Alex sat on a sofa next to his mother. ‘How powerful is this wizard brother of yours?’
‘Very powerful, why you ask?’ said Luella.
‘You said he just disappeared, and now we have an idea why.’
‘What are you getting at?’
‘He got himself caught by the witches . . . wasn’t he more powerful than them?’
‘He was the most powerful wizard we ever knew. The spell which captured him, if it is him, was banished and thought lost. Once you’re caught in the spell there’s no power we know of which can free you, apart from killing those who cast it.’
James muted the television. ‘Why doesn’t he just kill the witches?’
‘He can’t lay a finger on them, it’s part of the enchantment,’ said Daralis. ‘He will also have to protect them from any enemy they have.’
Alex rubbed his face with both hands. ‘That could be a problem . . . we’re going to have to kill the witches quickly.’
Blaze picked a cup up off the table. ‘How come you never knew he might’ve been captured by them?’
Daralis leant forward on a sofa. ‘We thought he just left after the romans arrived who killed most of the druids.’
‘Why would he leave after that?’ said Alex.
He was one himself, but there were many evil ones who made human sacrifices, so he tried stopping them.’
‘I thought that would’ve been easy for him.'
Daralis took a drink off the table. ‘Some of them had power, the warlock was one.’
‘So some druids survived,’ said Alex.
Daralis nodded. ‘Yes, the evil ones with power knew what was going to happen, but didn’t tell the others.’
Asima toyed with one of her braids. ‘Didn’t your brother warn the good druids?’
Luella pushed her hair back. ‘Yes, although many knew.’
‘Surely the warlock could’ve defeated the Roman soldiers,’ said James.
‘Maybe, but more would’ve come,’ said Luella. ‘His power was not so great back then. We thought they fled the country, and our brother had followed.’
‘Were they enemies?’ said Alex.
‘Yes, but our brother was too powerful for them. We never worried for him, well not for a while anyway.’
‘They might not be as powerful, but they fight dirty.’
‘We would know if he was dead,’ said Daralis.
Alex looked at his mother. ‘You had no idea the witches had a prisoner?’
Luella turned pale. ‘We never knew they had one until you told us.’
‘But how could they have overcome him?’ said James.
‘They wouldn’t have to,’ said Daralis. The spell is a trap, and you walk straight into it.’
Luella rubbed her eyes. ‘It’s too horrible to think about.’
Alex put an arm around her. ‘I’m sorry, but I might be mistaken that it’s him.’
Luella rested her head on his shoulder. ‘No, it all makes sense now.’
I will free him, I can promise you that.’
‘If events hadn’t turned out the way they did we would’ve gone looking for him,’ said Daralis. ‘The pixies were disappearing. We found out the warlock was back and was sacrificing them or so we thought. We could only find three and we went into hiding to protect them.’
‘That’s when the dark ages started for us,’ said Luella, ‘even if the romans were still here.’
Joseph had sat engrossed in the conversation. ‘Did the warlock ever think of becoming a ruler during the dark ages?’
‘He became a warlord,’ said Daralis, ‘but he got bored with it, as far as we know.’
An image of Daralis’s living room came to Alex’s mind. ‘I think I need to go back to your cottage.’
‘You want to see those books again?’
‘Yeah, I’m sure there’s something I need to see?’
‘I want to pick the rest of my stuff up anyway,’ said Daralis, even though she never wore her old clothes any more.
‘Do you mind if I come?’ said Joseph. ‘I have a thing for books.’
‘Of course, you can bring them back here.’
Luella decided to join them when they saw Summer coming out of the swimming baths. She didn’t look very happy
‘That’s just wrong.’
‘What is?’ said Alex.
‘I was in there having a nice relaxing swim, and when I look up, what do I see? Kristina and Millie walking across the pool.’
Alex laughed. ‘Really?’
‘Yes, and it’s not funny . . . dinner will probably be late,’ she said, storming off upstairs.
