The Bat Sprites

by Linda Chapman

  “Get off her, you spidery creep!” Sam yelled. Sophie caught sight of him running to the rucksack and pulling out two spray cans. With his fingers on the triggers, he charged at the Spider Gnome. Lemon furniture polish and bug spray hissed out in white clouds.

  The Spider Gnome screamed as the two sprays hit it at the same time, blasting it off of Sophie. Its body jerked and writhed, legs twitching as the bug spray started to work. With a shriek of anger, the Spider Gnome scuttled away into the trees.

  “Are you OK, Sophie?” Grandpa demanded.

  She got to her feet. “Sure,” she said, slightly shakily. “There’s nothing I like better than almost being a spider snack! Thanks for rescuing me, Sam,” she added gratefully.

  “No problem. Thanks for chucking the salt to me.”

  “Did you see me go!” crowed Anthony, throwing the hockey stick in the air and catching it. “Those mutant snowball suckers didn’t stand a chance.” He rubbed his hands together, his green eyes gleaming. “What do we fight next?”

  “Whatever we meet.” Sophie looked grimly into the shadows. “Come on!”

  As they raced through the dark, looming trees, Sophie could sense shadow creatures watching them from every direction, but none attacked. The paths twisted and turned. The Guardian power throbbed within her, pulling her in the right direction. It was like every cell in her body was urging her towards the gateway, telling her to hurry.

  Finally they found themselves on a path she was sure she recognised. “Look, Grandpa,” she whispered, pointing ahead. “Isn’t that the clearing where the gateway is?”

  He nodded. “Quiet everyone,” he said to Sam and Anthony. “We don’t know what’s waiting for us in there.”

  “Bat Sprites and Ink Cap Goblins, I bet,” said Sophie, as she breathed in the unmistakable stench of the Bat Sprites mixed with the rotting-compost odour of Ink Cap Goblins. “Wait here!”

  With a burst of superspeed, she ran to the edge of the trees and peered through the branches into the clearing. What she saw made her feel as though her heart might stop.

  At least fifty Bat Sprites ringed the clearing, their wings folded around themselves, their red eyes glittering. In the centre was the pale figure of King Ug with his three Ink Cap Goblin servants. In one hand King Ug held the key. In the other he held the bag of gems. A look of triumph shone in his beady eyes.

  “King Ug said he would do it!” he crowed. “King Ug really is the cleverest, sneakiest goblin of all time. I said I would open the gateway and now I shall! Every creature in the shadow realm will come!”

  Sophie dashed back to the others. “Quick! There’s about fifty Bat Sprites there, and Ug’s about to open the gateway!”

  Sam and Anthony leaped forwards.

  “Wait!” Grandpa snapped out, stopping them. “We can’t just go storming in. We need a plan.”

  Sophie stamped in frustration. “We haven’t time, Grandpa!”

  “Have you discovered the Bat Sprites’ weakness yet?” asked Grandpa. “There must be some way they can be defeated. What can we do?”

  “How about I hit them so hard they fall over?” suggested Sophie, her feet edging down the path.

  “Um – I might have an idea,” said Sam cautiously. “I’ve been thinking about the way that Bat Sprite flew away when the smoke alarm went off, and how the one who got the foam in his ears seemed to go nuts. Do you remember, in the Shadow Files it said—”

  “There isn’t time for this!” broke in Sophie. “We have to go now! Plan if you want, but I’m going to the clearing.” And without waiting for an answer, she set off at a run.

  Watch and wonder as the magic of the key is released!” King Ug shouted gleefully to the other shadow creatures. He had the key in one hand and the turquoise gem in the other. He chucked the bag with the other gems in it to Flaky Face.

  Sophie burst into the clearing with Grandpa, Sam and Anthony hot on her heels. “Or they can watch and wonder as I kick your crumbly butt!” she shouted to King Ug.

  There was a riot of hisses and snarls as the shadow creatures saw who it was.

  “Your fun stops here!” Sophie halted in front of King Ug and put her hands on her hips. “Playtime’s over, Uggy-boy. I want that key and those gems back, and I want them now!”

  Grandpa, Sam and Anthony turned and faced the Bat Sprites, raising their weapons. Anthony had the hockey stick and Sam had grabbed the golf club from Grandpa’s rucksack. Grandpa took up a tae kwon do fighting stance.

