The Viking's Apprentice

by Kevin McLeod

  Chapter 5

  The boys woke early the next morning, something which did not please Jake. They were dressed and downstairs before 8 am, and found Granddad already in his study.

  ‘Have you been here all night?’ asked Peter.

  ‘Don’t be silly Peter, some of us get up early you know. So what is it to be today boys, some exploring of the caves or the woods perhaps?’

  ‘I’d like to see the caves. If that’s ok? Peter talks about them all the time. I can’t wait to see them.’

  ‘Very well, the caves it is. I assume Charlotte and James will be joining us for the adventure?’ Granddad asked Peter, with one eye on George to see the reaction when he mentioned Charlotte’s name. Peter explained that he had sent James a text earlier and that they would be at the house around 10 am. George couldn't hide a smile as he realised they would be spending the day with Charlotte. He was excited but terrified of having to talk to her at the same time.

  They ate breakfast; the smell of sausages convinced Jake to get up. After they had eaten, the boys took Jake for a walk out to the tree lined back garden which was roughly the size of two football pitches. A gravel path ran around the outside. There were several benches and a beautiful fountain made of shimmering grey stone that Peter said was granite. The fountain was a sculpture of a man holding a bowl above his head. The water poured from the bowl down to his feet, splashing onto the pebbles at the bottom, and disappearing into five rectangular holes in the base. The fountain didn't interest Jake, but the trees and bushes certainly did. He seemed very interested in the large hedge which separated the garden from the one next door, where the three sisters lived. He spent a long time probing and looking for a way through, growling and barking then running further down and trying again. Daft dog, thought Peter, as he watched Jake run around in a seemingly aimless fashion. The boys chatted about the caves, and Peter told George everything he could think of about the ones he had already seen. George managed to ask several questions about Charlotte and James and hoped that it was not too obvious he was only interested in the part of the answer that involved Charlotte. Jake finally found a way through the hedge, and the boys chased desperately to try and stop him.

  ‘Jake, Jake come back boy!' shouted Peter as he raced down to where Jake had squeezed through. They could hear Jake on the other side of the hedge, barking and growling; Peter hoped that no one was home. Suddenly all the noise from the other garden stopped, they could not hear Jake barking or moving around. The boys exchanged puzzled looks and started shouting for the dog. As there were still no noises coming from through the hedge, Peter ran back up to get Granddad while George stayed in case Jake came back through. George tried to see through the gap and knelt down putting his hand through while continuing to call for Jake. His hand brushed against something furry, that felt like Jake, so he tried to grab on but was shaken free.

  ‘Jake, come back right now,’ he shouted, but again there was no sound.

  Peter reached the house to find Granddad standing at the front door talking to a very tall old woman who was holding Jake. The lady had a stern face, with a long nose and large mouth. Her black hair was tied back exposing a pale white forehead. Unusually Jake wasn’t trying to lick her face or wriggle himself free.

  ‘I am very sorry, I thought there were no holes in that hedge, but Jake always manages to find one that I miss,' Granddad was saying as Peter came up to them. Jake barked, and the woman let him go. Jake ran straight to Peter, jumping into his arms. Peter stroked him calming him down.

  ‘Peter, you must keep a better eye on Jake, and not let him run through to the neighbours,’ Granddad said.

  ‘I’m sorry,’ Peter said to both Granddad and the old lady. He looked confused and stared at her as he spoke.

  ‘How did you get here so quick?’ Peter asked. ‘Jake only went through the hedge a couple of minutes ago.’

  ‘I am sure you must be mistaken about that,’ Granddad said looking first at Peter then at Ms Kirke.

  ‘It is not as if I could run round here at the speed of light, or fly over the hedge now is it?' she said with a laugh. Her voice was soft and soothing and did not suit such a stern face.

  Just then George came running into the room to tell Peter about almost catching Jake.

  ‘Peter I almost got... oh there he is, I thought I just caught hold of him through that gap.’

  ‘It won’t happen again Ms Kirke, I will see to that,’ Granddad said apologetically.

  ‘Boys will be boys and dogs will be dogs, Mr Thornton. I am just glad he didn’t get hurt. That back garden is a dangerous place until we can get all our work finished.’

  They said their goodbyes and Ms Kirke headed down the path.

  Both boys looked at her with the same expression on their faces.

  ‘What is it, boys?' asked Granddad.

  ‘There’s no way she could have gotten here so quickly with Jake.’

  ‘That's exactly what Peter said when he saw her,' Granddad replied. ‘Interesting, very interesting indeed. However, it is a mystery that will have to wait for another time. Here come your friends and it's time to go exploring,' Granddad said, pointing down the path to where Charlotte and James had just come into view.

  As the children all said hello, Peter and George told their story about Jake and Ms Kirke. Granddad went to the kitchen to fetch the backpack with the provisions for the first day of exploring. Just as he entered the kitchen, he was sure he caught a glimpse of movement by the window, not much, just a glimmer, but it was there.

  ‘Things are getting very interesting around here.’ Granddad said to himself glancing out the window one last time before heading to join the children and Jake.

  They walked through the town, down the hill to the main street, past the shop and village hall. They walked by Charlotte's school then took a turn down an almost hidden path that led directly to the beach. The beach was a mixture of sand and stones with a strong smell of seaweed in the air. The water was calm, and there was a slight breeze. Granddad led the way along the beach towards the caves. He was unusually quiet and didn't tell any of his stories about sea monsters, dragons or the creatures that hide deep in the caves.

