The Secret of the Storm Cloud

by Sidney Gibson

  ‘Ugh!’ he exclaimed loudly, but continued pushing at a corner of the stone. It moved! Only slightly, but enough to create a small gap through which he could check out where he was.

  ***

  Apart from the cat Phemie was alone in the cauldron room. She sat on a three legged wooden stool by the huge inglenook listening to the crackling flames of the fire. No other sounds penetrated the thick walls as she gazed round at the crooked shelves stacked with rusting pots, piles of dirty bottles and ancient books many with their covers torn and hanging off.

  Anniolate and her cronies had gone somewhere else in the castle, locking the door behind them and leaving Phemie a bowl of fruit. Unfortunately Venefica touched it and it all turned mouldy.

  The scraping sound of the moving floor slab startled Phemie, prompting her to hide from view behind the carved chair to which she had been tied earlier. Watching intently, her eyes wide with apprehension, the slab moved sideways and up revealing a square black hole in the floor. A hand reached out, and a tousled head covered in dust and cobwebs, slowly pushed through.

  ‘Danial!’ she whispered not daring to wake the cat, ‘Danial, is it really you? I mean, how? How have you, what are you doing here?’

  ‘Phemie!’ he shouted enthusiastically ‘There you are. I’ve found you!’ He noisily pushed the slab clear with a rasping scrape and scrambled out of the hole.

  ‘Ssshhh, Danial.’ Phemie nodded a warning towards the sleeping cat.

  Catastrophe stirred in her corner. She was used to Anniolate shouting a lot so wasn’t taking much notice of the racket from Danial. But if she realised a stranger had turned up, she would turn very nasty.

  Phemie had run across the room and thrown her arms around his neck before Danial could brush all the dust off himself. ‘I’m so glad to see you Dan. Have you come to my rescue?Can we escape from these old witches?

  ‘Yeah, sure’ he replied, pleased about her greeting, ‘fix these on your trainers. They’ll give you extra running speed’

  He handed Phemie a pair of the seven league boot laces. She would need them when Anniolate discovered she was gone.

  With trembling fingers, she ripped out the old laces, hastily threading in the new seven league ones. It seemed to take an age but at last she was done and Danial took her hand, guiding her to the shaft opening.

  ‘C’mon let’s get out of here’ whispered Danial. Phemie hesitated. She could see nothing but an empty black nothingness.

  ‘How deep is it, Dan? Where does it go?’

  ‘Trust me’ he said. ‘hold on to me until your feet touch a platform, then keep still while I get the slab back in place’ She found the skateboard without difficulty and Danial lowered himself down after her.

  The design of the skateboard meant space only for one and to reach up and slide the slab back in place Danial was forced to tiptoe on its edge. Unbalanced by the uneven weight of two people it tilted to one side, making his foot slip. He gasped, fingers clutching the rough edge of the shaft’s opening and causing a shower of grimy dust to fall over them. Phemie spluttered noisily as she breathed in the filth.

  Catastrophe awoke suddenly, ears pricked and a vicious glint in her eye. She twisted her head round like a bent corkscrew in time to see Danial disappearing down the hole.

  The heavy slab fell shut with a thunk just as the cat scrawped its claws to a standstill over the stone floor. Catastrophe went demented. Scratching at the slab and slavering as she furiously hunted around the now empty space. The row she made ricocheted through the castle and brought Anniolate running to see what the racket was all about.

  ‘What’s happened?’ she screamed. ‘Where has the girl gone? Venefica - what have you done with her?’

  ‘I, I, don’t know.’ gibbered Venefica. ‘I’ve done nothing with her. I’ve been with you. She must be hiding somewhere’

  ‘Hiding?’ screamed Anniolate ‘Hiding? What do you take me for? She’s gone you idiot, don’t you understand? And why are you quivering like that my darling little Catastrophe. Has that horrible girl frightened you?’

  She bent down to stroke the cat still trembling with aggressiveness, and saw where the slab had been disturbed. ‘Aha! Now I see.’ She shouted triumphantly. Look here, Venefica. Here’ is where your prisoner has gone’

  Her fingernails suddenly grew straight and thick, their ends shaped like chisels and becoming perfect tools for prising open the slab. In a trice she revealed the entrance to the tunnel.

