‘Breakfast and a shower, Gort told me why he smells so nice.’
‘Well, remember to close your eyes when you use the shampoo.’
‘I’ll help her,’ said Gort.
Alex stood to leave. ‘OK, just tell House when you’re ready, and I’ll come and get you.’
It was an hour later when Alex carried her downstairs to meet the others. He introduced her to Blaze and Paige, telling Flax those were the ones who helped heal her along with House. She held out her arms and Blaze took her from him, before the children decided the pucas should have a tour of the mansion and watch a film.
CHAPTER TWENTY
Strange Gifts
The disagreement from the previous night had been forgotten when Carrie embraced Alex. He told her he was taking Joseph horse riding, and she decided to go. George who had never been on a horse, Blaze who hadn’t been on one in a long time, Asima, James and the wolves also joined them. They walked to the stables, which had been rebuilt down by the river. One of the most obvious flaws in the design of the mansion and grounds still eluded him, but no one said anything. Amy and Lucy were already mounted with the other horses ready to ride.
There is something on the other side of the river that needs help, said House.
‘What does?’ said Alex, as he climbed on his stallion.
Pixies I believe, they are in the woods, I cannot see them but I can sense they are small.
Alex dismounted and jumped over the river followed by Asima, Carrie and James. They ran to the woods on the other side. It took them ten minutes to find a dozen pixies all unconscious. Alex took off his jacket, and placed a few of them inside carefully, as did the others.
Asima knelt by them. ‘Are they OK?’
‘Just sleeping I hope,’ said Alex. ‘We won’t know until House can check them over.’
‘Will it be OK jumping back over the river with them like this?’
Alex held three of the pixies as they walked back. ‘Probably not. House can you hear me?’
Yes, but I cannot see you while you’re in the woods.
‘I need a way of getting across the river without jumping.’
I will build you a bridge.
They walked to the river trying not to disturb the pixies. The bridge was a few planks of wood from the stables, which they managed to cross with ease. They took the pixies to their own woods where the others who had returned wanted to stay.
Alex put his jacket on the ground as the other pixies came to them. ‘You want us to take them to the mansion, or will they be better off with you?’
Lark jumped down from a tree. ‘Leave them with us, we’ll look after them.’
‘Kaeya’s still missing.’
‘She won’t return until she saves as many as possible.’
‘Someone told me last night we should go after the warlock, and I’m beginning to agree with her,’ said Alex, which got him a stern look off Carrie.
‘No, you mustn’t do that. He has traps set up everywhere.’
‘You know this is true?’
‘He’s expecting you to come after us, we know that much already.’
Alex climbed back on his horse, and noticed Carrie and Asima both staring at him. ‘What?’
Carrie gave him a quizzical look. ‘Why can’t House see in the woods on the other side of the river?’
‘That is what I wondered,’ said Asima.
‘I told you there’s a perimeter, and he can’t travel past it.’
‘But you said he protected us at Blaze’s,’ Carrie argued.
Alex didn’t understand what she was getting at. ‘He can travel with certain artefacts from the mansion.’
James grinned. ‘Like the ones we keep in the limo and coach.’
Alex scratched his head. ‘Yeah, so he can come with us when we go out.’
‘And if you had one of the artefacts with you here,’ said Carrie, now smiling, ‘House could see much further.’
‘Or,’ James interjected, ‘you place some around the perimeter, and he can look anytime he wants.’
‘House!’ said Alex, going red, as the others laughed and James almost fell off his horse.
There was no reply, and Alex stared at the mansion, as he didn’t want to look at the others. They all heard what sounded like whistling.
Carrie also stared at the mansion and pointed. ‘What’s that noise, and what’s that?’
Alex stared in disbelief. A plaque from the outhouse where the wolves had stayed floated through the air until it landed on his saddle, the whistling stopped.
This is much better, I can see a lot further now, said a cheerful sounding House.
Alex smiled at the others. ‘Good idea that.’
They carried on with the riding, and after a while the two older men started to enjoy themselves. Blaze had the urge to race off, and did so when Alex told her the horse would like it, too. Asima chased after her. Joseph and George rode at a steady pace, they weren’t nervous about it, just unsure what to expect.
‘I’ve a feeling the warlock won’t be too far away,’ said Joseph, as they trotted along.
‘He’ll follow their trail sooner or later,’ said Alex, as Blaze and Asima rode back to them. ‘But I wonder how he will travel, and how many demons he’ll bring.’
‘I guess he has many ways of travelling, but why did you call them demons?’
Alex shrugged. ‘Demons, ghouls, they’re all the same to me.’
‘No, they’re not,’ said Joseph sternly. ‘Demons are much worse.’
‘You might want to discuss this later, without frightening the younger ones,’ said Blaze, with a raised eyebrow.
Alex nodded. ‘You’re right, but I don’t want to keep secrets.’
‘It doesn’t bother us,’ said Amy. ‘Papa makes it sound like an unwanted family member is paying us a visit.’
‘She has a point,’ said Blaze. ‘You don’t sound too worried about it.’
