Sky Lights

by Barclay Baker

  ‘Now,’ he said, ‘are you going to tell me what this is all about?’ He turned towards his daughter’s abductors as they set down the boxes that had been obscuring their faces. His jaw dropped. The men could have stepped off the stage at the local pantomime. ‘My God, what is this? Who are you?’

  Two fierce pirates pointing ancient looking pistols stared back at him. ‘We are your worst nightmare,’ snarled Skylights. ‘Load all the stuff you need to do the miracles you boast of, into these boxes. And be quick about it.’

  A quarter of an hour later, John Dante was back in his car, this time with a pistol pointed at his head. ‘Follow the black van,’ said his kidnapper. ‘And don’t try any heroics if you want to see Wendy again.’

  CHAPTER 7

  The Edge of Death

  Amy took the scroll from Peter and unrolled it. The writing was old fashioned and beautiful but hard to read. Between them Amy and Shelley managed to decipher the script but the meaning remained obscure.

  Fairy Dust Seeker’s Terms of Agreement

  In search of Fairy Dust are thee?

  ‘Tis vital that you be……

  Kind to foe no matter what, smarter than a sage,

  Brave enough to fight through tears.

  And in touch with a bygone age.

  In search of Fairy Dust are thee?

  ‘Tis important that you have…..

  Trust in all your fellow team, strength to fight each stage

  Tenacity when times are tough.

  And belief in a bygone age.

  In search of Fairy Dust are thee?

  ‘Tis essential that you can…..

  Pursue the goal though it seems far, find each and every page

  Collect the quarry, one by one.

  And believe in a bygone age.

  Of trials and troubles, take heed, you must

  There are dangers and demons in Fairy Dust

  But if you are sure you want to proceed

  A clue is here for you to read.

  But first please sign

  On the dotted line

  …………………………………………………………………

  ‘What’s all that about? It sounds really ancient,’ said Shelley.

  ‘From a different world,’ agreed Amy.

  ‘Well you are in Never Land now, not Edinburgh! And fairies and fairy dust are from a different time and place. Come on girls, we have no time to lose. Sign on the line and let’s get started with the clues!’

  Peter produced an old quill pen and a small bottle of ink from a pocket in his waistcoat.

  ‘I can’t believe this,’ said Amy shaking her head. ‘Jack has gone off with a fairy to send an email and here we are signing an ancient document with an ancient pen borrowed from Peter Pan.’

  ‘Nobody’ll ever believe any of this when we get home…… if we ever get home,’ said Shelley.

  ‘Oh, you will,’ said Peter. ‘It may take a little longer than we thought but you will get home. I promise.’

  ‘Like you promised once before?’ said Shelley, accusingly.

  ‘Don’t blame Peter,’ said Amy. ‘It wasn’t his fault, and he is trying to help.’

  The tension of the moment was relieved when Jack returned with Tinker Bell. Amy and Shelley couldn’t help giggling at the sight of him with a real live fairy on his shoulder.

  ‘Quick Jack, sign the document and we can get started on the quest. It’s a bit like a treasure hunt really, and it is different every time we do it,’ said Peter, handing the scroll and the quill to Jack. Jack took the scroll, signed his name and returned it to Peter who began reading.

  Ingredient Number 1.

  The first ingredient you shall seek

  Is found on higher ground

  Beware the rocks, the fumes, the smoke

  But most, the rumbling sound.

  Brush up two cups, no more or less

  From the north face of the mound

  The yellow ochre pure and fine

  Into dust you’ll pound

  Then as the giant begins to wake

  Search for the hole that’s round

  And right there on the edge of death

  The next clue can be found.

  ‘But what does all that mean?’ asked Amy. ‘Where do we start?’

  ‘I think I know,’ smiled Jack. ‘It sounds like we need to find a volcano. Wasn’t that a volcano we saw when we first landed in Never Land, Peter?’

  Peter shook his head and said, ‘That was an extinct volcano. We need to go to a different one some distance from here; one that still rumbles and spits and spews lava from time to time. Follow me’.

