by Jen Storer
‘There is no other point of entry,’ said Ava. ‘This building is sealed to all outsiders.’
‘And yet,’ said Graini, cocking her head and listening intently. ‘Do you hear, Ava?’
Ava gasped and nodded fearfully. ‘Footsteps,’ she whispered. ‘On the floor above.’
‘We must get out,’ said Graini.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
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Evil eyes everywhere
Back at Frozen in Time, the Donut Lady got busy. She fetched a dustpan, a broom, a feather duster, a vacuum cleaner. She even searched for a rake, such was the mess in Reafen’s shop. While the Donut Lady cleaned, Reafen sat on the floor snoring and muttering, occasionally looking about for her Peachy Pepp.
‘Reafen,’ said the Donut Lady after a while. ‘Reafen! Open your eyes ... and listen to me.’
‘Huh?’
‘What did you have in here?’ The Donut Lady stood before the remains of the display case, the one that had encased the bewitched otter.
Reafen raised her throbbing head.
‘What was in here?’ the Donut Lady repeated. ‘Why is it shattered like this? Were you robbed ... or is there something darker going on that should worry me?’
‘Oh!’ wailed Reafen, placing her hands over her eyes like a frightened child. ‘I tried to clean it up. I cannot look. I cannot speak of it. The words, the words, they would kill me, I am sure.’
The Donut Lady sighed with exasperation.
‘Argh!’ Reafen screamed, and the Donut Lady got such a shock the feather duster spun out of her hand.
‘Get it away from me!’ cried Reafen. ‘Get it away!’ She was pointing at the mannequin.
The Donut Lady rushed to the old goblin woman’s side and knelt down.
‘Its eyes, its evil eyes,’ said Reafen, still pointing. ‘The eyes of a bird, a snake, a wolf. Eyes everywhere. Eyes, eyes, eyes, always looking.’
The Donut Lady threw a blanket over the mannequin’s head. ‘There, there.’ She patted Reafen’s back officiously. ‘There, there.’
Reafen leaned against her. The Donut Lady wrinkled her nose. Reafen ponged of cheap perfume and fish oil.
‘I am a foolish old woman,’ Reafen whimpered. ‘So very, very foolish.’ She fell back asleep.
What had really happened here? What secrets was this frightened elder keeping?
The Donut Lady got up slowly, thoughtfully. She had seen many things in her life. She had an eye for the peculiar and a nose for the outlandish.
As she swept and polished and stuffed broken knick-knacks into a garbage bag, she knew instinctively that the quiet times were over. Her simple life down by the beach had taken an unconventional turn.
Gosh, it was exhilarating.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
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Stealing from friends
Come,’ said Graini, peeping out into the hallway and gesturing to the others. ‘Danger seeks us, there can be no doubt.’
‘Together we will find a way out,’ said Ava, leaping off the ladder. ‘Come along, Angus, Martha.’
Angus grabbed Martha’s bag and began tossing her things back into it ... including the garden gnome.
‘Please,’ said Ava. ‘Hurry or we will be cornered. Trapped!’
‘We better do as they say,’ said Martha, taking her bag from Angus.
‘No,’ snapped Angus. ‘We’ll find our own way out.’
‘There is no door and no window that a human boy or girl could open on their own,’ said Ava, looking at him pleadingly. ‘We are too sorry for words but this is how we made it our safe haven.’
‘Not so safe now, is it?’ said Angus meanly.
‘You must trust us. You must follow,’ said Ava desperately.
‘Now,’ said Graini, and she turned and disappeared into the darkness.
Angus thought for a moment. This might be his last chance to get hold of the snow dome — the last time he would be so close to it. With a sickening feeling, he realised it might also be his last chance to save his father’s life. It all seemed so preposterous — like some relentless nightmare. But the Prof wouldn’t make up something like this. He had meant every word when he’d said, ‘Get the snow dome ... Find a way!’
As Ava hurried out the door, Angus grabbed Martha’s hand and pulled her close.