The cottage looked undisturbed when the four of them arrived. Alex went straight to the bookshelf.
Joseph glanced around curiously, and out of the window. ‘You don’t seem very well hidden here.’
‘There’s a shield protecting the cottage,’ said Daralis. ‘But we haven’t really been hiding for a long time, probably since the dark ages.’
‘Were you not worried about being found?’
‘Not by then, a thousand years is a long time, and if the warlock really wanted to find us, he would have. There were some spells that we left working of course like making the cottage inconspicuous.’
‘Like House does for the mansion,’ said Alex.
Daralis picked up an empty suitcase. ‘Yes, only for a cottage it’s a much smaller spell, the other one was to hide the pixies.’
Alex took some books off the shelf when the pages fell out of one of them. He picked them up and noticed they were not pages, but hand written parchments. ‘These don’t seem to belong here.’
Daralis glanced over at him. ‘I forgot about those, I put them in that old book cover to keep safe.’
‘What are they?’ said Joseph.
Alex shrugged. ‘I’ve no idea, I don’t recognize the language.’
‘They’re spells and some recipes,’ said Daralis. ‘I haven’t been through them in much detail.’
‘These could be interesting,’ said Joseph.
Alex scratched his head. ‘You said you had a bath here, but where do you get the water from?’
‘I had the cottage built over a natural spring.’
~~~~
Summer had changed and decided to relax on one of the sofas with a cup of tea before cooking the evening meal. She was about to sit down when the others reappeared in front of her. She nearly jumped out of her skin, and her tea went down her clean top. ‘Oh, this is just too much,’ she groaned.
‘Did we do that?’ said Alex.
‘What do you think, popping up out of nowhere?’
‘I’m sorry I’ll buy you a new top,’ said Alex, trying to keep a straight face.
Summer pulled her top away from her body and steam came off it. ‘No, I’ll remove the stain later.’
Joseph arched an eyebrow. ‘Is it not best to do that while it’s still wet?’
‘Maybe, but it’s too late as I’ve dried it now.’
Daralis sat down. ‘That’s some talent to control heat like that.’
Summer smiled. ‘I’ve been practicing a fair bit, and I do work in a kitchen.’
‘How do you know she controlled heat?’ said Alex.
‘Summer dried her top with a thought,’ said Daralis.
‘Yeah, but why is it such a great skill?’
Summer frowned. ‘Well I think it’s quite cool.’
Alex looked rueful. ‘Sorry, I wasn’t being insulting. I just want to know what you did.’
‘Heat is very volatile,’ said Daralis. ‘The slightest mistake and Summer’s top could’ve gone up in flames.’
‘And I thought you did all your magic in the kitchen,’ Alex quipped.
‘For that you’re forgiven for ruining my top,’ said Summer.
Alex smiled. ‘What else can you do with it?’
Summer stared at the fireplace in concentration, and flames suddenly appeared.
‘That is some talent,’ said Joseph.
‘I used it to cook breakfast this morning,’ she said, as the flames diminished.
Alex sat on a sofa. ‘How did you know you could do it?’
‘It was the red crystal I had off James. I was holding it one night when it got warm, and for some reason I told it to cool down. It turned blue and it went very cold, so I told it to warm up again and it did,’ said Summer, quite proudly.
~~~~
They emptied the box of books on one of the tables and Alex took the one with the loose papers inside. ‘Can you read this?’
‘Most of them,’ said Daralis, ‘they are old languages.’
Joseph picked one up. ‘These are in old Celtic.’
‘You know the language?’ said Daralis.
‘Yes, I learnt many languages when I was younger.’
‘What are they?’ said Summer.
‘Spells,’ said Daralis, and picked one up, ‘old recipes, and some other documents.’
Summer looked with interest. ‘Old recipes might be nice.’
Joseph picked up another and smiled. ‘Here’s one for you, roast hedgehog.’
