Wychetts and the Thunderstone

by William Holley

  “You mean war against Wychetts?” Bryony’s dark eyebrows knotted. “Against Inglenook and the Wise Ones?”

  Katya smiled, then leaned down to whisper in Bryony’s ear.

  And the words she heard made Bryony gasp from shock…

  “Beware the Moon of Magister.”

  “I’ve heard those words before.” Bryony gaped at Katya. “So did you, that night at Barrenbrake Farm.”

  “We have all heard the words,” said Dawes. “They are a warning, passed down through generations of Guardians and Shadow Clan alike.”

  “Mr Cuddles!” Bryony gasped again. “There was a message inside my toy. It was my mum’s writing. She must have written those words when I was just a baby.”

  “Your poor mother.” Katya pursed her lips. “It’s such a pity she got involved.”

  “My mum is involved in this.” Now Bryony knew her suspicions were correct. “But how?”

  “Inglenook has not told you?” There was an almost pitying look on Katya’s face.

  Bryony shook her head. “He doesn’t tell me anything. Not even about my mum.”

  “We must hurry,” urged Captain Dawes. “The Bridge of Fire will not hold for long.”

  “Captain Dawes is right.” Katya beckoned to Bryony. “The rainbow will shatter within the hour. You must begin the crossing immediately.”

  “You’ll tell me what’s going on.” Bryony didn’t move a muscle. “You’ll tell me about my mum.”

  “Very well,” said Katya after glancing at Dawes. “When you have crossed the Bridge of Fire and returned with Rainbow Magic, I will tell you everything that Inglenook has kept from you.”

  “Everything?” Bryony raised her eyebrows.

  Katya nodded. “But be warned. You might not like what you hear.”

  Chapter 19- Admiring the Scenery

  Bryony held the bars of the cage as it descended slowly from the airship on the thick metal chain. There was no buffeting wind, but she felt giddy when she looked at the arc of shimmering colour below.

  But it wasn’t just the mesmerising beauty of Bifrost that made her feel woozy. She had agreed to help the Shadow Clan, the sworn enemy of Wychetts. She was betraying Inglenook, her guide and teacher…

  But Bryony realised she had no choice. They held her father as a hostage. And when she returned to Darkwing with Rainbow Magic, she was going to learn the truth about her mother; the truth that Inglenook had kept secret from her.

  Bryony pushed all doubts aside. She didn’t have time to dither about the rights and wrongs of her mission.

  “It is impossible to say how long the Bridge of Fire will last,” Katya had explained before Bryony stepped into the cage. “Raw elemental magic is notoriously unstable, but it should hold long enough for you to make the return crossing.”

  There was a graunching noise as the cage stopped, followed by a squeal as the door opened of its own accord. Bryony let go of the bars and took a step forwards, but her legs became heavy as she shuffled to the opened cage door. She could see an expanse of flooded fields far below, and was concerned to note a lack of handrails on the Bridge of Fire. Surely that was against Health and Safety regulations.

  “Hurry,” Captain Dawes’ voice crackled from a loudspeaker high above her. “Your father’s life depends on you fulfilling your mission. There’s no time to stand there admiring the scenery. And when you get to the other side, don’t get chatting to any leprechauns.”

  There was a sarcastic edge to that last command that spurred Bryony into action. She gritted her teeth, clenched her hands into fists, and stepped from the cage.

  It was a longer drop than it looked, but she managed to land on her feet. The rainbow was surprisingly solid, and had step-like ridges in the surface.

  “I’m on a rainbow.” Bryony had to say it aloud to convince herself. “I’m actually standing on a rainbow.”

  More urgent commands sounded from the airship. Bryony gathered her wits to focus on the task in hand. The rainbow looked like it stretched for miles, and she realised she’d better get a move on.

  So after taking a deep breath, Bryony set off in a jog across the Bridge of Fire.

  Chapter 20- Sitting Ducks

  “They’ve done it.” Val stared at the rainbow stretching across the horizon. “The Bridge of Fire has been raised for the first time in over two thousand years.”

  “So what’s the Bridge of Fire?” Curious, Edwin leaned forwards between the car’s front seats.

  Val said nothing, so Edwin reached over and pulled a humbug out of her right ear before repeating the question.

  “The Bridge of Fire is made of Rainbow Magic.” Val removed the other humbug from her left ear as she replied. “Created when the Thunderstone’s power is pushed to the very limit.”

  “Rainbow magic is the purest form of elemental power.” The Weather Vane explained before Edwin could ask. “And the most powerful.”

  “So that’s what the Shadow Clan were really up to.” Edwin nodded slowly. “They weren’t trying to flood the world after all. What they really wanted was Rainbow Magic.”

  “But Rainbow Magic is lethal to the Shadow Clan,” said Inglenook. “So they captured the Young Mistress to collect it for them, as only a Guardian of Wychetts can handle such power.”

  “I’m a Guardian too,” said Edwin. “Why didn’t they pick me?”