  The children had to run at full pelt to keep up with Peter, as he scrambled over enormous boulders, hurdled over tree roots, and zigzagged to avoid thorny shrubs. And that was just the start. What they weren’t aware of was the danger that was following them. Noddler and Jukes, having lost all of the stolen dust when they dropped it in the ocean, were desperately in need of fresh supplies. And the only way they could get more dust was by stealing it once again….this time from Peter and the children. They kept just far enough behind to be unnoticed but ready to pounce as soon as all the hard work of gathering the ingredients was done.

  ‘How much further to go?’ panted Shelley. ‘I’m exhausted. Can we slow down now?’

  ‘Not much further,’ answered Peter. ‘The volcano is in sight. Look up ahead.’

  The children paused just long enough to lift their eyes and look ahead and all three gasped in dismay at the sight before them. Peter was right. The volcano was just a little way off but they could not believe the height of it. It seemed to go on forever, upwards into the sky and through the clouds. It had to be higher than Mount Everest. How would they ever manage to climb it? They had no equipment, no supplies, and they weren’t even properly dressed. This task was proving impossible already and they hadn’t even collected one speck of dust.

  ‘How long will it take us to get to the top?’ asked Amy, trying to stay positive while swallowing back tears.

  ‘If we had fairy dust we could do it in no time,’ smiled Peter.

  ‘If we had fairy dust we wouldn’t be doing it at all,’ snapped Jack.

  ‘Without the dust, it could take us several days, but with any luck, Rochester will be there to help us,’ answered Peter. ‘And then it should only take us a few minutes to get to the top. Getting down is another problem though,’ he teased.

  ‘Rochester? Who or what is Rochester?’ asked Shelley.

  ‘Just watch,’ said Peter.

  By now the party had reached the base of the volcano. A few metres behind them Jukes and Noddler slid silently behind a rock and watched and waited. ‘There’s no need to follow them up there,’ whispered Jukes breathlessly. ‘They have to come down again eventually and when they do we can take up the chase.’ Noddler merely nodded in reply, being even more out of shape than Jukes. He collapsed on the ground, panting heavily.

  Blissfully unaware of the two scoundrels watching him, Peter reached forward and picked up a shiny black rock. He rubbed it gently against his thigh as if polishing an apple and then spoke into the rock as though it were a telephone. ‘Are you at home Rochester? I need your help.’

  A crack appeared in the side of the volcano, first at ground level but quickly travelling all the way up as far as they could see and into the clouds. Within an instant a second crack began to come back down the mountain and join up with the first crack. The shape that was made by the cracks was the outline of a gigantic man the size of the mountain. Silently, and without disturbing as much as a small pebble, the shape stepped out from the mountain and there he was, a giant made of rock, as flat as a pancake. He had a head without features, and arms and legs in perfect proportion to his size. He bent down and laid the backs of his stone hands on the ground.

  ‘This is Rochester,’ said Peter. ‘Climb aboard his hands. It’s probably best to sit down, and then you are less likely to fall off.’
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  Without argument, Amy, Shelley and Jack did as Peter said. It was as though they were hypnotised. Jack and the two fairies sat on the palm of Rochester’s right hand while the girls and Peter climbed onto his left. As Rochester stood up the children had the same sensation as being in a lift, only ten times greater. Amy and Shelley closed their eyes and hugged each other, too terrified to look down, while Jack clung onto the thumb of the stone giant and gazed all around in disbelief.

  ‘Wow, it’s like being in the great glass elevator,’ said Amy. ‘Who’ll believe any of this?’

  Once he had reached his full height, Rochester was above the clouds. He carefully brought his arms up, and deposited his passengers on the top of the mountain. ‘Thank you,’ said Jack, who was the last one to step off the hand. But Rochester was nowhere to be seen. He had disappeared back into the side of the volcano.

  ‘Glad that’s over. That was some crazy ride,’ said Shelley. ‘Wait till we tell Jody about this. Beats her skiing trip any day.’

