The Tunnel Behind the Waterfall
Page 22
‘Ugh!’ Alice grimaced. ‘Oh, I do hope the Magician hasn’t got a tame slug. I don’t think I’d like that!’
And once again their thoughts returned to Stephen Tyler.
‘I wonder how Jasper knew he was ill,’ William said.
‘D’you suppose it’s still his bad arm from the dogbite that’s bothering him?’ Mary asked.
‘I don’t know,’ William said, then he looked rather ashamed and turned his face away.
‘What William? What’s the matter?’ Mary asked.
‘It’s just something . . . silly really. You know when Phoebe took me to the doctor after the Battle over Goldenwater – when I had all those hornet stings? Well, he gave me a course of antibiotics.’
‘Yes?’ Mary said.
‘Well, I didn’t take them. I saved them.’
‘What for?’
‘Mr Tyler,’ William said, quietly. ‘I thought maybe they’d help him get over the dogbite – if there was any infection.’
‘But that’s wonderful, William!’ Alice exclaimed. ‘We’ll be able to help him get better . . .’ Then she sniffed loudly and scratched her cheek.
They were silent for a while, each deep in their own thoughts.
‘Oh, boobs!’ Alice exclaimed.
‘Is that a new swear word?’ William asked.
‘Bosoms and boobs!’ Alice replied, haughtily.
Then they all became silent again.
‘We can’t give him those pills, can we?’ Mary said, sadly. ‘We can’t help him to get better . . . because we’d be changing things. Like you said, William. That’s it, isn’t it?’
‘I’m not sure,’ William said. ‘I think it’d be all right to help him. I mean, if we found him starving, we could give him some food . . .’
‘But antibiotics?’ Mary argued. ‘They hadn’t been invented then.’
‘Well, anyway,’ William said with a sigh, ‘there’s not much point talking about it – if he doesn’t come to see us.’ As he spoke he took the pendulum out of his pocket and held it out in front of him. They all stared at it thoughtfully.
‘We must keep it safe,’ Alice said.
‘Somewhere here, I thought,’ William said.
‘But where?’ Alice said, looking round.
‘I don’t know,’ William said with a shrug.
‘We’ll give it to Spot,’ Alice said. ‘He’ll guard it for us. Don’t you think that’d be best, Mary?’
But Mary hadn’t been listening. Her mind was on other matters. Realizing that the other two were looking at her she turned to them and said, in a matter-of-fact voice:
‘If the Magician won’t come to us, we’ll just have to go to him, won’t we?’
‘What?’ Alice exclaimed. ‘But how?’ She was both excited and scared by the idea.
‘I don’t know how,’ Mary said with a shrug, dismissing the idea as though it were a minor detail. ‘We’ll have to work out how. We’ve come this far. We’ve seen through animals . . .’
‘We’ve already been back into the past,’ William said, tingles of excitement running down his back.
‘But that was sort of by chance, wasn’t it?’ Mary said. ‘He helped us. But – if he’s ill, he might not be able to help us . . .’
‘So we’ll have to do it on our own,’ William finished her thought and the full enormity of what they were proposing made him tremble.
‘It must be possible,’ Mary said, speaking gravely. ‘For Mr Tyler’s sake . . .’
‘You mean . . . go back to his time?’ Alice asked, wanting to be quite sure what they were talking about.
‘Why not?’ Mary whispered.
‘But when?’ William said.
Mary shrugged.
‘It’s going to take time, and there’s not much of this holiday left.’
‘The next time we come is half term. That’s not long either,’ William said, thoughtfully.
‘Maybe it’ll be easier than we think,’ Alice said, staring at the pendulum, dangling from William’s hand.
‘Well, at least we can try,’ Mary said.
And that’s how the idea was first born.
