The Dark Portal (The Gryphon Chronicles, Book 3)

by E. G. Foley

“Then you’ll like this even better, Miss Bradford.” Snowdrop pointed out the pearl-white staff, like a tall, heavy walking stick, leaning against the wall. “I imagine you already have a Keeper’s Staff at home.”

  She nodded with a smile.

  “You’re welcome to use this one while you’re here, if you should need it.”

  “Thank you.” Then she happened to notice the odd brass or bronze gun-like thing her little brother was playing with. “Archie, what is that?”

  “No idea.” He squinted through his spectacles and fiddled with the round crank handle on the side.

  Isabelle shook her head. “I don’t think you should be touching that. Especially if you don’t know what it does.”

  “Don’t worry, sis, I’m a scientist,” he said, flashing a breezy grin.

  “Actually, that’s the Phantom Fetcher. For arresting poltergeists.” Snowdrop hurried over to him.

  “You’re joking.”

  “No, you hold it like this. May I?”

  Archie handed it over, mystified.

  Jake arched an eyebrow as the diminutive house brownie took the weapon in her hands sort of like a rifle—or more like one of those antique blunderbuss guns with the muzzle that flared out at the end like a bell.

  Steadying the butt of the weapon under one arm, she cranked the brass handle on the side round and round. “Once you get this handle thing going, it builds up the electrical energy or what’s-it-called, and once you hear—”

  Bing!

  “Ah! That means it’s ready to shoot,” she said.

  “Shoot what?” Archie asked, folding his arms across his chest as he studied the Phantom Fetcher.

  “It throws out some sort of energy field like a net made of, of ecto-what’s it called? Ecto-something.”

  “Ectoplasm?”

  “That’s it! Once you’ve got your problem spirit in the force field, you can put him in one of your Spirit Boxes. There’s a stack of them in the closet.”

  “Brilliant,” Archie said.

  “Mind you don’t open any of them that’s already occupied!” Snowdrop warned as she handed the Phantom Fetcher back to him. “Lord only knows what might be in there.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” Jake and Archie said.

  Meanwhile, Isabelle was twirling the staff like she actually knew how to use it. Jake turned and stared at her. The ‘delicate young lady’ looked like she could take someone’s head off with that thing.

  She smiled mysteriously at him and stopped swinging it, the demure soon-to-be debutante once more.

  “Hm,” Jake murmured.

  “Look at this. And this. And this!” Archie had moved on from the Phantom Fetcher and was examining still more strange devices that cluttered the shelves.

  There were ancient articles of magic clothing. He held up a white vest that looked like it had been woven from spider webs. “Giant silkworm body armor! Practically impenetrable.”

  “This is like your ancestors’ old attic,” Isabelle remarked, looking around at everything. “All their old, magical junk.”

  “Junk?” Archie echoed indignantly. “Look at this.” He unfurled a scrolled parchment map and pointed to the title at the top.

  “Atlantis?” Jake cried.

  “Junk,” Archie said with a snort, then he rolled it up again. “Mind if I borrow this?”

  “Be my guest.”

  There were colored candles with unknown mystical properties, and a mortar and pestle for crushing up magical cures.

  The Inkbug, however, lived in a wooden box on a table in the center of the room. Snowdrop leaned down and tapped gently on the lid.

  A few seconds later, the caterpillar-like insect trundled out and scurried to the center of the desk, where it waited at attention.

  Snowdrop glanced at Jake. “Have you ever sent a message by Inkbug before, Lord Griffon?”

  Jake shook his head.

  “It’s quite simple. All you have to do is tell him what you want to say and he’ll transmit the message for you through his antennae. Then, on your aunt’s end, Her Ladyship’s Inkbug will receive the message through his antenna and write it out for her in the usual way.” Snowdrop pointed at the flat, open inkpad on the table.

  That part Jake had seen before.

  When an Inkbug received an incoming message, it would run across the inkpad to get ink on all its many tiny feet. It would run back and forth across a sheet of paper to spell out the message for the recipient.

