by SJB Gilmour
‘I spoke to Jasper,’ Fergus added. ‘His seer tells us that the young witch has her own task on the goblin world.’
‘And we’ve got ours here,’ Mannix added.
‘The werewolves are right, kiddo,’ James told her. ‘Mel’s got a part to play in the prophecy, same as the rest of us.’
Sarah nodded around at the Black and Brown werewolves who were all staring at her expectantly. She remembered Jasper telling her that to lead, she must show confidence. These werewolves all seemed willing to follow her if she gave them reason. All she had to do was be strong enough. She straightened and shut her eyes for a moment.
The voices of Wolfenvald filled her mind. ‘Lead you must, Sarah Kopernik,’ they told her. ‘Fear not. The time will come when Conundrum Gate will fall. For now, lead this pack. Gather your allies. Only as a combined force shall you all triumph. When your supremacy has been established, go where fate leads. The Time of Learning is upon you and you must study. There are a great many things to learn!’
Sarah was startled. The last time she had heard Wolfenvald, it had been when she was trying to destroy Conundrum Gate. Then it had been forceful, but not like this. Now it sounded as though the forest world was giving her an order. She understood immediately that she had to obey these instructions and there was absolutely no arguing about that. She opened her eyes and looked around at the waiting group. She changed form from human to her Golden Mane form and stood proudly in the centre of the circle. All the confusion and anguish she had felt as a human disappeared now she was a wolf. She lifted her muzzle and gave a triumphant howl. Moments later, Benjamin joined in, closely followed by Aunt Roberta and Uncle Robert. Next Pack Mannix and Pack Fergus lifted their muzzles in the wolf song.
James lurched to his feet and clamped his hands over his ears. ‘Alright!’ the master of botanical sorcery hollered. ‘You lot make enough noise to wake the dead!’
Sarah grinned at her friend and then looked up at Angela. Her teacher was now smiling confidently.
Sheila padded up to Sarah. ‘Instead of waking the dead, lassie, perhaps we should see if we can wake that one.’ She nodded at Oliver Cromwell. ‘I’ve been a healer fer a long, long year and I canna rouse him!’
‘I’ll take care of him,’ Sarah said with more confidence than she felt. She went over to Cromwell and studied him curiously. As gently as she could, she began probing Cromwell’s body. His heart was strong, so were his kidneys and lungs but his liver did not look good. Alcohol and other drugs Cromwell had consumed during his very long life had caused that damage, she knew. Then she moved up to his brain.
‘He’s not just knocked out,’ she told them all. ‘He’s in some kind of coma. When I tried to bust Conundrum Gate, I must have broken an enchantment he’s been holding together for a very long time. It’s done something to his brain.’
‘Can ye fix him, lassie?’ Shelia asked her.
‘It’s going to take a bit of work,’ Sarah replied, still probing Cromwell. ‘I’m going to have to go into his brain and fix whatever went wrong.’
She padded around him twice, sniffing him and nudging him here and there with her nose. Then she stood over him with her hind paws on the ground at either side of his knees and her forepaws on his chest.
‘Someone hold his eyes open,’ she asked the group. James knelt behind Cromwell’s head and very gently drew his eyelids back.
Sarah sank her mind into Cromwell’s brain. From the outside, it appeared as if she was reading his mind as she’d done to the succubus Princess Heather Medici. Two golden beams of light shot from her eyes directly into Cromwell’s.
Inside Cromwell’s mind, Sarah could see the problem. The illusion he had cast over the island had been massive. Cromwell had held it together for so long that he barely knew he had been doing it. Gently, Sarah began healing the bruised parts of his mind. In the process, she also learned a great deal about the structure of the building his illusion had been hiding. She also discovered that this secret was not the only one Cromwell had been keeping. There were many parts of his memory that he’d been keeping blocked for so long, just like the rest of the disguise, it was automatic. She dared not risk doing any more harm to him, so Sarah left those parts of Cromwell’s memories alone and concentrated on repairing what she could. Still, she did pay very close attention to the details she could see.
Remember this for me, will you? she asked Wolfenvald.
‘As you wish, Golden Mane!’ the forest world replied.
