The True Colours of Coral Glen

by Juliette Forrest

  “An old friend of mine, Will, used to have asthma. It’s something I’ve never forgotten.” Lyart checked his pocket watch, which reminded me of something you’d see in a period drama on TV. “What you had was a panic attack and they’re usually triggered by fear.”

  I pushed all thoughts of Miss Mirk out of my mind in case I ended up gasping, round-mouthed, like a fish out of a pond.

  Inching away from Lyart, I rested my back against the tree. Even though he’d made me feel better, it didn’t mean I trusted him.

  “I wasn’t expecting you back so soon,” he commented.

  I glanced over at Gran’s gravestone. I missed her so much my heart felt as though it had been flattened by a steamroller. I brought my knees up, hugging them. “So how did you do that thing when you walked through my dad yesterday? Some kind of trick?”

  “I’m earthbound, but I’m still technically a ghost.”

  “Has anyone told you that you have serious issues with lying? If fibbing about taking me to see my gran before she crosses over to heaven wasn’t enough, now you’re pretending you’re something out of Ghostbusters?”

  Lyart straightened himself up. In a flash, he disappeared into the trunk of the sycamore tree and then stuck his head out the side of it, waving at me.

  As I leapt to my feet in a panic, he appeared at my side.

  “I didn’t mean to frighten you, Coral! I just wanted you to know I’m telling you the truth. I can explain everything but we can’t talk here.” I could tell from his eyes it was important I believed him.

  “W-why me?” I stammered. “Why can I see ghosts?”

  “Ghosts are off the usual light spectrum, Coral – our colour can’t be picked up by the living. It’s probably for the best; imagine being able to see the dead everywhere you turn? But you … you saw me straight away. You must be able to detect a whole range of colours others can’t.”

  I pictured all the paint charts on my walls at home.

  “Is there anything unusual about me?” Lyart tilted his head, waiting for an answer.

  His skin shone as though there was a faint halo around it. Exactly the same as Grandpa’s when he had appeared.

  My shoulders slumped. “There’s a weird thing going on – you’re sort of glowing Celestial Spark,” I said begrudgingly.

  Lyart gave me a triumphant smile.

  “Is Grandpa here?” I asked.

  “He crossed over to heaven when you moved in with your gran because he knew she’d be in good company.”

  I squinted at the headstones. “How come there are no other ghosts? It is a graveyard, after all.”

  “There’s something in here that has sent them all into hiding,” Lyart whispered, his eyes furtive.

  I snorted. “So now you’re telling me ghosts get scared?”

  “They feel exactly the same emotions as when they were alive – especially when they are in danger.”

  A Candy Apple leaf fell from above, landing next to me. “How come people choose to be earthbound ghosts anyway? Why doesn’t everyone just go to heaven?”

  “Lots of different reasons; they could be earthbound because they want revenge for an injustice. Many are too scared to cross over to the unknown and others refuse to leave their loved ones behind. I’m earthbound because I’m the Keeper of this graveyard.”

  I frowned. “What does that mean?”

  “It’s my job to protect both the living and the dead from those who wish them harm. Come on, we need to get moving. There is much we need to discuss and time is against us.” Lyart headed off.

  “Where are you going?” I called after him.

  He pointed over to a small headstone covered in Salsa Red lichen.

  “A grave?”

  “Coral, if you want to be reunited with your gran, you’re going to have to trust me, but we need to hurry.”

  I stared at Lyart. His eyes weren’t shifty or avoiding mine; there was a warmth and kindness in them. And part of me was desperate to believe he really was telling the truth about Gran. My heart leapt the same way as a salmon up a stream at the thought of seeing her again.

  I brought out my mobile. “I’ve got this, just in case. It’s a phone and if I push these buttons, my mum will be here in seconds and she’s scary when she’s angry.”

  Lyart’s face fell. “I’ve noticed, if I stand too close to someone with a phone, they stop working, which must be a terrible inconvenience judging by the language used when it happens.”

  Even though the mobile had been fully charged before I left the house, the battery had just died. I pressed some keys in vain. Mum and Dad were going to ground me for the rest of my life if they called.

