The Moon Stealers Box Set. Books 1-4 (Fantasy Dystopian Books for Teenagers)

by Tim Flanagan

  ‘But Sir Hadwyn was a medieval knight, so wouldn’t have known about Robert Louis Stevenson,’ said Max.

  ‘Edgar said he only died last year. If he wrote the riddle before he died, he would know about Stevenson.’

  'But the third line said Amongst the thistles and under the crown. In this room we are amongst the thistles and we know we are under the crown as the spire on top of this cathedral is known as the crown spire, so shouldn’t it be in this room?'

  'Maybe, but there’s also another way of looking at it. Did you see the banners and flags in the main area of the cathedral?' continued Scarlet.

  'Yes,' replied Joe.

  'Well they all have coats of arms on just like these seats do so they must also represent the 16 knights of the Order of the Thistle. Amongst the Thistles could simply mean anywhere inside the cathedral, not just in the Thistle Chapel.'

  'So we're now looking for a book anywhere inside the cathedral, probably by Robert Louis Stevenson?' Max said starting to feel like the task had become even harder than it had originally seemed.

  'It makes sense, Max,' said Edgar reassuring him. 'What have we got to lose?'

  They followed Edgar back out of the chapel and into the main section of the building once again.

  'Let’s split up and look in different sections.' Edgar coordinated everyone into different aisles and chapels within every corner of the cathedral.

  Joe went off towards the north side of the cathedral to a section called Chambers Aisle. In front of him was a wooden panel between two columns of stone. Beyond it was a black and white tiled floor, a wall panel and two more stained glass windows. Joe couldn’t see any books in this small separate section and there were no obvious connections to King Arthur or any knights. He casually walked away with his hands in his pockets and feeling quite disappointed. He happened to glance to the side where the cathedral shop was then stopped. He walked up to a rack of postcards, picked one out, paid for it and went back to the centre of the cathedral to meet up with the others.

  Edgar had been walking up and down the centre of the cathedral from the entrance to the large stained glass window at the east end examining every pillar and stone sculpture there was. Joe stopped him.

  'I’ve found this,' he said, showing Edgar the postcard he had found. Edgar looked at the picture on the front of the card then turned it over and read the description of the image on the back. By now Scarlet and Max had also made their way back to join the other two.

  'Robert Louis Stevenson Memorial Panel, St Giles Cathedral Edinburgh,’ read Edgar from the postcard, ‘Scottish novelist and poet best known for works including Treasure Island, Kidnapped and Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.'

  'This must be what we're looking for!' said Scarlet in a restrained, but excited voice.

  Edgar took the postcard over to one of the cathedral guides who was sat at the entrance. The children could see the man pointing to an area on their left. Edgar came back over to them.

  'Apparently there’s a large bronze panel on the wall close to the ground,' he said as he walked over to the south side of the building. 'The trusted and pure with head bowed down. Bowing your head not only refers to the religious meaning inside the cathedral, but he also wanted us to make sure we were looking down rather than up, as we have been doing ever since we came in here.'

  'There it is!' said Joe excitedly.

  They all stood staring down at a large brown bronze plaque that showed Stevenson sitting on a couch with a large blanket draped over his legs. In one hand was a pen, obviously ready to write, whilst the other supported sheets of paper upon his knee.

  Scarlet knelt down on the cold stone floor and looked closely at the panel.

  ‘There looks like there are some small words engraved on the edge of the paper,' she said. ‘It looks like it says Pan’s Pipes.’

  ‘What are Pan’s Pipes?' asked Max.

  'I recognise the title,’ said Scarlet thinking back to her project, ‘I think it was the name of a poem he wrote.’

  ‘Didn’t the second paragraph of Hadwyn’s riddle mention a piper,' said Joe.

  'You're right,' said Edgar as he thought about the riddle. 'Below the bridge, a piper alone. It seems like we are on the right path, but where do we go from here?'

