“What’s happening?” Bryony glanced from wall to wall. “What did I do?”
“You activated a secret mechanism, hence the rumbling noise. But don’t worry, we won’t get crushed by a giant rolling boulder this time.”
“How can you be sure?”
“Because the walls will have crushed us first.”
To her horror, Bryony noticed that Boney was right. The walls of the passage were closing in!
She ran down the passage, but a line of spiked iron bars rose from the floor to block her escape route.
“There’s no way out,” she howled. “It’s a trap!”
“Or an extreme method of weight control. Either way, we’ll both end up slimmer.”
“Looks like another pickle or chutney situation.” Bryony knew there was only one way out. “Time for more magic.”
“Agreed. But be careful, Guardian.”
Bryony closed her eyes and concentrated. There was a flash, and suddenly she was floating in air.
At least she thought she was floating. That’s until she opened her eyes and looked down to see a bed of rusty spikes rushing towards her.
So she closed her again.
At first she thought nothing had happened. She was still in the air, except the air was much colder and thicker. And for some reason she couldn’t breathe.
She opened her eyes and saw a gloomy murk all around her. Confused, she tried asking Boney where they might be, but all that came out of her lips was a gurgling stream of bubbles.
And then something lunged at her from the murk: a pointed shark’s head with beady eyes and gaping jaws stacked with row upon row of vicious dagger teeth…
Bryony closed her eyes again. Suddenly she could breathe, but could hear a terrible graunching sound getting louder. This time, when she opened her eyes, she saw a massive circular blade spinning closer in line with her neck…
She screwed her eyes shut and concentrated again. The graunching stopped, and all she could hear was the sound of her own drumming heart.
When the drumming died down, Bryony opened her eyes again. There was nothing to see but darkness, so she sat up and magicked yet another torch. The flickering flame revealed pale round shapes all around her; in fact, she found that she was lying on a bed of the things. They felt hard, like stone, and cold to the touch.
For some reason Bryony felt a growing sense of unease, which heightened when she realised she wasn’t holding a skull.
“Boney?” Bryony waved the torch around until she saw a skull lying a few feet away from her. “Ah, there you are. Please don’t run off like that again.”
She expected a response, but Boney remained unusually quiet.
“In a sulk, are we?” Bryony crawled over and picked up the skull, holding the torch to its face. It was odd, but Boney looked different to how she remembered him. His eye sockets were rounder, forehead wider, and there were less teeth missing.
“I’m sorry about all that, but it was pickle or chutney, remember? Boney? Is that you?” Bryony examined the skull closely. “It’s got to be you. What are the chances of finding another skull down he…”
Her voice trailed off as she noticed a second skull lying close beside her. And then another. A sweep of the torch revealed yet more and more skulls, piles and piles stacked all around her. Not only that, she now realised what the round things were that she’d been crawling over…
Skulls. Skulls everywhere. She was in a sea of skulls!
“Boney!” Bryony called out desperately. “Boney, where are you?”
There was no answer, just the hollow stare from a thousand empty eye sockets.
Then Bryony heard a distant clang from below. And as the clang faded, she detected another sound.
It started off as a faint clatter. Bryony looked around, but couldn’t work out where the noise was coming from. The clattering grew steadily louder, and then Bryony noticed something about the skull she was holding…
Its jaw was moving!
She held the skull at arms length, wondering if her eyes were deceiving her. But there could be no denying it. The skull’s jaw was moving, its teeth chattering as though trying to talk to her.
But as the chattering reached a crescendo, Bryony realised just one skull couldn’t make all that noise. And when she raised the torch above her head, she saw that every skull’s jaw was moving.
“Um… hello.” Bryony tried to remain calm. “I’m sorry to have woken you. But there’s no need to panic. I’m just the… er… skull inspector.”
The chattering only got louder.
“Yes, I’m the skull inspector. Inspecting you. And everything seems fine.” Bryony placed the skull she was holding back where she’d found it. “So you can all go back to, um, whatever skulls do. Thanks for your co-operation.”
