Dominoes

by Barbara Gaskell Denvil

  “Well, well, well,” murmured Granny. “It seems you’ve done a great thing, my dear. You are an empress indeed. I recognise Yaark. But who are these others?”

  “Come and sit down,” Messina said, calling to Bayldon as well, “and I can explain something important.” They sat around the kitchen table while everyone else was out in the garden enjoying the sunshine while Nathan told them the whole story. But Messina’s story was a little different. “I was on my way to Sparkan with Nathan,” she began, “but my mind was on Yaark. I believe that is why we were diverted. I believe Yaark’s mind was also on me. We saw a very strange cloud halfway between here and Sparkan, too high for us to see properly from here. Hidden within the cloud was a great hollow rock. It seemed as though the cloud had a hole in the middle, but the hole was the entrance to the rocky tunnel. As we landed there, the cloud trapped our feet, we could not get away, and within minutes, Nathan disappeared. I heard the cats mewing so I guessed what had happened and I went into the tunnel. There were slugs all along the rocky walls, just like the slugs that Yaark uses. In the cave at the very end I discovered Nathan sitting in a silent trance, also Hermes, the boy Sam, and their cats. None of them appeared to see or hear me, and they could neither move nor speak. So I asked a slug what had happened.

  “The slug explained that everyone had been trapped by Yaark, and their minds were being emptied ready to be taken over and used. I could not turn them directly back into themselves, for it was themselves who were being eaten by the incubi. So I turned each one into a bird, which immediately broke the incubi’s power over them, for the birds were not real. Then of course I was able to turn them back from birds into themselves, and so they were free.

  “I sent Hermes back to you with Sam and the cats, while Nathan and I faced Yaark and his friends. There were four tiny stars. Yaark is the blue as we already know, but there were three others previously unknown to us. I began to devise a way to capture them, and I concentrated on summoning this power while Nathan bravely fought off all the wicked attacks the stars sent at him. Finally I was able to conjure up a glass jar which I hope is strong enough to hold the incubi, and while these evil things were busy attempting to hurt and trap Nathan, I was able to trap them. With magical force I used magnetic will-power and summoned each one into the jar. They are still imprisoned here, look. Now we must all study them and see what we can do to destroy them and change the future.”

  Granny and Bayldon had sat quietly, deeply interested in the story. “So now,” said Granny, standing up with a shower of white flour, “I believe you have done something magnificent,” she said, “And dear Nat too. I am going to call back Sherdam and Zakmeister, and then together we can all decide what to do next.”

  Nodding, Messina pointed within the jar. “The black star said his name is Flibweed,” she said, “but they others have not spoken. They originally came from a meteor, but a hundred years ago they left to travel and find more food and trouble. They made new homes in the roots of Sparkan, but then as we know, nanny years ago Yaark came down to Lashtang to take over our world.”

  “Food?” asked Bayldon. “So what do they eat?”

  “The souls, the minds and the thoughts of humans and animals,” said Messina with a hand to her forehead. “They are disgusting incubi and succubi. But we must beware. They are stronger than we realised.”

  “And that,” said Granny, “is what I shall be thinking of while I bake chicken and leek pie for everyone’s lunch. For we eat proper food, not other people. But leave the jar on the table, and I can keep an eye on it.”

  A small green head with big eyes popped out of her apron pocket. “I shall watch this jar,” said Ferdinand, “from morning till night. These creatures will never get away.”

  Chapter Seven

  The glass was thick, but it was not unbreakable. Both within the layer of glass, and again outside it, there was a sliver of magical power. The slick layer within was warm, reducing the incubi’s strength. The invisible covering outside was chilled, and this reinforced the solidity of the glass.

  The Yaark star hovered, feeling its way, the star’s bright little arms rubbing against the warmth and the glass, testing the power. It found the warmth disgusting and recoiled.

  The dark star Flibweed zoomed the space, its body and arms flickering with sparkling darkness. Smelling the magic and trying to wipe away the magical warmth.

  The green star Thwy, was a bright turquoise which could darken to the deep green of the trees at night when angry. It was not angry now. It was weak, exhausted, and sank to the floor of the glass, lying there for sleep, hoping to wake with greater energy.

