They crept on slowly until they saw the passage open out into yet another chamber. Daisy heard a male voice. Gamion!
They approached as near to the entrance as they dared. Inside the chamber were two figures. A woman was on her knees near the far wall, pulling up stones from the floor. A torch lay by her side, lighting the area where she worked. She was turned three-quarters away from Daisy, but Daisy could see enough to know that it was her mother. Gamion stood over her menacingly.
‘It just occurred to me,’ Gamion was saying, ‘that if, as Blont said, your daughter had a blue stone, then surely she must have got it from you. So if you managed to find a blue stone, perhaps you know something about where the red one is.’ He looked hard at her.
Jackie Malone continued digging, expressionless.
Gamion pulled a blue stone from his pocket and held it in front of him.
‘Look at me,’ he commanded. Jackie Malone slowly turned to face him. He stared into her eyes. ‘Tell me what you know about the stones.’
Jackie Malone’s eyes flickered and her jaw clenched. Her mouth opened and then snapped shut again. She looked as if one half of her wanted to speak, while the other half was trying to stop herself from doing so.
‘My goodness, you have a strong will!’ said Gamion. ‘You know something, but you’re stopping yourself from telling me. Well done, you!’
Gamion put the stone back in his pocket and pulled a knife from his belt. ‘But I shall win. Sometimes the old methods are best, yes? You see, everyone has a pain threshold. Some can bear a lot of pain, some can only bear a little. But whatever a person’s pain threshold is, if you take them beyond it, they will do anything to make the pain stop. Now, I don’t know if your pain threshold is low or high, but sooner or later we will reach it, and when we do, you will tell me what you know.’
Gamion raised the knife.
Instinctively Daisy jumped forward into the chamber. ‘Stop!’ she shouted.
Gamion whirled around, still holding the knife threateningly close to Jackie Malone. ‘Aha,’ he said. ‘I think I know who you are. You’re the girl who had the stone, aren’t you?’ He pointed the knife at Jackie Malone. ‘Her daughter.’
He brought the knife closer to Jackie Malone’s neck. ‘You stay there, little girl. See, if you come any closer you might give me a shock and the knife might slip, and that might be bad for your mother.’ He turned his attention to Jackie Malone. ‘Let me ask you again. What do you know about the stone?’
Jackie Malone stared at the knife, saying nothing.
‘Hmmm,’ said Gamion. ‘A very strong will. Let’s try another way.’ He turned back to Daisy. ‘Come here!’
Daisy hesitated. Gamion brought the knife closer to her mother. ‘I think I might be about to slip.’
‘All right!’ Daisy walked across the chamber to Gamion. He grabbed her by the arm, pulled her towards him and brought the knife close to her chest. Ben started forward, barking ferociously.
‘Call him off!’ demanded Gamion, raising the knife.
‘Ben! Down!’ called Daisy. Ben fell silent and pawed the ground in frustration.
Gamion peered closely at Daisy. In all the stories Daisy had read where something like this happened, the bad guy’s breath always smelt stinky. Surprisingly Gamion’s didn’t, but Daisy was still pretty sure that he was a bad guy.
Gamion brought the knife close to Daisy’s face. ‘It’s sharp, you know.’
‘Obviously. It’s a knife, not a pancake,’ replied Daisy, who, despite her fear, was still able to feel a flicker of pride at her ability to be a smart alec under pressure.
Gamion turned back to Jackie Malone. ‘Again! Where is the red stone?’ he demanded.
Gamion tightened his grip on Daisy’s arm and slowly brought the knife closer to her chest. Daisy swallowed. Very serious pain might be only seconds away.
Jackie Malone’s jaw clenched and unclenched and then she raised her arm and pointed down the passage that led out of the far end of the chamber.
‘That way,’ she said tonelessly. She spoke as if in a kind of trance (because she was in a kind of trance). ‘The passage goes deep and ends at a natural cave. Another passage leads out of the left-hand side of the cave. It goes to the stone.’
‘Thank you,’ said Gamion. ‘But how do you know?’
‘When I found the blue stone, it drew me that way,’ continued Jackie Malone tonelessly. ‘I didn’t go all the way but I’m sure it’s that way.’