  “Coral, I have no interest in harming you; I need your assistance,” said Lyart solemnly. “All I ask is you hear me out in private: this place has eyes, ears and a whole lot more besides.”

  His hand hovered over some carvings on the front of the gravestone. His finger pushed a woman’s face frozen in a scream, then a skull and lastly, a strange bird.

  Lyart spun around to face me. “Word of caution, Coral. If I tell you to run, do exactly that. The only place you will be safe is outside the graveyard walls.”

  Before I could say another word, a rectangular hole appeared in the grass, and Lyart leapt down some stairs.

  My mouth opened and closed.

  I took one last look at the graveyard and followed him into the dark.

  I could smell damp soil, mouldering leaves and a sharp odour I didn’t recognize. The narrow corridor sloped downwards at a steep angle and everything was Crow Black. My chest felt tight again, as though invisible arms were squeezing me, and I struggled to take a breath.

  Just as I decided it would be a smart idea to leave, a hand gripped my elbow.

  “Coral, I’m sorry, you’ve not been here before and it’s bound to be alarming.” Lyart led me around a corner into a wider passageway. Thousands of Ivory Dazzle dots twinkled high above on the ceiling.

  “Are they stars?” I asked.

  “Glow-worms.”

  “Do you use them to find your way around in here?”

  “No, we have glamps.”

  “What are they?”

  “In my world, there are good and bad spirits. It’s always best to trap the bad ones because they can make you feel poorly or angry. In extreme cases, they can even be destructive, so they are much better off doing something useful like lighting our way. Here’s one now.”

  A hollow had been made in the wall. In it sat a clear glass ball with a bright Rebel Blue light streaking around inside. It stopped when it saw us, and an angry face peered out. I stepped back in fright.

  “As soon as the blue light turns white, it means the bad spirit has changed into good energy, which can be released.” Lyart tapped the side of the glass. “It’ll then zoom above ground to find someone in the graveyard who is sad, so it can make them feel better for a while. It’s often the reason people take great comfort from visiting the dead.”

  I noticed the walls flashing and twinkling. On closer inspection, they were covered in brooches, hat pins, buttons, earrings, gold teeth, tie pins, necklaces, pendants, hair clasps, lockets, watches, bracelets and diamond rings.

  “The dead can’t take their belongings with them and they are of no use to the earthbound; however, they serve as a reminder we were all once flesh and blood.” He raced down some steps and I followed, ducking under a mass of tangled tree roots dangling from the ceiling that looked like a giant clump of veins.

  Lyart tore along a corridor with doors on either side of it. The glamps flickered every shade of blue imaginable, and for a moment, I could have believed I was at the bottom of the sea.

  “Here we are!” He passed straight through a closed wooden door and vanished. I wondered how long it would take Lyart to notice I wasn’t right behind him.

  “So, you’re the one he’s been going on and on about,” said a voice.

  Startled, I checked behind me, except there was no one there
. Was I hearing another ghost?

  “Up here, shorty.”

  Above the door was a Fire Brick sandstone gargoyle which puffed air from its nostrils and waggled its horns. The gargoyle had the kind of face that could turn your hair Moonshine.

  Staggering back, I slammed into the wall. My eyes must be playing tricks on me! Had it really just spoken?

  The gargoyle watched me with interest. That was when I noticed its fangs.

  I shuffled away from it.

  “Oi! Where are you off to? You’ve only just got here,” said the gargoyle.

  Lyart came flying out from his door. “Coral! It’s OK. Moonzy won’t harm you, she’s a friend of mine.”

  Unsure what to think, I hesitated.

  Lyart stepped towards me. “Let me introduce you. Coral, this is Moonzy. Moonzy, meet Coral.”

  Moonzy’s nostrils flared. “Coral as in the reef?”

  I gawped at the gargoyle and swallowed. “As in the colour,” I replied.

  Lyart caught Moonzy’s eye. “Let me know if you hear anything. Coral, this way, please.”

  Following Lyart into the room, I scooted past Moonzy as fast as I could. “How is it even possible a gargoyle can talk?” I muttered as Lyart ushered me in.

