Izzy Heggarty's Strange Night
By Andy Morris
Izzy Heggarty rolled over in bed as the soft metallic chimes echoed through the darkness. At first, they seemed to be coming from very far away and the sound barely registered in her sleeping mind. It was probably just Matthew stirring in his cot or playing with his toys so Izzy paid it no attention. Then the tinkling chimes came again, clearer and louder this time. She couldn't pretend it was her little boy – it was one of her wind chimes. She had them hanging over all of the windows in her cottage. People thought it was just another of her Aquarian eccentricities but it was more than that. Her wind chimes were there to warn her in case they ever found their way into her home. Every night her sleep was tainted with the dread of being woken by their celestial notes. Izzy put her fist to her mouth, nervously drawing her teeth over her knuckles as she lay in bed a moment longer, listening to the predatory silence now raging through the cottage. Moments passed. Nothing. Maybe she had just imagined it? She foolishly hoped. Maybe it had been part of a dream? But when the ethereal notes came again Izzy snapped fully awake; eyes open, staring up at the dark ceiling. Her stomach knotted tightly as her denial floated away before her. That jingle of starry chimes was an indication, a confirmation, that they were downstairs.
It was midsummer's eve so of course, they would be about tonight but how did they get into the cottage? She’d made sure all the windows were closed before coming up to bed tonight, just like she did every night. It was a nightly ritual that boarded on obsession and this evening she had been compelled to check every window was closed and locked nine times before she had come up to bed. And they had all been secured, hadn’t they? Doubts suddenly teased her, threatening her already fragile resolve. What should she do? Izzy lay still in her bed a moment longer debating whether she should go and take a look or stay where she was and hope it really was nothing. After all, it could be nothing, just a breeze coming from… coming from where? She thought of her two-year-old son again and took a shuddering breath, resigning herself to the idea that she should go and investigate.
Quiet as a mouse and just as twitchy she crept down the wooden staircase into the hallway where a flicker of light drew her attention towards the lounge. Something was amiss – Izzy knew it instantly. Carefully, so as not to be seen, she peered around the half-open door.
By the open hearth in the long living room, she spied it. The glowing sapphire aura that emanated from every New Forest Faerie cast an eerie light upon the exposed brickwork of the fireplace. This faerie was small, no bigger than her thumb but Izzy knew the devious creatures could change their shape at will. Sometimes they appeared as animals such as deer or mice while at other times they take on their common form and appear as small people. Yet despite the popular depictions of faeries, they were nothing like the pretty Disney or Victorian representations – their skin was light blue in colour. Large black saucer-like eyes dominated their otherwise human faces while poking up through their fine hair were small protrusions like miniature antlers. Thin insectile wings carried them quickly through the air from one hiding place to another. New Forest Faeries were very secretive and shy by nature and usually avoided being seen by people. Still, Izzy had been able to see them all of her life. Izzy had often spied them amidst the wild ponies and horses grazing on the hillsides, watching over the animals and keeping them safe. They seemed to have a close connection with the animals of the New Forest. She’d also found them in other peoples gardens and occasionally living in their homes, unbeknown to the human owners. Her late grandmother said that her ability to see the faeries made her special, but she didn’t feel particularly special. If anything it scared her because it made them real. She knew of no one else who could see them and she was the only one who knew what they did to people. It was a secret that, at this midnight hour, made Izzy feel desperately alone.
Izzy shivered. She had to do something with the faerie. She needed to get it out of the house before it saw her, but how? She could only see one faerie so far and perhaps, she naively dared to think, there was the only one? If it was alone then perhaps she could just get rid of it like she would get rid of an annoying fly. She could just wait for it to land somewhere and then creep up behind it, knock it to the floor and then stomp on it. That would teach it for sneaking into her home! It was what she needed to do but the idea made her nervous. What if she missed? Her indecision gripped her tighter; twisting her stomach and making her feel sick.
Who am I kidding? Izzy conceded. She couldn’t confront it. She needed to get away. They were like ants, these creatures. If you saw one you could guarantee there would be dozens more nearby and whatever she did, she couldn’t let them find her.
