‘Impossible,’ said Ben producing the book from within his cloak.
‘Put the book back into your pocket,’ instructed Noj. Ben did as he was told. ‘Now,’ said Noj to the girl. ‘You’ve seen the book go in, so why don’t you take it out again?’
The girl plunged her hand into the pocket of Ben’s cloak and then looked enquiringly at Noj.
‘It’s not there,’ she said. Grabbing hold of Ben’s throat, she gave him a shake. ‘Are you trying to make me look a fool?’ she spat.
Noj quickly removed the girl’s hands from Ben’s throat.
‘It’s still there,’ he said with a smile. ‘Ben, take the book out of your pocket.’
‘But she said…’ wheezed Ben.
‘Please?’ said Noj.
‘Get on with it,’ snarled Trep. ‘At this rate those creatures will soon be part of the audience.’
Ben dug into his pocket and pulled out the book. The girl instantly made a grab for Ben’s throat.
‘Don’t make me look stupid,’ she shouted angrily as Noj once again removed her hands from around Ben’s throat.
‘There’s no need to get so worked up,’ replied Noj calmly. ‘The cloak only yields its contents to whoever placed them there in the first place. Pretty neat eh?’
‘You won’t be saying that in a moment,’ said Trep pointing across the lake.
No matter how much they scanned the far shoreline, the three Creatures were nowhere to be seen.
‘They were there a moment ago,’ gasped Ben, still trying to get accustomed to air going in his mouth rather than water. Noj stood up and took a deep breath.
‘Wherever those Creatures are, you can be sure that they haven’t given up.’ He jerked his head towards the mountains that dominated the skyline. ‘Up and over, I think is the phrase.’
Mak, resting on his knees, looked at the towering rocks and shook his head.
‘You are joking,’ he said. ‘If I’d known we’d need wings I would have packed them,’ he added sarcastically.
At that moment, an ear-splitting screech filled the air. Immediately the group looked skywards to seethe three creatures, each sitting astride a bird-like form consisting of intertwined Whispers. Instantly, Mak was on his feet.
‘It doesn’t get much better than this,’ he quipped.
Ben, who was already scrabbling up the scree slope, didn’t pause to reply.
‘You do live a dull life,’ he called over his shoulder.
Noj braced himself against the nearest boulder and, levelling his walking stick at the closest Creature, urged the other three to follow Ben’s example.
‘Get yourselves up the slope as quickly as possible. Try and find a cave or something to shelter you.’ He released a thunderbolt, which narrowly missed his intended target. ‘Shift,’ he cried. ‘I’ll do my best to hold them off.’ He released a second thunderbolt, which grazed the shoulder of one creature. Instantaneously, a hideous scream erupted. ‘Go,’ shouted Noj. ‘I’ll catch you up.’ Without further comment, Noj began sending a series of thunderbolts into the air, caring little whether he hit a Creature or the Whispers, but more intent on distracting them to give the others a chance to escape.
Ben led the scramble up the rock-strewn slope. The sharp fragments of rocky splinters tried their best to hinder and injure as four desperate figures climbed frantically. Below, Noj was doing everything he could to occupy the crazed Creatures but, before long, a pair of clustered Whispers carried two of the Creatures away from the lightening assault and towards the little group of escapees.
Looking anxiously over his shoulder, Ben saw the two Creatures begin to circle overhead.
‘We’ve got company,’ he warned.
With his hands bleeding from their battle with the rocky shards, Trep waved a desultory fist at the sky.
‘Do I care anymore?’ he yelled. He picked up a jagged stone and threw it in the general direction of the two Creatures. The gesture was futile and he knew it. Trep sank onto his knees and bowed his head in defeat.
‘Get up,’ urged Mak. ‘You can’t give up.’
Trep was silent. His whole body sagged, apparently resigned to whatever the Creatures might inflict upon him. The girl turned to Ben.
“Can’t you do something?’ she cried. ‘Anything?’