A skull jumped at her, its gnashing teeth nipping her arm. Bryony yelped, but another skull came flying at her, and then another.
She tried to scramble away, but her right foot sunk into the sea of skulls beneath her. The sea seemed to swell, rising all around like a tidal wave. And then Bryony was dragged under.
There was a deafening chorus of clangs and clatters, and Bryony found herself sliding down a chute in an avalanche of skulls.
The torch burned out, so Bryony couldn’t see where she was headed. Then suddenly the chute ended, and the mass of tumbling skulls disappeared into shadow beneath her. Bryony managed to grab the end of the chute, and clung on as the clangs and clatters faded into silence.
There was a roaring noise, a burst of orange light, and a blast of intense heat. She looked down and saw a ball of fire below. Her sweaty fingers slipped on the chute, and she struggled to hold on whilst leaping flames licked hungrily at her dangling feet.
Bryony closed her eyes and concentrated. If ever she needed to use magic, it was now. But she felt overwhelmed by the heat and fumes from the fire. Her head swam, and her fingers lost their grip on the chute…
15 You Can’t Make Me Dance
Snoring. Deep, rhythmic snoring. Reverberating through his mind, from everywhere and nowhere at once.
“Wake up sleepy head.”
“Huh?” Edwin opened his eyes to see a bespectacled, green freckled face hovering over him. “Was I snoring?”
“No more than when you’re awake.” Maddy grinned cheekily. “I trust you slept well?”
Edwin sat up and found he was ensconced in an ornately carved four-poster bed. The sheets were purple silk, and the mattress was so soft it felt like he was floating on air.
Edwin nodded, rubbing sleep from his eyes. “How long was I out for?”
“A couple of hours,” revealed Maddy. “Just enough time for mother’s potion to work.”
Edwin had only a vague recollection of events after the battle. He had been wounded, all but paralysed. Lady Maddergrub had made him a drink, a warm frothy sweet tasting brew that had made him feel sleepy. And it seemed only moments later he’d woken up.
“So what happened to the bat monsters?” Edwin peered anxiously out of the tall, leaded window. “Have they gone?”
“Every last one.” Maddy smiled proudly. “The big horned one I killed was their King. When he died, the Vampiropteryx lost all their power and were sucked back to their own magic dimension.” She performed an energetic mime to illustrate events, finishing off with a loud sucking noise. “All gone, and good riddance.”
“All gone.” Edwin was relieved to hear it. “So that means Wychetts is safe as well?”
Maddy nodded. “I killed two birds with one stone. So you don’t have to worry about your family anymore.”
“They’re safe?” Edwin wondered how Maddy could be so sure. “All of them?”
“And we’ve repaired the battle damage.” Maddy talked on as though she hadn’t heard Edwin’s question. “The manor looks good as new. The suits of armour have been re-assembled, and Girt and Gorty have been pieced back together and are back on guard duty. Just hope it doesn’t rain before the cement sets.”
“Great,” said Edwin. “But what about my mum, Bill and Bryony? How can you be sure…”
“You feel all right?” Maddy prodded his right leg. “Nothing broken?”
Edwin screamed, feigning agony. But Maddy wasn’t taken in.
“You can’t fool me. Mother’s potions have never failed yet.”
“I feel fine.” Edwin moved his arms and legs to demonstrate. “Come to think of it I’ve never felt better. What was in that brew?”
“Trade secrets.” Maddy tapped her little snub nose. “Mother knows remedies that even the High Council of the Wise Ones can’t get their distinguished heads around.”
“Which is why we came here in the first place,” Edwin reminded her. “So have you asked your parents about a cure for Hypnoflax poisoning?”
“There’s no need now,” said Maddy. “The Vampiropteryx are defeated. Wychetts and your family are safe.”
“You can’t know that for sure.” Edwin didn’t share Maddy’s lack of concern. “We need to get back to the future to check they’re all right.”
Maddy’s green eyebrows arched in a pitying manner. “You don’t understand magic time travel, do you?”
