by Alex Cliff
He eyed up the distance from the bushes to the box. It was about three metres. I could probably get there and back without anyone noticing, he thought.
Of course it is stealing, a voice in his head said.
Max ignored the voice. It wasn’t really stealing, he told himself. Just borrowing. He’d bring the instrument back.
He was just about to make a dash for it when one of the girls in the group with the musical instruments put up her hand. ‘Brown Owl, my keyboard’s making a bit of a strange noise.’
‘It’s probably just the batteries running out,’ the jolly-looking woman said. ‘There’s a spare keyboard in the instrument box. Go and fetch it and leave that one on the ground beside the box so no one else uses it.’
The girl ran over. When she stopped by the crate, she was only a few metres away from Max. He stayed as still as he could, hardly daring to breathe. What if she looked into the bush and saw him?
But to his relief the girl simply threw down the old keyboard, grabbed the spare one and hurried back to join the others.
Max checked the tennis courts. No one was watching. He crawled out from the bushes, ran with his head ducked as fast as he could, grabbed the old keyboard from the ground and dived back into the bushes. All the time he expected to hear a yell as someone noticed him. But no one called out, no one shouted. He’d got away with it! His heart banged against his ribs as he lay among the leaves, clutching the keyboard to his chest. He hadn’t been seen!
Turning the volume down very low he pressed his ear to the speakers and pushed the play button on the keyboard. The backing track was set to ‘Slow Ballad’, and it sounded a bit wobbly and dragging. The woman called Brown Owl was right, the batteries were wearing out, but even though it sounded a bit odd, it was still music. Maybe it would work!
I hope so, Max prayed, and, switching the keyboard off, he set off back in the direction of the walled garden.
‘Max!’ Finlay yelled above the howling of the three-headed dog. ‘Where’ve you gone?’
Max came running into the walled garden. Twigs and leaves were sticking out of his hair.
‘Where have you been?’ Finlay shouted across the courtyard. ‘I need you to help me with this riddle. What’s that?’ he exclaimed, seeing Max at the bottom of the garden, the keyboard in his arms.
‘Keyboard!’ Max panted, his breath coming in short gasps. ‘To put Cerberus to sleep. Orpheus did the same thing in the underworld.’
Finlay looked at him in confusion.
‘Who? Where? What?’
‘Watch!’ Max called. Switching the keyboard on, he set it to ‘Lullaby’ and turned the volume up full. Soft, gentle music started playing. It burbled a bit because of the batteries running out but it still sounded quite restful.
Holding his breath, Max looked at the dog. ‘If he’s like the Cerberus in the stories, it should make him feel sleepy,’
he called to Finlay as quietly as he could. All three of the dog’s heads looked towards him. Suddenly it sat down and yawned.
‘Do you think it’s working?’ Finlay hissed in amazement.
Max stared. Surely it couldn’t be this easy?
But it did seem to be.
The dog yawned again and then lay down. With a swish of its dragon’s tail, it laid its heads between its great taloned paws and then shut all six of its eyes.
Within a minute it was breathing heavily. Max looked across the grass at Finlay. ‘Should I try getting past it?’ he hissed.
Finlay nodded eagerly. ‘Quick, before those batteries run out completely!’
Max stepped forward. The dog lifted one of its heads. Max froze. But the dog was only shifting its position slightly. Giving a loud snore, it settled down peacefully on its side.
‘Come on!’ whispered Finlay urgently.
Heart beating fast, Max began to tiptoe closer…
CHAPTER SIX
RISKING THE RIDDLE
Max could see the dog’s sharp yellow teeth and its three lolling tongues. He crept past the first head, past the second, past the…
Thud! His foot kicked a stone on the ground. Max froze, almost too scared to look to see if Cerberus had awoken.
But the beast slept on.
Max hesitated and then ran the last bit as fast as he could. He reached Finlay, his breath coming in short gasps.
‘That was such a cool idea to use the music!’ Finlay whispered as Max reached him.
‘Thanks,’ Max panted back. ‘Come on. Let’s get the apples and get out of here before it wakes up!’