  Snowdrop gestured toward the door. “We can step out if you want to send your message privately—”

  “No, no, that’s all right.”

  “Try to keep it short or you’ll confuse the little fellow,” Isabelle advised.

  Jake nodded, then turned to the Inkbug. “Er, are you ready?”

  The little furry caterpillar rose up onto its many back legs; the front half nodded.

  “Right. Ahem, well then,” he said uncertainly, “here’s my message. Dear Aunt Ramona: How do I refresh the old protection spells around the estate? Please send instructions as soon as you receive this message. Thanks, Jake.”

  For the next minute, the Inkbug twitched its antennae around with a great air of concentration, sending out the message through the ethers to Aunt Ramona’s Inkbug all the way back in England. Jake hoped the grand old baroness was at home, and not in London or off at Windsor Castle visiting her friend of many years, Queen Victoria.

  “That should do it,” Snowdrop said when the Inkbug stopped flicking its antennae around and collapsed on its fuzzy little belly after its efforts.

  “Thank you,” Jake told the creature, then turned to the others. “Do you think we’ll hear back from her soon?”

  “Sure, though she may have to do some research on whichever spells were used,” Archie said.

  When Jake glanced over at him, the boy genius now had an odd-looking black cylinder thing like a camera lens over one eye, with a leather strap around his head holding it in place. “What are you wearing on your eye?”

  “I don’t know, but I like it.”

  “That would be the Vampire Monocle, my lord,” Snowdrop told him. “It lets you see in the dark. One of your ancestors had to clear out a coven of vampires once in London. Horrid people, vampires. Can’t turn your back on them.”

  “Blimey,” Jake said.

  Just then, Dani O’Dell peered through the secret bookcase doorway, which was still open behind them. “Hey, you lot! Come out front, I have to show you something. And hurry!”

  “You come and see some stuff!” Archie called back, but she had already dashed away again, giggling.

  Jake cast his cousins a rueful smile. “Carrot-head’s got something up her sleeve.”

  “Indeed,” Archie said.

  “Let’s go see what she’s up to,” Isabelle said.

  “You’re all through here?” Snowdrop asked.

  Jake nodded. “Will you let me know as soon as my aunt sends back a reply?”

  Snowdrop assured him she would, then they all left the mysterious Archive room to see what Dani wanted. They found her out front, waiting for them with Teddy.

  “Well?” Jake asked as they filed out into the darkness.

  “Ladies and gentlemen, presenting…the world’s first glow-in-the-dark dog!” She started singing some jaunty old Irish song, and Teddy began to sparkle.

  They burst out laughing in amazement.

  “You dusted him with Illuminium?” Archie asked.

  Dani nodded but kept singing.

  The twinkling terrier wagged his tail eagerly, glancing around at them. He clearly thought he looked very handsome doused in sparkles, and loved being the center of attention. Dani got him to dance, balancing on his hind legs, which made them laugh harder, but nobody was prepared for it when Teddy began lifting off the ground.

  He started floating as he glowed and Dani stopped singing with a gasp. Her dog landed back on the ground and she quickly picked him up. “I don’t want him to float away!”

 
; The others were applauding the show.

  “Well done! Bravo!”

  The girl and her dog took a bow. “But I don’t understand why Teddy started floating. The dwarves didn’t say anything about that.”

  “Illuminium is a magical element with unknown properties, Miss O’Dell,” Archie said. “It may react differently on animals or even vary among individuals. In short, you probably shouldn’t be fooling around with it.”

  “Like you weren’t fooling around with the Phantom Fetcher and the Vampire Monocle?” Jake drawled.

  “I am a scientist,” Archie informed him.

  “You’re a quiz,” Jake replied.

  But since Archie usually knew what he was talking about, Dani quickly dusted the Illuminium off Teddy’s coat. She did not want to take any chances of her beloved dog floating away. “Well, as long as we cheered everyone up.”

  “You did. Thanks.” Jake glanced at the starry sky, but his heart sank a bit. Still no sign of Red.