  ‘Now we have her’ she crowed ‘she shall not escape. Venefica - fetch me some guided pursuit grenades’

  ***

  The moment Phemie and Danial had lowered themselves on to the skateboard it became obvious something was wrong and performance badly down.

  It was shaking badly descending to the bottom of the shaft, but after they had stumbled down the stone stairway and hauled it through the gap in the wall of the tunnel, its speed barely exceeded walking pace.

  ‘I think the primary inertia drive has blown. When Anniolate discovers you’ve gone she‘ll be after us faster than this can travel’ exclaimed Danial. ‘We’ll have to leg it. Keep low. Watch your head. I’ll carry the board and fix it later’

  Trying to ignore the sickening crunching as they stumbled over the dead rat’s bones, Danial lead Phemie along in the light from the remaining candle coating on his finger tips. It wasn’t as bright as before, but with the glow from the walls they managed okay. Breathless, they clambered up the uneven steepness towards the hint of daylight now faintly visible.

  It was then that the first of the guided pursuit grenades overtook them and exploded in a fat burst of sparks and slippery gunge.

  Guided pursuit grenades are designed not to kill or maim but to slow down a prey so that whatever it is can be caught and eaten or tortured at will. It is a known fact that whilst witches whip at great speed through air, underground their mobility is adversely affected. Danial knew instinctively that the grenade’s explosion meant Anniolate and her cronies were not far behind, but with assistance from the laces he and Phemie could out run them. Once out of the tunnel, he could block off the entrance and make good their escape.

  Whoomphhh! Another grenade streaked past them with a trail of smoke and exploded ahead. This time it was closer and others would follow until Danial and Phemie were stopped or stunned in their tracks.

  At last the floor levelled out and full power from the seven league shoe laces could be felt. Another grenade hit the wall and exploded but fell short.

  ‘C’mon, Phemie, we’re winning’ shouted Danial as they raced at the tunnel exit.

  The fresh air of the forest hit them hard in their faces as they fell through onto a grassy bank by the rock. Danial fumbled on the ground, looking for the pebble on the silver thread to pull and close off the entrance. A grenade whistled out from the tunnel, narrowly missing its target, and disappeared into the depths of the forest. A muffled bang signalled it had hit something.

  Phemie stared anxiously as the rock slowly rolled over the entrance, hoping it would close before Anniolate caught up. Clunk. Softly it lodged into place as another grenade hit it inside.

  They flopped down on the grass in a state of excited relief. Their escape so far had been very dicey but at least now they could take a breather. There were no more explosions and it had gone quiet. Too quiet for comfort in fact, thought Danial.

  His concern was justified by the smell of foul air curling out from a broken edge of the rock. Angry screaming from inside the tunnel heralded the arrival of Anniolate.

  ‘You think you have escaped me?’ she shrieked ‘Don’t you know I can see you? There is no hiding place, you foolish girl. Have you joined forces with that royal yob because you have no brain? I have a score to settle and I promise that you shall share his punishment’

  Phemie looked alarmed. ‘She can se
e us, Dan. She can see us through the rock. There’s no way we can get away from her. She‘s got us and means us real harm’

  ‘Don’t worry. She hasn’t caught us yet and we’ve a few more tricks to play’ said Danial bravely. But he knew they were in a desperate situation.

  ‘Look Dan. Look at the rock. It’s moving’

  Sure enough, Anniolate had obviously not worked out how to open the door using the silver thread, and was opening it by force. The rock began to tilt forward.

  ‘We shall have to sacrifice the skateboard’ announced Danial. ‘It’s the only way’

  He grabbed the skateboard set it at maximum lift mode and jammed it hard against the rock. He was not sure if in its damaged state the skateboard would hold, but it was the only thing he think of doing. The rock stopped moving, and Anniolate’s exasperated cursing could be heard on the other side.