Keeping the knife close to Daisy, Gamion let go of her arm and again pulled out a blue stone. He held it in front of Jackie Malone’s eyes and stared deeply into them for several moments. ‘You’re telling the truth!’ he said. ‘Just as well!’
He continued to stare intently at Jackie Malone. The stone seemed to glow brighter. Jackie Malone took a step backwards and then her knees gave way. She crumpled to the ground.
Daisy cried out. Gamion grabbed her firmly by the upper arm again and pointed the stone at Ben. ‘Goodnight, dog,’ he said. Ben, too, collapsed onto his side. ‘That’s better,’ said Gamion happily. ‘I hate dogs. They’re so friendly!’
He turned to Daisy and pointed the stone at her. ‘I’m getting quite good at this, aren’t I? Before I put you to sleep, there’s something I need to know.’
Suddenly, Daisy felt very heavy, as if she had spent the last few hours continuously stuffing herself with Blont’s cream buns. She tried to back away but found she couldn’t move.
‘Who are those two men?’ asked Gamion. ‘Sinclair and Dennis. Are they Hankaranians? Are they after the red stone? Or are they after me?’
Daisy felt an overwhelming desire to tell Gamion everything she knew about Sinclair and Dennis, but she tried to fight it and stop the words from coming out her mouth. Gamion held the stone in one hand and his knife in the other and looked back and forth from one to the other. ‘Let’s see. Which should I use to persuade you to tell me: the knife or the stone? Or both? I’m good with the stone – we all know that – but let’s see if I’ve worked out how to use this knife properly. Will you do me a favour? Tell me if this hurts. You don’t have to use words. A scream will do.’
He pricked Daisy’s upper arm. Daisy felt a stab of pain. She wanted to cry out but bit her lip to stop herself. A thin trickle of blood wormed its way down her arm.
‘Is that a yes or a no?’ asked Gamion. ‘Or shall I just have another go?’
He raised the knife. Its blade caught the light and glittered the way only very sharp blades do. He moved it towards her arm. Daisy tried to pull away but she was frozen in place.
Suddenly a noise came from behind her, and a human-shaped blur leapt past her at Gamion. The blur and Gamion fell to the ground in a tangle of arms, legs, necks and livers, although you couldn’t see much of the necks and nothing at all of the livers.
The stone Gamion had been holding went flying across the chamber. Suddenly Daisy could move again. Gamion unleashed a furious right hook – a punch, that is, not a pirate hand – catching whoever the other person was in the face.
As the person flew backwards, Daisy saw their face and got the biggest shock of her life. It was her dad! Gamion scrambled to his feet, looking around wildly for the stone. Daisy dived across the room towards it. She landed on her front, stretched out her hand and grabbed it. A second later, Gamion’s hand closed around her wrist. ‘Give that to me!’ he hissed. ‘Or. I. Will. Kill. You. All.’
He crushed Daisy’s wrist until her fingers opened and the stone fell to the ground. Gamion picked it up and backed towards the passageway.
‘Very good,’ he panted, staring at Brian Malone. ‘Great effort, whoever you are. We’ve only just met, and already I don’t like you. But after all that, I still have two blue stones and I know where the red one is. And you have … what exactly? Oh, that’s right. Nothing. So who do you think is winning?’
> At that moment there was a noise from the passage behind them and Trevor Blont ran-limped into the chamber. He stopped in the middle of the cave, a few steps from Gamion, and shouted, ‘You leave her alone, Gamion! Or I’ll … I’ll do something bad to you!’
Gamion stared at Blont and then burst out laughing. Blont looked around furiously, not sure what to do. Gamion stopped laughing and looked Blont up and down. ‘Oh, for goodness sake, Blont, what are you going to do? Bore me to death? Throw a cream bun at me? Anyway, must dash. Gotta get that red stone and then enslave the entire universe. I mean, I’ll have the power, so why not? I can’t think of one good reason. Bye!’
He turned and raced off down the passageway.
Chapter 17
DIFFICULT DECISIONS
Daisy turned to Brian Malone. He was on his knees, one hand holding his jaw.