Also by William Corlett
Kitty
Dark Side of the Moon
The Magician’s House Quartet
The Steps up the Chimney
The Door in the Tree
The Tunnel behind the Waterfall
The Bridge in the Clouds
The Bridge in the Clouds
Book IV of The Magician’s House
‘. . . William!’ Alice cried out, her voice terrified. ‘He can see me now! I’m sure he can! He’s staring at me!’
‘What’s happening?’ Mary screamed, her arms beginning to shake so violently that the mirror she was holding tilted and turned.
The expression of the face in the mirror, Morden’s face, looking through time across four hundred years, turned from one of intense concentration to utter surprise, followed by shock and finally horror. He opened his mouth and, a moment later, a shriek of such terror broke the silence in the room that both William and Alice involuntarily put their hands to their ears.
Then two things happened in such quick succession that it was difficult to know which came first. The glass in the mirror that Mary was still holding splintered, with a deafening cracking sound, into a thousand glittering particles and, at the same instant, Phoebe appeared through the door behind Mary, her hands outstretched in a gesture of defence, her eyes wild with fear.
‘For God’s sake!’ she cried. ‘What the hell is going on here? . . .’
The saga of The Magician’s House draws towards its terrifying close. Stephen Tyler is ill, his evil assistant, Morden, has the upper hand. The house, the valley, the whole estate – everywhere – is overrun with warring creatures. Will William, Mary and Alice and their good friends manage to save the day? What will be the outcome of the Battle Royal? Can the Magician help them in their moment of greatest need?
THE BRIDGE IN THE CLOUDS is available now in Red Fox paperback.
1
THE MAGICIAN’S HOUSE
The Steps up the Chimney
WILLIAM CORLETT
This is where the magic of Golden House begins. William, Mary and Alice Constant have come to spend Christmas with their uncle. But little by little, they discover that things in this remote old house are not quite what they seem. There are powerful forces at work, calling to the children from across the centuries; forces that pull them up the hidden steps in the chimney to the secret room where the magician lives.
‘A remarkable magical fantasy’
Sunday Times
0 099 48217 7
2
THE MAGICIAN’S HOUSE
The Door in the Tree
WILLIAM CORLETT
It is spring and William, Mary and Alice Constant have returned to Golden House for the Easter holidays, anxious to see if the magic will work again. When they are drawn to the Magician’s hideout, through a door in a tree, they learn that the secret to magic is believing; and through believing they can enter the magic and continue their great task.
‘A remarkable magical fantasy’
Sunday Times
0 099 48222 3
Kitty
WILLIAM CORLETT
Growing up in Southern Spain, Kitty is a stray puppy with a love of life and a thirst for adventure. But unable to cross the busy motorway, it looks as though her travels will never get started. And then she meets Bailey, a streetwise stray with big ambitions. Soon the two dogs are beloved companions and trusted friends. Together they embark on a dangerous journey through Spain until they find the peace and sanctity of the magic garden.
A haunting story of enduring love and longing that will move you to tears, from the award winning author of The Magician’s House series.
‘A writer of rare imagination, insight and compassion . . . Kitty is an absolute delight’ Siân Phillips
0 552 55078 7
THE TUNNEL BEHIND THE
WATERFALL
AN RHCB DIGITAL EBOOK 978 1 448 10066 8
Published in Great Britain by RHCB Digital,
an imprint of Random House Children’s Books
A Random House Group Company
This ebook edition published 2011
Copyright © William Corlett, 1991
First Published in Great Britain
Bodley Head 1991
The right of William Corlett to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
This ebook is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorized distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s and publisher’s rights and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.
RANDOM HOUSE CHILDREN’S BOOKS
61–63 Uxbridge Road, London W5 5SA
www.kidsatrandomhouse.co.uk
www.totallyrandombooks.co.uk
www.randomhouse.co.uk
Addresses for companies within The Random House Group Limited can be found at: www.randomhouse.co.uk/offices.htm
THE RANDOM HOUSE GROUP Limited Reg. No. 954009
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.