With another flick Madgwick tossed the shimmer into another, causing them both to disintegrate. Their shrieks of pain brought a smile to his face.
Standing still was a death sentence so Madgwick did not count how many there were. He knew he was outnumbered and kept on the move so that the shimmers could not touch him. He was so fast with his dust, using it a sword, a whip, a net, daggers, a boomerang. It moved and flowed with precision, forming many weapons at once. Madgwick tumbled, crouched down, rolled and tried to stay one step ahead, and yet the shimmers kept coming.
* * *
By now Madgwick was receding in the distance. Rig watched him with narrow eyes, his lips pressed together and his face like stone.
It took every ounce of discipline to keep rowing away from the fight. There were so many shimmers that it would soon be one-sided.
The sounds of the shimmers shrieking in pain and anger drifted over the water. Madgwick was a blur and his silver dust was moving so fast and in so many directions that it looked like silver drops were raining around him.
Jeff moved from one side of the boat to the other, trying not to lose sight of Madgwick. He pushed his head forward and strained to see the battle in the creeping darkness.
His movements rocked the boat and after a few minutes Rhed snapped, “Jeff, you know that we are in a boat, right? You’re going to make us tip and I don’t swim well!”
“Oh please, it’s hardly rocking. Get a grip.”
“I’ll give you a grip just now!” muttered Rhed.
“Sit down. Keep quiet!” ordered Rig.
Jeff sat down and the boys sat hushed, not taking their eyes off the fight that was moving further and further away into the distance.
But even though Madgwick was a brilliant warrior, he was still out numbered and the darkness was starting to overtake their view of Madgwick. Twilight was over and they could no longer see the shoreline. Even the shrieking was fading as they move further away.
* * *
Madgwick could tell he was losing. A number of shimmers had touched him and had gotten in a few good bites, although they did not portray themselves as monsters like they had with Jeff and Rhed. They still bit quite painfully, except it was just black mist with red eyes. There was nothing to really see or avoid.
Even with so many around him, Madgwick kept going. He could not use his left arm anymore as it had been bitten too many times and was now hanging limp. Without him seeing it, a shimmer landed on his back and buried its teeth into his flesh. Madgwick dropped to his knees. This was the end.
A whoosh of wind ripped through the shimmers, shoving them away from Madgwick. The wind doubled back and Madgwick found himself surrounded by it. It was like standing in the funnel of a tornado. With a growl he stood up and sliced the shimmer off his back using his dust as a guillotine. Madgwick, tired and bleeding, turned around, not quite understanding what the swirling wind was or who was behind it. Was this another evil messenger from Wiedzma?
Most of the shimmers were rushing away, probably heading around the lake to chase after Rig and the boys, but it would take days to catch up by taking that route.
There were still about eighteen shimmers hovering a few steps away from Madgwick, just waiting for the wind to die down so that they could attack anew.
Then from out of nowhere, a figure appeared, moving closer. And plop, plop, plop … There were eighteen toads hopping around left and right, bumping into each other as if they were very confused.
Madgwick turned around, his mouth hanging open at the sight of all the toads. He was too tired and too hurt to jump for joy, but he did manage a little laugh as he realised who his rescuer was.
“Angie,” he whispered.
“Madgwick, I’m late! I tried to hurry but I got caught at the garden gate by an elder. I told him I had to go but he wouldn’t listen. My oh my, Madgwick, you really are a good warrior, but allowing a shimmer to grab you from the back … Not clever. Not clever at all.”
Madgwick smiled at her and dropped down at her feet. The toads hopped frantically out of the way as he hit the stony beach hard.
17
The king was tapping his hand on the armrest of his chair, his face not as handsome now as he sneered at the old man.
“Well, Thirza, does the enchantment hold? Does the boy believe that he is in a beautiful castle, a beautiful land, some fantasy adventure?”
Thirza nodded. “The enchantment is in place and the boy will see only what the spell will allow him to see.”