Sarah let gentle healing warmth flow into Cromwell’s mind, speeding up the blood-flow to his brain and letting the synapses and neurons spark and glow. Suddenly she felt a stab of pain within her mind as another presence within Oliver’s mind made itself known.
‘Intruder!’ a voice screamed. Sarah realised that deep within Oliver Cromwell’s mind, the malevolent Norse god Loki was watching. A blast of force more powerful than anything she had ever felt before struck her. With a yelp of pain, Sarah was hurled back off Cromwell. She was blown out to smash hard against Fergus, Roberta and Robert.
This sent the werewolves into a flurry of concerned yips and yelps. They scampered around her, nudging and nuzzling her until she came to and sat up. The pain in her mind was gone, but she did feel very bruised and dizzy.
‘What happened?’ Benjamin asked her, also licking her face and ears.
‘Loki,’ panted Sarah. ‘He’s in Cromwell’s mind! He kicked me out!’
Sarah rose and padded back to stand a few metres from Cromwell. The other werewolves, James and Angela all kept their distance as well.
Cromwell woke up. ‘Oh, bugger me,’ he moaned as he sat up. He pressed his hands to his temples for a few moments, with his eyes clamped firmly shut. He took a few shuddering breaths and opened his eyes. He looked around, blinking. When he saw Sarah sitting next to him, he gave an involuntary start.
‘What the hell did you do, Coppernick?’ he demanded harshly, dragging himself to his feet. He shook his head a few times to gather his senses.
‘From the sound of things, she made a bit of a mess at Conundrum, Cromwell,’ James told him bluntly. ‘We tried to bring you round, but none of us were strong enough. You’re lucky she came back when she did. You were starting to get mouldy, lying there on the ground, you know.’
‘What?’ The blonde necromancer spun around to face Sarah. ‘The Gate?’
‘Conundrum Gate is still intact,’ Angela told him crisply. ‘The surrounding hall isn’t,’ she added, allowing herself a slight smile. ‘Fergus here is right. I’ve always thought the place could have done with a renovation.’
Oliver flared angrily. ‘You idiot!’ he yelled at Sarah. ‘Do you know what you’ve done?’
Mannix and Benjamin leaped forward to stand between Sarah and Oliver. The two werewolves growled at the necromancer angrily. Nor did the other remaining werewolves appreciate the tone Cromwell had taken to their new First. Perhaps most startling of all was Fergus. The great Brown launched himself over the backs of Benjamin and Mannix. He struck Oliver squarely in the chest with two enormous paws and hurled him back to the ground. Before Cromwell could move, Fergus stood on his chest and took hold of his throat with his massive jaws.
‘I’d watch my mouth if I were you, servant of Loki,’ he growled in a very deadly tone indeed. It was quite obvious to one and all that the normally quite relaxed and happy Brown Coat was very willing to rip Cromwell’s newly healed head from his body without a moment’s hesitation.
Oliver froze. His eyes sought out Sarah. ‘What were you doing in my mind?’
‘I had to heal you, Cromwell,’ Sarah told him. Then she nudged Fergus. ‘Fergus! Let him go!’
For a moment, it seemed that the angry werewolf was not going to obey. Finally, after several tense seconds, he snarled again and let go of Oliver’s neck and backed away.
Without taking his eyes off the scene before him, James tilted his head to his cousin Angela. ‘How come they didn’t act like that when you were mad at
her?’
‘I’m not sure,’ Angela replied. ‘Perhaps it’s because we’re family.’
‘Close,’ Roberta told them both. She wagged her tail. ‘We’re her pack. Cromwell,’ and her tail stopped wagging and her tone became quite serious, ‘isn’t.’
‘How can you tell the difference?’ James asked curiously. ‘I’ve never been in a pack before. Is it supposed to feel different?’
‘It’s a wolf thing,’ Roberta told him simply.
Oliver scrambled to his feet and glared about angrily. He brushed himself off and turned to Sarah. ‘You were supposed to wait until I’d trained you,’ he grated. ‘Now you’ve ruined everything! Mautallius will rebuild Conundrum, you moron! No-one, not even you, will be able to get in there.’
‘I got there before,’ Sarah replied quite calmly, although she was very surprised at his sudden temper.
Fergus snarled loudly, as did many other werewolves. ‘I told you to watch your tone, necromancer!’ he warned, beginning to advance on Cromwell again.
