There was a moment of silence before Shaun jumped to his feet, his heart pounding and his head spinning around searching for the Grey Elf; but just as he was about to try and run from the room the silence was broken by the Grey Elf’s voice.
‘Can you see me?’ he said.
‘No,’ replied Shaun in a shaky, spluttering voice. ‘Where… where are you?’
‘I’m over here: can you hear me moving around?’
‘No. What’s happening?’ Shaun said and all of a sudden right in front of his eyes the Grey Elf slipped out of the shroud and was standing right up close. Shaun shook his head. ‘If I hadn’t seen that with my own eyes, I would never have believed it.’
‘This shroud will enable you to enter the witches’ house without being seen or heard and with no trace of smell, so any beasts inside would be unable to detect your presence. This is an ancient shroud created by the Great Wizard. When the war between the Kingdoms erupted and the evil contingent of Colgilor tried to kill all those who used magic for good, rather than evil, the shroud protected us, allowing us to escape any encounter undetected and enter their encampments to free prisoners and help defeat them.’ He rolled the shroud up into a small pack. ‘All you have to do is to slip it on before entering the house and you will be able to float forward through solid walls without making a sound, a little less mess than when you used the Dwarfs’ hammer,’ he said with a mischievous smirk.
‘And when I get inside what am I to do? Shall I tackle her if she is there?’
‘No, that would be too dangerous. I doubt she will have stayed. Once she completed her abductions she would have known the Dwarfs and the other armies would track her there. I’m almost sure she has moved on somewhere safe and out of reach. That is your task: you must find out where she has gone. All the information will be there. Let’s hope she has not destroyed the evidence.’ He led Shaun over to the magic square. ‘Do you remember this is where I created your waystones to keep in contact with you on your quest?’
‘Yes, I remember, but you say I must find out where she has gone: how will I do that? Where will I look? If it is there, she will have made sure no one could follow, surely.’
‘Of course, but she won’t be expecting magic to be used to unlock her secrets,’ he said as he picked up a round, candle-like crystal, and as he banged his staff on the floor, the glowing artificial light around the square started to pulsate, changing in sequence with the colours of the rainbow, and the crystal followed suit. ‘This is a pulsating crystal detector probe: it has been tuned into my magic mirror so all you have to do is to point the probe towards any mirrors you find there or anything you think may hold her secrets. Simply point the probe towards it and it will gather the information and I will be able to use my mirror to reveal the contents. Now, even though I don’t think she will be there, I would feel happier if you had company, so I have spoken to the leader of the goblins, as her house is in their Kingdom. His army will escort you there and stand by if you need assistance.’
‘Very well,’ Shaun said, ‘but if I remember rightly it is a long journey there. I only hope we are not too late to save our friends.’
The Grey Elf laughed out loud. ‘I don’t expect you to walk there this time, as you know I couldn’t help you. Then, because of my promise to Louis’ father, he wanted Louis to complete his quest using his own means.’ He turned to his mirror and twisted the gold ring on his finger and the mirror misted over, swirling around and around before gradually fading away to reveal the goblin leader who was sitting at his desk in his diamond room. Shaun shivered at the sight of him: he was more ugly than he remembered, covered in a thick coat of dirty, grey hair, and as he looked up into the mirror he attempted a smile, revealing his two fang-like teeth protruding up from his lower jaw into his top lip, and the flickering light formed a filthy oil lamp mirrored in his steel-grey eyes, giving out a cold, sinister, penetrating stare which looked right through Shaun, sending cold shivers up and down his spine.
‘Hello, Shaun,’ he said in his loud, unpleasant-sounding voice. ‘It is sad that we have to meet again under these dreadful circumstances. The Grey Elf has told me of his plan and I have arranged for our finest guards to accompany you to the witches’ house, and if need be to enter and tackle any dangers there might be in there. It is a pity you are not armed with the Dwarfs’ magic hammer, but I’m sure with your proven courage and our fighting skills we will succeed.’