“Marvellous. I could skip for joy.” The king rolled his eyes as he spoke. He stood up and began pacing. Then he stopped and turned around as if he had just thought of something. “Thirza! Where are the rest of my council, why are you here alone?”
Thirza was very careful as he prepared his answer. The king was not one to trifle with and he often let his displeasure show on those around him.
“Your Highness,” he bowed his head held low. “They displeased you, thus they are either in the dungeon or have been killed.”
He did not dare mention that Wiedzma was to blame.
“Take that to be a lesson to never displease me. I hope this child learns the lesson quickly or he will be spending more time in the dungeon than out.” The king threw his head back as he gave an evil laugh.
The side door opened and the powerful witch Wiedzma entered. Her scent floated through the room like a butterfly on a summer’s day. She headed straight for the king, smiling as she passed Thirza but ignored his presence.
Her hair was as black as the night and hung straight and long down her back. Her deep green eyes sparkled with malice. Her face was smooth and flawless and her skin was chalk white with a hint of a blush on her cheeks. On her left cheek was a dark mole. Her face was friendly but that was just part of the ruse, as she was as dangerous as she was beautiful.
Nodding at Wiedzma, the king asked, “How long before his dreams are mine? As you well know, I have been planning his arrival for a long time. I don’t want to waste a single moment more.”
Thirza folded his hands into his cloak sleeves and waited patiently for the witch to answer.
“It may take some time for the illusion spell to take hold. It will start only once the child starts to forget about his family. The boy must be encouraged to play, have fun, run around and laugh. While he does that the spell will start to wean him away from his memories. Once that has happened, then the spell will seal and his dreams will be ours to manipulate.”
King Grzegorz sat with an evil smile on his face. Thirza understood what his expression meant: once Wiedzma’s spell had taken hold of Matt, the king would finally have access to a child’s dreams. And by using his dreams and a mareweaver spell Wiedzma was sure to cast next, Grzegorz and Wiedzma would be able to cause havoc all over the world.
The king all but jumped out of his seat.
“All the children’s dreams will be mine to terrorise. It is going to be fabulous!”
Now Wiedzma’s shimmers, which she and the king had managed to sneak into the world over time, would enter in full force as nightmares.
“Ahhh, I cannot wait,” the king sighed.
He stopped as if a horrible thought had just hit him. “Wait a minute, does this mean that we are going to have to entertain a happy child for a while? Lovely! Can’t you speed up the process, Wiedzma?”
Wiedzma laughed and clapped her hands in delight. “I wish I could. That would have been so much fun.”
The king laughed with her, tucked her arm into the crook of his and turned for the door.
“Your Highness,” began Thirza. “There is another matter, if you have a moment to spare.”
What Thirza was about to say could be met with either anger or indifference, depending on the king’s frame of mind. He had to try and obtain some idea of what their plans were and what protection they were planning with the castle.
Thirza spoke quickly. “If my knowledge of the Sandustians is correct, then they will be setting out to
rescue the child as we speak. It will be good to increase the number of guards around the kingdom and especially around the castle.”
The king’s smile dropped. “Those Sandustians. Ugly bunch of nitwits waving their foolish little dust all over the place. Yes, let them come. They destroyed my plans last time but not this time. This time I am prepared, is that not so my beauty?” He smiled at Wiedzma.
“No need to increase security. Wiedzma has unleashed her shimmers to intercept them. They will not survive that, and don’t forget that they cannot get into the castle while the enchantment is in place,” he replied over his shoulder.
With that he swept out of the room with Wiedzma at his side, the muttering and laughter between them disappearing down the corridor.
Thirza remained where he was. He frowned as if deep in thought.
What were they planning and how was he going to save Matt? He dared not reveal his desire to help the boy, as the witch would read the child’s mind in a heartbeat.