  22. Edgar tells the Truth

  They left the cathedral beneath a damp fog that clung to their clothes making them cold and heavy. None of them had worked out where to go next so they decided to take a break inside a small coffee shop. They picked a table in the window and watched people walk past, their heads bowed down against the weather. Although they felt confident they had unravelled some of the riddle, it didn’t seem to point them in any clear direction. Edgar seemed to be deep in thought; he hadn’t said much since they had discovered the panel inside the cathedral.

  ‘Why did Hadwyn leave a riddle anyway?' asked Max.

  ‘To protect the Silver Bough of course,’ replied Edgar. ‘He couldn’t just leave it somewhere obvious, otherwise anyone could find it and if they knew its true power they could open up many gateways between the Worlds of Men and faeries without any sort of protection. This world has lost all sense of magic and would be powerless to stop the faerie queen from causing chaos and ruling both worlds.’

  Edgar placed his notebook on the table and they all re-read the second part of the riddle:

  Below the bridge, a piper alone,

  The bard’s sweet song turns water to stone.

  From one true touch the stone will part,

  And only be used by the brave at heart.

  ‘What I don’t understand is this Pan’s Pipes clue,’ said Max whose ankle seemed to be feeling a lot better. ‘Are we looking for a musical pipe or the Silver Bough?’

  ‘We found Stevenson’s panel that mentioned the poem so maybe we need to be looking for that book next,’ Scarlet said trying to keep positive.

  ‘So why don’t we get a copy of Pan’s Pipes then and see what it says?’

  ‘It’s not that straight forward. Pan’s Pipes is a poem and they are often published within a collection of other poems and I don’t know what that book is called.’

  ‘We could always find a book shop and ask? They may know which book it's included in,’ interrupted Joe.

  There was a small gap in the conversation whilst they all took a sip of their coffee.

  ‘Do you think we should get home and warn everyone about the Moon Stealers?' said Max. ‘If the creature we met in the tunnel under the castle has some brothers and sisters in Parsley Bottom, our families could be in danger.’

  Edgar looked up from his cup. ‘We are all in danger.' He seemed to look uncomfortable. 'I haven’t been totally honest with you all.’ He paused while the children waited for him to continue.

  ‘We do need the Silver Bough to enter the unseen world to find Peter. But there is also another reason why we need it. Back in my time, a powerful Astronomer called Putarin made a prophecy about the future. King Arthur trusted Putarin who had demonstrated his skills on many occasions when advising Arthur on gathering crops before devastating floods or dry seasons ruined them. There was another time when a knight from a neighbouring kingdom called Sir Maughter de’Glise approached Camelot with a message from his king asking for friendship in exchange for the hand of one of the Princesses of the court. Arthur always wanted to bring peace to England so he accepted Sir Maughter’s offer and a lavish celebration was arranged. The whole of Camelot prepared for the wedding, gloriously coloured banners hung from the buildings, food was ordered from every corner of the kingdom and dancers and singers where recruited to perform at the ceremony. However, the night before the wedding Putarin had studied the stars to see if the marriage was to be a successful one, but instead saw something much more important. He went to Arthur immediately and told him that King Seanal intended to poison Arthur and his knights so they could take over Camelot. On the day of the wedding King Seanal arrived at Camelot to a fanfare of trumpets accompanied by twelve o
f his bravest and most splendid knights riding on horseback. He also brought with him a gift for Arthur of six wooden crates filled with many rare caskets of wine from his travels overseas. Arthur and his knights kept a wary eye on their guests while the servants swapped the wine for caskets of Camelot’s own. After the ceremony and in the Great Hall the feasting and celebrations began. Unknown to them King Seanal and his knights were served the wine that they had brought with them whilst Arthur was not. The poison in the wine only took a few minutes to work and Camelot was spared an invasion. King Seanal’s army waited around the outside of Camelot’s walls for the signal to attack from their king but it never came. Putarin had saved Arthur’s life and Camelot’s future. His words and prophecies were forever trusted and treated as law.’

  The children had been quietly listening to Edgar’s story.

