First published 2019
Copyright © Colin Gibbons 2019
The right of Colin Gibbons to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs & Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, electrostatic, magnetic tape, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the written permission of the copyright holder.
Published under licence by The Self-Publishing Partnership,
7 Green Park Station, Bath BA1 1JB
www.selfpublishingpartnership.co.uk
ISBN printed book: 978-1-83952-047-1
ISBN e-book: 978-1-83952-048-8
Cover design by Leigh Lovett
Internal design by Andrew Easton
The illustrations of the characters were all created by children
This book is printed on FSC certified paper
Printed and bound in the UK
Contents
Return to Colgilor
It had been two years since Shaun had returned to the Blarney Stone Orphanage from Colgilor to become a teacher and use the power of music to help combat bullying in schools and orphanages all over Ireland. He and his close friend Ava O’Connor escaped their bullies when on a day trip out of the orphanage, while running away from them, they entered a dense forest where they met a leprechaun, Louis O’Shay. Louis had been set a quest by his father, the King of the Leprechauns, to retrieve the Golden Crown of the Leprechauns, stolen many years ago by the biggest bullies in his land of Colgilor, the evil Trolls. So they travelled with him on a magic carpet to help him on his quest over the rainbow to face so many dangers and experience great adventures. Ava had stayed in Colgilor, but Shaun decided to return home and help fight against bullying.
Louis’ father had given Shaun and Ava a small leprechaun shoe on a chain, which they each wore around their neck. These shoes were part of a pair, so wherever they were, when one closed their eyes and grasped their shoe, the other person would enter their mind’s eye.
Louis comforted him from time to time with news of all his friends and how Ava was enjoying life with her sister Ellena and the other elves.
Shaun would sometimes just sit in his flat holding his leprechaun’s shoe around his neck and immediately Ava’s face would enter his thoughts and fill him with warm, satisfying feelings and lift his spirits.
Back in Colgilor, the wicked witch had not forgotten the three strangers (Louis, Shaun and Ava) who entered her house and humiliated her, particularly the young boy Shaun with his magic hammer. She had screamed at them that day with anger and frustration that she would seek revenge, and since that day had been working on a plan to carry out that threat. She knew it would be difficult and would need every detail in place.
She had replaced the magic square he had destroyed with a more elaborate and precise design, a ‘pentagram’, a five-pointed star with the single point at the top. The positioning was crucial and she went through a complex ritual during its construction, holding her grimoire, her body rigid, her eyes glazed. She read out several strange rhymes before slipping into a trance and wailing and chanting unearthly jargon, mumbling at first, building into a deafening crescendo. Suddenly the pentagram lit up in bright, different-coloured lights before bursting into sporadic, pulsating flashes which swirled around the room for several minutes before slowly dying down and returning to the star.
Once everything had settled down, the witch slowly came out of the trance. She left the room and returned, pushing a long, old, rickety table with two mirrors, one at each end, perched on the back. Along the front lay a tray of brightly coloured amulets decorated with weird and wonderful designs and emblems, and in the centre a gleaming gold ring which seemed to pulsate and emit a golden aureole. She pushed the table into the centre of the pentagram, taking great pains to position it in the precise spot before standing back and raising her arms and mumbling some strange rhyme. Suddenly the face of the mirrors misted over and the amulets began to pulsate; the gold ring appeared to absorb the energy from the amulets. After several minutes the pulsating stopped and the witch stepped forward and slid the ring onto her long, bony finger. As she pointed the finger towards one of the mirrors, slowly the mist cleared to reveal Ava dancing with her sister Ellena in a ring of toadstools with the other elves all gathered in the ring, some dancing, some playing musical instruments, and others sitting at the tables eating, drinking and laughing as they all enjoyed a glorious celebration. ‘Enjoy it while you can,’ cackled the witch. ‘As I promised, you will feel the wrath of my powers, but not yet. I need to include your two little friends.’ Again the mirror clouded over and she turned to the second mirror and pointed the ringed finger; it also cleared, but this one showed Louis sitting at the side of his father, the King, basking in the glory of retrieving the Golden Crown.