  ‘Incredible!’ said Amy. ‘And so quick.’

  ‘Now then,’ said Peter, ‘let’s get down to business. We don’t have much time. What does the clue say?’

  ‘The first bit is about higher ground and I suppose this is the higher ground,’ said Jack and then it says:

  ‘Beware the rocks, the fumes, the smoke

  But most, the rumbling sound.

  Brush up two cups, no more or less

  From the north face of the mound’

  ‘Yes listen,’ said Amy. ‘I can hear the rumbling sound. Maybe Rochester’s got an empty tummy.’ She laughed.

  ‘Hmmm,’ said Peter. ‘Not as simple as that I am afraid, Amy. That rumbling is the volcano waking up. We have to finish our task and get off the mountain before she blows. So let’s hurry. The north face is round the far side of the mouth.’

  Peter, Tinker Bell and Duster Bell set off at a great pace once more with the poor earthly children doing their best to keep up. ‘Now is where you can be of help,’ said Peter as they came to a standstill. ‘It can take a while for one person to collect two cups of the stuff, but with four of us we should be able to do it in a few minutes.’

  ‘Two cups of what? And what kind of cups?’ asked Shelley. ‘And what’s that awful smell?’

  ‘Questions, questions, questions, so many questions, child,’ said Peter, wrinkling up his nose. ‘The smell, like rotten eggs, is sulphur. The difficult part of this task is separating the grains of the yellow ochre, which is the fairy dust ingredient, from the sulphur. They are almost the same colour. But sulphur is what gunpowder is made of so we really don’t want to mix it with fairy dust or we’ll be doing a different kind of flying. We need two large buttercups…they are for the cups of course….and a branch of yellow broom with which to brush up the special powder.’

  The three children scattered in search of the items Peter had described. Jack was the first back holding a branch from the broom plant. ‘Will this do?’ he asked.

  ‘Perfect,’ said Peter. ‘Now go where Tinker Bell and Duster Bell go and they will show you the special grains you must sweep up. And remember no sulphur!’

  Shelley and Amy returned carrying several buttercups each.

  ‘We only need two,’ said Peter, selecting the best formed cups and tossing the others away. ‘The rumbling is getting louder. Waste no time. Fill the cups as quick as you can and then we can look for the next clue.’

  With his hands on his hips, Peter stood watching the children as they scurried around collecting the yellow powder.

  ‘Aren’t you going to help?’ asked Jack.

  ‘Haven’t I helped you enough already?’ answered Peter. ‘Besides, I am thinking. One of us has to do the thinking!’

  The children rolled their eyes at each other and, with a shrug of their shoulders, continued brushing up the yellow grains that were being illuminated by the light from their two tiny companions. The rumbling grew louder, the fumes grew stronger and the smoke grew thicker.

  ‘It is time for me to do the bravest deed of all now,’ said Peter. ‘It says

  Then as the giant begins to wake

  Search for the hole that’s round

  And right there on the edge of death

  The next clue can be found.

  So I will fetch clue number two from the edge of death. Be ready when I come back to leave here immediately.’

  The children were growing anxious and kept watching for Rochester to reappear to take them down. With fumbling fingers they finally filled the second cup to the brim and taking care not to spill any of the dust, they stood up and watched Peter approach the mouth of the volcano. Suddenly the rumble changed to a hiss, and sparks flew from the hole. Peter ducked behind a boulder.

  ‘Be careful, Peter,’ shouted Amy. ‘Don’t go any closer.’

  ‘Do you want to get home or not? If I don’t get the clue we can’t make the fairy dust and you won’t get home,’ answered Peter, dodging the sparks as he ran to the edge. With one swift movement he picked up something from the ground and ran back to where the children waited.

  ‘Got it!’ he said proudly. ‘We can read it once we get off the mountain.’

  ‘Where’s Rochester?’ asked Jack. ‘Isn’t he going to carry us down?’