In one sweeping movement, Ben withdrew the book from deep within his cloak and flung it open at whatever random page it cared to choose. Immediately, a huge shaft of brilliant white light leapt from the book. The effect was startling. The Whispers hurled themselves away from the light carrying the Creatures with them. The intensity of the light threw everything into stark relief making the landscape look even more barren and desolate than before. Within moments Noj had joined the group and, pushing and cajoling, managed to persuade the rest of the group to continue their hurried climb towards the mountains.
Somehow, Ben managed to stumble his way upwards by walking backwards and holding the book at arms length, allowing the shaft of light to blind and confuse their pursuers.
Several times Ben looked up towards the mountains. His arms ached with holding the book, his legs hurt with the effort of walking backwards while his feet felt as if they had met with a cheese grater. Suddenly, the light from the book began to dim and lose its brilliance. The Creatures were quick to take advantage of the failing light and, urging the Whispers forward, raced towards the struggling group on the mountain slope.
‘What are you doing?’ Trep yelled. ‘Open the book again.’
Frantically, Ben turned the pages of the book but the only result was to lose the shaft of light altogether.
‘Oh well done,’ shouted Mak. ‘Always knew I could trust you.’
‘It’s not my fault,’ yelled Ben. ‘The book has a mind of its own.’
‘Come on,’ urged Noj. ‘We’ve only a little way to go, come on.’ Bracing himself once more, he raised his walking stick skywards and released a volley of thunderbolts. The Creatures reacted by shielding their eyes from the lightening glare.
Taking advantage of the temporary halt to their pursuit, the group covered the short distance to the shelter of a large, rocky outcrop. With his hands on his knees and gasping for breath, Ben nodded at the barren wall of rock.
‘Well?’ he enquired. ‘Any ideas?’
The girl shook her head in disbelief.
‘You males are useless,’ she spat. ‘You’re constantly complaining and hardly know what to do from one moment to the next.’ Ignoring the wheezed comments, the girl took one look at the wall of rock and then quickly followed the curvature of the mountain until she disappeared out of sight. The rest of the group looked on in amazement and, before they had managed to put their thoughts into words, the girl returned.
‘This way,’ she hissed. ‘And be quick.’ Without waiting to see if anyone followed, the girl ran out of sight.
Above the Creatures continued to circle, gradually working their way lower and lower searching for where the group had disappeared. Needing little encouragement, the rest of the group ran after the girl.
A few moments later, the four of them stopped and looked along the narrow ledge that followed the curve of the rock face. The girl was nowhere to be seen. Even in the half-light that now existed, it was obvious that no other being was on the mountainside.
‘Well,’ sighed Trep. ‘That was either clever or clumsy.’
‘What do you mean?’ shrugged Mak.
‘She’s either hidden herself particularly well or lost her footing and fell to where she started,’ replied Trep.
‘I don’t think she has fallen,’ said Ben thoughtfully. ‘I think she…’
His final words disappeared in a strangulated cry as an arm reached out from the rock face and dragged him into darkness.
Chapter 30
Noj, Trep and Mak stared at the place where Ben had stood only moments before. Their mouths opened and closed with a variety of inarticulate questions until a piercing screech overhead shattered their stupor.
>
Immediately above them, a crone astride her winged Whispers circled triumphantly. With a rasping cry, the creature called to the other two crones and within moments the three hovered over their prey.
Before the creatures could swoop, Ben materialised from the rock face and, without a word, pulled each of the three bemused boys into the darkness of the rock.
‘Were you actually just going to stand there and wait for those lovely creatures?’ asked Ben with heavy sarcasm.
‘Well, we sort of…’ mumbled Mak.
The girl, appearing from behind Ben, ignored Mak and indicated the darkness in front of them.
‘We need to move and fast,’ she ordered.
‘A light might be handy,’ suggested Ben. ‘Anyone?’
‘Ben, quickly,’ demanded Noj. ‘Give me that diamond.’
Handing over the precious stone, Ben looked anxiously at the dark curtain of rock that hid them from the creatures hovering outside.