‘Do not leave my side,’ he said under his breath. ‘The Prof is in serious trouble.’
Martha frowned doubtfully.
‘Some weirdo freak has kidnapped him!’ Angus almost spat the words.
Martha looked alarmed. ‘What?’ she squeaked.
‘We have to get that snow dome,’ said Angus. ‘I’m not kidding. We have to get it, okay?’
‘But why? How? What’s happening? Maxwell’s okay, isn’t he?’
‘I can’t explain,’ said Angus quickly, ‘but it’s serious, Martha. Really serious. You have to do as I say. Okay?’
Martha nodded. ‘Okay. I promise.’
Perhaps she really did understand.
It was a small mercy.
The corridor was dimly lit by the occasional light that flickered and faltered high up on the walls.
‘I didn’t think there was any power in this building,’ said Angus.
‘This is a very powerful building,’ said Graini. ‘How can it be that you don’t see this?’
Angus and Martha exchanged glances.
Graini was in the lead with Ava directly behind her. Ava looked over her shoulder often, urging the kids on. Angus glanced about for an exit. He tried several narrow, wooden doors as they hurried along but they all led into offices. The place was a maze of tiny offices, even down here below street level. The place stank too, of rising damp, ancient dust and cat pee. Martha stifled a sneeze.
Graini stopped suddenly and held up her hand. ‘Listen.’
The kids strained to hear.
‘Nothing,’ said Angus. ‘Not a thing. Are you sure there’s someone after us — after you? I think you’re overreacting.’
Ava pointed at the ceiling. ‘The intruder draws nearer, Angus Jack,’ she said in hushed tones. ‘And trust us, there is evil intent. I feel these footsteps. Oh!’ she added quickly. ‘They are headed for that staircase.’
She pointed back down the corridor behind them. Angus could see the fear in her eyes. His scalp prickled.
‘Follow,’ said Graini, and she shot off down the corridor toward another stairwell at the opposite end.
They raced after her.
‘Hold it right there!’ a voice bellowed.
They spun around.
‘It’s him,’ cried Martha. ‘That nutcase we saw at Frozen in Time. The one with the yellow teeth.’
‘Stop right there,’ said the man as he strode toward them, ‘and we’ll do a deal. What do you say? Yeeesh?’
He looked half starved and demented in this light, like a tormented sideshow freak. His hair hung about his eyes. There was some kind of creature hunched on his shoulder ...
‘Run!’ shouted Angus.
There was a chilling screech and a vicious little monkey in a red-and-gold jacket bounded down the corridor toward them.
The kids raced up the stairs with the monkey close behind. It grabbed at Martha’s ankles. She screamed and swung her bag at it, clipping its head, sending it tumbling backward.
‘In here!’ cried Graini. ‘It is our only hope.’
They clambered into an archaic birdcage lift near the top of the stairs.
Graini wrenched the doors together just as the monkey reached them. It screeched and gibbered, grabbing at them through the gaps in the brass lattice.
Graini dragged on the operating lever. ‘It does not cooperate!’ she cried.
The top of the man’s head came into view as he mounted the stairs.
‘Stop, I tell you! That narrare, it’s mine. It belongs to me!’ He swung his walking cane with a flourish, pointed it at them and took ai
m.
A ball of purple light shot at them, missing the lift and punching a hole in the wall beside it.
Angus pushed Graini aside and hauled on the lever.
The lift rocked and groaned; noises swirled around them, creaking, whirring, clanking. Great turbulent booms echoed up and down the dark shaft.
‘What’s happening?’ shouted Martha over the din.
‘It is coming to life,’ cried Ava excitedly. ‘The contraption is waking up. Keep trying, Angus Jack!’
Angus strained to engage the lever. There was another purple blast. Above them, the lift’s large, dangling light bulb, dull with age and coated in dust, shook and jiggled, threatening to drop on them any moment.
Ava crouched against the back wall, one hand gripping the railing above her head, the other clutching to her chest the leather case containing the snow dome. Martha swatted and kicked at the monkey’s grasping fingers.
