Wychetts and the Thunderstone

by William Holley

  “So that’s how you fill the balloon.” Bryony wrinkled her nose with revulsion. “Though I wouldn’t call it magical technology.”

  “But most effective,” said Katya. “Although we are working on an alternative fuel source, as baked beans aren’t cheap these days. This way.”

  Bryony followed Katya along the corridor, wondering where she was being taken. Surely the Shadow Clan had some terrible end in store for her, so why didn’t they just get it over with?

  Strangely she didn’t feel scared. More angry.

  Inglenook had let her down again. He should have known they were walking into a trap. He was supposed to guide them, yet he had led her straight into the clutches of their worst enemy!

  “Where’s my dad?” Bryony wasn’t in the mood for guided tours. “I want to see him now.”

  “I’m afraid that isn’t possible.” Katya replied without turning round. “Your father is held in a secure place many miles from here. We didn’t want to take any chances. The stakes are too high this time.”

  “Which is why you got those fishy Nyx monsters to do your dirty work, huh?”

  “The Shadow Clan would not usually stoop to ally ourselves with those swamp dwelling primitives.” Katya’s voice was thick with distaste. “But desperate times call for desperate measures. And these are desperate times, I can assure you.”

  They reached the end of the corridor. Katya pulled a lever on the wall, and a door slid open with a metallic grinding noise.

  Katya stood aside and waved Bryony through. “You are now entering the flight deck.”

  Bryony walked through the door to find herself in a large oval shaped space. At the far end, beneath a row of circular windows, a uniformed pilot sat hunched over a bank of controls that were a weird mish-mash of modern technology and archaic symbols.

  Bryony didn’t recognise the pilot because he was wearing a cap, and it was only when he turned to stare at her with his tiny grey eyes that she realised who was controlling the airship.

  “Mr Dawes!” Bryony stared back at the beaky nosed man. “I thought you’d be here somewhere.”

  “Its Captain Dawes to you,” croaked Dawes.

  “That’s a joke,” rasped a throaty voice. “I should have been made captain of this ship.”

  Bryony noticed a dead tree in a bucket in the corner of the flight deck. The gnarled trunk resembled an ugly old man’s face, with deep knot holes for eyes, and the pointed branches looked like claws. It was none other than Twisted Bough, the most evil tree in the land.

  “You have no qualifications to pilot an aircraft.” Dawes’ tiny grey eyes swivelled to glare at the ugly tree. “You couldn’t fly a kite.”

  “They only made you Captain because you’ve got the right hat,” grumbled Twisted Bough.

  “And a head to wear it,” sneered Dawes. “Not to mention other useful things for flying an aircraft, such as hands.”

  “That’s enough, boys.” Katya scowled at her colleagues, then turned back to Bryony. “So now you’ve met the Captain and Flight Attendant…”

  “Flight Attendant?” Twisted Bough sounded outraged. “I thought I was going to have a title more befitting my role on this ship?”

  “I agree,” croaked Dawes. “In which case we should refer to you as ‘ballast’.”

  “As I was saying.” Katya kept her emerald gaze on Bryony. “Now you’ve met the Captain and Flight Attendant, it’s time we introduced you to another of our crew.”

  Bryony heard footsteps, and looked round to see a woman approaching. She was quite pretty, with wavy brown hair and large grey eyes.

  “Hello,” said the woman in a weird lispy voice. “I am your Air Hostess. I hope you are enjoying the flight.”

  “Marshia!” Bryony recognised the receptionist from Gutterly Great Gutters and Drainpipes Head Office. “You were working for the Shadow Clan all along.”

  Marshia smiled, revealing her oversized teeth. And as she came closer Bryony caught a pungent whiff of fish.

  But by that time Bryony had already worked it out.

  “You’re not really Marshia. You’re a Nyx!”

  Marshia’s laugh became a series of belches, and then she removed her teeth to expose a pair of fleshy green gums. But an even more revolting spectacle was to follow.

  Marshia’s toothless grin widened until it threatened to split her face. Dark scales erupted on her skin, and red spiky fins sprouted from the top of her head. She raised a webbed hand tipped with claws, and leered at Bryony with a pair of large bulbous eyes.

  “This is Miss Grinny Greengums,” purred Katya. “Our newest recruit. It was her idea to set up Gutterly Great Gutters to lure your father into our clutches, and her shape shifting abilities have proved most valuable to our cause.”

  “So what is your cause?” Bryony kept her wary gaze on Grinny Greengums as she spoke. “What are you planning and why have you brought me here?”

  “Allow me to demonstrate.” Katya nodded at Grinny Greengums, who pulled a large lever on the wall beside her.

  “Oi,” groaned Twisted Bough. “I wanted to do that.”

  Captain Dawes frowned at the ugly tree. “I’m intrigued to know how.”

  There was a rumbling noise, and a hatch opened in the centre of the flight deck. A chill wind blasted through the opening, accompanied by bellowing thunder.

  Katya grabbed Bryony’s arm and yanked her across the flight deck. For a second Bryony feared she would be thrown from the ship, but Katya held her at the edge of the hatch.

  Bryony peered down into the hatch and saw a swarm of ragged, skeleton faced creatures massed beneath the airship.

  “You’ve already met the Storm Hags,” said Katya. “Elemental beings of great destructive power.”