  ‘Is everything ok?’ Peter asked.

  ‘What? What? Eh, oh yes I’m sorry I was miles away there, lost in thoughts of long ago I guess. I’ve not been a very good tour guide at all this morning; let me put that right straight away.’

  He turned to the children motioning for them to stop.

  ‘George, did you know that the cave we are going to see today is rumoured to be home to a terrible sea creature?’ he asked.

  ‘Emm, no I didn’t,’ replied George, with a quizzical look, as he wondered where this story was going to go.

  ‘If you take the time, as I have, to learn the history of the Cove down through the centuries you see several stories repeat themselves every so often. One such story is of a giant sea monster that lives in the underground lakes and pools of the caves. Unlike the dragons it was never killed, many tried, but no one came close. No knight or brave soul who entered the caves to meet the beast ever returned.' Granddad was in full swing now and glimpsed at George to see his reaction. George was looking nervously between Granddad and the cave.

  ‘Oh don’t worry George we’re not going that deep into the Cave. It is rumoured that the beast lives in the deepest pool in the furthest part of the cave from the surface. I have read many accounts of it, and there have been no sightings or new stories of the monster for the past one hundred years.’

  The children looked at each other and smiled. George let out a nervous laugh. Granddad was such a good story teller they were never sure whether he was serious or not. They reached the cave with Granddad leading the way. He stopped at the mouth, placed his bag on the ground, and took out torches which he passed to the children. He clipped a lead on to Jake, which Jake was not pleased with. He reminded them all to stay close and look out for each other. Everyone turned on their
torches and entered the cave. It was quite small, to begin with, but soon the roof of the cave rose up while the floor sloped gradually down. The torch beams searched through the semi-darkness giving glimpses of smooth wet walls, and the occasional bat flying over head. There were small pools of water dotted here and there. Ripples of movement could be seen in some of them.

  ‘Nothing to worry about just drips from the roof splashing in the pools,' Granddad said, raising his torch upwards towards the wet, shimmering roof of the cave.

  ‘These caves are often explored by lots of visitors. As long as you obey the rules, and stay close to the surface then you should steer clear of any sea monsters or cave creatures,’ Granddad said with a smile while casting his torch around. It never failed to amaze him how big these caves were.

  The children were enjoying themselves, jumping from one rock to another, leaping over the pools and helping each other along the way. George was the least sure-footed having never been in a cave before, and although he would not admit it probably the most nervous one of the group. As the cave turned a corner, George looked round and noticed that the entrance was no longer visible. He let his torchlight dance off the walls as he turned to join the others, and there, just at the edge of the beam, he was sure he saw something move. Bigger than a bat, much bigger, it seemed to dart away from the light. Trick of the light George decided, and just as he was about to rush on to join the others, a large splash came from a pool below where he had seen the shape. George froze unsure what to do or whether to shout out. He had made up his mind to move when a hand suddenly gripped his arm. George screamed; jumping backwards he fell onto his backside, and his torch rolled away from him.

  ‘George I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you, you were falling behind, and I wanted to make sure you were ok.' The hand that had gripped him belonged to Charlotte. George was happy for the semi-darkness as he was sure it would hide his blushing cheeks.

  ‘It’s ok, I am fine, I wasn’t scared, I just err... I just em... well I lost my footing and slipped that‘s all.’ George got himself back to his feet and grabbed his torch. He walked with Charlotte to join the others who were waiting by a larger pool.

  ‘It's ok George; everyone gets scared the first time they come into the caves. What were you doing?' asked Granddad.

  ‘I thought I saw something near the roof of the cave, and then there was a big splash in one of the pools,’ George said telling the truth, but feeling foolish at the same time.

  ‘There are lots of things in these caves George that will do you no harm but do not like the light. They will try and avoid the light as we try to avoid the dark places,’ Granddad said reassuring George.

  ‘The first time we came down here both Peter and I slipped and fell in one of the shallow pools,' James added.

  ‘We were trying to look for fish, and I leant too far over and fell; grabbed on to James taking him with me.’

  The children continued to laugh and joke lightening the mood, and George forgot all about his embarrassment. The only one not laughing was Granddad. He moved back slightly and cast his torch towards the roof of the cave where George said he had seen something move. He then brought the beam down to the pool where the splash had come from. Something moved away from the light just under the surface. Jake gave out a low growl and pulled on the lead. He was pulling to get away from the pool, though, not to investigate it further.

  ‘It appears we are not alone,’ Granddad said to himself before turning and joining the children.

  It had almost been seen; this just would not do. It was not supposed to come this close to the surface, not yet. Graff had been very clear. Stay deep in the cave and if any humans came near it was to watch them, and if they got too close, it was to come back and report what was going on. It would be Graff who would decide if Tolldruck should be sent to take care of unwanted visitors. After the Master's visit Graff had become more nervous. It liked to explore the caves, but this had been a warning. Luckily it was just some children and an old man; old by human standards. The dog seemed harmless enough. It watched the group move away then silently, with great care, it rose out the pool and crept along the walls back to the cave roof. It made its way past them and scurried off deeper into the caves. If they came too close, it would report back to Graff. Otherwise, it would say nothing. Graff might feed it to Tolldruck for disobeying his orders.