Then just at that moment, another glowing light flew past the open door causing Izzy to gasp loudly. She pressed herself back against the wall and peered back into the lounge through the crack in the door, watching more pale sprites zip about the room. Her heart began thumping loudly in her chest, so loud that she thought they might hear it and find her. She put her fist to her mouth again gnawing on her knuckles as she worried what she was going to do. All the while the faeries laughed mischievously and sang strange songs in their mysterious silvery language as they fluttered about the room. They swooped between the long wooden beams of the low ceiling and danced across the decorative old rug in front of the dusty hearth. Some shot across the room pausing to look at pictures on the walls before moving on again while others had discovered her gran’s old sewing box behind the leather armchair. They opened it up, discarding the lid to peer inside. Izzy instinctively opened her mouth to protest but stopped herself just in time.
Izzy liked to make clothes and she’d made several outfits for her herself, Matthew and her friends. Gran’s old sewing box was very precious to her and she used it almost daily. Still, if these tiny intruders remained occupied with her sewing kit, then maybe she could grab Matthew and get away from the cottage unnoticed before the faeries had a chance to play any of their tricks.
Izzy bristled as she recalled what she knew of their tricks. When their mischievous side was in ascendance, the New Forest Faeries would play cruel games on their unfortunate victims. Some of their milder mischiefs included taking on the appearance of a good-looking man or a beautiful woman and get their victim to follow them. The person would then follow the silent alluring stranger over heathland, through bogs and across open fields. When they eventually caught up with them the mysterious other would simply disappear in a shower of leaves, leaving the victim confused and bewildered, much to the delight of the faerie folk. Another game they enjoyed was whispering in the ear of some poor soul out walking in the forest, subtly guiding them down the wrong paths and along old forgotten trails, taking them well out of their way until they became totally lost. Victims of these games would consider themselves lucky though, compared to some of the other, more horrid rites that the faerie folk performed. Izzy shuddered, trying not to think about what they could do to her and her baby.
She had to get Matthew out of the house but how, and where could they go without being seen? It was no use, she realised. If she made any noise they would see her and if Matthew woke up then they'd quickly find them both. It was hopeless, Izzy concluded, miserably. There was nothing she could do. She rubbed her eyes hard, she felt like crying but couldn't. Maybe if she were lucky they would just leave her and Matthew alone? After all, they weren't always bad, she tried desperately to reassure herself.
New Forest Faeries were unpredictable and on some occasions, she recalled, they could be kind and gentle. Maybe this was one of those times? She grabbed hold of the idea with the desperation as someone drowning at sea would grab onto a lifebelt. Izzy had heard stories of faeries entering people’s homes at night and helping out the occupants. They sometimes mended holes in clothes, helped sick pets or cured poorly children. They seemed to be very fond of children, Izzy remembered. She recalled the tales from her grandmother of faeries leading lost children back to their anxious parents before sprinkling their magic over those who had seen them so they would remember nothing of the encounter. If they did do something to her she didn’t want to remember it or even be aware of it because there would be nothing she could do to stop them.
A cupboard door in the kitchen banged closed causing Izzy to jump. She was breathing quick shallow breaths now, almost gasping for air and her legs were weak as if they were made of jelly. If the faeries were in the kitchen as well then they were probably all over the cottage. All of a sudden Izzy felt very exposed in the dim hallway. She should go back upstairs and check on Matthew but she would have to pass the kitchen door before she reached the stairs. Izzy bit down painfully hard on her knuckles as she gingerly approached the kitchen doorway.
A light dusting of bread-making flour covered a large area of the tiled floor where the packet had fallen from a shelf. Pairs of tiny floury footprints led away from the mess in different directions. No doubt in the morning she'd come down to find the contents of all her draws and cupboards would be rearranged or the milk in the fridge would have turned sour. Both of these were common signs that faerie folk had been in one's home.
Izzy's hands were now visibly trembling as she contemplated the final dash back up the stairs. She was about to go when something caught her eye on the windowsill. Last Sunday she had picked a bunch of roses from her garden and put them in a vase by the window to brighten up the kitchen. Unfortunately, they hadn't lasted long. They were already starting to wilt with the edges of the leaves and petals were turning brown and beginning to shrivel. Or at least they had been dying. A pale blue light was flitting about the shrivelled petals. As she watched the bright blue light darted about the glass vase, flying and swooping and buzzing over the curling russet coloured leaves. Moment’s later colour began returning to her homemade bouquet and a new vitality began to emerge. Despite the poor light in the kitchen, Izzy saw vibrant green hues radiating down the thorny stems as the red and yellow and orange and white heads of the roses once again bloomed beautifully as they came back to life. Izzy stared a moment longer not quite daring to entertain the idea that the faeries meant her no harm. Maybe they didn’t know she was here and they had only come to be helpful after all. Then to her astonishment, the faeries began to leave.