The Grey Elf turned to Shaun. ‘You have your shroud and the probe: are you ready to go?’ Shaun nodded his head and took a few deep breaths as the Grey Elf pointed his ring finger towards the mirror which seemed to open up, Shaun smiled at the Grey Elf before walking through, ending up inside the leader’s room. ‘Good luck!’ the Grey Elf shouted. ‘Don’t rush and take your time: I will see you when you return.’ His face slowly faded from the mirror.
The leader stood up and walked over to greet Shaun who was still staring into the mirror. ‘Don’t worry, I can open the portal when you return, having succeeded in your mission. My guards are waiting. You can leave immediately: the sooner we find out where she has taken our friends, the better.’
‘I will not return without that information whatever it takes.’ The leader placed a hand on Shaun’s shoulder. ‘You saved Geriba once before against all the odds: he could not have anyone better or braver to help set him free. The thoughts of all the goblins go with you and remember what the Grey Elf told you.’
He ushered Shaun out of the room and over to where a dozen armed guards were standing. They all gathered around him, overjoyed to once again see their hero, and as they left the grotto all the goblins had assembled near to the exit to give them a noisy send-off.
The sun was just rising above them as they set off, sending rays of warm, orange light through the gaps in the trees and casting the little army in a dappled light. Shaun led the way: he was in a hurry and the heavily armed guards were struggling to keep up. A huge smile of relief spread across Shaun’s face as he recognised the clearing a few hundred metres away.
‘This is it,’ he said, glancing over to the chief guard. ‘Yes, that’s it, so best we approach with caution.’ They came to a halt to gather their thoughts before slowly and silently moving forward to the edge of the clearing.
As they peered out of the thicket just like the first time he had arrived there, a thick, dense mist engulfed the clearing, swirling, rising and falling in all directions and completely masking their vision. But as they crept forward the shape of the witches’ house slowly loomed into focus. Shaun shivered at the sight, a truly sinister, evil place. He could feel her presence as the house seemed to sway to and fro, fading back and forth like some sort of hypnotism, drawing them in towards it.
They crept forward, their eyes peeled and their senses on full alert as they scanned every inch of their surroundings. The old building was just as Shaun remembered: a crooked stone structure leaning to one side with a huge stone chimney at one end leaning in the other direction. The door and windows were all out of shape with broken panes of glass and missing planks of wood from the rotten shutters: the whole place looked as though it would collapse at the slightest gust of wind. The house was surrounded by a high fence with small skulls perched on top of each post and dozens of black crows squabbling for places on the tin roof, sending out ear-splitting shrieks which echoed around the clearing.
They came to a halt in front of a gate in the fence. The chief guard turned to the others. ‘You stay here: only follow if I call you. I will escort Shaun to the front door of the house and wait there in case he needs us.’
Shaun gave each of them a warm hug. He was so pleased they had come with him; even if they couldn’t help him, it would have been a daunting task without their company. The chief guard drew his sword and pushed open the gate. Cautiously he put one foot forward but as he touched the ground a large part of the garden disappeared into a huge, cavernous void, so deep you couldn’t see the bottom. Luckily, Shaun reacted like lightning,
maybe alerted by the Grey Elf. He grabbed the chief guard’s arm before he could tumble forward. He screamed out loud as he hung over the opening, looking down into the abyss, and his fellow guards helped Shaun drag him back to safety. He turned and wrapped his arms around Shaun’s neck.
‘Again you have come to my rescue, thank you so much.’
Shaun just smiled. ‘I think maybe the Grey Elf helped. I don’t usually move that quickly but let’s hope I don’t need your help. You had better not come in. I’m sure that is not the only surprise the witch has in store for any intruders.’
He rolled out his shroud and slipped inside. The goblins gasped out in unison as he disappeared.
‘Well, be very careful. We will stay here to escort you back.’