  Isabelle glanced around at them. “I have another idea of something we could do.” She bit her lip against a shy smile, then said, “How about I take you all to see the unicorns?”

  “Really?” Jake exclaimed.

  “It’s a little late, isn’t it?” Archie asked.

  “It’s not yet eight o’clock. We could go out for an hour and still be back well before bedtime. You won’t regret it,” she added. “They’re even more beautiful in the moonlight.”

  “Do you think you can find them out there within an hour, Izzy? The woods are huge,” Dani said.

  “I can always find them. Being near them fills a person with the most peaceful feeling. I just thought we could all use some of that after today.”

  “True. But what about the boys?”

  “They’ll just have to stay back a little and keep a safe distance.”

  “Er, and the tree goblins?” Dani ventured with a nervous glance over her shoulder. “If we go out into the woods at night, what if the greenies crawl down from the trees and try to get us?”

  “Nah, Emrys said they’re more scared of us than we are of them,” Jake reminded her. “Besides, they’re even more rattled after the black-cloud incident. They’ll probably just cower and hide from us. I doubt we’ll even see them.”

  “Vampire Monocle!” Archie shouted, then dashed back inside.

  Of course, they were used to such oddness from him.

  “Anyway, don’t worry,” Jake said. “If the greenies try to come close, I’ll zap ’em.” He wiggled his fingers at her with a grin.

  There was a time when Dani had objected to him using his strange, inborn ability to move solid objects with his mind. She had feared with a superstitious dread that such a talent could only signify something evil.

  But after Jake had used his telekinesis on several occasions to save their necks during past adventures, she no longer scolded him about it. He had got very good with his aim, too.

  “We’d better get our coats,” Isabelle said. “It’s chilly out here. Oh—and we’d better ask permission.”

  “Um, I don’t think Miss Helena and Guardian Stone want to be interrupted right now, if you know what I mean,” Dani said, and started giggling again. “I’m not sure if they were kissing, but…”

  Jake feigned gagging at this information, and Isabelle blushed a bit, but they all agreed to leave the pair alone.

  As Isabelle had pointed out, it wasn’t that late yet. It was merely the time of year that made it so dark out.

  The older two ran to get their coats, but Dani stayed behind for a moment to pat Teddy on the head. “Good job, boy. You did great!”

  “Arf!” Teddy answered, tail wagging.

  She grinned and tossed him a wee biscuit, then ran to get her coat.

  A few minutes later, the rapid clomping of footsteps filled the old medieval hallway once again as Jake and the others stampeded toward the door.

  Jake was especially thrilled that Isabelle was letting him and Archie come along. For boys, it was a very rare treat. Unicorns didn’t generally like male humans. At all.

  As they crowded around the door, Jake grasped the handle to lead the way, as usual, but when he tried to push it open, it was stuck. “What the…?”

  “What’s wrong?” Archie asked.

  “The door’s jammed. It’s like something’s blocking it from the outside.”

  “But we were just out there.”

  “Oh, that would be the climbing roses, children!” Snowdrop suddenly reappeared, wiping her hairy little hands on her apron as she hurried over to help them.

  “The roses?” Dani echoed as the kids stepped aside to let her go to the door.

  “The rose vines round the house. Enchanted flowers,” she explained. “Every night at precisely eight o’clock, they wrap around the cottage to keep us snug and safe, thorns at the ready, so no intruder can possibly get in.”

  “Can we get out?” Jake asked.

  “There’s a password, but you mustn’t share it with outsiders.” When they agreed to keep it a secret, Snowdrop revealed it. “All you have to do is say, ‘Roses, retreat!’ Then they’ll pull back. You have thirty seconds to get through the door before they close again. Be careful of the thorns.”

  “Mrs. Fingle,” Isabelle spoke up, “if Miss Helena asks where we are, would you please tell her we went out for a walk?”

  “I hope she won’t mind?” Snowdrop asked with a frown.

  “We won’t leave the property. We’ll be back within the hour.”

  “Besides, we are on holiday,” Jake pointed out.