  “I thought that would have been obvious,” said Stubby. “The girl is more magically gifted than you.”

  “Is that it?” Edwin stared demandingly at Inglenook’s face on the Wychetts Key. “Is that why they chose Bryony instead of me?”

  “You shouldn’t feel too aggrieved,” Val told Edwin. “Rainbow magic is still dangerous, even to a Guardian. The High Priests of Asgard were wary of it, and would only raise the Bridge of Fire in a dire emergency.”

  “Bryony would never help the Shadow Clan anyway,” said Edwin.

  “But she’ll think they have her father as hostage,” said the Weather Vane.

  Val nodded. “So we need to make sure she finds out they don’t.”

  “It’s got to be in here somewhere.” Bill was leafing through the car’s manual. “Ah, here we are. How to correct the vehicle’s dashboard time display. Now did someone say it was three o’clock?”

  Edwin smiled as he finally understood why the Nyx Queen had sent Bill to join them, but his expression changed when he glimpsed something in the sky above the rainbow.

  At first it was just a dark cigar-shaped smudge, but as they flew closer Edwin realised with horror that it was in fact some immense flying monster…

  It was a cross between a shark and a bat, with fin-like wings protruding from the flanks of its long, torpedo shaped body. It had a pointed head, with beady eyes and a gaping mouth displaying a set of vicious dagger shaped teeth.

  “Look.” Edwin pointed a trembling finger at the floating apparition. “What… is that?”

  “That is Darkwing,” said the Weather Vane. “The Shadow Clan’s airship.”

  “Airship?” Edwin studied the monster, and as the car flew nearer he could see that the Weather Vane was right. It wasn’t a living creature after all…

  He’d seen pictures of similar aircraft in history books. Zeppelins, they were called; the torpedo shaped body was a balloon filled with gas, whilst the crew occupied the boat shaped pod hanging beneath it. He could make out windows in the pod, and a round opening in the undercarriage from which a metal clamp protruded. And there was something in the clamp…

  “The Thunderstone!” Val pointed her walking stick in the direction of the airship. “There it is, see. Hanging beneath the pod. That’s how they created the storms.”

  “But what about Bryony?” Edwin was more concerned about his stepsister. “Inglenook, can you find her?”

  “The Bridge of Fire’s energy is interfering with my magic search,” reported Inglenook. “So I cannot ascertain the Young Mistress’ precise location.”

  “I can help,” said the Weather Va
ne. “The Four Winds tell me the girl has alighted from the airship and is crossing the Bridge of Fire.”

  “Do they say anything else important?” asked Stubby.

  “The South Wind reports that house prices in London have reached a six year high.” The Weather Vane swivelled slightly as he spoke. “And the North reckons no one knows how to cook chips south of Derbyshire.”

  “I see her!” Edwin spotted a tiny dark haired figure running across the rainbow. “Inglenook, take us closer.”

  “As you command, Young Master.”

  The car sped towards the rainbow. But as Edwin’s hopes grew, there was another cry from the Weather Vane.

  “Bandits at two o’clock!”

  “Two o’clock?” Car manual on his lap, Bill was still trying to adjust the dashboard clock. “But just now you said it was three.”

  Edwin unfastened his seatbelt and poked his head through the open sunroof. He saw a dark swarm of ragged figures approaching from the airship, their baleful screeches echoing in the empty air.

  “There they are.” Edwin ducked his head back inside the car and tapped Val’s shoulder. “Storm Hags!”

  “I see them.” Val peered through the windscreen at the oncoming enemy. “I‘ve been wondering when they would put in a show.”

  “They’re going to attack us.” Edwin held up the Wychetts Key. “Inglenook, time to show them what our magic can do!”

  “I regret that is not possible,” said Inglenook. “Our proximity to the Bridge of Fire is causing interference to the magic signal from Wychetts. I am using all available power just to keep this vehicle airborne.”

  Edwin was horrified. “So we’re just sitting ducks?”

  “Speak for yourself,” sniffed the Weather Vane. “I am most certainly not a duck.”

  “Leave the Storm Hags to me.” Val had unbuckled her seatbelt and fumbled with the car door handle.

  “Val?” Edwin couldn’t believe what he was seeing. “What are you doing?”

  “What I should,” said Val, opening the car door. “My duty as Shield Maiden of Asgard.”

  A blast of air tore through the car, forcing Edwin back in his seat. When he recovered, he saw Val was standing up, her upper body thrust through the opened door.

  “Here we are!” The old lady waved her walking stick at the swarm of Storm Hags. “What are you waiting for? Come and get us!”

  There was a chorus of angry screeches in response to Val’s challenge. The swarm convulsed, then came darting towards the car in a twisting spiral of fury…

  “Val, noooooo!” Edwin screamed himself hoarse. “Sit down and close the door!”

  Val clenched her jaw defiantly. “I’ve been sitting back too long. I’m a Shield Maiden of Asgard, and it’s time I acted like one.”