  Ug puffed out his chest. “So, Guardian! We meet again!”

  “We do,” said Sophie, “and unless you give me that key in the next five seconds I’m going to get you like I did at our last meeting.”

  “Now, let me see…’ Ug pretended to think. “Sorry, but the answer’s ‘no’.” He smirked at the other shadow creatures and twirled the key in his hand. “I think I’ll hang on to the key. In fact, I think I’ll open the gateway with it while you watch! Get her!” he yelled.

  The Bat Sprites swooped forwards, squealing and shrieking.

  Grandpa and Sophie spun round, lashing out with their feet and knocking the first wave of Bat Sprites backwards. Sam and Anthony yelled, thwacking at any others who came within range. Sophie flipped and somersaulted, knocking one Bat Sprite into another.

  But there were just too many sprites for them to fight. Sophie saw one of them grab the hockey stick out of Anthony’s hands and fling it into the trees. Two of them lifted him up, cackling, and four flew at Grandpa. Then they grabbed Sam too. Sophie was the only one left free!

  She used every bit of her superspeed and superstrength, but there were so many Bat Sprites and just one of her. As she landed after a spin, she felt one of the sprites grab her ponytail, then another two grabbed her shoulders and four more dived at her legs. She struggled and kicked desperately. “Let me go!”

  But it was no use. Even with her superstrength, she was overpowered. While Grandpa, Sam and Anthony were dragged to one side, she was pulled into the centre of the clearing, face to face with King Ug.

  “Well!” he gloated triumphantly. “So you’re going to ‘get’ me are you, Guardian?”

  “You’re going to be so sorry for this!” Sophie tried to tear her arms free.

  “Silence her!” Ug snapped.

  The next instant, one of the Ink Cap Goblins was tying a piece of grimy cloth around her face and Sophie couldn’t say another word. “Mmf!” she spluttered.

  Ug peered at her. “Now then, I wonder how pretty you’ll be after a bit of goblin-goo.” He lifted one black splodgy arm up and held it over Sophie. “So many parts of you to drip on. Where do I start?”

  Sophie flinched and pulled back as hard as she could. The Bat Sprites pushed her forwards, laughing with a hissing sound.

  Ug chortled. “You know, I think I shall save my fun until later. First you shall watch me open the gateway and see the hoardes of shadow creatures come through!”

  He held up the key. Sophie’s mind raced. What could she do? Think, think! she shouted in her head.

  Slowly, Ug brought the key and the gem together. The gem slotted into the hole in the centre of the key’s handle with a quiet click and turquoise light poured out. The Bat Sprites and Ink Cap Goblins cheered and whooped.

  “Behold! The magic key!” cried Ug triumphantly, holding the glowing key aloft.

  Sophie’s eyes widened. Behind Ug the gateway had shimmered into life, appearing out of nowhere as a solid silver metal.

  Ug strutted towards it. There was a keyhole under the handle. He swung round, smirking. “Are you watching, Guardian?”

  “Mmf! Mmf!” Sophie struggled harder, but the Bat Sprites held on fast, their fingers gripping her arms like pincers.

  Ug put the key in the lock. As he did so, silver light flashed across the metal. He turned the key and Sophie, Grandpa and Sam held their breath in horror.

  “All unlocked!” Ug taunted Sophie, pulling the key out and waving it at her without opening the gate. “I thought
you said something about stopping me, Guardian?”

  Sophie stared in horror, helpless as Ug put his fingers on the handle. At the same moment, she heard a kerfuffle behind her. She managed to swing round enough to see Sam breaking free from the sprites who’d been holding him. “The whistle! Have you still got that football whistle on you, Anthony?” he yelled.

  “Yeah!” Anthony wrenched a hand free and pulled the whistle from his pocket. “Here!” He chucked it towards Sam. Sam ducked nimbly around the Bat Sprites and scooped it up as it fell to the ground.

  Sophie felt several Bat Sprites loosen their grip on her in their confusion. She didn’t know what Sam was doing, but she seized her chance. Throwing herself forwards, she tore free, somersaulted over and bounced to her feet. WHAM! Bringing her foot up and round, she slammed it into Ug’s chest.