Summer pulled a face. ‘Eeew, I’m not cooking that, poor little things.’
Alex grinned. ‘At least you’ll have something to pick your teeth with after.’
‘You’re a sick man, Alexander,’ Summer snapped.
‘They’re not my recipes,’ he said, turning to Daralis.
‘I was given them a very long time ago, and only ever read a few.’
‘Do you want us to read through them?’ said Joseph.
Alex put the parchment he had studied on the table. ‘Yes please, I wouldn’t be able to help you.’
‘Don’t worry there are plenty more books for you to read,’ said Luella, and passed him one.
‘Thanks, Mother,’ said Alex dryly, as he took the book, which was an old one of mythology.
‘What ya reading, Papa?’ said Alhena, as she climbed on the sofa next to him.
‘Myths and Monsters,’ he said, and showed her some pictures.
‘That’s too scary for me, is there anything I can read?’
‘Yeah, there are lots in the library.’
‘Will you show me where they are?’
‘Of course I will, sweetheart,’ said Alex, smiling at the others, he picked her up and carried her to the library.
The other children and the pucas, who already knew about the books, joined them. He showed her many, but she preferred the comic annuals.
‘There are some other books here somewhere,’ Alex told them while looking in a cupboard.
Shaula screwed up her nose. ‘What kind of books, Papa?’
‘These ones,’ said Alex, taking a pile out and putting them on a table.
Alhena opened one. ‘There are no words in here.’
Alex smiled at her. ‘No you’ve got to colour the pictures in with crayons or paint.’
They chose paint, so Alex went to get some water as Blaze walked in.
‘Water paints, now that looks fun, but I think I should sit with them while you read one of those books in the hall.’
Alex was going to complain but he knew she was right. ‘I’ll get you some water.’
Blaze grinned. ‘You’re such a dear.’
Alex stepped into the hall to find Summer. ‘I need some glasses of water.’
‘You know where the kitchen is, hedgehog eater,’ she retorted.
He let it pass. ‘You want me to go in there and use any of the glasses, just so the children can do some painting.’
Summer considered. ‘No, on second thoughts I best get them, and I might sit with them, too.’
Alex huffed. ‘I don’t see why not, everyone can but me.’
Summer laughed. ‘I can’t stay long as there’s a dinner to prepare.’
‘Isn’t it a bit early for that?’
‘Not really, but I want to make something else, too.’
It wasn’t exactly a chore for Alex, as he enjoyed reading these types of books. He read about trolls and ogres. There was no picture of the troll they fought, but there were some ugly ones. It was an hour later when he heard Summer come out of the kitchen with a tray of sandwiches and drinks, which she took to the library where he heard laughter.
‘That sounds like mother,’ said Alex.
‘Probably,’ said Joseph. ‘She and Daralis went in there about fifty minutes ago.’
Alex glanced up from the book and it was just the two of them sitting there. ‘It’s good to hear them laugh after what went on today,’
‘That was a bit of a shock wasn’t it?’
‘I told them it was their brother before, but I don’t think they really believed it.’
Joseph picked up another parchment. ‘It sunk in today, and I think they were very surprised.’
‘Not much surprises me lately, but I think the thought of him being prisoner for so long hurt them the most.’
‘And you have an uncle.’
Alex nodded. ‘Yeah, and a wizard in the family.’
‘I thought you were one.’
‘No, I’m something else,’ said Alex, and he remembered saying something similar to the warlock.
‘I had so many questions to ask the ladies, but as they have been through so much I decided against it.’
‘What sort of questions?’
Joseph shrugged. ‘Just about history really, as they have both lived through everything I have read.’
‘They would probably be relieved to talk about it after keeping it a secret for so long. I did say I was going to ask Daralis a lot of questions when we first met, but never got around to it.’
‘Would you gentlemen like some sandwiches?’ said Summer, as she came out of the library.