The child’s mind was too innocent and unlike Thirza or most other adults, he had no natural barriers against a powerful witch such as Wiedzma. No, he was going to have to be subtle about this, and quick.
Thirza knew he was playing a very dangerous game, and smiled a hard smile. He was not worried about himself. He had a secret. The witch could not touch him with her magic. Oh, she had tried to hurt him with her spells over time, but he had a protective barrier that could not be penetrated by Wiedzma or any other witch.
That she could not touch him was driving her crazy, but she dared not tell the king about her failure to control Thirza. She could not afford to let the king think she was losing her power, so Thirza’s barrier-secret was safe.
But Matt was a different story. If Matt became happy, the spell would take his memories and would complete the magic process, and there was no telling was that evil hag would do to Matt then.
Thirza had remained in the king’s service all those years because he knew some day another child would be taken. And this time he was going to stop it for good. Or die trying! Now he had three jobs to do. One, as hard and as cruel as it was, he had to keep the child miserable so that the spell could not seal. Second, he had to find out how to break the castle spell so that the warriors could enter. And third, he had to save Holka. Nodding to himself, Thirza left the room.
18
Wiedzma twirled her hair between her fingers. She watched Thirza through the magic mirror she had placed in the throne room. It was important to know what and who was visiting the king. That way, she could manipulate him more easily.
She watched Thirza stand there with a frown on his face and then smile before leaving. Wiedzma gripped her hair. It frustrated her that she had no magic hold over Thirza. How? How could that be? No one could deny her. Her magic was the ultimate power. All minds were open to her, except Thirza. She could forge a magical link by touch, forcing memories and thoughts to flow into her, but not with Thirza. With him she could see nothing. It was as if he had no memories or thoughts to share.
Wiedzma sighed and stared into the empty mirror, lost in thought over the king. He was such a powerful and evil man, and that was refreshing. And she could only become queen and ruler if she married him. But the king was not about to give his kingdom away by marriage to a witch. He was always so polite and gracious with her, but if she lost her usefulness he would drop her in a heartbeat.
Thanks to her cunning interferences, all of his advisors were already imprisoned in the dungeon or killed except for that tiresome Thirza.
Wiedzma turned away from the mirror. She had preparations to complete should there be a rescue attempt.
* * *
Matt woke up and stretched out, the fragrance of waffles drifting past him. With a smile on his face he opened his eyes.
Holka looked up and smiled at Matt.
“Hey sleepyhead. I was wondering when you would be saying hello.” Her voice had a soft hushed tone that made him think of drizzled honey. Her smile was so sweet and friendly that he could not help but smile back at her.
“Are you hungry? Because you went to bed last night without eating anything.” She seemed a bit concerned. Matt nodded shyly and stretched again.
“Well,” she said, getting to her feet, “wash up in that room there.” She pointed to a door that Matt had not even seen last night. “You will find clean clothes in there too. Then meet me here for some breakfast.”
Matt went into the side room. It was huge: the biggest bathroom he had ever seen. The bath was the size of the bed he had just slept in and the shower was like a room on its own. Matt hopped in the shower and gasped. There was a rainbow in there!
Matt sat down at the table laid with fruit, pancakes, sausages and eggs. Holka dished a plate for him and nodded that he should begin.
“We have a full day ahead of us,” she said as she watched Matt dig into his breakfast.
He sat on the chair, swinging his legs as he studied the room. He looked up and smiled at the sky blue ceiling dotted with clouds. Miniature hot air balloons with little wicker baskets were floating around and little aeroplanes darted in between the balloons.
Matt looked at Holka. He was anxious to go home but it was not as if he could pick up a phone and ask his mother to fetch him.
“Holka, can’t I phone?”
Holka laughed. “No, Matt I am sorry. No phones here.”
“Geez, no phones.” He looked around. “No TVs either. This is no holiday camp.”
Holka smiled. “My job is to make sure that you are happy and have lots of fun while you are here.” Her smile faltered while she said this, and she frowned as if she could not quite understand something, but in the next instant her smile was back.