  “WHAAAA!” he shouted, staggering backwards.

  The Bat Sprites leaped at her. Sophie ripped the rag from her mouth and fought them off.

  Sam lifted the whistle and blew a long, piercing note.

  PHWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

  Instantly, all the Bat Sprites reeled back. They shook their heads and blinked their eyes. Sophie stared in surprise. Not one of them was trying to attack her, and they had stopped holding on to Grandpa and Anthony too!

  “What are you lot doing?” shrieked Ug.

  “Can’t see!” howled a Bat Sprite above the noise of the whistle, staggering into a tree trunk.

  “Can’t see anything!” said another.

  “Echolocation!” Sam gasped, as he paused to take a breath. “The Shadow Files weren’t just making a note about how Bat Sprites navigate, they were telling us what to do! Bat Sprites have poor eyesight and usually they make noises and listen to the echoes to work out where things are. If you make a high-pitched noise they can’t hear anything. It’s like turning them blind and it drives them crazy!”

  He blew again, even harder. Ug gave a furious yell and charged at him, but Sophie was ready; she raced in between them and lashed out. Ug skidded to a stop and retreated to the gate. Meanwhile, the Bat Sprites were wailing and flapping away into the trees, desperate to get far from the noise.

  “Very clever,” Ug snarled at Sophie as the Bat Sprites fled the clearing. “But you shall not stop me, Guardian! The gate is unlocked. It shall be opened!”

  “No!” Sophie leaped forwards, as he put his hand on the gateway. But she was too late. With one quick move, Ug had started to open the gate! A dark light came rushing out and immediately there was the sound of thousands of shadow creatures shouting and cheering from the other side. Enormous tentacles snaked around the door, waving in the air, pushing the gate open.

  “Welcome, my shadow friends!” crowed Ug. “Welcome to the human world!”

  Sophie reached Ug and threw herself at him. He stumbled forwards. Time seemed to slow as Sophie saw the key jerk from Ug’s hand and fall through the gateway into the Shadow Realm.

  “The key!” she and Ug both yelled.

  They leaped through the gateway after it. As Sophie jumped into the Shadow Realm, she felt an iciness freezing her skin. The world inside the gateway was dark and shadowy and smelled even worse than the Bat Sprites. She got the impression of thousands of creatures charging towards her through the gloom, and saw a giant grey octopus-like monster waving its suckered tentacles.

  But most of all she saw the key. It lay on the muddy ground, glowing with the turquoise gem in its handle. Ug was already on his knees reaching for it, but Sophie, with her superspeed, was faster. She dived past him, grabbed the key and leaped back through the gateway into the human world.

  “Stop!” she heard Ug shriek from inside the Shadow Realm, as Sophie frantically tried to push the gate shut. She knew the prophecy had said she wouldn’t be able to, but she had to try anyway! She forced her weight against it.

  “Push!” Grandpa exclaimed, joining her on her left side.

  “Push!” Sam yelled, joining her on her right.

  The door moved inch by inch. But now Sophie could feel the army of creatures pushing from the other side. For a moment she thought she saw a dark shadow slither out through the crack. She felt a lurch of fear and pushed even harder and then she felt Anthony’s hands thud on to the wood beside Sam’s. “PUSH!” he shouted. The door suddenly slammed shut. Sophie didn’t hesitate. Thrusting the key back into the lock, she turned it. The door locked with a click.

  The handle rattled frantically, but the door wouldn’t open. From the other side, Ug yelled with frustration and anger. “You can’t do this to me, you stupid child!” he shrieked. “Open the gate, open it!”

  Taking the key out, Sophie pulled the gem from its handle. The glow left it and the gateway vanished. Dimly, she heard Ug cry “Noooo!” … and then his voice faded to nothing.

  They all stood gaping, hardly able to believe it.

  “We… we did it!” stammered Sophie. “But how? The Shadow Files said the gateway couldn’t be shut by the Guardian once it was opened.”

  “It must have been wrong,” said Grandpa.

  “Is this the moment to say ‘phew!’?” said Sam shakily.

  “I feel weird.” Anthony looked down at his legs and arms. “Really weird. Kind of trembly…”

  “It’s stress,” said Grandpa.

