The Machu Picchu Mystery

by Matt Beighton

  Gloria screamed and tried to claw his skin, but Diego was too strong.

  “Do something!” she cried.

  Trixie frantically looked around for anything to save her friend. She gasped and cursed when her foot landed in the stream of cold water. Trixie scrambled over the wet rocks towards the large boulder that was damming the flow. She braced her shoulder against it and pushed. Stars popped in front of her eyes, but it started to wobble. She lifted her feet and pushed them against the wall. The stone shifted suddenly, and Trixie couldn’t stop herself from dropping into the gushing water when it rolled away towards the fire. She lifted her head up in time to see the cascade of icy water wash across the sandy ground and extinguish the blue flames with a hiss.

  Diego glared at Trixie. He threw Gloria to the ground and raced towards her. His eyes looked more like the pishtaco than ever. The ridiculous arms reached out to grab her, but Trixie spun and ducked underneath. She pulled the nylon spider’s web out of her pocket and tied it around one of his legs. Before Diego knew what was happening, she ducked in and out of his legs and pulled the web tight. His feet snapped together. He tried to stagger free, but he didn’t stand a chance. Trixie felt sick when his legs seemed to buckle just above the ankles and snap in half. When Diego rolled free of the pishtaco costume, a pair of metal stilts fell rolled onto the sand.

  Trixie heard Colin moan behind her. None of that mattered at the minute. She couldn’t take her eyes away from Diego. She wasn’t sure what he would do now. She’d hoped that once she unmasked him, he’d stop it all and hand himself in. Now she had no idea what he was going to do. “We need to get a message to Miss Brimstone,” she said out loud. “Gloria, do you think you can make it back?”

  “No need, Miss Grimble,” said a familiar, shrill voice behind her. Trixie turned her head slightly and, for the first time ever, was glad to see Miss Brimstone.

  Excuses

  Miss Brimstone stood tall in the entrance to the cave. Madam Garcia was buzzing in the air beside her.

  “How did you know?” Trixie said. Her eyes widened and an enormous smile spread across her face when she saw another familiar face peep around the corner. “Maria!” she screamed.

  “Gloria let me out while they were waiting for you to distract the pishtaco,” the centaur said. “I raced back to the school as quickly as I could.”

  “Diego, I’m so disappointed in you,” Madam Garcia said forlornly. “I never would have expected you to do something like this.”

  “I would’ve gotten away with it, too, if it weren’t for you meddling monsters,” Diego said bitterly.

  “We gave you everything, Diego. A job, a place to live. And to think you’ve repaid us like this...” Madam Garcia trailed off. Trixie thought she could see tiny teardrops running down the fairy’s cheeks.

  “You’d never understand,” Diego said.

  “I think I do,” Trixie offered. “You wanted to belong. They didn’t believe that you were a monster, so you set out to prove them wrong. I’m lucky that most of the monsters at Monstacademy have accepted me for who I am. Maybe if the monsters at Escuela de Monstruos had treated you better, this might never have happened.”

  “Exactly,” Diego said, “they’ve never accepted me.”

  “What do you mean?” Madam Garcia asked.

  Maria and Xavier took it in turns to explain how the other monsters had ridiculed Diego for years. For her part, the headmistress looked genuinely upset and shocked that the caretaker had been treated this way.

  When they had finished the story, Diego looked relaxed. A weight had been lifted from his shoulders.

  “Of course, we can’t just let you go,” Madam Garcia said, dropping the weight straight back down. “You’ve kidnapped dozens of young monsters and hidden them away in this horrible cave. I won’t even ask what that enormous cauldron was for.”

  “But you heard the story,” Diego pleaded. “They tormented me, and you did nothing.”

  “I’m sure Madam Garcia feels quite terrible about her poor handling of the situation,” Miss Brimstone chimed in. She seemed to enjoy pointing out her old friend’s mistakes a little bit too much. “But you can’t go around doing terrible things every time somebody is mean to you. For goodness sake, poor Trixie would never get any work done.”

  “Thanks for that,” Trixie said sourly. She didn’t need reminding that Heston Gobswaddle and his cronies were waiting for her back home.

  “It’s always important to remember that there is always a choice.” Miss Brimstone looked from Diego to Trixie and her friends as she spoke. “You always have a choice with everything. It may not be a choice you like, but there is a choice, nonetheless. But no choice is free from consequences. In fact, the choice of consequences makes all of the others pale in comparison.”

  “Enough of that,” Madam Garcia said, her face almost purple with rage. “I’ll take care of this.”

  The tiny fairy drew herself up to her full ten inches and rolled up her sleeves. She started to wave her hands around in a strange fashion, but Miss Brimstone got there first. The banshee muttered something under her breath and flicked a finger towards Madam Garcia. The fairy spun in the air and landed in a heap on the floor. Trixie giggled when bright yellow stars appeared in the air and spun around her head, just like a cartoon.