She stood up hands on her hips. “Come on,” she said, holding out her hand, “There is a lot of castle to explore. Where do you want to start first, the dungeons?” she asked wiggling her eyebrows at Matt.
Matt laughed and clapped his hands. “Oooh the dungeons!”
And so Matt and Holka explored the castle, running from room to room. Matt gaped at some of the strange rooms they stumbled into. One room was completely upside down. He dropped his head back and stared at the ceiling. The bed, tables, chairs and even the wardrobe were in perfect place but on the ceiling.
“Holka, how?” he started, but Holka had already started pulling him away.
Around lunchtime, they entered a room with a lovely balcony. There was a picnic basket waiting for them on a table with a bright red table cloth. They had lunch, watching the trees sway in the distance.
Lunch was a delight: sandwiches with thick blobs of caramel and sliced banana. There was custard and jelly, and cupcakes that exploded chocolate and fudge into your mouth. Matt asked questions about the castle and Drakmere. Holka did her best to answer what she knew, which did not seem to be a lot.
Every morning it was the same thing, breakfast and then exploring the castle and the grounds. Sometimes when Matt glanced in a room, it first appeared grey and dull, but after blinking a few times, the rooms were back to normal.
Every now and then the old man called Thirza would appear and shout at them for something or the other, like walking in front of a mirror.
Matt was convinced that Thirza did not like him and that he was determined to make his day as unpleasant as possible. Thirza’s eyebrows were bunched up and his mouth in a straight line as he stalked Matt and Holka, trying to catch Matt doing something wrong, or right or simply doing nothing at all.
But Holka was always there to hug him and make him smile again. She even yelled at Thirza a few times.
Eventually their explorations took them down to the dungeons, and to Matt they were the best of all: dark and spooky. There were lots of doors, the air smelt musty and dirty, and there was moss on the walls. Some corridors became smaller and smaller until he had to crawl.
Matt and Holka spent a lot of time down there. Of course there were lots of locked doors, so they could not go everywhere they wa
nted. It was fun and creepy to explore the vast tunnel system that led away from the dungeons.
Now and then Matt thought he heard sobbing and begging for help but when he listened carefully the sounds were gone. Holka did not know if anyone was down there. She was very quiet. Her pink eyes gleamed when she said this. Matt, not wanting to upset her did not ask any further.
One day they ventured out into the fields beyond the gardens, hopped over a stream, dashed under a waterfall and wandered until they stopped for lunch under a tree.
Matt sat silently, chewing on a chocolate squashed inside a bread roll. He stared so blankly at the grass that Holka just had to ask what he was thinking about.
Matt sighed. “I was wondering if this tree could be the one my mom tells me about. You know, the one at the entrance to dreamland.” He swallowed and then continued. “When my mom tucks me in at night, she tells me to wait at the big tree at the entrance of dreamland. Then we can go in together, hand in hand. I miss my mom, and my dad and I miss Jeff and …” Matt frowned. He could not remember Jeff’s friend’s name, or the names of his friends at school, or even his teacher’s name. Matt sniffed, his bottom lip trembling. “I want to go home Holka … I’m forgetting things. I’m scared!”
Holka gazed adoringly at Matt but had no answer to give him. It was her duty to keep Matt happy. She stared at him and bit her lip as if she was convinced that Matt was the link to her past that she could not remember. It was impossible to explain. She could not remember anything about her life other than being here.
Her eyes filled with tears but she blinked them away. If she started to cry now then Matt was sure to follow and that would get them into trouble. Except with Thirza, of course. He did everything he could to make the child miserable. He had always taken care of her but since Matt arrived he had become a mean and bad-tempered old man.
Holka cleared her throat, “No, Matt, this is not that tree, that tree is much bigger.” Matt looked over at her.
Jeff Madison and the Shimmers of Drakmere (Book 1) Page 9