  ‘But what’s that got to do with the Silver Bough?' asked Joe.

  ‘Putarin also made a prophecy that concerned the future of England and the joining of the realms of men and the faerie world. Although Arthur found it hard to believe that these two worlds could ever come together again, the Prophecy was kept safely recorded due to the high regard Arthur held him in. It said that the two worlds would come together again in England's greatest need. I believe that that time is now and using the Silver Bough is the only way to bring the worlds together.’

  ‘But why is England in such great need?' asked Scarlet.

  ‘If the slime inside the church at Parsley Bottom came from that creature in the tunnel beneath the castle, then we know there are more creatures out there and they could pose a huge threat not only to England, but to the whole planet. Two months ago there was a small meteor storm in the sky above Parsley Bottom. It doesn’t take a scientist to link the two. It’s possible that the meteorites have something to do with these strange creatures appearing across the country.’

  ‘I remember hearing about that on the radio,’ said Scarlet.

  ‘So you think we have aliens running around Parsley Bottom?' said Max. The more he thought about the Moon Stealer that had grabbed him last night, the more he realised that it could be true.

  ‘I’m afraid so, Max. Finding the Silver Bough is not only important to rescue Peter, but also to save the Earth from an even greater evil.’

  ‘What exactly is the Silver Bough?' Scarlet asked Edgar.

  ‘The Silver Bough is a magical item that was created many years ago by a Druid called Arawyn Claremont. He cut a branch from an Elm tree that stood in his garden and carved it into a curved flute shape. It had several slits for wind to be blown through and a series of finger holes to change the notes. Arawyn performed strong ancient magic on it. To most people the bough would look like nothing more than a plain and dull wooden flute, but when held by the right hands it would turn to silver and play the most magical music. The music would enchant and possess certain animals as well as open entrances to the faerie world.’

  ‘So are we looking for a wooden flute or a silver one?' Scarlet asked.

  ‘It’s not likely to be silver. It only changes to silver when it is held by the right person. It chooses its master, usually someone with some trace of inherited magic. It may not even be made of wood. If you think back to Hadwyn’s riddle, there is mention of stone in two of the lines; “The bard’s sweet song turns water to stone, from one true touch the stone will part.” I think it may be in the form of stone, to keep it hidden and protected.’

  Edgar studied the brown swirls of coffee that had mixed with the creamy top in his cup as if trying to read into the future. ‘I’m not going to lie to you, the journey ahead will be dangerous,’ he began, ‘but I believe that this is the right path for me to take, if only to help Peter. I will continue on that path with or without you all. With your help I know we can find the Silver Bough, but after that I will ask nothing more from you. I will take you back to Parsley Bottom and you can finish your spring break and return to school as normal, if that is what you wish. I will continue through into the faerie world to find Peter, alone if necessary.’

  There was an uncomfortable silence.

  ‘Are you kidding?' said Joe. ‘There’s no way I’m going to sit at home waiting to go back to school when I could help you find Peter. And if the Moon Stealers are as big a threat as you think, I want to do my bit to stop them. Certainly beats fraction and spelling homework.’

  'Thank you,’ said Edgar as he looked up over his coffee cup towards Joe with a mixture of sadness and pride in his eyes, ‘I know that you have an important part to play in this journey too.'

  'Well, you don’t think I'm going to miss out on all of the fun do you?' said Scarlet with a smile.

  The three of them turned to Max waiting for him to say something.

  ‘I’m scared,’ he said simply. ‘But I think you need me.' He smiled at Edgar.

  After they finished their coffee, they walked along the shop fronts looking for a bookshop to continue their quest to decipher Hadwyn’s riddle and find a copy of Pan’s Pipes.

  23. Bacteria on the move

  Against the wishes of Sergeant Allen, Steven had taken the decision to send the unknown thing that Mr McRae had delivered to the pub that morning, to London. The policeman had argued that it should be taken back to the police station for testing as it could be relevant to the investigation into the night watchman’s death or Peter Crisp’s disappearance. Once again, Steven’s MI6 authority had over-ridden the policeman and Georgia set off with the animal to London herself, together with the water samples. Hopefully Coldred and his technicians would be able to give them an idea of what it actually was.