‘Yes, please,’ said Alex. ‘What’s going on in there?’
She smiled. ‘You will have to go and see for yourself.’
Alex opened the library doors, and saw three women, six children, two pucas and four pixies all painting. The children for some reason had got the paint over their faces.
Alhena wriggled her blue nose. ‘Hello, Papa, do you like my picture?’
‘It’s lovely,’ said Alex, trying not to laugh.
He studied all the pictures which he thought were quite good, and turned to the ladies who had big grins on their faces.
‘Is this where he scolds us?’ said Blaze.
‘We have been bad girls,’ said Daralis.
‘I think we’re safe while the children are here,’ said Luella.
Alex shook his head. ‘As you were ladies, as you were.’ The women laughed.
‘Why don’t you bring your book in here?’ said Luella.
Alex put Alhena down. ‘If I did that it would never get opened, it’ll be better if I read it out there in the peace and quiet.’
He left the library only to find the others had taken a break from training, and was now on the sofas devouring the pile of sandwiches which Summer made. ‘Did you have to feed them?’
‘Have you ever seen them when they’re hungry?’ said Summer. ‘And I could do with a bell or a buzzer so I don’t have to walk all the way down there to tell them the food is ready.’
‘Sort it out with Michelle, I’m sure she’ll know what you need, or you could ask House to tell them.’
‘I would if he was here.’
Alex raised an eyebrow. ‘Where is he?’
‘With Michelle,’ said James. ‘He didn’t like the idea of her going out there alone.’
‘Might not be a bad idea,’ said Alex, as he sat down and ate a couple of sandwiches before opening up a book.
‘Have you found anything yet?’ said James.
‘Not yet, but I’m quite hopeful.’
‘You need any help going through those books?’
‘You can if you want, but I’ve no idea what I’m looking for.’
James took a book, and not long after all the books were in the hands of others.
Skye sat on a sofa with her
feet underneath her. ‘Blaze should have this book.’
Alex glanced up. ‘Why’s that?’
‘It has a list of all the creatures that might have existed in the British Isles, and she could try finding them with her ball.’
Alex nodded. ‘That’s not a bad idea.'
Carrie grinned. ‘Yeah, and we could go and get rid of the bad ones she finds.’
‘I think we might be hunting you one day.’
She sat next to him. ‘That might be fun.’
‘I thought we could follow any Blaze finds, and see if they lead us to the witches.’
Joseph looked up from a parchment. ‘Do you believe they are recruiting more to fight you?’
‘Yeah, it’s too much of a coincidence we had to fight the troll and water demon.’
Livvy stood in front of the sofa. ‘If you told me this last year I would’ve run away.’
‘I don’t believe that for one minute, I think you’ve always been brave.’
‘No, I was always shy and afraid until I met my friends, and my confidence grew.’
‘Well you can’t sit here you don’t have a book.’
‘But I wanted to sit by you.’
Alex smiled. ‘That’s nice, but you’ve got to go and look in the library first, as does anyone without a book.’
‘OK, Papa, if you insist,’ she said, and walked over to the library along with a few of the others.
‘She was telling the truth,’ said Paige. ‘Livvy was very shy until she became part of our group,’
‘You can be shy and brave, and I think she was very brave after her mother died.’
CHAPTER SEVEN
If You Go Down to the Woods Tonight
‘Good afternoon,’ said George, as he entered the mansion. He missed what happened as James dropped him off at his home on the way back from the cinema. ‘I heard you had a bad morning.’
Claire arched an eyebrow. ‘It was a nightmare.’
George clasped his hands together. ‘I hope everyone is OK now?’
Alex put his book on the table. ‘For some reason everyone appears happier.’
George put his hand to his face to move his glasses, only to realise he didn’t wear them anymore. ‘That’s a little ironic, if the witches did it to break your spirits.’
Other Worlds: Vesta Mansion Trilogy - Book Two - Fantasy Page 7