  ‘As fast as you can, Phemie. We have a chance to get home’

  Without a backward glance they turned, and with full power from their laces sprinted into the forgotten Forest of Uncertain Death leaving behind the sound of Anniolate screaming and bullying Venefica in a state of furious anger.

  Chapter Thirteen

  The journey to Bilberry’s home

  They found no need to try and run fast. The seven league shoe laces powered them effortlessly over the ground in slow motion style with long, relaxed strides. It gave Danial time to explain why Phemie had been captured, who Venefica really was, and how he and Azel had travelled on the Warpsweeper to rescue her. He was on the point of saying how Bilberry and his dog had shown the way through the forest when Phemie cried out.

  ‘Dan, what was that! We just passed something, lying on the verge.

  Stopping instantly, Danial peered back along the path. His eyes widened in horror.

  ‘Oh no! No, it can’t be. No, no I don’t believe it’ he breathed hoarsely.

  Huddled in a heap, not moving was Silhouette. He lay near the spot from where he ran off to protect Danial when the Shadow men had attacked. It seemed they had shot him and Silhouette had been unable to escape after all. Danial knelt down and as he did so Silhouette stirred and lifted his head, weakly wagging the tip of his tail. The gruesome end of a poisoned blow pipe dart jutted from his shoulder, blood trickling from the wound. They hadn’t killed him but cruelly left him to die a painful death by himself in the forest.

  ‘Oh, poor boy’ said Danial. ‘What have they done to you?’ He cradled the dog’s head in his hands and Silhouette gently responded with a lick.

  ‘Be careful with him. I know what to do’ said Phemie. ‘Did I tell you I’m a nurse at the vets? Here, let me.’

  Phemie grasped hold of the dart and ever so gently, eased it from Silhouette’s shoulder. He whimpered in pain but gave no hint of turning on her and trying to bite.

  ‘Quickly Dan’ she said ‘fetch me some of those soft leaves from that plant over there. We can use them as a temporary dressing until we get him to Bilberry’

  Skilfully, Phemie folded the leaves into a pad and pressed it on the wound. ‘Here Dan, take off your jacket and let me have your tee shirt. I‘ll make a bandage with it. You’ll be warm enough, won’t you?’ she added with a naughty glance as he stripped off.

  Silhouette looked more comfortable with his strapped up shoulder, but when he tried to stand, his legs buckled under him, without doubt too weak to run with them.

  ‘We’ll have to carry him’ announced Phemie, taking charge. ‘We’ll make a stretcher and carry him between us’ she said.

  ‘Make a stretcher?’ said Danial dubiously ‘what with?’

  ‘Easy. See those fallen branches over there? Two each side, I’ll weave a base with some bendy twigs - and we’re away’

  Silhouette looked up gratefully and wagged his tail, thumping it on the ground with a little more strength. He was feeling better, but the three of them were sitting targets for the Shadow men prowling around the area and it was important to move on before they attacked again.

  ***

  ‘You idiot! You brainless moronic imbecile. You botched your attempt to find my Great Book of Evil Spells and now you’ve messed up again! You’ve really let me down big time haven’t you, you filthy, incompetent old hag. I leave the girl with you as my prisoner and what do you? Let her go. You left her on her own and let that, that royal yob steal her away from under your fat, ugly nose. You stupid, dick headed plonker. Words fail me’

  Anniolate was incensed with rage, screaming at the top of her voice. Venefica cowered in fear of what the Evil Supreme Witch might do in consequence of Danial and Phemie’s escape. After uselessly hammering in a vain attempt to move the rock at the tunnel entrance, Anniolate had lapsed into a silent sullen mood full of violent foreboding on the return trek to the castle. Only now back in the cauldron room did she let rip, her words lashing out with manic gestures and stabbing fingers.

  ‘You will go after them’ she ranted ‘wherever they go you go too. Hunt them down. Bring them here for their ultimate nightmares to be realised. They will be my victims for torture, and I will have them captured whatever it takes. I will! Do you comprehend what I am telling you? Or do you intend to fail me yet again?’