  “Everything you can imagine is real here,” he replied. “Speaking gargoyles, witches, moss goblins, burrowing nim-nims, you name it.”

  “Are you seriously telling me witches exist?” I forgot to close my mouth.

  Lyart glanced at me as though I was daft. “They fly around the sky most nights.”

  I stood, waiting for him to laugh, but nothing happened. I sighed. I was in a chamber underneath a graveyard with a ghost and a gobby gargoyle. Perhaps there could be witches in the world too. I remembered what Mrs McHarpock had said about the one that was supposed to be buried under the boulder at Guiltree Hill. Maybe there was a grain of truth in it, after all.

  I twirled around in a circle on the spot. The room was narrow, with a ceiling so high that I couldn’t actually see it. Lots of framed portraits hung on the walls and a rickety pile of coffins was stacked in the corner.

  The Dream White and Rebel Blue glamps gave the room an eerie glow.

  Lyart sat himself behind an ornately carved desk and gestured towards a stone bench opposite it. “Please, make yourself comfortable.”

  The bench was cold and hard, reminding me of the church pew at Gran’s funeral. I shook the thought from my head. “Where are we?”

  “This is my family’s burial plot.”

  I crossed my arms. “You said you keep the living and the dead safe, but what are you protecting them from?”

  Moonzy stuck her head inside the door to hear his reply.

  “Grave robbers, body snatchers, flesh creepers, baneshanks, groaner goblins, floods, earthquakes, rat swarms and a relatively new threat called property developers.”

  I pulled off my hat, trying to take everything in.

  Lyart cleared his throat. “I need you to listen carefully to what I’m about to tell you. On the same evening as Halloween, a Hallow moon is going to appear in the sky. It’s a rare event that only happens once every two hundred years. The moon’s light is so bright it can guide all those who wish to go, over to heaven. It also allows the living to reunite with their loved ones before they leave for good.”

  “Are you saying I’d be able to speak to my gran?” I asked, glancing up at Moonzy, who nodded.

  The thought of seeing her face other than in a photo or a memory made my heart ache. I would hug her so tight and tell her how much I loved her.

  What if she doesn’t want to talk to you? What if she blames you for what happened?

  My thoughts triggered a wave of sadness that crashed through my body, crushing my heart against my ribcage. I squeezed my eyes shut and started to sob.

  Lyart leapt up, alarmed. “Please don’t upset yourself. So very few ever get a chance such as this.” I heard him stride across the floor; a cold draught let me know he’d returned to my side.

  He was holding a glamp so radiant, you could have believed a star was trapped inside it. An angelic face smiled out at me through the glass, its rays turning my tears Sparkle Festival.

  Lyart pressed the glamp. The spirit shot out of the glass and rattled the lids of all the coffins. It zoomed all the way to the top of ceiling and I gasped as hundreds of cobwebs lit up like neon signs. Without warning, the light sped towards me, faster than a meteorite, and vanished straight into my ear.

  My eyes widened in shock.

  “Better now?” Lyart peered closely at me.

  Pressure began to build up inside me. The skin on my arms bubbled with goosebumps.

  I jumped to my feet. “What’s happening?”

  “Ah! You’ve lots of bad thoughts trapped inside you. Let them go,” Lyart said, keeping his voice calm.

  “I don’t know how!” I shrieked when I saw the lumps on the palms of my hands.

  Moonzy called over to me. “Coral, relax and start imagining all negative thoughts or feelings leaving you.”

  I closed my eyes. I had been a fool to trust Lyart. I was stuck deep under the ground and fast becoming a roll of bubble wrap. All of a sudden, Gran’s picture on the order of service pamphlet from the funeral floated into my mind and lumps erupted over my neck and cheeks.

  “Do you have a special place; somewhere that always makes you feel happy? Think, Coral! Think!” Moonzy squealed.

  I imagined the sun warming my skin. My nose filled with the breath of the sea and I heard the familiar sound of waves breaking on to the shore. Gran’s laughter swirled around me and the sand shifted under the soles of my feet.

  My jaws unclenched.