  “There are people out there who fear monsters. They’ve heard the rumours about the pishtaco and want to know what’s going on. If you do something...messy...in here, then they will never trust you that it is safe. He must be handed over to the police. Let them deal with him in the open and then,” Miss Brimstone raised an eyebrow and a finger to prevent Madam Garcia interrupting, “only then, might they begin to trust you again.”

  Miss Brimstone had declared Colin’s leg nothing more than badly bruised, but she had conceded that he needed to rest it while the others cleared up. Trixie noticed he was feeling more cheerful by the minute.

  It took them a while to unlock all of the cages and release the monsters. Diego seemed to realise that there was no point in fighting. Miss Brimstone had tied his arms and legs together with strong rope and he spent the time looking forlorn in the corner.

  “You could almost feel sorry for him,” Maria said to Trixie and Gloria. She was hammering her hoof on a particularly stubborn padlock, trying to force it open.

  “I don’t,” Trixie said. “I understand what he was feeling, but I don’t feel sorry for him. He spent his whole life angry because he wasn’t accepted into the school. Imagine what he could have achieved if he’d set out to do something positive.”

  Suddenly, there was an almighty scream from the other side of the room, followed by a heartfelt groan from Colin. Trixie spun around, ready to fight whatever monster was attacking them now. When she saw what was happening, she couldn’t help but laugh.

  Somebody had released Devon from her cage, and the cyclops had raced straight over to Colin to thank him for saving her. Despite his best efforts, she’d thrown her arms around his neck and was giving him a hug.

  “Told ya she’d fall in love,” Gloria said, and they both laughed even harder.

  By the time the convoy of monsters made it back to the school, rumours were already spreading. Trixie was the pishtaco. Or maybe she’d beaten him and rescued Diego. Or Diego was the pishtaco and had eaten Trixie. Trixie didn’t have the energy to argue, plus it was nearly dawn and she suddenly realised how hungry she was.

  “We can deal with all of these tomorrow. Or later today. Or whatever. Right now, I need some breakfast.”

  The five of them headed down to the hall where an enormous breakfast of fried pork, sweet potato, black pudding and a steamed cake that Maria told them was called humitas was piled high on the long tables. Trixie didn’t think she’d ever seen Colin so happy.

  Time For Rewards

  It sounded too much like a cliché to say it out loud, but the rest of the day really did pass in a blur for Trixie. By the time they’d finished their breakfast, most of the more o
utlandish rumours had given way to something resembling the truth. Trixie had defeated the pishtaco, but the monster had turned out to be the strange caretaker, so nobody seemed quite sure how much of a hero she really was. Trixie didn’t mind at all. She didn’t want any extra attention, especially if it meant the other monsters realising that she wasn’t, in fact, a monster, either.

  Colin and Xavier, on the other hand, had taken on several unimaginable monsters all on their own, and they spent the next few hours telling increasingly taller tales to the younger monsters. Trixie let them have their moment, though she did consider dropping in the fact that Xavier had literally fallen to bits during the fight.

  Gloria had gone for a lie-down. After paling at the sight of all of the breakfast meat, she’d been delighted to discover a new dish called tamales. She was so hungry that she’d eaten a dozen of the corn snacks and ended up looking even paler than before.

  With nothing else to do, Maria led Trixie back down to the citadel to see the ancient Inca ruins once more before they left.

  “They really are stunning,” Trixie said as they took a leisurely stroll towards the curved wall of the Temple of the Sun.

  “We are blessed to live in this place,” Maria said. She took Trixie’s hand and led her up the stone ramp into a small, open room. “Only the most important people were allowed in this room when the Inca ruled. They would offer sacrifices to please the gods.” The centaur looked serious for a moment and glared at Trixie. “It is customary to still do that today.”

  Trixie started to panic, and back away towards the open.

  “I’m only kidding!” Maria said gleefully punching Trixie in the arm. “You should have seen your face, though!”

  “That was mean!” Trixie said, but laughed along with her friend.

  The sun was standing proud over the mountains by the time Trixie and Maria made it back to the school. Trixie cursed herself for not wearing sunscreen and could already feel her nose beginning to blister. Gloria had made it back down from her room, although she refused to eat anything for lunch. Colin and Xavier were nowhere to be seen.

  In fact, it was dinner-time before they were all together again, gathered around the enormous tables in the hall and tucking into a farewell feast that the cook had put together in honour of the departing heroes.

  Trixie was slumped back in her chair, lost in a contented, food-induced reverie, when Madam Garcia flew up to the podium and coughed politely. Murmurs of conversation petered out, and the hall fell quiet, except for somebody at the back who barked like a dog. They were quickly shushed into silence. There’s always one.

  “We owe a great debt of gratitude to our visitors,” Madam Garcia began, her voice filling the hall. “If it wasn’t for Trixie, Gloria, Colin and our own Maria and Xavier, we would still be here doubting whether there really was a problem. Instead, they took it upon themselves to rescue many of our friends and relatives who had disappeared over the last year or so.”

