Keep Reading … About the Publisher
The Monster from Under the Bed Contents Cover Title Page Copyright First published in Great Britain by HarperCollins Children’s Books in 2019 Published in this ebook edition in 2019 HarperCollins Children’s Books is a division of HarperCollins Publishers Ltd, HarperCollins Publishers 1 London Bridge Street London SE1 9GF The HarperCollins Children’s Books website address is www.harpercollins.co.uk Text copyright © Dominique Valente 2019 Illustrations copyright © Sarah Warburton 2019 Cover design copyright © HarperCollins Publishers Ltd 2019 Dominique Valente and Sarah Warburton asserts the moral right to be identified as the author and illustrator of this work. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this ebook onscreen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins. Source ISBN: 9780008308391 Ebook Edition © April 2019 ISBN: 9780008308414 Version: 2020-08-28 Dedication For Catherine, who loved it first, to Helen for helping to make a dream come true and to Rui for always believing that it would Map 1. The Girl Who Found Lost Things 2. A Question of Time 3. The Monster from Under the Bed 4. The Portal Pantry 5. The Broom-makers 6. The (Newly) Forbidden City of Beady Hill 7. Amora Spell 8. The Sometimes House 9. The Dragon’s Tale 10. The Forgotten Teller 11. The Lost Spells of Starfell 12. The Moon Garden 13. The Midnight Market 14. The Hag Stone 15. Wait and Forget 16. Calamity Troll 17. The Troll Army 18. The Witch’s House 19. Magic in Wolkana 20. Enough to Make a Kobold Explode 21. Yesterday Again Acknowledgements Keep Reading … About the Publisher
Willow spent the next quarter of an hour trying not to picture the look on her father’s face when he got home from his job as a farm manager for Leighton Apples and found her gone. Moreg, meanwhile, explored the Mosses’ ‘fascinating cottage garden’ in an attempt to give Willow a moment to pack in privacy.
In her small bedroom, which she shared with Camille, Willow took down Granny Flossy’s old green shaggy-hair carpetbag from atop the cupboard; it was made from the long hairs of a Nach mountain goat. Willow had often wondered if it was age that had turned it green, or if there really were green mountain goats …
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