One of them flew up to the window above the sink, lifted the handle and dived out into the starry night. The silver wind chimes suspended in front of the window jingled pleasantly as the other faeries followed the leader out of the kitchen and into the night-time garden. Izzy dared not breathe as she cowered behind the door watching with surprise and overwhelming relief as the procession danced through the window, still singing in their shrill foreign tongues. Outside they followed the winding path towards the tangled hedgerow at the bottom of the garden. More faeries swooped down from above to join the magical parade. She didn't know where they were coming from or where they were going. Not that she really cared because at that moment all that mattered was they were leaving.
When the kitchen was empty Izzy ran to the window and shut it quickly. The wind chimes jangled loudly as her hand knocked clumsily against them. She quickly grabbed chimes, before they woke Matthew and the tinkling was abruptly cut off in a dull metallic clang. Izzy suddenly felt weak with relief and she had to lean on the pine worktop for support as she let out a long shuddering breath. Then she hurried to the lounge and the other downstairs windows to make sure they were all closed and locked. They were. She returned to the empty kitchen and leaned over the sink to peer out through the blinds, watching the last of the small sapphire figures disappear from sight.
As they passed between the shadows of the overhanging trees Izzy saw they were carrying souvenirs they had stolen from her home. One wore a small golden thimble on her head like a hat. Another was struggling with a silver teaspoon, using both tiny hands to drag it through the damp grass. In the middle of the march was a taller faerie with long flowing hair, gently cradling a bundle in her arms. Izzy couldn’t see what it was and she didn’t care, as long as they left her and Matthew alone. She decided to wait a while longer to assure herself that they weren’t returning. Only a moment later she heard a light silvery chuckle behind her. Izzy turned and gasped as she came face to face with one of the tiny blue creatures. Before Izzy had a chance to react, the faerie made a gesture as if it were blowing her a kiss and the next thing Izzy knew she was laying in her bed. It was daytime and the early morning sun was streaming in through a gap in the curtains.
She rubbed her eyes and slowly gazed about the room without really looking at anything. As she became more fully awake fragmented images dropped into her minds-eye. At first, it felt like a dream – a very vivid dream but the sinking feeling in her stomach told her that it had been real. She had indeed received unwelcome visitors last night and she knew when she went downstairs she would find her home was a mess and the belongings in each room would be scattered all over the floors.
The sinking feeling deepened. They had been inside her home! She cast her eyes around the room again alert and watchful this time as she hugged the bedcovers close. What had they wanted? It took several minutes for her to pluck up the courage to venture out from the comfort and pretend-safety of her bed to explore the cottage. When Izzy was sure she was alone she gingerly sat up. She noticed something strange as she perched on the side of the bed – a light blue blanket was lying next to her beneath the covers. She hadn’t seen it before and she curiously picked it up to examine it more closely. It was hand made and felt very soft. A happy-looking baby bunny eating a carrot was stitched in a corner of the blanket. It made no sense so she dropped it back on the bed and headed towards the stairs. She needed a cup of lemon tea to help ease her worry and calm her troubled mind. No doubt there would be a lot of cleaning up to do later. She was just passing the spare room when she noticed something else that was very odd. The dull walls of the spare room were no longer white but yellow, a lovely shade of pastel yellow. What's more, the window, she noticed, was wide open and letting in the cool morning breeze. The window was normally stuck fast and hadn't been opened for years and for this reason, it was the only window in the cottage that didn't have a wind chime hanging by it. Was this how the faeries had got in last night? But she hadn't opened it so who had? Before she could think about it in any more detail Izzy took a moment to gaze at the unfamiliar soft furnishings now decorating the room. Her confusion began to border on nervousness and she lifted her hand to mouth, running her teeth over her knuckles as she approached a small wooden cot in the corner of the room. It was empty, save for a plush teddy bear holding out its arms for a cuddle. The bear wore a blue jumper of the same shade as the blanket and it had the name Matthew embroidered in the middle. Izzy picked up the unfamiliar teddy bear. This wasn't right – she didn't have a nursery or a baby so what on earth was going on? She slowly turned around looking for some clue as to what had happened. Then an image gradually came to her, drifting like a gossamer thread on a summer breeze. The teddy bear dropped from her hand as a nauseating wave of vertigo crashed into her. Izzy recalled something else from last night: A tall faerie with very long golden hair standing by the hedgerow, gently rocking a bundle in its arms. It carried the bundle with great care in the way someone carries… a baby. More images squeezed into her mind – images from last night and memories from before. Two years worth of memories hit her and with a terrifying realisation, Izzy became aware of what had happened last night and what exactly the faeries had stolen from her.