  “You’re not strong enough to take them on,” cried Edwin. “You don’t have the power.”

  “There’s a difference between strength and power,” answered Val. “I thought you of all people would know that.”

  Edwin hadn’t a clue what the old lady was rambling about, so turned his pleading gaze to Bill instead.

  “Make her sit down, please.”

  But Bill was still fiddling with the dashboard clock. “Hold button ‘A’ for five seconds,” he read aloud from the car’s manual. “Then press button ‘B’ until the correct hour is displayed.” He frowned. “I’ve done that, but now the clock says its twelve degrees outside.”

  “That’s the external temperature gauge.” Edwin pointed at the dashboard. “The clock is over here.”

  “Oh.” Bill pursed his lips. “I thought that was the tyre pressure indicator.”

  Edwin realised Bill would be no hope whatsoever, so he tried Inglenook instead.

  “Can’t you talk her out of this?”

  “I have no authority over a Shield Maiden of Asgard,” advised the Keeper of the Ancient Wisdom. “Valerie is free to choose when to fight.”

  “There won’t be much of a fight,” said Stubby. “She’ll be toast in a matter of seconds.”

  “You lot in the back can relax,” said Val, her gaze locked on the advancing swarm of Storm Hags. “I know exactly what I’m doing.”

  “So what are you going to do?” wondered Edwin.

  The old lady’s wrinkled lips creased into a smile. “Believe.”

  Chapter 21- Just for the Tourists

  Bryony paused at the top of the rainbow’s arch. Her lungs were on fire, and her legs felt like they had turned to stone. She leaned forwards, resting her hands on her knees as she took a series of deep breaths.

  There was commotion above. She looked up and saw a cloud of ragged creatures blackening the sky.

  “There’s nothing to see, Guardian of Wychetts.” Captain Dawes’ croaky voice cut through the Storm Hags’ shrieking. “You must continue your mission.”

  Something was up, but Bryony knew she didn’t have time to dwell on it. She was at the summit of the rainbow, it was downhill from now on.

  Slowly, painfully, Bryony forced her legs into motion.

  But the going didn’t get easier. The steps became narrower as the rainbow steepened, until Bryony realised there weren’t any steps at all.

  But by then it was too late…

  Suddenly she was on her back, hurtling feet first down a massive multi-coloured slide. The air whistled past her ears, and everything became a blur as she gathered speed.

  On and on she went, faster and faster. She screwed her eyes shut, trying not to think of what would happen when she hit the ground so far below.

  And then, sooner than she expected, she hit the ground.

  There was no painful impact, and it took a few seconds before she realised she had come to a rest. She lay sprawled face down on something that felt soft like a carpet. Bryony opened her eyes and saw that it was grass. But not ordinary grass. Each blade was a different colour: red, yellow, orange and even blue.

  Still dazed from her fall, Bryony sat up and looked around. She was in some sort of garden, but unlike any she had seen before.

  The flowers were a variety of gorgeous colours, and there were trees adorned with blossom of pink, blue and orange. Butterflies flitted from plant to plant, their wings pulsing in a variety of shimmering hues. Small birds, with feathers of every conceivable colour, warbled joyously as they fluttered all around.

  Bryony felt like she was looking at the pages of a colouring book, where an enthusiastic child had let their imagination run away with them. But she doubted if even the most imaginative artist could match the beauty of the waterfall.

  It gushed from the sky, a shimmering rainbow cascade that tumbled into a pool of swirling colour.

  Bryony stood up and hurried to the edge of the pool. She stared at the kaleidoscopic waters, transfixed by their beauty and power. A power she could feel radiating all around her.

  And only then did she realise where she was. The waterfall was the end of the rainbow. She had crossed the Bridge of Fire and found the source of Rainbow Magic!

  Crouching, Bryony lowered her right hand towards the whirling liquid vortex, but froze when she heard a voice from behind her.

  “Top o’ the morning to ye.”

  The voice was strange and lilting, but when Bryony looked round she saw the speaker was even stranger.

  He was short, no taller than a toddler, with a plump freckled face and a bright red button nose. He wore an old fashioned green jacket, shiny black boots, and an oversized top hat adorned with a large silver horseshoe.

  “Who are you?” said Bryony.

  “My name is Patrick O’Tipsy-Shennanigan.” The little person swept off his hat and bowed, presenting Bryony with a bald head framed by wisps of bright orange hair.

  “You’re a leprechaun.” Bryony couldn’t help but laugh. “I was right. There is a leprechaun at the end of the rainbow!”

  “Can I tempt ye with three wishes?” The leprechaun replaced his hat and smiled at Bryony. “Only ten shillings a go.”

  “Sorry
no,” said Bryony.

  “Then how about a game of riddles? Guess the answer correctly and you get entered into a draw to win me crock o’gold.”

  Bryony shook her head. “I really don’t have time.”

  “Oh.” The leprechaun looked disappointed. “I do scratch cards. Top prize is an amusingly oversized hat.”