Edwin didn’t understand magic time travel, and wasn’t afraid to admit it. “All I know is that we can’t wait any longer. If there’s the slightest chance Wychetts and my family are still in danger…”
“Magic time travel works like this.” Maddy spoke slowly, like a teacher addressing a slow-witted pupil. “You can go back to any point in history you choose. Likewise, you can go forward to any point in the future you choose. At any time.”
Edwin still wasn’t sure what Maddy was getting at. “So?”
“So we can stay here as long as we want.” Maddy smiled. “A week, a month, a whole year. Twenty years if we want to. And whenever we want to go back to your time, mother and father will use their magic to send us there.”
“I suppose so.” Edwin couldn’t fault the logic of Maddy’s argument. “But I don’t want to stay here twenty years. I want to go home.”
“I understand.” Maddy’s smile fell as she turned to the window. “I’ll tell my parents. First thing tomorrow.”
“Why not now?”
“Not now because…” Maddy was smiling again when she looked back at Edwin. “It would ruin the party.”
“What party?” A chilling thought struck Edwin. “Not a wedding party?”
“No, silly.” Maddy giggled. “It’s a celebration party, in honour of our glorious saviour.”
“What glorious saviour?”
“Me, stupid. I saved Maddergrub Manor from the Vampiropteryx, remember?”
“Oh yes.” Edwin breathed a relieved sigh. “So you’re having a party to celebrate.”
Maddy nodded. “You are invited, in case you were wondering.”
“Sorry,” said Edwin. “I don’t do parties.”
“You were going to have a party for Bryony,” Maddy reminded him.
“That’s different. It’s her birthday.” Edwin threw the sheets back and slid from the bed. “It’s her birthday, and she could still be in danger. We need to speak to your parents now. It doesn’t matter about your stupid party.”
“But it’s not a stupid party,” cried a high-pitched voice. “It’s a magic party. So you’ve got to come!”
Edwin hadn’t heard the sound of approaching footsteps, and didn’t have time to take evasive action before little Floriana burst into the room and threw herself at him.
“Oh Prince Edwin,” she squealed, pinning him to the bed. “I’m glad you’re all right.”
“As are we all.” Lord Maddergrub entered the room at a more leisurely pace, with his wife, eldest daughter and glum faced son beside him. “Aren’t we, Alphonsus?”
Alphonsus’s reply came in the form of a terse grunt. Lady Maddergrub scowled at him.
“Alfie, that’s not what you’re supposed to say.”
Alphonsus shuffled towards Edwin, face angled at the floor. “Thanks,” he muttered. “Thanks for saving us from the Demonae. I should never have doubted you, Prince Edwin.”
“Um…” Edwin was still trying to extricate himself from Floriana’s grip. “It was nothing really.”
“But you saved us.” At last Floriana peeled herself away from Edwin. “You saved us with your magic.”
“Yeah, I did.” Edwin sat up again, suddenly remembering how he had escaped from the bat monster that had been carrying them away from the manor. “I used magic to fly.”
“You can’t fly,” said Maddy. “You don’t have magic powers.” Then she leaned closer to him and whispered. “Not without the Wychetts Key.”
“But he did magic,” blurted Alphonsus. “I saw it.”
“Is this so?” Lord Maddergrub’s eyes narrowed as he regarded Edwin. “Do you have powers, young Prince?”
Maddy cut in before Edwin could reply.
“It was just a freak gust of wind. Tell them, Prince Edwin. Tell them you can’t do magic.”
Edwin doubted Maddy’s wind theory, but knew he couldn’t say anything to reveal the truth about his presence in Maddergrub Manor. At least not until Maddy had spoken to her parents.
“Maddy’s right,” he told the Maddergrub family. “I can’t do magic. I’m just a normal Prince.”
“Your hair isn’t normal,” said Alphonsus, before falling silent under a glare from his mother.
“But you still saved him,” Floriana told Edwin. “You saved my special boy.”
Edwin was touched by Floriana’s love for her brother. Until she drew a ginger haired doll from her skirts, and he realised where her true concerns had lain all along.