‘I’m more worried about Kaeya and the other pixies to be honest,’ said Alex, it wasn’t a lie, he was worried about the pixies, and the warlock. He had no idea what to expect and decided to keep it to himself.
‘What if he brings fifty of those demons?’ said George, looking down rather nervously, as he was closer to the river than he realised.
‘They’d have to be better than the ones we fought. I could’ve beaten them on my own, as could any of us who were there.’
‘Yes,’ said Asima. ‘They were pure evil, but not very skilled fighters.’
‘Joseph,’ said Alex. ‘What do you think? Demons or ghouls?’
‘I’m leaning more towards demons. It’s the suits you said they were wearing, was they new or old?’
‘New and quite smart.’
Joseph turned in his saddle. ‘They sound like demons, and will be able to change their features to look human so they can move around in the daytime with the warlock unnoticed.’
James pulled on the left side of the reins to get closer. ‘You’re saying wherever the warlock is . . . he has surrounded himself with those things.’
‘He’s over two thousand years old, and would want someone he could trust, who didn’t keep dying on him.’
‘He could be a politician,’ said Lucy.
‘Or even the Prime Minister,’ said Amy.
Joseph smiled at them. ‘You could be right, and may well have been in the past, but I can’t see it happening nowadays.’
‘What difference would time make?’ said Blaze.
‘I’m only surmising here, but you would be able to check the history of most of our politicians as far back as a hundred years at least, so he would have to keep changing identities all the time.’
‘It’s possible he could do that,’ said James. ‘He’s a warlock, and was a powerful one before Alex stole the pixies off him.’
‘Yes, he could, and he would be missed if he’s spending all his time trying to catch our little friends.’
‘A business man, a powerful one, a
nd extremely rich,’ said George, now with a smile as he rode along. ‘He doesn’t have to be in the spotlight, and let his demons do all the work.’
‘He would be wealthy,’ said Joseph. ‘And be able to get on with whatever schemes he has.’
‘Wouldn’t he be able to do what he wants if he was Prime Minister?’ said Asima.
George shook his head. ‘Far from it, why ask permission to do something when you can just demand it.’
‘I hate politics,’ said Blaze. ‘But I understand things need to get passed through parliament, and it’s the people behind the scenes who get stuff done. Those are the ones you never hear about, but I used to watch a lot of television.’
‘You mean like secret police?’ said Lucy.
Amy shuddered. ‘I hope it’s demons and not those, they scare me.’
Alex grinned at Blaze. ‘You had to frighten them didn’t you?’
* * *
No pixies or warlock turned up and Alex decided to go to bed. He was hoping to dream about the warlock giving him some idea of what to expect. However, it was just a muddle of his other dreams and woke up frustrated. He dressed, and walked outside where Rho joined him.
Is everything OK? The wolf asked.
Alex shrugged. ‘Couldn’t sleep, my dreams confuse me at times.’
I never have that problem . . . they’re always about running through fields.
‘Don’t you ever wake up tired?’
Only if I kick Chi by mistake.
‘That could get you in trouble.’
There’s something else on your mind, I can feel it.
Yes, I can sense it, too, said House.
Alex leant back. ‘I believe something will happen today.’
The warlock? Does it worry you? Rho asked.
‘Only of failing.’
You still intend to face him?
‘Yeah, I’ve no doubt about that, and I’ll do whatever it takes to stop him.’
He will have to get through my field first, said House. So please do not try fighting him outside of it.
* * *
Joseph looked across the table at Alex, who had his breakfast passed to him. ‘Something on your mind?’
‘I’ve a feeling the warlock will be here soon,’ Alex smiled at the blonde haired Sammy, helping serve breakfast, ‘but I did expect him here sooner.’
‘He might be trying to find out as much as he can about you first,’ said Joseph. ‘And we are hidden.’
‘I was expecting him to come straight over here, all arrogant, thinking we would just hand them over to him.’
Claire picked up a sausage off her plate, and was about to bite it, but pointed it at Alex instead. ‘You’ve taken some of his power away, and for all we know the majority of it, and that can affect someone’s way of thinking. I’ve seen it in people who believe they’re above you all cocky with their great job, until they get demoted or lose the job. They won’t look at you after because they’re scared you’re above them now.’
Alex thought about biting Claire’s offending sausage, but she moved it back and bit it herself. ‘Did it happen often?’
She shook her head and swallowed. ‘No, not really, just a few times.’
‘Claire is right,’ said Joseph. ‘He may well be worried, that’s if he knows anything about you.’
Alex moved the food around on his plate with a fork. ‘Maybe, but he’ll still be powerful, and those demons, and whatever other friends he might have.’
‘I’d worry about what talismans he might have in his possession.’
‘Are there many of them?’
‘I have no idea, but the vase is one.’
‘What about the chest?’
Joseph clasped his hands together. ‘I’m not sure, it does have magic properties and the binding spell is engraved into the box, so it could be one.’
‘I bet the warlock would like both.’
Joseph raised an eyebrow. ‘There are many who would, the vase itself is priceless.’
‘And you just handed it over.’
‘It was always yours; I was only ever the guardian of it.’