They ran into the shed together. The four golden apples glowed at them, all identical apart from the pictures engraved into their sides.
‘I just don’t know which three to choose,’ said Finlay, going over to the bench. He pulled the riddle out of his pocket. ‘And this doesn’t help at all.’
‘Give it here.’ Max took it from him and read quickly through it. ‘So we’ve got four apples.’ He studied the apples.
‘One is earth, one is fire, one is water and one is air.’
‘Yeah, I got that far,’ Finlay said. ‘But which do we leave?’
Max read out:
‘All four are strong, one stands alone.
Fire dries water, which wears out stone,
Which comes from earth, which smothers air,
The answer’s in the grassy square.’
He paused for a moment. ‘It’s almost like it’s talking about which of the elements is the strongest,’ he said slowly. ‘Like when we play paper, scissors and stone.’
Finlay’s eyes widened. ‘Do you think we have to work out which is the strongest element and leave that one alone?’ He looked at the riddle. ‘Well, in that case, the answer’s obvious, isn’t it? Fire’s got to be the strongest. Air’s the weakest because it can be smothered by earth, but then earth, when it’s stone, can be worn away by water. The only thing that can beat water is fire. It says here, “Fire dries water”!’ He looked very excited. ‘We’ve got it, Max! I bet we have to leave the apple with the fire picture on. Come on, let’s take the other three and get out of here!’
‘Wait!’ Max exclaimed, but Finlay was already grabbing the two apples with the water and wind symbols.
Max gasped, but nothing happened.
‘These two are OK, then!’ Finlay grinned. ‘I am so right about this riddle! We just need to take the earth one and we’re done.’ He shoved the two apples he’d taken into his pockets and reached out to pick up the one with the picture of a stone on, but Max gripped his arm.
‘No,’ he said urgently. ‘I’m not sure we’ve got the riddle right. If it is like stone, paper, scissors, then there isn’t a winner. There’s always one that can beat the other. There isn’t one that’s the strongest. I think it’s a red herring…’
‘A red herring!’ Finlay looked astonished. ‘What’s a fish got to do with it?’
Max sighed. ‘A red herring’s a name for a false clue. Riddles often have them. I think this riddle’s tricking us, by making us think we have to work out which is the strongest, but actually there isn’t an answer to that question. After all, if you think about it, water can put out fire, can’t it? I think the answer to which apple to leave is somewhere else in the riddle. Look at the fifth line: “one stands alone”. I bet that’s a big clue. And look,’ he pointed at the eighth line. ‘It says, “The answer’s in the grassy square.” ’
They looked outside at the square of grass. The dog was still asleep. ‘Maybe you’re right,’ Finlay said uncertainly. ‘Well, there’s air in the square, because there’s air everywhere. And there’s water from the fountain. There isn’t fire or stone. Though…’ He frowned thoughtfully. ‘There was stone when the dog was a statue. So, the only thing that isn’t there is fire! Fire has to be the answer to the riddle!’
‘No, hang on. If fire’s not in the square, it can’t be right!’ Max protested.
‘I reckon that bit of the riddle just doesn’t make sense,’ said Finlay impatient
ly. ‘Let’s ignore it.’
‘You can’t just ignore a bit of a riddle,’ Max argued. ‘Riddles don’t work like that. Look, we have to think this through. We have to be logical…’
‘Pants to logic!’ Finlay said. ‘It’s fire, Max!’ He lunged forward. Max tried to grab his arm to stop him but this time he was too late. Finlay’s fingers closed around the apple with the stone symbol.
Crack! There was a loud snapping noise.
‘What’s that?’ Max gasped as Finlay charged out into the courtyard with the apple.
‘My hands!’ yelled Finlay, stopping dead.
Max stared. The apple was still golden but Finlay’s fingers were turning grey – grey and hard like stone.
‘Fin!’ Max gasped as the grey stone spread up Finlay’s arms and down over his body.
Finlay tried to move towards him but he couldn’t move. He looked at Max with horrified eyes. ‘I’m…’ His voice choked and stopped as his head turned grey.
He had turned to stone!