  ‘No sorry, he only carries you up,’ replied Peter.

  ‘What? How will we get down? We will never reach the bottom before the volcano blows!’ cried Shelley.

  ‘Oh child, you do go on sometimes,’ said Peter impatiently. ‘Claudia is here to take us down. In fact she will take us wherever we need to go next.’

  ‘Claudia?’ said Amy.

  ‘Who’s she?’ asked Jack.

  Peter snapped his fingers and a shape in the form of a lady began to materialise in the clouds just below the top of the mountains. Every part of her was white, and fluffy like candy floss, and she held a diaphanous pillow made of clouds in her hands. ‘Hop on board,’ said Peter, ‘and we shall read the next clue on the way down. Take care with these cups now. Do not spill a single drop or we shall have to go through all that again.’

  They sank into Claudia’s soft cushion, finally feeling safe as they floated downwards. Peter handed Amy the object that he had picked up on the mountain. It was a shiny metal cube with writing on each face of it. Amy began turning the cube round and round in her hands trying to make sense of what she was reading. She whispered to herself as she read,

  ‘Stand still and close your eyes my dear

  Don’t fall asleep my friend

  Five eggs are sheltered in that nest

  And you must bring forth two

  Well done brave seeker, you passed the test.

  And now clue number two,

  Be careful not to touch the rest

  Lest a spell be cast on you.

  From where you stand, walk 3 miles west

  And this is what to do.

  But listen…. listen and you’ll hear,

  The call of the Growzli Hen.’

  ‘This makes no sense at all,’ said Amy. ‘What can it mean?’

  ‘We’ll never find the next ingredient,’ said Shelley.

  Once again Amy felt her eyes fill with tears, but she was determined not to let Peter see her cry. She swallowed hard and looked away.

  ‘Give it to me. If anyone can do it, Peter Pan can,’ said Peter arrogantly.

  Amy hoped he was right.

  CHAPTER 8

  Missing

  ‘Listen to this Doug,’ said Beth, reading the morning newspaper. ‘Here’s an article about a missing local girl; a girl at the same school as Jack and Amy.’

  Doug put his pen on top of the crossword, and picked up his coffee cup. ‘What’s it say?’

  ‘It says Wendy Dante was last seen outside the school gates on Thursday, just before her Dad’s press conference. He’s that famous researcher who works at Roslin.’

  ‘I remember him,’ said Doug. ‘I remember seeing that news conference. Clever chap. Fancy bein
g able to grow new fingers. Whatever will they do next?’

  ‘Well anyway, she was supposed to be at the conference but never got there. Didn’t turn up for school on Friday and when the school rang to find out why, they couldn’t contact her father. His office said they didn’t know where he was either.’

  ‘He’s probably just taken his daughter away for a couple of days till all the fuss has died down….to get away from the paparazzi.’

  ‘It sounds a bit odd though, don’t you think? Why wouldn’t he tell his office?’

  ‘He’s maybe one of those absent-minded sorts of professors.’ Doug turned back to his crossword.

  ‘Wendy Dante? I’ve never heard Jack or Amy mention her. She’s fifteen. She must be a year or two above Jack at school. I hope she’s all right. How strange, though,’ said Beth. She drank a final mouthful of coffee and cleared away the empty plates and cups.

  ‘I wonder what’s keeping our lot this morning. I’ll pop up and wake them and see if they know this Wendy. The girls were probably up half the night gossiping and giggling. But it’s not like Jack to sleep so late.’

  ‘Pass over the paper then, and I’ll have a look at the rest of the news.’

  ‘Aren’t we lucky to be such an ordinary family?’ Beth smiled as she opened the kitchen door. ‘No dramas here.’ Climbing the stairs, she called out, ‘Amy. Shelley. Are you two awake yet? Jack. You’ll be late for Tae Kwon Do.’ There was no response. ‘Lazy lot,’ said Beth under her breath, smiling as she remembered her own teenage years. Her dad used to say she could make an Olympic sport out of sleeping.