* * *
At midday most of them sat watching the news channel, where a reporter stood before a forest. ‘A group of hikers found something bizarre early this morning,’ said the reporter. ‘Deep in the middle of Cwmcarn Forest they found six suits, all containing shirts with a neck tie attached. There were shoes and socks, but the South Wales police believe it to be an elaborate hoax to make it look like six men had just vanished. They also believe it has something to do with the sightings of the small ghostly shapes coming from the woods and forests in the south of the England.’
‘We should have done something with the suits,’ said Alex. ‘But how did they just disappear?’
Joseph scratched his chin. ‘If they’re demons, they’ll just get sent back to where they come from, once you’ve killed them.’
Carrie sat next to Alex, and folded her legs underneath her. ‘Demons aren’t like anything I‘ve read about, the ones in horror books are much worse.’
‘That’s because they’re not real,’ said James.
‘Maybe or maybe not,’ said Joseph. ‘But I believe demons are real now, and no one in their right mind would try summoning the demons Carrie has read about, or the more powerful ones.’
‘There’s more than one type of demon?’
‘According to the myths from around the world there are many, and some demon lords you would never want to face.’
Carrie’s face dropped. ‘So, it wasn’t such a great victory when we defeated those the other night.’
‘Oh but it was,’ said Joseph. ‘They would have been lethal to a normal man or woman. It might have been easy for you, but that’s because you’re no ordinary mortal anymore.’
Carrie’s eyes grew big. ‘I like the sound of that.’
The conversation about demons ended as the pixies filled the room with their humming.
‘Tell me little one,’ Alex said to the pixie now sitting on his shoulder. ‘Why have you not sung ‘til now?’
‘We couldn’t do it until Flax got better as we were sad, and it also helps our worries of our missing friends.’
Gort sat on the arm of a sofa next to Paige. ‘If I had my pipes with me I’d play along with you, and show my happiness that she’s safe.’
‘I might have some of those,’ said James, and stepped outside to his car, which had been parked there since the women moved in. He came back a few minutes later dragging a large suitcase behind him.
Claire grinned. ‘Those must be some big pipes.’
James struggled, but managed to pick the case up and put it on one of the tables. ‘This contains a lot of stuff I’ve collected over the years.’
‘Why did you leave it in the car?’ said Alex.
‘There was no way I was going to try to carry it upstairs,’ said James, and opened it. He took out some panpipes, before passing them to Gort. ‘Are these the ones you play?’
‘Yes, thank you,’ said the puca, and started playing them.
‘That’s a pleasant sound,’ said Alex.
Claire glanced into the case. ‘What’s all this junk?’
James frowned. ‘Most of this stuff is quite rare, I collected it years ago thinking it might be worth something one day.’
‘Well,’ said Alex. ‘You have the perfect person here to tell you if you’re right.’
James passed Joseph a flute. ‘What you reckon about this?’
Joseph turned it over in his hand. It was white, with a pattern along the side. ‘This is quite rare, it’s complete, and worth some money.’
‘What’s it made of, I could never tell?’
‘Bone of course.’
James rubbed his mouth vigorously. ‘Eww, that’s just wrong and I tried playing it.’
Alex inspected the contents of the case, when a peculiar idea came to him. ‘I’ve a feeling about all the stuff in here,’ he said, not knowing why, b
ut that happened to him a lot.
James raised both eyebrows. ‘It’s just my collectables which might make me rich one day.’
Alex picked up a couple of items from the case. ‘There’s something about this stuff. I know I want something already, and I bet most here do, too.’
‘Take anything you want, as anyone else can.’
Alex shook his head in disbelief. ‘I thought it was your nest egg.’
‘I’m too intrigued now, and want to see what you’re talking about.’
‘OK, get everyone in here and I’ll show you.’
‘House, can you tell the others they’re needed here?’
I already have.
Alex looked up. ‘Sorry, I forget how good you are.’
I quite like the fact I can still surprise you.
‘For some reason I don’t think that’ll ever stop,’ said Alex, as he started emptying the contents of James’s suitcase on the table.
‘What’s all this?’ said Paige.
‘An experiment. I’ve a strange feeling there’s something here for everyone, well apart from Claire who believes it’s junk.’
Claire stared at the table. ‘I may have been a bit hasty there.’
‘Seen something you like?’
‘Maybe, but others will want it.’
Paige looked at the items. ‘Probably the same thing I like.’
‘I don’t think so,’ said Alex, and picked up a gold looking metal bar about four feet long. ‘Do any of you want this?’
Claire pulled a face. ‘No, it’s ugly.’
‘I thought not, as I want it,’ said Alex, and picked up a short sword with a stunning jewel encrusted hilt and scabbard. He heard a short intake of breath behind him.
‘I thought you had chosen yours,’ grumbled Claire.
‘I have, but I was just looking at this. I believe it has magical properties, you’d think everyone would want it.’
‘You don’t have to advertise it, as everyone can already see that.’
Alex glanced around the room and smiled. ‘Look at you, there’s something for everyone, but you won’t take it in case you upset your friends.’
‘Is that so bad?’ said Carrie.
Vesta Mansion: Book One - The Power Inside Page 28