She watched for several minutes, rubbing her hands with glee and shrieking with laughter. ‘Now!’ she screamed. ‘Where is your little friend with the hammer? He is the one I will gain most pleasure in destroying.’ She stood back and pointed towards both mirrors. ‘Now find the boy – search the whole of Colgilor if necessary, but find him you must!’ A hideous grin crossed her face as she picked up her cat and sat down in her rocking chair. It creaked and groaned as it rocked back and forth, her evil, green eyes locked onto the mirrors and her bony fingers drumming impatiently on the arms of the chair.
Finally, after a long and frustrating wait, one of the mirrors lit up and a haunting, evil-looking face appeared. The witch stood up and approached the mirror. ‘Tell me where the boy is,’ she said in a sharp, harsh tone.
The face in the mirror shook its head. ‘I’m sorry but I have searched every corner, every Kingdom and beyond, and he is nowhere to be seen: he must have left Colgilor.’ The witch threw down her cat and screamed out loud, her face twisted with anger as she ranted and raved, pacing up and down the room. The face dodged and disappeared from the mirror and the witch sat back down, waiting and hoping the second mirror had better news. She stroked her pointed, misshapen chin, her face all screwed up deep in thought, hatching a plan. The girl and the leprechaun would be easily captured, but the thought of not being able to punish the boy filled her with fury. There must be a way of bringing the boy back.
Suddenly her face cracked into an evil smile. ‘Of course!’ she shrieked. ‘Of course: if I capture his two friends he will return to try and save them as he did before.’
Just then, the second mirror lit up and an even more sinister face appeared. ‘I have been keeping watch on the girl and she told her sister that the boy Shaun had returned to his own world and how she missed him so much, but that the leprechaun visited her from time to time to bring her messages from the boy.’
‘Wonderful!’ cried the witch. ‘Now your next task is to find the whereabouts of all of those in this land who have been banished or driven out. They will form my army of evil fighters to help see my revenge, not only on the three that humiliated me, but also on all those who helped them on their travels.’
Again the witch sat down, and as she rocked back and forth her eyes closed as she hatched her plan: if she captured the girl and the leprechaun she could bring them to her house, but only for a short time as the boy had broken through all her defences, so she must find a new place to imprison them, somewhere difficult but not impossible to reach. Again she rubbed her chin and stroked her cat which had jumped up onto her other knee. She found that released her and helped her focus her thoughts.
Suddenly her dull, opaque eyes snapped open: now they were an evil bright green and virtually popping out of her head. ‘Of course!’ she shrieked. ‘My sis
ter lives on the dark side: that would ideal.’ But her face changed again to one of despair. ‘But, of course, we fell out many years ago but she, too, could be lonely... It is worth a try.’
Again she summoned one of the mirrors and instructed it to trace her sister as quickly as it could: she was impatient to put her plan into action.
It was the following day before she was able to talk to her sister face to face in the mirror. You would think no one could be more ugly than the witch, but her sister was: she had the same wrinkled face with a sickly green cast. Her carrot-shaped nose was the same but twisted, and a tiny pair of spectacles perched on top. Her eyes were dull and grey, and her chin was even longer and more misshapen, and she had twice as many warts and carbuncles covering her skin. Her hands were similar: bony, skeletal, with long, bony, bent fingers with green, claw-like nails. She wore a similar outfit, a baggy gown with saggy sleeves, and her head was covered with a huge, black hat with a purple band around the middle, strapping it to her head. She had the same four black teeth, two at the top and two at the bottom, and the same evil cackle when she laughed.
They sat staring at one another for a moment or two before the sister – whose name was Baba Madea – spoke. ‘Baba Yelka, why have you contacted me after such a long time? It must be because you need something from me: you obviously have not changed over the years.’