‘Wish me luck!’ he shouted as he floated over the cavernous void towards the house and his blood ran cold as he came to a halt outside the door. The large, black, skull-shaped knocker looked even more ominous than he remembered from his last visit. He took a deep breath before floating through the door and along the dimly lit passageway. Although the Grey Elf had told him nothing in there could see or smell him, he was overcome with the vile, dank smell which took his breath away and dulled his senses. At the end of the passage was the huge, cavelike room with all the same frightening noises, grunts, groans, moans and wails, cries, screams and shrieks flooding out from every crack and crevice in the old stone walls. And once again the weird forms and figures appeared, drifting around the room: ghosts, ghouls, vampires and banshee devils and demons: they were as the Grey Elf had told him, created from his own fears and nightmares.
He tried to blank them from his thoughts as he moved straight through them over to the large, black iron door at the far side and again he took a deep breath before floating through. He gasped out loud and came to an abrupt stop as he came face to face with two huge, savage, snarling hounds, each with three heads, their enormous jaws exposing large, fang-like teeth dripping with venom. Each head had three evil, penetrating, bright green eyes, their thick, matted fur coat standing on end as though ready to attack. They moved slowly towards him, sending out soul-shattering, wailing cries, becoming louder and louder as each hound tried to outcry the other. Shaun looked away. He tried to push the shroud forward but all his strength seemed to have slipped from his body with fear. No one, not even the Grey Elf, could tell him that they did not sense he was there; maybe he thought with each one having three heads their sense of smell was razor-sharp and somehow managed to detect him. So with one determined effort he managed to push the wheel, and to his relief floated straight through them and a second door, ending up in the witches’ magic room. He moved over to the large mirror standing on the rickety table inside the magic area: it was all the same as his first visit except the magic area was a square, but this had five sides. The glowing light around the perimeter was the same. He stayed outside as he knew it would be too dangerous to enter. He lifted up the crystal probe but something told him – maybe it was the Grey Elf – it would be better to investigate the other areas before disturbing the mirror. He passed through the wall and along the passageway to the back of the house and found himself in the dormitory. He stopped to scan the room: he could see the rows of beds with the small mirrors at the foot of each one. He spotted the large, wooden door at the far end of the room: he floated down to it and passed through into the prison cell.
His blood ran cold when he saw the row of straw mattresses. ‘All my friends will have been locked up here,’ he thought as he wiped away a tear. Poor Ava: it would have been bad enough for the others, but she was so delicate. He shuddered as his eyes fell on the gruesome shackles fixed to the wall. He turned and quickly floated back up to the dormitory. Stopping at the first bed, he picked up the crystal probe and pointed towards the mirror. The probe started to pulsate, continuing for a short time before fading away. He continued up the row of beds, extracting the information from each mirror. Once the last one had given up its secrets he sighed out loud.
‘Well, that was easy: no problems so far, now for the magic room.’ His spirits were soaring as he travelled along the passageway, but his elation turned to despair and disbelief as he entered the magic room and came face to face with a grotesque monstrosity. It had the body of a dragon with head, arms, huge claws and a large tail. Just the normal dragon but what made this so much more frightening and dangerous was that a second head protruding from its neck was that of the wicked witch, her wrinkled face creased in a hideous smirk, and sending out a rasping cackle which engulfed the room, sending cold shivers up and down Shaun’s spine.
‘What should I do?’ he thought as his mind was racing. He wanted to push his handle full on and shoot out of the room, but he knew if he wanted to see his friends again he needed the information from this mirror. He paused for a moment or two to gather his thoughts. It must not have seen him or it would have attacked, but he had the feeling she sensed something or someone was in the room, so he decided to stay put for a while and see her next move.
All of a sudden the dragon raised its head, roared out loud and sent a blast of fire streaming up, scorching the ceiling: the intense heat and smoke engulfed the whole room, leaving Shaun struggling to stifle his choking cough.
‘What now?’ he whispered to himself. ‘The Grey Elf said the shroud was indestructible but had it ever been tested with flames from a dragon? I doubt it.’