Alphonsus didn’t look at all surprised, his face remaining serious when he addressed Maddy.
“And I’d like to apologise to you as well. I’m sorry I said the Vampiropteryx didn’t exist. It’s just I thought you’d made them up because of what happened at magic school last term.”
Edwin looked quizzically at Maddy. “What happened at magic school last term?”
“It was nothing.” Maddy dismissed the question with a wave of her hand. “I just played a little joke on one of the tutors.”
“The Magister didn’t find it funny.” Lady Maddergrub’s lips pursed with disapproval. “Malady was lucky not to get expelled.”
“Who’s the Magister?” asked Edwin.
“The Head Tutor of Magic School,” explained Lord Maddergrub. “A very wise and esteemed warlock, a one time Guardian of Wychetts and now a prominent member of the Council of the Wise Ones.”
Edwin looked at Maddy again, with a look more horrified than enquiring. “And you played a joke on him?”
“Never mind about that,” said Maddy. “We must prepare for the party.”
There were excited cheers from the Maddergrub family, but Edwin couldn’t bring himself to share their enthusiasm.
“I’m sorry,” he announced. “But I’m not in the mood for a party.”
“But this isn’t just any old party,” boomed Lord Maddergrub. “It is a magic party.”
A magic party? Despite his initial reluctance, Edwin found the idea of a magic party rather intriguing.
“Will there be food?” asked Alphonsus.
“Magic food,” said Lady Maddergrub. “And lots of it.”
Edwin placed a hand on his stomach. He hadn’t eaten since breakfast, and the thought of food did have its attractions.
Floriana jumped up and down. “And will there be games?”
“Lots of games,” said Maddy. “Magic games, of course.”
Edwin wasn’t a fan of silly party games, but thought he could maybe endure a bit of blind man’s bluff if push came to shove.
“And dancing,” added Rosabella, performing a quick pirouette. “Lots and lots of dancing.”
That revelation clinched it for Edwin; he’d rather starve than be made to dance.
“Thanks for the invite.” He tried his best to appear grateful. “But I could do with
an early night after the battle.”
“But you must come to the party.” Maddy fixed Edwin with a demanding stare. “We insist on it.”
The other Maddergrubs voiced their agreement, even Alphonsus.
But Edwin was determined to stand his ground.
“Really sorry. But I’m Prince Edwin, heir to the throne of Ninny, and if I don’t want to go to your party, you can’t make me.”
He looked at Maddy, and wondered why she was smiling at him.
16 Honoured Guest
Edwin fiddled with the hem of his gown. He’d been provided with a special outfit for the evening: a similar design to his day tunic, but with even puffier sleeves and a jewel studded collar. He’d wanted to change his yellow leggings for a sensible pair of trousers, but this wasn’t allowed because apparently trousers hadn’t been invented yet, sensible or otherwise. He’d also complained about his shoes, which were even longer and pointier than before, but Maddy had told him that it made him look even more like a proper Prince of Ninny. And he could only agree with her on that one.
As he stood outside the banqueting hall doors, Edwin was sorely tempted to turn and make a run for it. Parties, as he’d explained many times to Maddy, just weren’t his thing. Sure he’d gone to all that trouble to prepare a party for Bryony, but that was different. It would have been a small party, without silly games and dancing. Definitely no dancing.
But, as Maddy had repeatedly pointed out, this was to be a magic party. It would be a wondrous event, the most amazing night of his life, and he wasn’t to miss it for anything.
Mind you, Edwin still wasn’t sure he could believe everything Maddy said. There was always something about her that he found bewildering, a certain look in her bright eyes that he couldn’t work out.
But he trusted her.
Of course he trusted her. That’s why he’d journeyed back in time eight hundred years. That’s why he was wearing a silly gown with even sillier yellow tights and pointy shoes. That’s why he was about to attend her stupid party.
Edwin tried to convince himself that he might enjoy the evening, but couldn’t stave off a familiar gut-knotting dread at the prospect of being made to dance.
Wychetts and the Dungeon of Dreams Page 9