It was midsummer's eve so of course, they would be about tonight but how did they get into the cottage? She’d made sure all the windows were closed before coming up to bed tonight, just like she did every night. It was a nightly ritual that boarded on obsession and this evening she had been compelled to check every window was closed and locked nine times before she had come up to bed. And they had all been secured, hadn’t they? Doubts suddenly teased her, threatening her already fragile resolve. What should she do? Izzy lay still in her bed a moment longer debating whether she should go and take a look or stay where she was and hope it really was nothing. After all, it could be nothing, just a breeze coming from… coming from where? She thought of her two-year-old son again and took a shuddering breath, resigning herself to the idea that she should go and investigate.
Quiet as a mouse and just as twitchy she crept down the wooden staircase into the hallway where a flicker of light drew her attention towards the lounge. Something was amiss – Izzy knew it instantly. Carefully, so as not to be seen, she peered around the half-open door.
By the open hearth in the long living room, she spied it. The glowing sapphire aura that emanated from every New Forest Faerie cast an eerie light upon the exposed brickwork of the fireplace. This faerie was small, no bigger than her thumb but Izzy knew the devious creatures could change their shape at will. Sometimes they appeared as animals such as deer or mice while at other times they take on their common form and appear as small people. Yet despite the popular depictions of faeries, they were nothing like the pretty Disney or Victorian representations – their skin was light blue in colour. Large black saucer-like eyes dominated their otherwise human faces while poking up through their fine hair were small protrusions like miniature antlers. Thin insectile wings carried them quickly through the air from one hiding place to another. New Forest Faeries were very secretive and shy by nature and usually avoided being seen by people. Still, Izzy had been able to see them all of her life. Izzy had often spied them amidst the wild ponies and horses grazing on the hillsides, watching over the animals and keeping them safe. They seemed to have a close connection with the animals of the New Forest. She’d also found them in other peoples gardens and occasionally living in their homes, unbeknown to the human owners. Her late grandmother said that her ability to see the faeries made her special, but she didn’t feel particularly special. If anything it scared her because it made them real. She knew of no one else who could see them and she was the only one who knew what they did to people. It was a secret that, at this midnight hour, made Izzy feel desperately alone.
Izzy shivered. She had to do something with the faerie. She needed to get it out of the house before it saw her, but how? She could only see one faerie so far and perhaps, she naively dared to think, there was the only one? If it was alone then perhaps she could just get rid of it like she would get rid of an annoying fly. She could just wait for it to land somewhere and then creep up behind it, knock it to the floor and then stomp on it. That would teach it for sneaking into her home! It was what she needed to do but the idea made her nervous. What if she missed? Her indecision gripped her tighter; twisting her stomach and making her feel sick.
Who am I kidding? Izzy conceded. She couldn’t confront it. She needed to get away. They were like ants, these creatures. If you saw one you could guarantee there would be dozens more nearby and whatever she did, she couldn’t let them find her.
Then just at that moment, another glowing light flew past the open door causing Izzy to gasp loudly. She pressed herself back against the wall and peered back into the lounge through the crack in the door, watching more pale sprites zip about the room. Her heart began thumping loudly in her chest, so loud that she thought they might hear it and find her. She put her fist to her mouth again gnawing on her knuckles as she worried what she was going to do. All the while the faeries laughed mischievously and sang strange songs in their mysterious silvery language as they fluttered about the room. They swooped between the long wooden beams of the low ceiling and danced across the decorative old rug in front of the dusty hearth. Some shot across the room pausing to look at pictures on the walls before moving on again while others had discovered her gran’s old sewing box behind the leather armchair. They opened it up, discarding the lid to peer inside. Izzy instinctively opened her mouth to protest but stopped herself just in time.