‘Just because you got there before doesn’t mean a thing, Coppernick!’ Oliver snapped, backing away from Fergus and Mannix. He looked at her scathingly. ‘It’s going to remember you! To get you back I’ll have to—’ He caught himself before he could continue then stated coldly, ‘It’ll just be very, very difficult.’
James smiled mildly. ‘All that’s academic now, wouldn’t you say old boy? Besides, I don’t think Sarah here did any real harm to you.’ He shrugged. ‘I’m not surprised Loki tossed her out of your head. Demeter would probably have done the same thing to you if She knew you’d been in my scone, but you’re alive and well now. I’d have thought you’d be grateful.’ He made no move to stop Fergus and Mannix as they circled Oliver. He cast a glance at his cousin and both he and Angela recognised that something very important had just been revealed.
‘Why don’t we just go back to your place?’ James went on conversationally. ‘When we’ve cleaned ourselves up, we’ll be able to think a lot more clearly. Out here in the middle of the jungle isn’t the best place for all this.’
Oliver sneered at James. ‘I don’t think so. From now on, you can all count me out of your plans,’ he told them angrily. Black smoke boiled up from the ground at his feet and sparks flickered up and down his body. He pointed to an empty spot in front of Mannix and muttered something under his breath. A bolt of lightning shot from his finger at the spot. Mannix gave a startled yelp and leaped aside as, in that flash of light, all of Sarah’s, Melanie’s and Angela’s possessions that had been in Oliver’s castle suddenly appeared in a tumbled heap on the ground.
The explosion was all Fergus needed. He lunged at Cromwell again but was immediately hurled backwards as he struck a hurriedly erected containment orb Cromwell built around himself.
Startled by his sudden disturbance, Nathan the bookwyrm poked his head out of Sarah’s enchanted satchel in the middle of the pile of her belongings. The great purple worm blinked several times as he got his bearings.
‘Oh my,’ he murmured nervously when he saw all the angry werewolves, and ducked back into the satchel.
Several of the werewolves began throwing lightning and other spells at Cromwell’s orb.
Oliver stormed over the noise of the battering his orb was taking. ‘That’s it, Coppernick! I’m done helping you!’ He whirled to face Benjamin. ‘McConnell, you can settle the account at Fort Knox!’ Then he and his containment orb disappeared.
Chapter Two
‘Well how about that,’ James drawled after Oliver Cromwell had vanished. He looked around. ‘Is anyone here really surprised how that went down?’
‘Pity,’ Benjamin remarked. ‘I guess there’s no way I’m going to get any sort of trade discount from him now. Maddy will be furious.’
‘Maddy?’ Roberta asked him. ‘I thought she was a proofreader.’
Benjamin nodded. ‘She also runs the books. She can reconcile the accounts a lot faster than I can.’
‘She’s cute too,’ James added with an wicked grin. ‘Can you get me her number?’
Angela rolled her eyes. ‘Can you keep your mind out of the sewer for one minute?’ she demanded wearily.
James grinned and nodded, tapping his head. ‘Yep,’ he told her. ‘There it is. Out of the sewer and back in the gutter where it belongs!’ He grinned at her impishly. Then he sobered and gestured at the place where Cromwell had just been. ‘Methinks he protested too much,’ he misquoted. ‘I reckon he was mad because his little secret’s now out in the open.’
‘Well, there’s nary a point worrying ourselves about it now,’ Sheila told him gruffly. ‘Wolfenvald has that image of Cromwell’s little garden maze and when the time comes and if there be a need fer it, every set of ears will have the path through that there puzzle in their furry heads.’
Sarah sniffed at the image and it disappeared. She sat back on her haunches and shook her head. ‘I have a headache,’ she complained. ‘Between Cromwell yelling at me and Loki thumping me like that, I feel like crap. Why’d he got so mad?’
Sheila nuzzled her and muttered ‘Numbicularus.’
Sarah felt a soft and surprising gentle force from the gruff old Black Coat. In moments, her headache was gone.
‘Well, he did build Conundrum, after all,’ Benjamin said. ‘You wrecking the place was probably what knocked him out in the first place. If you’ve got a sore head, imagine how he feels. The bloke just woke up out of a coma after having Loki kick you out of his head. Must have a hell of a headache.’