  The fairy looked around the room, her gaze lingering on each monster in turn. “Unfortunately, one of our own members of staff was behind this fiendish scheme. And what’s worse is that we can’t overlook the fact that the behaviour of some of you,” at this point, she raised her voice and her glared, “may have driven him some way towards this unfortunate end. Let that sink in, and reflect on who you wish to be moving forward.”

  Madam Garcia seemed to shake herself and a cheerful smile once again took centre stage on her face. “We would like to say thank you to those who saved us with a little token of our appreciation. Trixie, Gloria and Colin, would you come and join me.”

  The hall erupted into applause as the three sheepishly made their way to the podium. Trixie glanced over at their own deputy-headmistress and saw that Miss Brimstone had an unusual look on her face. It suddenly dawned on Trixie that it was a look of pride. She’d never seen Miss Brimstone look like that before. It was slightly unnerving.

  Gloria reached the podium first, and Madam Garcia presented her with a gold necklace. A polished emerald had been set in the centre of a bronze sun and hung delicately around her neck when she placed it over her head. “This is said to be a magical amulet, worn by one of the first Inca priests,” Madam Garcia said. “But then again, everything anybody finds has some sort of story behind it. I thought it was pretty, and you would enjoy it,” she finished with a giggle. Gloria blushed and mumbled an awkward “thank you,” before stepping aside for Colin.

  For Colin, the fairy reached into a small satin sack and took out a stone circle. A crude wolf’s head had been carved into one face. “A badge worn by the first werewolves in these mountains,” Madam Garcia said. “Or so they say! I am sure they would be honoured to consider you one of their own.”

  Colin’s eyes widened. “Just you wait until I show those losers at the Lycanthrope Hunting Club this. That’ll teach them!”

  “And for Trixie, the most difficult of all. Of course, Miss Brimstone told me your secret,” she said in a whisper so that only Trixie could hear. “I respect your decision to keep it hidden a little bit longer, even if I think it is a shame.” The fairy reached behind her for something. When she turned back around, she was holding half of a bronze circle. “This was made when the Inca first welcomed the monsters of the mountains into Machu Picchu. The Inca took one half and gave the other to the monsters as a symbol of their lasting bond. Alas, the half that the Inca took has been lost over time, but let this be a reminder to all of us. It doesn’t matter who or what we are, but how we are.”

  Once the meal was over and everybody had said their goodbyes, Trixie, Gloria and Colin led the monsters of Monstacademy on the long walk back to the foot of the mountain.

  Trixie allowed herself to drift towards the back of the crowd where she fell into step with Miss Brimstone. “It was you who left the note, wasn’t it?” she said.

  “I have no idea what you mean,” the banshee said. Trixie was certain she saw the corner of her teacher’s mouth almost break into a smile.

  “Well, I need to remember to say thank you to whoever it was,” Trixie said to nobody in particular. “Without it, we wouldn’t have had any chance of finding Maria or the others.”

  They continued in silence for a while, before Miss Brimstone said, cautiously, “While I must commend your effort in this particular case, I do hope that you and your friends won’t consider this an invitation to continue your amateur detective career once we get back to school.”

  Trixie smiled. “It hasn’t stopped us yet,” she said with a laugh.

  Miss Brimstone smiled fully this time, and placed an arm around Trixie’s shoulder. “Very true indeed,” she said.

  Their broomsticks had been well-hidden at the foot of the mountain and, after a brief round of tearful goodbyes, it didn’t take the monsters of Monstacademy long before they were beginning the long and very cold journey home.

  A magical suit of armour has gone missing in suspicious circumstances and there’s only one person who can help to solve the mystery.

  You!

  With nearly 20 different endings, exploding fart potions, freezing spells and plenty of other silly twists and turns, The Magic Knight is an adventure that puts you in control of the action. You choose where the story goes by making decisions and following your instincts. But be warned, not all endings are happy!

  By controlling the decisions your character makes, only you can solve the mystery of the Magic Knight! Roll the dice and control the action as you become the hero of your very own Monstacademy adventure!

  Read now!

  Also available in a dyslexia and visually impaired paperback edition with a larger, more clearly defined font.

  Also by Matt Beighton

  Monstacademy

  The Magic Knight

  The Halloween Parade

  The Egyptian Treasure

  The Grand High Monster

  The Machu Picchu Mystery (Coming Soon)

  The Shadowland Chronicles


  The Spyglass And The Cherry Tree

  The Shadowed Eye

  Standalone

  Tig You're It

  Watch for more at Matt Beighton’s site.

  About the Author

  Matt Beighton is a full-time writer, born somewhere in the midlands in England during the heady days of the 1980s. He is happily married with two young daughters who keep him very busy and suffer through the endless early drafts of his stories.

  Matt’s books have been read around the world and awarded the LoveReading4Kids “Indie Books We Love” and Readers’ Favorite 5 Star Awards.

  Having spent many years as a primary-school teacher, Matt Beighton knows how to bring stories to life. He regularly visits schools and runs creative workshops that ignite a passion for words.

  If you have enjoyed reading this book, please leave a review online. Your words really do keep authors going!

  To find out more or to join the mailing list, visit his website.

  Read more at Matt Beighton’s site.