• Information
• Extract

Abby and Spike are drawn into a world of witches, hidden caverns, fabulous boats, captive children, lost parents, and a quest to find Ice Dust - the source of magical power.

With their strange new companions - Captain Starlight, Benbow the giant albatross, and Sir Chadwick Street, flamboyant Master of the Light Witches - they hurtle through perilous seas, face fearsome monsters, and do battle with an enemy darker and dirtier than they could ever have imagined.

A rollicking, wide-eyed and funny adventure, The Witch Trade brims with memorable characters of almost Dickensian proportions. Actors, magicians, sea captains, evil witches, henchmen and monsters feature in an action-filled plot that literally defies the imagination as the forces of good and evil do battle for Ice Dust, the source of all magical power.

Reviews:

“ Michael Molloy’s neatly plotted novel is a rollicking adventure…A sequel soon, please!”  GUARDIAN

'…a charmingly salty story of witches and the seaside…a truly enchanting fantasy'  THE TIMES

'A fast moving fantasy adventure story - Harry Potter meets Roald Dahl.' FINANCIAL TIMES

'…playful and imaginative.'  DAILY MAIL

'An enjoyable foray into the myth of Atlantis as well as witchcraft … great fun.' INDEPENDENT

Abby Clover lived with her Aunt Lucy and Uncle Ben and a friend called Spike in a small seaside town called Speller, which Abby had never been able to find on a map of England.

Before her aunt and uncle had married, Ben had played the French horn in a dance band and Lucy had been a teacher in London. Now they ran the general goods store. It was just off the town square, at the head of a narrow cobbled lane that curved down to the harbour.

The shop had belonged to Abby’s family for more than a hundred years. It didn’t look very big from the outside, but its appearance was deceptive. Like most of the buildings in Speller, it was about the size of a cottage and was faced in whitewashed stone with bay windows that were studded with thick little panes of green glass.

Inside, there was a large room with a floor of plain oak boards scented with spices, and a long counter with row upon row of shelves behind it. Coils of rope, old ship’s lamps and every sort of tool hung from the rafters. There were stacks of barrels and boxes, lawn mowers, seed packets, tailor’s dummies, bags of flower bulbs, mouse traps, rolls of cloth, sailor’s knives, axes, boxes of writing paper, cans of oil, rolls of tar paper – the list was endless. No matter what item was requested in the shop, Aunt Lucy always seemed to have it somewhere.

Abby had lived above the shop ever since her parents, who were explorers, had sailed away several years before and had never returned.

Before she had gone to live with her aunt and uncle, Abby’s home had been in an old lighthouse that stood above the cove next to the town. When her parents had failed to return, her Aunt Lucy and Uncle Ben had rented it to a stranger who Abby had never met.

Although her aunt and uncle loved her, Abby missed her parents with all her heart. Secretly, she hoped that despite the passing years, she would one day find them again.

Apart from Spike, who was a sea foundling, there were no other children living in Speller. But mostly, Abby was happy in the town.

Long ago there had been other children. Abby could still remember the sound of their laughter and watching them play games when she was very small.

One spring day, when Abby’s parents were away on one of their expeditions, all the children were to be taken on a sailing trip. Abby had been looking forward to it for weeks. On the morning of the treat she had stood outside the shop, impatiently hopping from one foot to another as she waited for her aunt. Suddenly, the head of a great white bird peered around the corner of the lane opposite. Then it ducked back behind the wall.

Curious, Abby had crossed the cobbles and looked up the narrow lane. The bird was waddling ahead of her. It looked back when she hesitated at the corner, and raised a wing as if it were beckoning her to follow.

Abby trotted after the bird but it always kept just ahead of her. As they reached the last house at the top of the hill, Abby could hear her Aunt Lucy calling her name and turned to look back. She could see the harbour and the town children boarding the sailing sloop that was to take them on their outing.

Abby ran down the hill as fast as she could but it was too late. By the time she and Aunt Lucy had reached the quay the boat was clear of the harbour.

They stood watching the boat as it seemed to get smaller and smaller. Then, quite suddenly, the great white bird Abby had followed earlier swooped down out of the sky, circled them once and flew out to sea.                     

‘Never mind, darling,’ Aunt Lucy said gently. ‘We’ll play some games together until they get back.’

Abby shaded her eyes with her hand and watched the bird, which was now a tiny white dot in the sky. ‘Aunt Lucy,’ she asked. ‘What kind of bird was that?’

Aunt Lucy looked around her, puzzled, as there were no birds in sight.  ‘A seagull I suppose,’ she replied.

‘No,’ Abby said. ‘The bird that flew around us. It was much bigger than a seagull.’

 ‘I didn’t notice a big bird,’ said Aunt Lucy as they turned to walk back up to the shop.

That evening, the whole town received terrible news. There had been a storm at sea and the sailing sloop had been lost with everyone aboard her. From that day, the sound of children’s laughter was rarely heard in Speller.