Izzy liked to make clothes and she’d made several outfits for her herself, Matthew and her friends. Gran’s old sewing box was very precious to her and she used it almost daily. Still, if these tiny intruders remained occupied with her sewing kit, then maybe she could grab Matthew and get away from the cottage unnoticed before the faeries had a chance to play any of their tricks.
Izzy bristled as she recalled what she knew of their tricks. When their mischievous side was in ascendance, the New Forest Faeries would play cruel games on their unfortunate victims. Some of their milder mischiefs included taking on the appearance of a good-looking man or a beautiful woman and get their victim to follow them. The person would then follow the silent alluring stranger over heathland, through bogs and across open fields. When they eventually caught up with them the mysterious other would simply disappear in a shower of leaves, leaving the victim confused and bewildered, much to the delight of the faerie folk. Another game they enjoyed was whispering in the ear of some poor soul out walking in the forest, subtly guiding them down the wrong paths and along old forgotten trails, taking them well out of their way until they became totally lost. Victims of these games would consider themselves lucky though, compared to some of the other, more horrid rites that the faerie folk performed. Izzy shuddered, trying not to think about what they could do to her and her baby.
She had to get Matthew out of the house but how, and where could they go without being seen? It was no use, she realised. If she made any noise they would see her and if Matthew woke up then they'd quickly find them both. It was hopeless, Izzy concluded, miserably. There was nothing she could do. She rubbed her eyes hard, she felt like crying but couldn't. Maybe if she were lucky they would just leave her and Matthew alone? After all, they weren't always bad, she tried desperately to reassure herself.
New Forest Faeries were unpredictable and on some occasions, she recalled, they could be kind and gentle. Maybe this was one of those times? She grabbed hold of the idea with the desperation as someone drowning at sea would grab onto a lifebelt. Izzy had heard stories of faeries entering people’s homes at night and helping out the occupants. They sometimes mended holes in clothes, helped sick pets or cured poorly children. They seemed to be very fond of children, Izzy remembered. She recalled the tales from her grandmother of faeries leading lost children back to their anxious parents before sprinkling their magic over those who had seen them so they would remember nothing of the encounter. If they did do something to her she didn’t want to remember it or even be aware of it because there would be nothing she could do to stop them.
A cupboard door in the kitchen banged closed causing Izzy to jump. She was breathing quick shallow breaths now, almost gasping for air and her legs were weak as if they were made of jelly. If the faeries were in the kitchen as well then they were probably all over the cottage. All of a sudden Izzy felt very exposed in the dim hallway. She should go back upstairs and check on Matthew but she would have to pass the kitchen door before she reached the stairs. Izzy bit down painfully hard on her knuckles as she gingerly approached the kitchen doorway.
A light dusting of bread-making flour covered a large area of the tiled floor where the packet had fallen from a shelf. Pairs of tiny floury footprints led away from the mess in different directions. No doubt in the morning she'd come down to find the contents of all her draws and cupboards would be rearranged or the milk in the fridge would have turned sour. Both of these were common signs that faerie folk had been in one's home.
Izzy's hands were now visibly trembling as she contemplated the final dash back up the stairs. She was about to go when something caught her eye on the windowsill. Last Sunday she had picked a bunch of roses from her garden and put them in a vase by the window to brighten up the kitchen. Unfortunately, they hadn't lasted long. They were already starting to wilt with the edges of the leaves and petals were turning brown and beginning to shrivel. Or at least they had been dying. A pale blue light was flitting about the shrivelled petals. As she watched the bright blue light darted about the glass vase, flying and swooping and buzzing over the curling russet coloured leaves. Moment’s later colour began returning to her homemade bouquet and a new vitality began to emerge. Despite the poor light in the kitchen, Izzy saw vibrant green hues radiating down the thorny stems as the red and yellow and orange and white heads of the roses once again bloomed beautifully as they came back to life. Izzy stared a moment longer not quite daring to entertain the idea that the faeries meant her no harm. Maybe they didn’t know she was here and they had only come to be helpful after all. Then to her astonishment, the faeries began to leave.
One of them flew up to the window above the sink, lifted the handle and dived out into the starry night. The silver wind chimes suspended in front of the window jingled pleasantly as the other faeries followed the leader out of the kitchen and into the night-time garden. Izzy dared not breathe as she cowered behind the door watching with surprise and overwhelming relief as the procession danced through the window, still singing in their shrill foreign tongues. Outside they followed the winding path towards the tangled hedgerow at the bottom of the garden. More faeries swooped down from above to join the magical parade. She didn't know where they were coming from or where they were going. Not that she really cared because at that moment all that mattered was they were leaving.