  For the rest of the day Steven returned to the woodland with his metal detector and continued to follow the map that Georgia had marked on the day before. As he scanned the woodland looking for more meteorites, he had peace and quiet to be able to think more clearly. No walkers were allowed in the area because of the police restrictions around the crime scene, so he had the place to himself. Even the birds seemed to have left the area; it was like he was walking around in an airless vacuum; all he could hear was the sharp intake of his own breath filling his lungs with oxygen.

  In his head he tried to make some sense out of what he knew so far by breaking the facts up into simple chunks of information. He now knew that the meteorite he had seen inside MI6 was not the only one to fall to Earth during the meteor shower and there was every possibility that some of the others also contained the same alien bacteria if they came from the same shower. He also knew it was more than likely that the alien bacteria was in the muscles of the dead night watchman. Then this unidentified creature arrives. It had to be linked to the alien bacteria. The thought of a living alien scared him almost as much as it excited him. He had been working in MI6 for two years now and never found a trace of anything that could be vaguely classed as an unidentified foreign object. This, though, was more than he could ever have hoped to find in his lifetime, an alien creature that seemed to survive on Earth.

  The metal detector gave off a loud high pitched squeal as it passed over something metallic. Steven grabbed his spade but didn’t need to dig far before he hit a rusty crushed drinks can. As he leant on the handle of the spade he looked down towards the riverbank where he had been sitting with Georgia.

  Everything seemed to be centred around the river. The infection had already found its way inside a cow from Richard Baxley’s land just beyond the woodland he was currently standing in. Thinking logically, the bacteria could easily have transferred some distance along the river as it divided into streams or joined up with other rivers. There was no way of knowing where the bacteria could already be. Wherever the water went, the bacteria went to. He remembered that Coldred had said the bacteria only seemed to survive in damp conditions, but he also said it couldn’t survive in sunlight, so would be confined to the darker areas of the rivers, such as underneath the muddy banks or in the darkness at the bottom of deeper water.

  By lunchtime Steven had finished the area he was
working on and decided to walk back to the pub stopping off at the local bookshop to buy an Atlas of Britain, as well as the supermarket for a sandwich.

  ‘Have there been any messages for me?' he asked the landlord as he picked up his room keys, but there hadn’t. Georgia had not returned from London yet.

  Steven’s shoes echoed on the narrow staircase as he trod heavily on the faded red patterned carpet that covered the steps at the back of the pub towards his room. He opened the door, propped the metal detector up against the wall in a corner and lay down on the bed. As his head sank into the soft pillow, he caught the faint smell of Georgia’s perfume left on the pillow from the night before. He realised that he missed her company.

  He picked himself up from the bed and went over to the desk, taking a bite of the limp sandwich as he went.

  He placed the atlas in front of him and opened it out so that he could clearly see the double pages that showed Parsley Bottom and its river. He traced it backwards into the higher land of the Yorkshire Dales where the river naturally started as rain-water, before filtering down to lower ground. He then got a sheet of paper out of the desk drawer and started drawing the path of the river from Parsley Bottom, which was represented by a thin blue line. It continued through the small villages of Newton Rise and Beckwith Green as well as others which didn’t appear to be named, before filtering into Thornback Reservoir followed by the larger Gouston and Swinesly Reservoirs from which the water drained into many other rivers and streams and on to Harrogate where it joined the rivers Tidd and Ousse to York and Hull then into the North Sea.

  Steven looked at the thickening blue line as it continued eastward towards the sea, branching into many other small rivers and streams destined for more small villages. Before it joined the North Sea, the River Humber divided off into the River Trent which penetrated deep into the heart of England. If alien bacteria landed in Parsley Bottom during the meteor shower, it could already have reached densely populated areas like Nottingham and Birmingham. Maybe it had already spread further across England than he could possibly imagine.