  “Very well.” Snowdrop knocked twice on the front door to alert the enchanted flowers that someone wanted out. “Roses, retreat!”

  As soon as she spoke the password, they heard a rustling sound outside and a bit of scraping as the retreating thorns scratched across the door.

  “Look!” Dani pointed at the window.

  The thick, tangled vines with gnarled, woody branches were slithering back away from the doors and windows.

  “Thirty seconds, don’t dally!” Snowdrop called after them as they raced through the doorway. “Just say it again when you need to come back in!”

  “Thank you!”

  “Oh, and will you children want a bedtime snack when you return?” Snowdrop asked hopefully as the flowers started sliding back into place. “Something sweet, perhaps?”

  “Mrs. Fingle,” Jake declared, “I like the way you think. Yes, please!”

  Then the door slammed shut in her smiling face.

  “She’s really going to spoil us,” Archie remarked when they had all made it safely outside.

  “Everyone should have a house brownie,” Isabelle agreed.

  “Look at that.” Jake nodded at the cottage as the enchanted rose vines rustled and scraped and creaked back into position, like fragrant, flowery chains spiked with giant thorns.

  The four glanced at each other in amazement, but could only shake their heads over this latest wonder.

  Then they set off through the moonlit garden on their night’s adventure of the unicorn hunt.

  CHAPTER SIX

  The Headless Monk

  As Isabelle led them through the forest, Archie scanned the branches above them through the Vampire Monocle, watching out for any sign of tree goblins.

  “Nothing yet,” he reported.

  “Good!” Dani said.

  Above them, dark clouds floated across the bright October moon. The crisp night air turned each breath into visible puffs of vapor, reminding Jake of the tree goblin’s account about the black fog. So weird…

  He pondered the mystery as he trudged along the path after the others, dead leaves crunching underfoot.

  Near the top of the hill, Isabelle stopped and turned slowly, scanning the landscape and trying to home in on the herd’s whereabouts. They all listened for hoof beats but only heard the warbling of a night bird.

  “I think…that way.” She pointed, and they followed her down another trail that
slanted off to the left.

  After a few more minutes of walking, the path left the woods and opened out into one of the fields.

  “This looks right. Come on,” she murmured.

  They strode out into the sloping meadow and got halfway across it when Archie pointed toward the top of the cleared hill. “Whoa, what’s that?”

  They followed his gaze and discovered the outline of a lonely old building standing on the crest of the hill.

  “It’s a house,” Dani said.

  “No.” Archie had the advantage of the Vampire Monocle, so he could see it clearly in the dark. “It’s just ruins. Looks like an old medieval church or something. It’s missing a couple of walls. Jake, did your ancestors build a family chapel on the grounds?”

  He shrugged. “Maybe.”

  “Looks like it might’ve burned down a long time ago.”

  “Let’s go see it!” Dani said.

  “What about the unicorns?” Jake protested as the carrot-head started running up the hill through the tall grass.

  He didn’t care about some rotting old ruins now that he was finally getting his chance to see some unicorns.

  Isabelle had never given him this privilege before because of the animals’ general dislike of male humans. He wanted to see them before he got any older. After all, unicorns feared and loathed grown men because of all the knights and princes who had hunted them nearly to extinction in the Middle Ages, which they had done on account of the magical properties in the unicorn’s horn. It could practically bring someone back to life.

  “Aw, Dani!” Irked at taking time away from their main adventure just to see some moldy old ruins, Jake was about to demand she come back when he suddenly spotted the eerie blue glow of a ghost wandering around up there.

  Gliding through the ruins, it moved too fast for him to see it clearly before it disappeared again behind one of the crumbling stone walls.

  “We might as well join them,” Isabelle said to him, since her brother was already following Dani up the hill.

  “Something wrong?” Isabelle asked, noticing his frown.

  “Ghost,” he said in a rueful tone, nodding toward the ruins. But then he brightened. “Maybe it’ll be able to tell me something about that black fog thing that killed the tree goblins.”