  The pink star, Oplick, had attached itself to one glass wall and was slowly stretching one busy arm like a saw to bore through both the magic and the glass. It was not succeeding but did not admit failure.

  Next to the jar sat a large cake of strawberries and blackberries and gooseberries and raspberries,, all stuck together with bits of coconut and chocolate chips and filled with loads of cream. It was iced with thick vanilla and on top were four little stars marked in jam, one blue, one black, one green and one pink.

  Only Yaark had noticed these picture stars, and was furious, but there was nothing he could do about it. He moved to Flibweed’s side, bending his arms inwards, and speaking without any sound. Only Flibweed knew what Yaark was saying, which was just as well.

  Messina and Granny were sitting in the garden on the long bench under the jasmine flowers, discussing the future. Meanwhile Zakmeister, Sherdam and Bayldon sat at the kitchen table watching the stars, and discussing the future while Ferdinand was sleeping in the teapot with his tiny snores blowing out of the spout. The snores were very useful for it stopped anyone from filling the teapot with tea leaves and boiling hot water.

  In the livingroom, Peter sat on a large cushioned chair with his lute on his lap, while Alice, Poppy and Sam sat on the floor with the cats on their laps, and Nathan, Alfie and John all sat on the big comfy sofa, discussing the future.

  “It is exciting,” nodded John with a big grin. “Reckon the war be near over afore it ever starts.”

  “I’m not sure,” said Nathan, who was frowning with his hair in his eyes. “That seems too easy. And there’s still the wizards. We don’t know much about Clebbster, and he’s the leader so he’s important. And I just want to get away to Sparkan and cut that Eternal Chain. I want to free Ferdinand and all those poor insects on the plains and marshes. They’ve been caught like that for years and it’s cruel.”

  “I’m not even sure about the Eternal Chain being there,” said Peter. “I just thought it might be.”

  “We looked everywhere else,” John pointed out.

  “We need to stick together,” interrupted Alfie. “Nat, your Knife o’ Clarr is brilliant, but there’s still too much danger to face alone.”

  “I don’t care,” said Poppy, lying down flat on the rug and staring up at the ceiling. “I’ve faced plenty of danger already. Those pigs in the court telling me I was a heretic and should get burned. Yuck. But I didn’t get scared.”

  “Well, you should have been,” said Alfie. “They could have killed you.”

  “But I’m going to kill your granny, John,” she said. “You can watch if you like.”

  John laughed. “Reckon I should help,” he said. “But we ain’t in London now.”

  Alice looked up. “I think we should all go off to Sparkan and try to find this chain,” she said. “Nat, your mother and father and Granny can sort out Yaark and these horrid little stars.”

  Sam kissed Mouse on the nose. “I might stay here,” he said, “and just eat your Granny’s cake.” Then he looked up and saw everyone staring down at him. “Alright,” he said, pulling a face, “so I’m sick of adventure. I’m not a coward. I’ll help if I’m needed. But what help am I anyway? I can’t do anything special like play lutes and pick locks. I haven’t any magic. I can’t even read or write. If I try and shoot an arrow it’s just as likely to stick in my o
wn toe. As for a sword, well, forget it. I might as well fall on it myself.”

  “Don’t talk like that,” said Nathan loudly. “You’re brave and kind and special. Stop thinking you’re useless because you’re not.”

  Sam paused, then asked, very quietly, “Do you really think I’m special, Nat?”

  “Yes,” said Nathan at once.

  “Why?” demanded Sam.

  Nathan had to think quickly. “Because you’re a fantastic friend,” he said. “And you look after the animals and they all love you, and you understand them. And you’re loyal. And kind, and very, very brave. Look what you’ve been through.”

  “I cry sometimes,” admitted Sam.

  “So do I,” interrupted Poppy. “And I’m older than you.”

  “I don’t really know how old I am,” said Sam. “Somewhere between eight and eleven.”

  It was Alice who moved beside Sam and put her arm around him. “We all think you’re special,” she said. “We all think you’re very brave and sweet.”