‘I’d like to put some distance between them and us,’ he said with a hint of desperation.
Noj, holding the diamond in his left hand, raised the tip of his walking stick until it touched the stone. Instantly, a kiss of light sprang from the stick and illuminated every facet of the diamond. The precious stone slowly produced a soft glow that brushed the dark aside to reveal a narrow passageway that disappeared into the depths of the mountain.
‘Not much of a choice,’ moaned Trep.
‘Take your pick,’ said the girl frostily. Pushing Noj forward, and without a word she beckoned the others to follow.
The eerie glow from the diamond was sufficient to light their way a few steps at a time. Carefully treading along the uneven surface of the floor, with their arms held out at either side to feel the cold, damp rock walls, the group shuffled uncertainly into the darkness.
The uncertainty of what lay ahead, coupled with the certainty of what lay behind them, fuelled the claustrophobic atmosphere of the dank passageway. Several times, Ben felt certain their progress wasn’t going unnoticed. He shrugged away these feelings, telling himself that his imagination was not only working overtime but was unwelcome. Eventually, imagination or not, Ben couldn’t ignore the feeling of being observed any longer.
‘I don’t think we’re alone,’ he stammered.
‘You won’t be,’ replied Mak from just in front. ‘Just stay where you are and I’m sure your lady friends will be only too pleased to watch over you.’
‘I mean,’ began Ben.
‘You mean you’re scared,’ chided Trep.
‘I’m not,’ snapped Ben defensively. ‘I just get the feeling we’re being watched, that’s all.’
‘Watched?’ mocked Mak. ‘How could anyone watch us in here?’
‘Give it a rest,’ groaned the girl. ‘If you put as much energy into walking as you did talking we might get somewhere.’
The group walked along in silence. No matter how hard he tried, Ben couldn’t shake the feeling that they were not alone. Suddenly, Noj stopped, causing everyone to collided with each other.
‘What on earth?’ moaned Mak.
‘It’s the walls,’ explained Noj. ‘I can’t feel them anymore.’
The group felt around for the reassuring presence of the walls but, reluctantly, they had to agree, the walls seemed to have vanished.
Feeling his way slowly backwards, Ben eventually found the place where the walls stopped guiding them and swerved sideways away from them.
‘They sort of go sideways,’ he said. ‘Perhaps it’s just a much wider passageway?’
‘Stand still, all of you,’ ordered Noj. ‘Let me see if I can throw some light on the matter,’ he said with an uncertain chuckle. Placing the diamond on the ground in front of him, Noj lowered the tip of his walking stick. An arc of light leapt from the tip and, arching itself over the diamond, created an instant ball of light that forced the darkness to retreat.
Promptly, the girl screamed and pointed in front of her. Surrounding the group were vague outlines of girls, each form only being identified by a pale wisp of grey. Wherever the group looked, there were shimmering, transparent forms.
The forms, like vaporous spirits, appeared to dissolve and then reform in one continuous movement.
‘I feel ill,’ groaned Trep.
‘Is that all,’ replied Mak, his eyes dancing from form to form.
Noj stepped forward.
‘We don’t intend any harm or wish to disturb you,’ he said more calmly then he felt.
One of the forms detached itself from the mass and materialised in front of them.
‘We understand,’ it whispered in breathy tones. ‘We have been waiting.’
‘Waiting?’ asked Noj.
‘Yes,’ replied the form. ‘We have waited from the very moment that our life-force was stolen from us, digested by those wicked creatures who prey on the souls of young girls.’
‘Erm,’ muttered Ben. ‘We’re sort of trying to avoid the same fate ourselves actually.’
The form drifted towards the roof of the cavern and then descended once more.
‘We can help you if you can help us,’ said the form. ‘You have the means by which we can right the wrongs that were inflicted upon us centuries ago.’
‘How can we do that?’ enquired Ben.
The form moved forward. Ben promptly took a couple of steps back and fell over. The sound of distant laughter sounded around the cavern. The form moved forward again and held its wispy arms out.