‘Hurry, Angus Jack,’ cried Ava as Graini crawled across to her. ‘This man is called Lynch. He is known to us. He is a terrible tyrant who will stop at nothing ... He even dabbles in the Wild Magick!’
All four screamed as Lynch descended on them and shook the cage.
‘Give me the narrare!’ he bellowed.
There was a hefty CRUNCH from above, the monkey jerked its arms free from the latticework door and the lift shot upward.
Floors sped by in a blur of shadows and dust as the birdcage lift clattered and shook its way up through the building, stopping and starting, juddering and stalling and lurching. The noise was colossal.
Angus and Martha clung to the brass handrails and fell to their knees, swaying like sailors on a stormy sea.
Angus peered up at the ceiling. Through the fretwork canopy he could see that the lift’s cables were secure and still intact.
‘It’s okay, Martha!’ he yelled. ‘It’s going to be okay.’
Martha bowed her head and hung on.
Then, with the screech of metal on metal, the lift jarred to a halt.
A moment’s silence passed, then a buzzer sounded.
The doors drew themselves apart, the lift carriage tilted, and with one great hefty jolt tipped out its occupants.
‘Ooh,’ Martha groaned as she held her stomach. ‘I nearly spewed.’
Angus jumped to his feet and looked around. ‘Get up, Martha,’ he said urgently. ‘Hurry.’
Martha scrambled to her feet.
The goblin girls were not as quick to recover. They lay against each other in a tangle on the floor. Graini rubbed her head.
‘What just happened?’ Angus stood over them. ‘That lift, it went ... berserk.’
‘It is only my educated guess,’ said Graini, sitting up slowly, ‘but I believe the narrare interfered with the lift’s inner logic. The narrare contains enormous energy. It can bring about sudden ... entanglements.’
‘Pardon?’ said Angus. ‘What energy? What do you mean?’
Graini studied Angus for a moment. ‘It is dangerous for you to know more,’ she said finally.
Ava lifted the leather strap over her head, sat the case on her lap and gently opened it. She peered inside. ‘It is safe,’ she said groggily. ‘The narrare has survived.’
Angus spotted his chance.
‘I’m really, really sorry,’ he said, looking at Ava apologetically.
‘Hmm?’ She frowned vaguely. He wished there was time to get to know her. It was weird, but being around this girl, this goblin girl, made him feel almost ... happy. She looked so trusting too, sitting there on the floor. If only he could stay to help her out ...
But Ava was brave and he was sure she had other strengths. Right now his father needed him more.
Angus dived on the case and scooped it up. ‘Now,’ he said to Martha. ‘Run!’
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
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The chase
The toilets,’ said Angus. ‘I remember. There were windows without bars. We can escape through there!’
Angus and Martha flew down the hall and around several corners.
At last they came to a door marked Ladies. Angus hesitated — could he really go in there? It was like being back at primary school.
‘In!’ said Martha.
They shot into the toilets. The taps still worked and the paper-towel dispenser was full. Martha clogged the base of the main door with wet paper. It wouldn’t hold for long but at least it would give them a head start.
Angus dashed into a cubicle, leaped onto the toilet seat and rattled the sash window above.
‘Cool!’ he said as the window shot up.
He leaned out and his stomach lurched — they were countless storeys up, high above the cobblestone lane. The fire escape was directly to their left. Between it and the window was a narrow cement ledge. It was their only chance.
‘You go first,’ said Angus as he draped the leather case across his body. ‘I’ll cover for you.’
Martha nodded and Angus stood back as she hopped up onto the toilet cistern and wriggled out of the window. It was a tight squeeze. Her top tore on an old nail sticking out of the windowsill.
‘Oh, crud,’ she grunted.
‘You’re doing great,’ urged Angus, glancing back over his shoulder. He could hear footsteps. ‘Just don’t look down. Keep your eyes on the fire escape.’
With her back against the building and one hand still holding Angus’s, Martha edged her way, step by tiny step, along the ledge toward the fire escape.