  “Ug, sweet,” said Sam. “And you all say, yes leave Sam behind with the cats so he can be safe. We don’t need him. This is too dangerous for Sam.” He bit his lip, muttering, “So just leave me here and go off and do clever things without me. I’ll look after the cats and the llamas. Who wants all these adventures, anyway? Just more trouble.”

  “You were wonderful in the clouds, facing Yaark,” Nathan pointed out at once. “You were in the prison with me, but you escaped.”

  “Oh, come on,” sighed Sam. “Your mum did all that and rescued us. I just sat there, forgetting who I was. And then you got turned into the gorgeous huge snowy owl, and I got to be a magpie. Just a silly little confused bird.”

  “Magpies are beautiful,” Alice objected.

  “Yes and they steal junk,” said Sam.

  John sniggered. “Reckon that’s wot we used to do when we was orphan kids.”

  Sam turned away. “I’m still an orphan kid,” he said. “You found your lovely dad. Nat found his whole family. Alice got her big house and all that money. Alfie’s a great warrior and Peter plays a magic lute. I just get captured by everyone and then I get rescued. So I think I’ll take Mouse with me and just go back to bed.”

  He got up and without looking at anyone, he disappeared outside. “Well, he didn’t go to the bedrooms,” said Poppy, “so I expect he’s alright.”

  “But reckon we needs to remember,” John pointed out, “wot Sam thinks. We didn’t ortta leave him outta things.”

  “But now we have to plan,” said Nathan. “I want to go straight to Sparkan. I really feel guilty about never finding the Eternal Chain and never rescuing all those poor people. I’d hate to be a spider or a scorpion for years. I have to do something.”

  “I have an idea,” said Alice, jumping up. “We do different things in twos or threes. Nat, you go to Sparkan with anyone who wants to go with you. I want to go back to the great palace over the hill, and really understand everything there. We knows there’s the Chord of Destiny, but there’s so much magic there and secret places.”

  “I’ll come with either one of you,” said Poppy. “I want to do everything. Sparkan, because I loved it there. And the palace too.”

  “You’ve already been to Sparkan,” Nathan said. “So go with Alice.”

  “So will I,” said Alfie. “I need to protect the ladies.”

  “Good,” said John. “So me and Nat goes to Sparkan. Reckon Peter ortta come too, ‘cos he knows wot goes on up there and he were the one wot saw the underground tunnel where that chain ortta be.”

  Peter nodded happily. “Right. I want to do that. But it leaves out Sam again.”

  “He says as how he wanna stay here.”

  “But that’s because he was feeling useless,” said Poppy. “He didn’t mean it. He wants to be wanted.”

  But Sam could not be found. For an hour everyone searched for him, running outside, and looking in every corner. They saw no signs of him, even though they had seen him walk outside.

  “He don’t got no magic,” said John. “So he gotta be here somewhere.”

  “I saw him walk over the slope,” Granny said, pointing into the sunshine. She, and Messina had been sitting outside smelling the flowers and discussing the various ideas they had to return Lashtang to happiness and safety, but evidently none of them had noticed where Sam went.”

  “Just for a walk, I expect,” Poppy said. “This is a beautiful day, the weather is perfect, and we are celebrating great success capturing Yaark and his friends.”

  “I don’t believe he can get into trouble,” said Messina, “for he is very young, and unless he falls in a hole, he’s in no danger. Hermes has gone to market in one of the fishing villages, and all the other animals the boy loves are here, so he’ll come back soon.”

  But he did not.

  It was the next morning when Nathan rolled from his bed, stretched, and mumbled, “First breakfast. Then Sparkan. I want to get off right away before something happens to stop me.”

  “But Sam never slept in his bed,” said Alfie, walking in.

  The appetising smell of fried bacon wafted in from the kitchen. “Granny’s making breakfast,” said Nathan. “I’ll ask if she’s seen Sam last night or this morning.”

  Everyone was sitting at the kitchen table except Granny who was at the stove, cooking scrambled eggs, bacon and toast. She put the large dishes in the middle of the table and indicated for everyone to help themselves. “And before any of you ask,” she said, dolloping more butter on the toast, “Sam chose his own adventure yesterday evening. He’s quite safe. I advised against it and told him not to go, but he insisted, and I believe he’s safe.”