James nodded. ‘I can be a little grumpy when I wake up too,’ he admitted. ‘Fighting inside my noggin aside.’ The bald botanist grinned at his friend.
Benjamin grinned in return and looked around at the shimmering containment orb protecting the ruins of the temple. ‘What’s going on over there?’
James nodded at the dome and it disappeared. ‘You mentioned once that Rufus told you he had some notes with him when he disappeared. That’s probably where he got sucked into that tome.’
Sarah got up and wagged her tail. ‘I did find the bones of an old wolf there,’ she added. ‘They smelled like him. I guess they weren’t since he’s alive and well and all.’ She hung her head and her tail went down low. ‘I forgot all about the stuff he left lying about there,’ she confessed. ‘There were bits of paper everywhere.’
‘No, Golden Mane. Those remains were indeed those of the one called Rufus,’ Wolfenvald whispered within her mind.
What? So he was dead and now he’s alive? Sarah was stunned.
‘Such is your power, Golden Mane.’ The voices sounded amused. ‘When you released him from the cursed tome, you did want him restored to health, did you not?’
I don’t understand that at all. Sarah felt annoyed and bitter at Wolfenvald
Benjamin was looking at her with a querying expression.
Sarah shook herself to relieve the frustration. ‘Actually, they were Rufus’ bones. Wolfenvald just told me.’
James blinked. ‘Lemme get this straight… You not only got him out of that tome, but you gave him a new body?’ He didn’t wait for her answer but turned to Angela. ‘Nobody’s ever been able to do that. Ever.’
‘Must be a Wolfenvald thing,’ she answered. ‘I don’t fully understand it either.’
Mannix sniffed as if it was obvious. ‘As I said, Flower Man. The power of the Golden Mane is great.’
There was a general pause for several moments as everyone in the group stared at Sarah with new respect and awe.
Benjamin gave a yip and wagged his tail. ‘Nathan!’ he called. ‘C’mon out. It’s safe now. We’re going on another dig!’
‘What are you going to do?’ Sarah asked as she watched Nathan wriggle towards the enormous pile of ruins.
Benjamin changed form. ‘I developed this a long time ago when I was in Egypt,’ he told her. ‘I’d heard about some manuscripts in Tutankhamen’s tomb and I had to get them before the mortals blundered in and made a mess of everything.
’ He shook his head. ‘If you think this pile of rocks is bad, you should have seen what was left of King Tut’s tomb. I can tell you, I left it in a much better state than when I found it.’
He thought for a moment and then scrambled in his pockets until he found another piece of parchment. He handed it to Angela.
‘I nearly forgot,’ he confessed. ‘Know that spell Sarah used to read the troll’s mind back in Ethiopia, and here now with Cromwell? Well, I finished one that does the same thing for those who don’t have it as natural instinct.’
Angela smiled and tucked the parchment into one of her pockets. ‘I’ll try to send a copy to Mel. It might come in handy for her on Jilde,’ she promised.
James snickered. ‘I remember old Tut’s tomb,’ he chortled to the others. ‘The mortals have been gloating over their wonderfully preserved archaeological find for decades. All the while it was the handiwork of McConnell here.’ He grinned at Benjamin. ‘That was a great job you pulled back then!’
Benjamin smiled, a little shamefaced. ‘Actually, I miscalculated. The sarcophagus I brought with me was too small. I had to break the corpse’s legs to get him to fit.’ He focused his attention back on the ruins. He spread his hands out wide and began reciting a long and very complicated spell in Magaeic. He completed the spell with a final command and clapped his hands. At first, very little seemed to happen and then it was as if all the rocks and rubble had suddenly been turned upside down and they all lifted themselves several metres in the air and re-deposited themselves in piles around the clearing. All that remained were the remnants of the stone columns and the central room of the temple, and of course, the scattered and decayed remains of Rufus and his effects. When he was done casting his spell, he resumed his silver and black werewolf shape.
‘Master McConnell, Sir,’ Nathan said worriedly from the ruins. ‘This is quite a mess. I’ll be some time at it, I’m afraid.’
‘Time’s one thing we don’t have much of, bookwyrm,’ Mannix growled.
Nathan gave a startled quiver at the great Black’s tone.