CHAPTER SEVEN
THE CHERUB’S TRUMPET
‘No!’ Max yelled. Finlay stood in front of him like a stone statue. The golden apple glittered evilly in his hands.
A great wave of sickness welled up inside Max. Finlay couldn’t be stone!
He walked unsteadily towards the statue of Finlay. ‘Fin,’ he whispered helplessly. He felt dizzy with shock.
What was he going to do? What were Finlay’s mum and dad going to say?
He looked into Finlay’s grey face. With a gasp he jumped back. Finlay’s eyes were still normal!
‘What-what…’ he stammered as Finlay looked at him frantically, his eyes darting from side to side. ‘You’re not dead!’ Max exclaimed, relief hitting him like a sledgehammer.
Finlay couldn’t say anything – he couldn’t speak or move.
Max’s thoughts whirled. He touched Finlay’s arm but it was as cold and hard as a stone pillar. Finlay might not be dead but he really had turned to stone! What am I going to do? Max thought. Help!
A savage snarl rang out.
Max’s gaze flew to the grassy square. The dog was lifting its heads from the floor. Its six burning eyes fixed on him and an even louder, more vicious growl ripped through the silence.
Silence!
Max’s heart sank.
The batteries of the keyboard must have finally run out.
Barking furiously, Cerberus leapt to his feet and charged towards Max and the stone statue of Finlay.
Max leapt back just in time. The beast was pulled up short just in front of Finlay. One set of jaws crashed closed around Finlay’s leg. As its teeth met the rock-hard surface, the dog howled in pain. Its sleep didn’t seem to have done anything to improve its temper.
Max ran forward. Finlay might be stone, but he wasn’t going to let Cerberus savage him. ‘Get away from Fin! Get back!’ he yelled, picking up some bricks from the ground and chucking them as hard as he could at the beast. His throws fell short.
Cerberus raced at the bricks, grabbing them in his mouth and crunching them up as if Max was throwing bones for him. Finally one made contact with one of his heads. He lunged furiously at Max.
There was a grating sound of metal on stone and one of the rings pulled free from the plinth. Max gasped in alarm. The two remaining rings holding the dog creaked alarmingly. If they gave way too then Cerberus would be free…
Max raced back to the shed for safety. What was he going to do? Fin was turned to stone. Cerberus was about to break his chains. There was no one to help.
Hercules’ voice suddenly seemed to echo in Max ear. Remember, even if all seems lost there will always be a way out if you look hard enough.
I’m looking, thought Max desperately. I’m looking really hard!
His eyes fell on a piece of paper on the floor. The riddle! He’d dropped it when Finlay had turned to stone. He picked it up.
If only Fin had listened to him and not grabbed the earth apple. The riddle had said that the element to leave stood alone and was in the grassy square. Well, fire, water and air couldn’t stand anywhere – but things of stone did, and the stone statue of Cerberus had stood in the grassy square. The one they had to leave was earth – stone which comes from earth; the rest of the riddle had just been a trick to distract them, like he’d thought.
He looked at the riddle. A line suddenly seemed to jump out at him: If you choose wrongly, mark these words…
Max’s breath caught in his throat. Finlay had chosen wrongly. Maybe the riddle would tell him what to do to turn Finlay back!
‘If you choose wrongly, mark these words,’ he read out. ‘Two elements may break a third. The water from the cherub’s breath, can split the stone and save from death.’
Max glanced out of the shed towards the bronze statue of the cherub. As he looked at the cherub’s trumpet, his eyes suddenly widened. The trumpet! The cherub was blowing out through it! Maybe ‘water from the cherub’s breath’ meant the water that came out of the trumpet when the trick fountain was triggered.
Suddenly everything seemed to click into place in his brain. If he could get the fountain to spray on Finlay then maybe the magic would be reversed. The only problem was how did he start the fountain? He ran to the door of the shed.
Cerberus was hurling his weight against the two remaining chains, desperate to tear the flesh from Max’s bones. With a grating crunch the second ring gave way.
Now there was just one chain and ring holding the beast! Fear flooded through Max. How soon before that gave way too…
I have to get that fountain spouting, he thought frantically. But there was no way he could get past the dog to the flagstones. If only there was someone else to help him. But it was just him and the dog…
The dog!