The witch gave out a wicked burst of laughter. ‘If there’s anyone in here you had better get out while you can: things are really going to warm up!’ she screamed.
That made Shaun’s mind up and as the dragon’s huge, green eyes opened wide and its deep red tongue flicked in and out, testing the air and smoke drifting out from its nostrils, Shaun pointed the crystal probe towards the mirror. It lit up and began to pulsate. But somehow the witch must have detected this. The dragon moved slowly forward, and as the witch’s face faded away the dragon let fly with another burst of fire, and a second and a third until the whole room was ablaze.
Outside, the goblins could only watch in horror as the flames exploded out of every window, lapping up the sides of the house and setting fire to the roof, and all of a sudden the whole building burst into flames, within minutes: there was the sound of rumbling, creaking and groaning getting louder and louder, shaking the ground around the whole area. The goblins had to run further back into the forest and stood there, mouths wide open and shaking their heads in disbelief as the building collapsed in a heap of scorched stone and charred timber. They waited a moment before cautiously creeping back to the clearing, but just as they reached the fence the rumbling began to increase and the ground around the pile of rubble opened up and everything, including the fence, disappeared into the abyss, and to the goblins’ amazement the gaping hole filled up and was covered in vegetation.
The goblins remained there for several minutes rooted to the spot in silence. Finally the chief sighed out loud.
‘Come, we must return to the grotto to tell the leader of our sad news and he will inform the Grey Elf.’ But as they turned to walk away, Shaun suddenly appeared.
‘The Grey Elf was right, the shroud is indestructible. I had my doubts for a time in there,’ he said with a wry smile as he rolled it up and tucked it under his arm. He lifted up the probe. ‘Let us go from this evil place. I don’t know how much information I got before the mirror exploded. Just let’s hope it’s enough for the Grey Elf to trace the whereabouts of our friends.’ They gave one long, lingering glance back at the clearing before setting off.
Back at the grotto, the leader listened intently as the chief guard gave his account of what they had witnessed, and Shaun told of his encounter with the dragon. ‘Just let’s hope it was all worthwhile,’ said the leader. ‘Again you have risked your life for others: you really are a remarkable young man.’
‘Well, I don’t know about that,’ Shaun said modestly, ‘but the sooner I return to the Grey Elf’s castle, the sooner we will know our next move.’ He turned to th
e goblins, a warm smile on his face. ‘Thank you, I would have struggled there by myself. You may not have been in there with me physically, but I felt you were there in spirit which gave me the courage I needed.’ They all gathered in a group hug before the leader opened up the portal and Shaun slipped through.
A huge grin crossed the Grey Elf’s face as Shaun appeared, and he wrapped his arms around him. ‘You have done well so let us not waste time: we will see what is in our little crystal probe.’ Shaun looked a little peeved as the Grey Elf led him over to the stone bench and they sat down. The door swung open and the two assistant elves marched in, carrying plates of hot food. The Grey Elf had a mischievous twinkle in his eye as he turned to Shaun. ‘I was only teasing. I thought you might be hungry after your exhausting day: we will watch the mirror together after we have eaten.’ He chuckled to himself as he watched a broad smile break across Shaun’s face, as he couldn’t wait to be told. He just grabbed a plate and tucked in.
Sometime later they moved over to the magic square and sat on two seats in front of the mirror. Shaun crossed his fingers praying for the probe to reveal the information they required as the ornate mirror misted over and the swirling and twisting seemed to go on for an age. Finally it cleared and the Grey Elf placed the probe on the shelf, and it immediately lit up and began to pulsate. Shaun watched in amazement as the mirror showed all the abductions one by one and he wiped away a tear as he watched Ava trying to fight off the Low Elves as they placed the amulet on and Louis struggled to prevent Ava pushing the second amulet on him. It was like watching the TV back at the orphanage: the picture was so clear and you could hear every word and sound; it was so sad to see all his friends shackled in the prison cell at the witches’ house just sitting on the floor unable to resist even the Prince, one of Colgilor’s finest warriors in some sort of trance.
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