‘Let me have the Book,’ she said.
‘What Book?’ asked Ben, his voice sounding thin and unconvincing.
The form flared upwards, towering over Ben.
‘Don’t play the innocent,’ it roared breathlessly. ‘If you value your lives, you’ll give me the Book.’
Ben stood up and withdrew the Book from his cloak pocket.
‘Don’t be an idiot,’ snapped Mak. ‘That book has helped us get this far. Without it we’ll be stuck in this hell-hole.’
The form arched itself in the air and faced Mak.
‘Can you even begin to imagine what it’s like existing as nothing more than a vague breath, having only an outline of your former self?’
‘Well...’ said Mak as the form passed itself through his body.
‘I didn’t think so,’ said the form from behind Mak. It floated to face him. ‘Fortunately, the darkness saves us from seeing what we’ve become.’
The form drifted towards Ben once more.
‘The Book?’
Without question, Ben held the book for the form to hold.
‘At last!’ breathed the form.
Instantly, every vaporous spirit gathered around the Book creating a sort of hovering, grey cloud. The Book suddenly erupted as tongues of fire leapt out of the pages, striking each of the vague outlines causing them to glow. Each form appeared to arch backwards as the fire filled their outline giving them a definite, fiery shape.
Ben and the others watched in amazement as the cavern glowed with the reformed bodies of hundreds of girls. The earlier form stood before Ben, its features clearly defined by a flickering orange glow.
‘You have performed a great service this day,’ it’s voice resonating around the cavern. ‘You have given freely that which was valuable to you and, in return, we will give you what is of even greater value.’
‘Smart,’ grinned Trep. ‘I hope it’s an even bigger diamond than the one we’ve already got!’
‘Be quite,’ snarled the girl. ‘We’re being offered something more valuable than wealth.’
The form lowered its head toward the girl.
‘Wise words for one so young, and for one fortunate enough to avoid being parted with her life-force.’
‘I’m very grateful,’ replied the girl.
With a fiery beckoning finger, the form instructed one of the other forms to stand before the group.
‘Here,’ said the form, ‘is your guide to the other side of the mountain. Follow her carefully, do
not take your eyes from her or deviate or you will lost forever.’
The rest of the glowing forms suddenly became agitated and a murmuring sounded around the cavern.
‘We have company,’ said the large form. ‘Now is the time of reckoning.’ She turned to the other fiery forms. ‘It is time,’ she cried. ‘This is the day those hideous creatures become what they should have been centuries ago.’ The form raised her arms high above her head. ‘Dust!’ she shouted triumphantly.
Immediately, the cavern was filled with roaring flames, as the assembled forms became one gigantic body with fingers of fire flickering over every outline. The lone form turned to the group.
‘Quickly,’ she said. ‘I will lead you to where you need to be and then,’ she looked toward the single mass. ‘Then I must re-join my sisters as they wreak their revenge.’
The form glided forward toward a passageway on the far side of the cavern. For a moment the girl hesitated in following. Ben took her hand.
‘There is nothing you can do,’ he said kindly. ‘This is their time, their moment of rejoicing as they finally overcome that which overcame them so many years ago.’
The girl lowered her head in acknowledgement.
‘You are right,’ she admitted. ‘They have waited many a long year for this day. I realise that they will never become what they once were, but at least they will have the satisfaction of knowing those vile creatures will never again prey on the lives of young girls.’
‘Talking about young girls,’ said Ben, giving the girl’s hand a gentle squeeze. ‘You’ve never told us your name or who you are?’
‘My name is Alisha,’ replied the girl. ‘I am the daughter of Lord Tolc!’
Chapter 31
Ben followed the glow emanating from the fiery form ahead. The girl’s revelation of her identity had stunned him. He recalled Lord Tolc talking about finding a girl and also the threat of what might happen if he were to act inappropriately! The semi-light partially hid the broad grin that had formed on Ben’s face. Without knowing he was looking, he had actually found the girl. At last something was going in his favour.
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