An idea exploded into Max’s mind. Suddenly remembering how Cerberus had chased after the bricks he’d chucked at him, he grabbed a brick from the floor and threw it towards the flagstones. It fell short, but with a snarl Cerberus chased after it and grabbed it in his teeth.
Max grabbed another brick. This time his arm snapped back and he let the brick go with all the strength he could muster. The brick sailed through the air and landed right on the third flagstone.
The dog leapt straight on to the flagstone after it. The second its weight hit the stone, a jet of water shot straight up into the air. It started raining down on the grassy square. It fell on the dog and the grass – and Fin!
Crack!
Max’s heart leapt. Splits started spreading from the top of Fin’s head and his fingers, spreading all the way to his toes. It was as if the stone was ice and starting to thaw, revealing the person inside. Finlay was turning back to normal!
‘Fin!’ Max yelled in delight.
Cerberus stared at the cracking statue of Finlay. The hackles rose on the back of his neck and he growled in fury. He jumped off the flagstone and the fountain immediately stopped. Barking
angrily, Cerberus threw himself towards the boys, his massive paws clawing the ground, his powerful muscles straining, his burning eyes filled with hatred and hunger. With a shock, Max saw the last remaining ring tear out of the ground. Cerberus was free!
The beast threw back its three heads and gave a bloodcurdling howl of triumph. Then it charged straight at Max and the half-stone figure of Finlay – its deadly jaws wide open.
CHAPTER EIGHT
PETRIFIED!
Cerberus bore down on Max and Finlay, his different heads barking, growling and spraying drool.
‘We’re going to die!’ Max yelled in horror.
‘No, we’re not!’ Finlay said, his voice strangely hollow as he shouted through stone lips that were gradually turning back to normal. And as the slavering beast powered towards them, Finlay lifted his hand that was slowly turning back to flesh and chucked the glittering apple away from him and straight into the nearest of the dog’s mouths.
A crack snapped through the air like gunshot. The dog’s teeth snapped shut on the
apple and stayed shut. Grey stone started to spread across its face. Thick ropes of drool hanging from its jaw hardened like icicles. The other two heads howled in surprise. But they didn’t howl for long. Within seconds the hard stone was engulfing the dog, turning it to a statue where it stood. Its howl became a whimper – then it broke off with a strangled sound and there was silence.
‘One stands alone,’ Max breathed, staring at the statue in front of them. He swung round. The last of the grey stone was just disappearing from Finlay’s hair. ‘Cool or what? That was a brilliant idea, Fin!’
Finlay grinned. ‘Just call me a genius!’ He looked at the dog’s eyes, which still burned furiously in the stone even though it couldn’t move. ‘Don’t think he’ll be winning Best Freaky Mythical Killer at Crufts any time soon!’
‘He looks really mad!’ Max said, sounding very satisfied.
‘Guess we’d better not tread on the trick flagstone, then,’ Finlay commented. He rubbed his knee. It was bleeding where the dog had snapped at his stone skin.
‘Are you OK?’ Max asked.
‘Yeah,’ Finlay admitted. ‘I’m glad I was turned to stone though. If I hadn’t been a statue at the time, I wouldn’t have a leg to stand on now! Ha!’
Max grinned at Fin’s rubbish joke.
‘So what did it feel like to be stone?’
‘Weird,’ Finlay replied. ‘Like I couldn’t feel anything with my body but my brain was still working. And the worst thing was I thought I was going to have to stay like that forever.’ He shuddered for a moment. ‘Thanks for working out how to save me.’
‘S’OK,’ Max said. ‘I remembered what Hercules said about there always being a way out and found the answer in the riddle.’
‘It’s lucky it wasn’t the other way round and that it wasn’t you who was turned to stone, Max,’ Finlay said. ‘I’d never have worked out what to do. But then I guess you wouldn’t have grabbed the apple like I did.’ He looked a bit ashamed of himself. ‘I just wasn’t afraid of anything. Not even of being wrong. Hercules was right; having extra courage has made me act dumb.’