  Pausing with their mouths open and their forks in the air, they all gazed at her. “But he can’t just go off alone,” Alice objected.

  “You should have stopped him,” said Poppy. “He’s only little. Did you send him back to medieval London? Or Hammersmith?”

  “No. I didn’t send him anywhere,” said Granny, pulling out her own chair and sitting at the head of the table. “I refused to, because I didn’t agree with his decision. But I believe he’ll be back in a few days.”

  “I disapprove,” added Bayldon, “but every boy has a right to make his own decisions, and I’m not his father.”

  “We all have our different responsibilities,” said Messina. “I must study what to do about Yaark. I cannot worry about Sam. I rescued him from the previous problem only yesterday. Now he can do what he thinks is right.”

  Nathan glared at his mother but decided not to say anything. “Well, I have to go to Sparkan,” he said. “Those poor little insects and things out on the plains have already waited too long. I can just imagine how horrible it would be getting turned into a spider for years.”

  “Spiders,” said Zakmeister, sitting back in his chair and swallowing his last mouthful of scrambled egg, “are more intelligent than people realise. They know when someone is looking at them and they know when to freeze and when to run. Their silk is more beautiful and stronger than silkworms, and they are very patient.”

  “I got very fond of Dimples,” said Alfie.

  “This ain’t nothing to do wiv nothing,” said John. “We was talkin’ about Sam. I’s gonna go to Sparkan wiv Nat.”

  “And I’m going to the old palace,” Poppy said. “Alice, and Alfie are coming too. We want to explore. There’s more at Bymion than we could possibly know yet. I wish Ninester was here to come with us. After all, he lived there for years till we rescued him.”

  “Yes, mostly chained to his bed and beaten by his revolting father and his horrible tutor,” said Nathan.

  “Then that monster Deben took over, calling himself Ninester,” said Poppy. “And he has a really weird story.”

  “That was hundreds of years ago and it doesn’t matter anymore. I want to meet Master Dialup,” mumbled Peter. “He leads the Sparkan Government, but he sounds a bit useless.”

  “Like Sam thinks he is.�
��

  “Forget about Sam,” said Peter. “He’s not stupid. He won’t do anything daft. And forget about Ninester because he’s living happily with his mum in that little fishing village on the south coast. Pickles, isn’t it? We need to think more about what we have to do. For me, it’s Sparkan.”

  Alan stuck his head in through the kitchen window. Candykins and Gillywobbles were playing at his feet. Bayldon got up to go out and groom him. Granny started washing the dishes, but she turned to Nathan. “As the Empole, you must make your own decisions,” she said. “But send messages, and then we won’t worry. Now Yaark is trapped, the land is so very, very much safer.”

  The jar of thick glass stood under the kitchen light near the stove on a small benchtop. All four stars seemed to be asleep. Messina wasn’t sure if incubi ever slept, so she was suspicious, and sat in front of the jar, watching carefully. Sherdam and Zakmeister stood behind her.

  Meanwhile, Nathan, Peter and John, then Alice, Alfie and Poppy, all went out into the garden. Although it was still early morning, the sunshine was already brilliant, and the day was very warm. “Let’s walk to Bymion,” Poppy said. “And I’ve got my camera. I’ll see you later.”

  “We needs some kind person to whoosh us up,” said John. “Lest we can find Hermes.”

  “I am going to try and summon the ladder,” said Nathan. “I’ll use the knife. But I’m not sure it’ll work. If I can get this right, it’ll be so useful in the future and I can go where I want, even if Granny and mum don’t approve.”

  He held up the knife, and the reflections of the sun on the blade were nearly blinding. Meanwhile Alice, Poppy and Alfie set off for the ruined Palace of Bymion. Walking slowly to enjoy the warmth on their backs, they knew it would take longer than usual, but they intended staying all day, so they were content.

  “As the Lord of Clarr,” said Nathan, “I order the Knife of Clarr to summon the ladder to take us to Sparkan.”