‘Perfect,’ said Angus as he released his sister’s hand.
He could hear voices now. Lynch and the goblin girls were yelling in the corridor. The monkey was screeching too. They were obviously doing battle but Lynch would soon figure out who had the narrare and come after them. They would be discovered any moment.
Fingers trembling, Martha grabbed the iron railing on the fire escape. The whole thing shook wildly.
She looked back at Angus, her face crumpling.
‘It’ll be okay,’ said Angus. ‘I promise. Remember, someone was on it just the other day. It can’t be too bad.’
With that, Martha repositioned her hands and hauled herself up and over the railing, dropping lightly onto the landing.
‘I did it!’ she cried.
There was no time for applause. Angus was already squeezing through the window. But it was much tighter for him.
‘Breathe in,’ said Martha, holding her breath. ‘And ... wriggle.’
Angus grunted and twisted, the timber frame squeezing his ribs until he was sure they would crack. His T-shirt snagged and he heard it rip.
‘I have you now!’ shouted Lynch, bursting into the toilets. ‘Stop where you are.’
With a final heave, Angus sucked in his belly — and fell out of the window.
He landed on his hands and knees on the ledge. He looked down and his vision swam. He rose shakily and flattened himself against the building, his heart hammering.
‘Hurry!’ cried Martha, stretching out her hand to her brother.
Angus shuffled along the ledge, his back scraping against the hot bricks.
There was a flash of purple light beside him and a chunk of ledge crumbled.
The monkey appeared at the window. It made a grab for him.
‘Get out there!’ Lynch shouted at the monkey. ‘Chase them, you cretin. Bring me that narrare!’
But for some reason the monkey would not move. It would go no further. It simply sat on the windowsill, screeching and gibbering and baring its teeth. Lynch’s gaudy cufflinks flashed as he belted the monkey with the back of his hand. The monkey turned and sank its teeth into its master’s wrist. Lynch howled in pain.
‘Jump!’ screamed Martha.
Angus lunged at the railing and tumbled onto the landing. ‘Go, go, go!’ he cried.
Without so much as a backward glance, the pair clambered down the steps, down, down, down, for what seemed like countless zigzag flights.
Shaking and breat
hless, they hit the ground running, leaped on their bikes and sped off down the lane.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
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Nowhere to hide
It wasn’t until they were out of Bag Knot Lane and coasting along the boulevard that the kids finally spoke.
‘We got it!’ hooted Angus, punching the air. ‘We got the snow dome!’
Martha was stony-faced as she peddled along beside him. ‘It’s all wrong. We cheated them, Angus. We tricked the goblin girls. And we left them with that horrible man. I even feel sorry for Graini.’
Angus instantly felt deflated. And now, as the adrenalin subsided, guilt began to close in. ‘We didn’t have a choice,’ he said. ‘Snatching the snow dome and making a run for it, that was the only chance we have of saving the Prof’s life.’
‘He’s probably making it up. Or exaggerating,’ said Martha. ‘He probably just wants it for some dusty old collection ...’
They slowed down as they crossed the footpath and joined the bike trail. Beyond them, the sea twinkled in the afternoon sun. Gulls squawked, winging high above them. The city traffic sped by.
‘But you weren’t there,’ said Angus. ‘You didn’t see what I saw, Martha. After you’d gone this morning. After you nicked off without telling me. It was terrible.’
‘Why? What happened?’ As if the chase had not been enough, Martha now looked newly frightened.
Angus told her everything, about the chaos in the study, the books and furniture and drawings all over the floor and, worst of all, the Prof’s voice in the speakers. It sounded even worse as he described it to her, even more crazy. But then again, they had just spent their time robbing a pair of goblin girls ...
Martha thought hard as they rode along.
‘Trust him to get in trouble,’ she said at last. ‘Trust him to go digging around in things that are none of his business. It’s like I’ve always said, Angus — the Prof always pays attention to the wrong things. He’s hopeless.’