  A loud pop made my eyes fly open and a voice cursed in my ear.

  “Thank heavens you didn’t explode, Coral!” Lyart clasped his hands together, greatly relieved. “What you are hearing are your bad thoughts.”

  One by one, the bubbles on my skin burst and the room filled with grumbles, curses, moans and whining.

  “I once heard similar language that time those awful pirates got lost in here.” Moonzy flattened her horns.

  As rapidly as the voices had shown up, they left, taking all my troubles with them.

  No more horrible thoughts clouded my mind, pinched at my stomach or sat heavy on my shoulders. My heart floated, weightless, the same way an astronaut does in space.

  I beamed at Lyart and Moonzy.

  “What did you think about?” said Moonzy, eager to hear my answer.

  “Saltbay beach.”

  “That’s the first time I’ve seen you smile, Coral. It suits you,” said Lyart.

  I laughed. “I feel tingly and … brilliant.”

  Lyart rifled through one of the drawers in the desk, and handed me a test tube which had a stopper in it. The sides of the glass were decorated with Sonic Silver stars and planets.

  “It’s beautiful.” I turned it over in my hands, mesmerized by the glittering constellations.

  “It’s a tear catcher,” he said. “I’m afraid I don’t have any hankies.”

  “A tear catcher? Seriously?”

  “It’s Victorian,” added Moonzy.

  “There will come a time it’ll be of use to you,” Lyart said.

  “Well, thank you.” I thought it best to accept it because it was the second time Lyart had made me feel better today. I slid the tear catcher into my pocket.

  “Coral, I will only reunite you with your gran on the condition you help me with something first.”

  I sat forward on the bench.

  “I’m afraid what I’m going to say will be extremely upsetting.” Lyart paused. “For a very long time Halloway graveyard has held a secret. A dark entity has been held captive here for nearly two hundred years, against his will. He’s earthbound, the same as me, and his name is Muckle Red … but he’s also known as the Heart Collector.” Lyart’s gaze was steely.

  Moonzy spoke, her voice thin and fragile. “When he was alive, he wa
s responsible for the deaths of innocent children in Saltbay.”

  “Each time he took a life…” Lyart paused, his face pained. “He stole the heart of his victim to keep as a trophy.”

  I was shocked something so gruesome had happened right here in Saltbay.

  Moonzy’s head and wings drooped, making her appear less fearsome.

  Lyart stood and paced, agitated, his hands clasped behind him. “Word soon spread through the town that the Heart Collector walked amongst them and no child was safe. Rumours were rife: neighbours and families turned on each other. Bewildered and angry, the village concluded the deaths must be the work of black magic and hunted down as many of the local witches as they could.” Lyart paused. “They were captured, found guilty without a fair trial and burned at the stake.”

  The glamps in the room dimmed, making shadows creep along the floor and walls towards us. A coolness settled on my skin; my body juddered as I shivered.

  “Most of the witches fled for their lives, apart from one who stayed behind, determined to find out who was behind the killings. She stole a child from the local orphanage, padlocked her in a cage as bait and waited in the woods. It wasn’t long before the child’s cries attracted the attention of Muckle Red. He wore a chain of hearts and the witch knew without doubt she’d caught the real culprit. Seeking revenge for the deaths of her sisters, the witch put Muckle Red to sleep with a potion, brought him to Halloway graveyard and sealed him inside a coffin. A spell was cast so his spirit would be earthbound and trapped, unable to leave the grounds. However, there was a glitch in the magic – if Muckle Red could gather three special objects before the Hallow moon vanished at midnight, he’d walk free.”

  “If he escaped, what would happen?” I asked.

  “Being trapped in here has not quelled his desire to inflict pain and misery; if anything it’s made him worse. If the Heart Collector flees, he will once again stalk children, not just in Saltbay, but wherever he goes.” Lyart’s Celestial Spark glow faded.

  A murderer roaming around the town was a terrifying thought. Isla and all my other friends could be in danger! The walls closed in; fear had once again found its way back to me.

  “We’re sorry, Coral,” said Moonzy. “All this must be extremely difficult for you to take in.”