  “Dizzy,” said Anthony, blinking. “Tingly…”

  “We really did it!” shouted Sophie, relief fading and exhilaration rushing through her. “I’ve got the key. The doorway’s shut. Ug’s gone!” She grabbed Sam and they jumped up and down, laughing. “It was brilliant of you, Sam, to think of using the whistle like that to get rid of the Bat Sprites!”

  “Yes, very clever indeed,” agreed Grandpa with a smile. “As always, Sam.”

  Sam went red. “It was nothing. Just one of those ideas.”

  “Yeah, those genius ideas that you have all the time,” said Sophie, nudging him. She looked around the clearing. It was so quiet now. All the shadow creatures had gone…

  No, not all, she realised, as she spotted Flaky Face in the shadows, escaping with the bag of remaining gems.

  With a yell she charged – but before she could reach him, Anthony had overtaken her! He jumped into the air kicking out with his left foot and then his right. Flaky Face howled as he slammed into a tree trunk and slithered down it.

  Anthony grabbed the gems from his hand. Scrabbling to his feet, Flaky Face fled away into the trees.

  Slowly, Anthony turned, looking dazed. “What did I just do?”

  “You… you attacked a shadow creature,” said Sophie faintly, staring at him.

  “Just like the Guardian would,” said Grandpa slowly.

  “But I’m not the Guardian,” said Anthony.

  For a moment they all stared at each other and then Grandpa shook his head. “Oh, my goodness…” he said. “Oh, my… no!”

  “What?” cried Sophie and Anthony together.

  Grandpa looked from one to the other. “There must always be a Guardian in the world,” he breathed.

  Sophie frowned. “Yes, and I’m here!”

  Grandpa hit his head with his hands. “But you weren’t! Don’t you see? You went out of this world, into the Shadow Realm, to get the key! And while you were in a different world there was no Guardian here in this world.”

  Sophie’s eyes widened. “So, you mean another Guardian was created…”

  “Your nearest blood relative,” said Grandpa, nodding.

  They both swung round to look at Anthony.

  “Oh, no!” Sophie whispered. “He’s the Guardian too!”

  “So, let me get this straight,” said Anthony for about the hundredth time, as they all walked back through the woods towards Keeper’s Cottage a little while later. “You’re saying I’m the Guardian as well as you.”

  “Yep. It’s you and me.” Sophie swallowed. “Which is why the gate shut when you came to help push – the Shadow Files were right. One Guardian couldn’t do it, but two could.” Her heart sank into he
r trainers as she spoke. Was she really going to have to fight shadow creatures with Anthony?

  She could tell Sam liked the idea about as much as she did. “Maybe there’s a way of turning him back?” he said to Grandpa. “I mean, now Sophie’s back in this world, couldn’t we deactivate Anthony or something?”

  “I don’t think it works like that,” sighed Grandpa.

  “And, if you think you’re going to deactivate me then think again, geek-brain! This is awesome! I’ve got superpowers. No way am I changing back,” said Anthony, spinning round and kicking out at a tree. “Yee-ha!”

  Sam and Sophie exchanged looks. “Nightmare,” she said helplessly to him.

  “Times a million,” agreed Sam.

  Grandpa shook his head, as they walked out of the woods. “I don’t know what to say. First, you come along, Sophie – the only girl Guardian there’s ever been – and now, also for the first time ever, we have two Guardians. What’s going to happen next?” He rolled his eyes. “Actually, don’t answer that. I don’t think I want to know!”

  They climbed the fence and Sophie turned to look at the woods. Now the gems had left the woods, the trees were changing back to how they’d been before. Gradually the branches untwisted, the leaves grew again and the shadows lost a little of their eeriness. As Sophie watched them it started to sink into her brain that even though there was the shock of Anthony becoming a Guardian too, they had actually won the fight!

  “We really did it, didn’t we?” She looked down at the key in her hand. “We got the key back – and the gems. We shut the gateway and Ug’s on the other side. We saved the day, Grandpa!”

  Grandpa smiled and squeezed her shoulder. “You’re right. We did and we should certainly celebrate. How about a takeaway pizza party?”

  “Definitely!” said Sophie and Sam.

  “What’s that noise?” Anthony said suddenly.