‘Oh dear,’ he muttered. ‘Oh dear.’
‘Dad? How …?’
Brian Malone’s hands were shaking. He looked exhausted and terrified.
‘I … I had to come,’ said Brian Malone. ‘I couldn’t just … leave you. I drove up and I’ve been searching the tunnels.’ He gulped. ‘I don’t like it underground, Daisy. I don’t know what’s happening.’
‘You did great, Dad,’ said Daisy, giving him a big hug. She heard a weak, low moan behind her. Jackie Malone lay crumpled against the cave wall. They rushed to her. She moaned again and her eyes flickered open, but she still had the vacant gaze of the hypnotised.
They helped Jackie Malone sit up and then Daisy turned to Ben. He, too, was coming around. Daisy whispered into his ear. ‘Don’t speak. Mum and Dad are here.’
Ben nodded weakly. He shook various bits of himself, testing to see if they still worked properly. Daisy heard a spluttering cough behind her. Dennis was sitting cross-legged behind Ben, his head in his hands. But unlike the others, Dennis hadn’t been zapped by the stone. Daisy realised that his time was running out. She moved to him and touched his shoulder. ‘How are you feeling?’
‘All weak. Got any lollies?’
‘I don’t, but we’ll find a stone soon. I promise.’
Daisy turned to Blont. He was standing in the middle of the chamber, panting heavily and seemingly not quite sure what to do.
‘I had to come back to help,’ he wheezed.
Daisy could have told him that he hadn’t actually helped at all, and that if he hadn’t sided with Gamion in the first place, then perhaps they wouldn’t have needed any help, but she didn’t want to be cruel. At least he had tried. She gave him a pat on the shoulder and moved back to her parents. Jackie Malone sat with her back against the wall. Brian Malone, who still seemed dazed, had his arm around her. Daisy found her father’s torch on the cave floor and handed it to him.
She looked at her mum, staring vacantly into space. Daisy had finally found her, but this wasn’t anything like the warm, fuzzy, huggy, smiley, teary reunion she had imagined. Jackie Malone was effectively a zombie.
Daisy knew what she had to do – she had to fix her mum and, if she could, save Dennis and Sinclair. To do that, she needed one of the blue stones that Gamion had, or the red one that was supposedly hidden somewhere in the caves.
‘Dad, you need to get Mum out of the cave. I’m going to find a way to make her better.’
Brian Malone nodded, looking even less capable than usual of making his own decisions.
‘Off you go, Dad,’ said Daisy. ‘Just follow the passage.’
Jackie Malone’s jaw was working again, as if she was struggling to say something. Daisy knelt down next to her.
‘What is it, Mum?’
Jackie Malone opened her mouth several times, but nothing came out except air. Then she managed to croak two words.
‘Short … cut.’
With great effort, Jackie Malone lifted her arm and pointed down the passageway Gamion had disappeared into.
Daisy looked down the passage, but that told her nothing because all she could see was darkness. ‘Is there a short cut down there that might get me to the red stone before Gamion?’ she asked.
Neck muscles straining, every movement an effort, Jackie Malone nodded. Then she raised her arm and pointed down the passage again, and then swung her arm up and to the left.
‘It’s off the left-hand side of the passage, and goes up? Is that it?’ asked Daisy.
Sweat ran down Jackie Malone’s forehead. Straining, she slowly brought her head down in a nod. Then her right hand, trembling, made its way slowly to her jacket. It had just about got there when Jackie Malone collapsed.
‘Mum!’ cried Daisy.
Jackie Malone’s eyes were shut and her breathing was shallow. Daisy shook her shoulder, but she was unconscious. What had she been trying to do? Daisy reached into her mum’s jacket and found a pocket. Inside it was something. She pulled it out. It was a resealable plastic bag and inside it was what looked to be a very old and very yellow piece of parchment.
Daisy gently pulled it out of the bag and unfolded it. On it was written:
Replacement instructions. Replacement must be done quickly.
Underneath the screens are three buttons of different sizes. Tap them in this order:
Big, small, big, middle, big, small, middle, middle, middle, small, big, big, small, middle, middle.