When the kitchen was empty Izzy ran to the window and shut it quickly. The wind chimes jangled loudly as her hand knocked clumsily against them. She quickly grabbed chimes, before they woke Matthew and the tinkling was abruptly cut off in a dull metallic clang. Izzy suddenly felt weak with relief and she had to lean on the pine worktop for support as she let out a long shuddering breath. Then she hurried to the lounge and the other downstairs windows to make sure they were all closed and locked. They were. She returned to the empty kitchen and leaned over the sink to peer out through the blinds, watching the last of the small sapphire figures disappear from sight.
As they passed between the shadows of the overhanging trees Izzy saw they were carrying souvenirs they had stolen from her home. One wore a small golden thimble on her head like a hat. Another was struggling with a silver teaspoon, using both tiny hands to drag it through the damp grass. In the middle of the march was a taller faerie with long flowing hair, gently cradling a bundle in her arms. Izzy couldn’t see what it was and she didn’t care, as long as they left her and Matthew alone. She decided to wait a while longer to assure herself that they weren’t returning. Only a moment later she heard a light silvery chuckle behind her. Izzy turned and gasped as she came face to face with one of the tiny blue creatures. Before Izzy had a chance to react, the faerie made a gesture as if it were blowing her a kiss and the next thing Izzy knew she was laying in her bed. It was daytime and the early morning sun was streaming in through a gap in the curtains.
She rubbed her eyes and slowly gazed about the room without really looking at anything. As she became more fully awake fragmented images dropped into her minds-eye. At first, it felt like a dream – a very vivid dream but the sinking feeling in her stomach told her that it had been real. She had indeed received unwelcome visitors last night and she knew when she went downstairs she would find her home was a mess and the belongings in each room would be scattered all over the floors.
The sinking feeling deepened. They had been inside her home! She cast her eyes around the room again alert and watchful this time as she hugged the bedcovers close. What had they wanted? It took several minutes for her to pluck up the courage to venture out from the comfort and pretend-safety of her bed to explore the cottage. When Izzy was sure she was alone she gingerly sat up. She noticed something strange as she perched on the side of the bed – a light blue blanket was lying next to her beneath the covers. She hadn’t seen it before and she curiously picked it up to examine it more closely. It was hand made and felt very soft. A happy-looking baby bunny eating a carrot was stitched in a corner of the blanket. It made no sense so she dropped it back on the bed and headed towards the stairs. She needed a cup of lemon tea to help ease her worry and calm her troubled mind. No doubt there would be a lot of cleaning up to do later. She was just passing the spare room when she noticed something else that was very odd. The dull walls of the spare room were no longer white but yellow, a lovely shade of pastel yellow. What's more, the window, she noticed, was wide open and letting in the cool morning breeze. The window was normally stuck fast and hadn't been opened for years and for this reason, it was the only window in the cottage that didn't have a wind chime hanging by it. Was this how the faeries had got in last night? But she hadn't opened it so who had? Before she could think about it in any more detail Izzy took a moment to gaze at the unfamiliar soft furnishings now decorating the room. Her confusion began to border on nervousness and she lifted her hand to mouth, running her teeth over her knuckles as she approached a small wooden cot in the corner of the room. It was empty, save for a plush teddy bear holding out its arms for a cuddle. The bear wore a blue jumper of the same shade as the blanket and it had the name Matthew embroidered in the middle. Izzy picked up the unfamiliar teddy bear. This wasn't right – she didn't have a nursery or a baby so what on earth was going on? She slowly turned around looking for some clue as to what had happened. Then an image gradually came to her, drifting like a gossamer thread on a summer breeze. The teddy bear dropped from her hand as a nauseating wave of vertigo crashed into her. Izzy recalled something else from last night: A tall faerie with very long golden hair standing by the hedgerow, gently rocking a bundle in its arms. It carried the bundle with great care in the way someone carries… a baby. More images squeezed into her mind – images from last night and memories from before. Two years worth of memories hit her and with a terrifying realisation, Izzy became aware of what had happened last night and what exactly the faeries had stolen from her.