  ‘Stone me’ thought Venefica ‘she’s going on a bit’ and was about to tell her so when the Evil Supreme Witch stopped abruptly and hissed with murderous venom.

  ‘Death. That is the reward failure will give to you. Heed my words Venefica. You have one last chance to redeem yourself. Bring those two here - beaten, tortured, tormented or alive and well. I don’t care which. BUT BRING THEM TO ME!’

  The last words were screamed into Venefica’s ear with shocking force and there was no doubt the Evil Supreme Witch was determined and meant what she said.

  ***

  Back in the forest, Danial and Phemie each picked up an end of the stretcher, and carefully manoeuvred it so Silhouette would have minimum discomfort on his journey home.

  They had gone but a few meters when ‘thawng!’ a dart from the blowpipe of a Shadow man whistled through overhanging branches and thudded into a tree trunk ahead; then another, and yet another from a different direction. They were surrounded by a hunting party who had set an ambush using poor wounded Silhouette as bait.

  ‘Dan, what are we going to do?’ cried Phemie as another dart crunched into the edge of the stretcher. The aim of the Shadow men was improving, and despite his bad shoulder Silhouette growled in defiance. All around the undergrowth was alive with rustles, grotesque shapes swiftly flitting between bushes and trees as the Shadow men moved in for the kill. On their own and with seven league shoe laces Phemie and Danial could outrun them, but carrying Silhouette’s stretcher would slow them down too much, and there was no question of leaving him to the mercy of the Shadow men.

  ‘What are we going to do?’ repeated Phemie ‘Dan, do something’

  ‘Fog grains! We can use fog grains.’ shouted Danial

  ‘Use what?’

  ‘Fog grains. From Miss Wilmcurse. You know, the Miss Wilmcurse I was telling you about. The things Azel used back at Venefica’s house in Lower Chantment’

  ‘I remember.’ said Phemie. ‘But be quick Dan.’

  Delving into his pocket, he felt for the small square packet of grains.

  ‘Here we are. As soon as these get dispersed we’ll double back behind the fog and take a different route around the Shadow men. Ready?

  ***

  The thick fog took the Shadow men completely by surprise and the confusion created by the grains worked perfectly. There was much irate shouting and snarling as they bashed into each other and whilst unintelligible, it was obvious the Shadow men were having trouble seeing what they were doing and had forgotten about the idea of capturing prisoners. The angry sounds receded as Danial and Phemie doubled back, skirting round softly and unobtrusively t
o avoid the Shadow men before re joining the path. In the stillness of the forest every sound counted and they spoke quietly to avoid being heard.

  ‘Ssshhh. What’s that noise?’ whispered Danial.

  A heavy, laboured wheezing and a sort of clanking was following them.

  ‘What noise?’ she said.

  ‘Like a man out of breath, like in heavy armour running behind us. But I can’t see anyone’

  ‘Oh him’ said Phemie nonchalantly. ‘There’s no need to worry about him. He won’t hurt you - at least not until after dark’

  ‘He? Whose he? What do you mean?’

  The breathing faded away, seeming worn out and not able to keep up.

  ‘This is the Forgotten Forest of Uncertain Death, isn’t it?’ said Phemie.

  ‘Yes.’ Danial looked round nervously. Not wishing to worry her, he’d held back telling Phemie everything about the forest.

  ‘I read it in a memo to Anniolate pinned on the notice board in the cauldron room’ said Phemie. ‘Apparently even the power of the Evil Supreme Witch is ineffective in the forest because in a battle thousands of years ago spirits from the underworld of magic defeated the army of the king who ruled these lands at the time. No one knows for certain if he and his soldiers died but their virtual ghosts still roam the forest. Every night they re-enact the battle until someone discovers the secret of what really happened. That sound of breathing is a ghost of one of those soldiers. It’s a legend so old everyone except Anniolate has forgotten about it. If she discovers the secret of what happened, she’d have absolute command of the army, the forest, the underworld spirits, and all their magic. That’s what the memo was about, but if someone else gets to the secret first, they would have command. And anyone would be better than Anniolate wouldn’t they’ said Phemie conclusively.