‘Oh please give me a chance. That is the first time I have heard my name since you left. It is true I need a favour, but be truthful: do you not get lonely from time to time? I have missed the long, informative conversation we shared.’
‘That’s as maybe, but we discovered many years ago that we were both loners, and we struggled for a long time to find a way to live together, but to no avail. But go ahead, tell me of this favour you seek.’
Baba Yelka shook her head, her face twisted with pain: it hurt still to even think about, let alone speak of it. ‘Very well, I captured and enslaved a young elf and leprechaun to carry out the spinning in my house. Your house as well, the one we shared for so long.’ She paused a moment, struggling to admit to her failings. ‘But a young boy with a magical hammer came to rescue them and he destroyed our magic den: even destroyed our magic square. I swore to have my revenge and to that end I need your help. I have located the elf and leprechaun, but can find no sign of the boy. He has left Colgilor. If I capture the elf and leprechaun I’m sure the boy will come looking for them. But as he knows this place and its secrets, he would easily break in and free them, so I need somewhere safe and secure to imprison them. So when he comes searching, this time I will be better prepared.’
Baba Madea stroked her long, misshapen chin. Her face screwed up and her eyes closed as she pondered over whether or not to help her. They were close while growing up, sharing everything and helping each other to develop their magic skills. All of a sudden her eyes snapped open: the dull grey, misty, vacant glare disappeared. Her eyes were now wide open and sparkling as she brought back her sinister memories. ‘I did have such a place, an underground fortress, a warren of caves with a network of complex tunnels and chambers all interconnecting. They were situated at the centre of the dark side, but I have since moved to the outskirts which border the land of the giants, a barren, isolated place.’
‘Tell me,’ said Baba Yelka, ‘why did you leave such a place?’
Baba Madea shook her head. ‘Oh I didn’t want to leave. I had everything set up there, my magic mirror and an army of loyal, obedient followers to protect me, but alas, I was experimenting with my witchcraft in the art of necromancy, raising the dead. All the bodies of the dead in the dark side are laid to rest in a section of the chambers I spoke of, and I managed to reanimate some of these corpses and had complete control over them, as zombies have no will of their own. But, unknown to me, some of them ventured up onto the surface, causing untold havoc and leaving a trail of death and distraction. The Dark Wizard who rules the dark side ordered my capture. My faithful army fought bravely against his army but they were severely outnumbered; they helped gather my belongings and allowed me to escape before they fled themselves, disappearing further into the network of caves. I flew on my broomstick, heading for the isolated mountains in the distance. I came across a battle between the harpy and a giant snake with several heads all hooded like that of a cobra. I watched and waited as the fight took place, each head attacking from different angles. The harpy battled bravely, refusing to give ground, and finally after a continuous barrage of attacks, the harpy overpowered the snake, tearing it to pieces with her razor-like claws before collapsing in a heap totally exhausted and wounded. Luckily, I had with me my bag of potions and remedies and managed to neutralise the poison from the snake and save her life. Since then, we live close by in separate mountain caves, but watch out for each other, and because of her fearsome reputation we have no trouble from any of the other inhabitants. We have a safe, peaceful life.’
‘Would it be possible for me to take over this underground fortress and maybe have your loyal army help me in my quest for revenge?’ said Baba Yelka.
Baba Madea’s face cracked into a revolting, evil grin, her black teeth protruding and dripping with slimy saliva. ‘Maybe, but first I must check this out with them. I have been working on a magic square and mirror with its portal to the fortress over the past weeks in order that I can make contact with them, so give me a few days and I will contact you, hopefully with good news. You might just be lucky: most of my army are. Renegades and outcasts expelled and banished from Colgilor, they have bitter feelings towards their old companions and I’m sure would relish the chance to share your revenge and help wreak havoc on them and their families.’ She again smiled so hideously that it would send a shiver down your spine, waved her hand and faded with the sound of her evil cackling ringing around Baba Yelka’s room: even her faithful cat was hunched up, its fur bristling with fear.