Cross to the opposite side of the room where, at about the same height as the screens, you will find a small knob of rock. Pull it to the left and then down.
Return to the three buttons and repeat the pattern.
Replacement may now be effected. Once replacement is complete, re-lock by repeating the above steps, but this time, instead of pulling the rock to the left and down, raise it up and then push it right, back into its original position.
And have a very nice day.
Huh?
Daisy had no idea what it meant but something gnawed at her brain. She hoped it wasn’t some sort of brain-eating worm that had crawled into her ear when she was asleep at that train station. That was all she needed.
No! It wasn’t! She had it! In her letter, Jackie Malone had described how she had returned to the underground chamber where she had found the glowing blue stone and searched it, and had found some written information. This must be it!
But what did it mean?
Daisy slipped the parchment back into the plastic bag, resealed it, slipped it into her jacket pocket and zipped the pocket up. She turned to her father.
‘Dad, I have to go. I’m going to find a way to fix Mum. You look after her. I’ll join you soon.’ She beckoned Blont over. ‘Professor Blont will help you. And he can explain what’s going on.’ Daisy turned to Blont. ‘You’ll tell them everything. Won’t you!’
Blont gulped and nodded. Daisy had the feeling that he might be a bit scared of her. Daisy turned back to her father.
‘Dad! You just did something great. You came down here and you saved me and Mum from that guy. You, Dad! You!’
Brian Malone’s face slowly spread into a shy smile. ‘Yes. Yes, I did.’
‘Now this is the easy bit. Just take Mum outside.’
He nodded but didn’t move. ‘Daisy –’
Daisy held up her hand. ‘I know. Yes, I’ll be careful. I promise. And I’ve got Ben.’
‘No, I was just going to offer you my torch. We can use Mum’s.’
‘Oh,’ said Daisy. ‘Thanks.’
She gave her dad a hug and then they helped Jackie Malone to her feet. She was groggy and barely conscious, but she seemed to be able to stand. Daisy gave her a big hug too. Even though Jackie Malone’s arms hung limply by her sides as Daisy hugged her, for a moment she felt safe and warm. She wished she could just stay hugging her mum until everything was all right again. But then she realised that if she did stay there hugging her mum, everything wouldn’t be all right again because her mum was hypnotise
d, Sinclair and Dennis were about to die, and Gamion was about to get a red glowing stone and use it to enslave the entire universe. So she kept the hug brief.
Blont took Jackie’s torch and led the way back towards the exit. Brian Malone put his arms around his wife and then they headed up the passage, exactly the way that Daisy wished she was going.
She watched them disappear and then turned to Ben, who was slowly stretching. ‘Are you well enough to come?’
Ben nodded. ‘Of course,’ he said, and then his legs gave way and he fell on his face. ‘More or less.’
‘Ben?’
Ben shook himself. ‘I feel much better after that. It woke me up. Really.’
Daisy gave him a doubtful look. She helped Dennis to his feet. It wasn’t easy. He could hardly stand. ‘Put your head light on,’ said Daisy.
Dennis screwed his face up and his forehead began to glow, but much less brightly than before.
‘Come on,’ urged Daisy, leading him gently – but not too gently, because they were in a hurry – down the passage. ‘We’re looking for a short cut that leads off the main passage upwards to the left.’
Daisy keep her torch and her eyes on the left-hand wall, and after a few minutes she saw a rubbish-bin-lid-sized hole at about the height of Dennis’s head leading off to the left. Was this it? There was only one way to find out.
She picked Ben up and handed him to Dennis. ‘Can you lift him up there? I can’t reach.’
Dennis shuddered, but tried to lift Ben. Dennis panted with the effort, but managed to get Ben into the hole. Dennis knelt down on his haunches, gasping for breath. ‘Lucky … he wasn’t … any heavier,’ he panted.
‘Um, I’m heavier,’ said Daisy.
Dennis looked devastated. ‘Oh.’
‘You can do it, Dennis. Can you stand up?’
Dennis heaved himself reluctantly to his feet.
Daisy Malone and the Blue Glowing Stone Page 15