“If they knew, they would surely just say, ‘Don’t go into the forest because the antlered monster guard might attack you,’” said Prue. “But I suppose it’s plausible that the masters would protect the forest from spies. Maybe Cora and Larkin had heard of the stag guard and that’s why they scared us like that?” She looked to Edwin. “Have you ever seen anything like this before?”

He shook his head. “Only in books. It’s like something in the Ancient Mercia books – some god of the underworld, I think.”

“Maybe Craftsman Shad has been experimenting?” suggested Agapantha.

Edwin frowned. “You’ve seen his designs. They’re mythical and over the top, but they aren’t evil-looking! That thing was horrific!”

“Hang on,” Prue took a bite from her doughnut and thought. “When we were being reprimanded in Master White’s office, surely White and Primrose would’ve mentioned the guard? And what was Sollentude up to when we caught him in the trap?”

“Actually, that’s a good point. What do we do?” Edwin asked.

“We should speak to Craftsman Primrose about the guard. If it’s gone a bit rogue, they should know, as maybe it’s the thing responsible for the sightings in Medlock. But we don’t want to all get into trouble again for going into the forest,” said Prue.

“Perhaps an anonymous note?” suggested Agapantha.

“I’ll write it. I’m good at disguising my handwriting,” said Edwin.

“Good. We’ll send it to Craftsman Primrose – he’s least likely to get us into trouble if he does realize it’s us, or if Finblewick says anything. And he’s not keen on Sollentude, so I doubt he’ll bring it up with him.” Prue thought for a moment. “I still can’t imagine what Finblewick was doing there, though.”

“Maybe he helps with the guards?” Agapantha suggested.

Prue shrugged. “Perhaps. But there’s one other thing I need to focus on first; I want my journal back from Cora. Quick, help me look before she comes back.”

But after rooting through Cora’s things for half an hour, they had to concede: the journal was nowhere to be found.

Chapter 25: Cora

CORA

On Monday, they stopped by the tower on the way to lessons and asked Luella to take the note anonymously to Craftsman Primrose. Cora was unusually quiet, which made Prue even more certain that she was up to something. She searched her things again in the evening, but there was still no sign of her journal.