Over the following days, Baba Yelka became more and more impatient, her anger building and building like an infected boil ready to burst. She was not one for waiting; she liked things done immediately and was beginning to wonder if her sister would in fact come back to her. But just as she promised, she made contact: the mirror lit up and the ugly, misshapen face appeared. She did not speak, just sat in her rocking chair with a twisted, smug grin on her face.
Baba Yelka waited and waited until she couldn’t hold back any longer. ‘Well,’ she said, her voice sharp and emotional and her face creased with frustration, ‘are you going to put me out of my misery?’
‘Keep your hat on,’ Baba Madea said before breaking out into an ear-splitting cackle. ‘You were never the patient one, were you? I have managed to create the portal and have visited my army. They have found a new dwelling place deep underground and set up their base there: they have even found a secret tunnel which leads back up to the surface well away from the Dark Wizards’ guards.’
‘This sounds perfect,’ said Baba Yelka excitedly, ‘but what did they say about me joining them?’
‘They are very cautious now, you could be in league with the Dark Wizard as far as they know, but they are willing to meet you as long as I’m there and yes, they would be thrilled to gain revenge on the Colgilor inhabitants that exiled them to their miserable world they are now imprisoned in.’
‘So when can I meet them?’ said Baba Yelka. ‘I’m all ready and have been for days. I’ve even got a second mirror, a smaller one that I will take with me to use as a portal in and out of the fortress.’
‘Very well, if you join me here in the morning we will travel there as soon as we have eaten. I’ll prepare your favourite broth which I gave to you when you were growing up: that is the reason you have blossomed into the ravishing beauty you are today,’ said Baba Madea before bursting into her hideous cackle. ‘I must have forgotten to add the ingredients for beauty.’
‘Very droll,’ replied Baba Yelka, ‘but have you looked in the mirror yourself lately? It’s a wonder it doesn’t crack at the sight. Anyway, enough of this
slanging match we used to enjoy when we were young. It is a little tedious now. I’ll see you tomorrow,’ she said with a smug grin before fading from the mirror.
Baba Yelka could hardly sleep as the images of her intruders’ faces haunted her thoughts. At last she was going to avenge their humiliation of her, and evil ideas of painful punishment passed constantly into her mind. She was up at the crack of dawn, dressed and had breakfast before checking all the items she had ready to take with her, placing them all in the magic pentagram. One last check and she picked up her beloved cat before contacting her sister through the mirror. She raised her arm and closed her eyes before bellowing out an ancient rhyme and circling her bony hands around her belongings. Suddenly there was a blinding flash of light which floated through the mirror, taking Baba Yelka and her belongings with it.
A few seconds later the flash of light cascaded from Baba Madea’s mirror in the form of a veil of mist which slowly cleared to reveal Baba Yelka, her cat and all her belongings.
‘You took your time,’ Baba Madea said with a mischievous grin, trying hard to stifle her smug attempt at humour.
Baba Yelka just shook her head in contempt. ‘Let’s just forget the broth and go straight through to the fortress.’
‘Look, that impatient streak again. It is a serious fault in your character: there is no rush, I spent all last night preparing it, so just humour me. You don’t have to enjoy it, just eat it while we catch up with the past ten years.’ She turned her head away and sniggered.
Finally they passed through her mirror to the deep underground home of her army. Baba Yelka was used to living in dark and dingy conditions: her house had four windows and they were dull and dirty, but this was something else. They were in a huge, cavernous area with strange formations rising up from the floor and others hanging from the roof. They cast twisted shadows on the walls and across the roof. They were met by several of her guards who were all armed, and as they greeted Baba Madea they fixed their gaze and curiosity on Baba Yelka. Nervously she attempted to smile but I doubt whether it helped them to relax with her four black teeth on show and her twisted face screwed up: there was more sinister evil on show than pleasure and amusement.
Return to Colgilor Page 1