  “Are they causing the storms?” Bryony flinched when one of the Storm Hags flew up to the hatch and screeched angrily at her.

  “The Storm Hags are mere servants.” Katya pointed through the opening. “There is the source of your weather chaos.”

  The swarm of Storm Hags parted, revealing a large wedge shaped stone in a metal clamp suspended from the airship. The stone was trembling, and lightning bolts arced from its tip to stab the broiling clouds below.

  “The Thunderstone.” Katya purred in response to Bryony’s questioning look. “An ancient relic from the realm of Asgard.”

  “The Thunderstone has magical properties,” said Captain Dawes. “And was used by the High Priests of Asgard to maintain the elemental balance.”

  “But the realm of Asgard perished many years ago,” continued Katya. “And we have no knowledge of their rituals. So to invoke the Thunderstone’s power we need to infuse it with our own magic energy.”

  Bryony noticed a metal rod extending down from the airship, and flying sparks where it touched the top of the Thunderstone.

  “That way we can control it,” said Grinny Greengums. “And unleash weather chaos across the entire planet.”

  Bryony saw a row of glass orbs in the wall of the flight deck, each showing images of devastation from around the world: flooding, hurricanes, tidal waves, and ruined buildings left in their wake.

  “You’ll destroy the whole world.” Bryony glared at Katya. “That’s your plan. You want to destroy the world by flooding it.”

  Katya’s delicate eyebrows arched. “And what would be the point of that?”

  “There isn’t a point,” snarled Bryony. “It’s what you do. You’re the Shadow Clan. You’re evil.”

  “It is true we’ve been enjoying the results of the Thunderstone’s power,” admitted Captain Dawes. “But that is merely a side show to our main objective.”

  “The storms are just the first phase,” gulped Grinny Greengums. “The second is even more spectacular.”

  Katya tightened her grip on Bryony’s arm. “And that is where you come in.”

  Chapter 13- The Boy Must Go

  “The Shadow Clan.” Edwin nodded slowly. “That makes sense.”

  At the Nyx Queen’s
invitation her guests had withdrawn to her private chamber, where their royal host was explaining how the Thunderstone had been stolen.

  “The Shadow Clan were alerted to the location of the Thunderstone when it reacted to the recent elemental imbalance,” continued the Nyx Queen. “I believe you Guardians had some involvement in that.”

  “Maybe.” Edwin’s cheeks flushed guiltily. “But it wasn’t all our fault.”

  “Not all of it,” added Stubby. “It was mainly down to a combination of bad luck and sheer stupidity. But mostly stupidity. Which was their fault.”

  The Nyx Queen nodded. “We regret that the Nyx are not totally blameless for the theft of the Thunderstone. One of our kind, a traitor named Grinny Greengums, has joined forces with the Shadow Clan, lending her shape shifting abilities in exchange for help to seize the Nyx throne for herself. It was Greengums who tricked her way into the Shield Maiden’s home to steal the Thunderstone in the first place.”

  “After she’d shut me in the cupboard,” said Val. “And pinched my best dentures, the rotter.”

  “Of course,” said the Weather Vane, who had been placed in one of the Queen’s ornate mud vases. “I knew it was the Shadow Clan all along.”

  “It certainly adds up.” Val glanced sideways at Edwin. “I told you the Nyx are not evil.”

  Despite his earlier suspicions, Edwin could find little reason to doubt the Nyx Queen’s story. From his past experience he knew there was no limit to the Shadow Clan’s wicked scheming. But there was still one question that needed answering…

  “So what happened to my mum and stepdad?” He stared demandingly at the Nyx Queen. “Where are they?”

  The Nyx Queen raised a scaly arm, and a portion of slimy wall dissolved to reveal a large glass sphere behind it.

  The sphere was full of dark green water, and there were two figures submerged inside: a dark haired man in a suit and tie, and an auburn haired woman wearing a cardigan and flowery skirt.

  “Mum!” Edwin ran up to the bubble and pressed his hands against the glass. “Bill!”

  Neither Bill or Jane responded. Their eyes were closed, and streams of small bubbles rose from their lips and nostrils.

  “They are unharmed,” gulped the Nyx Queen. “And merely sleeping.”

  “But they’re underwater,” wailed Edwin. “They’ll drown.”

  “Not in our magic water.” The Nyx Queen gazed into the sphere. “They are perfectly safe, and shielded from all harmful influences.”

  “The Nyx Queen speaks the truth,” said Val. “In olden times Nyx water was prized as a powerful healing aid.”

  “That isn’t the point,” said Edwin. “I want to know why my mum and stepdad were brought here in the first place.”

  “For protection,” said the Nyx Queen. “The same reason we sought to bring you to us, along with your stepsister.”

  “You wanted to protect us?” Edwin exhaled an incredulous snort. “So that’s why you attacked us in our own home?”

  The Nyx Queen bowed her head. “We apologise if the actions of our troops distressed you. But over the centuries we have suffered greatly from the actions of humankind, and we had no option but to take such drastic measures.”

  As far as Edwin was concerned, the Nyx Queen’s answer came nowhere near an apology. “You tricked your way into our home, used magic to knock Inglenook out, then scared the living daylights out of us. It’s no wonder you’ve had problems with humans if that’s how you treat us.”

  “He means you should have knocked,” Stubby advised the Nyx Queen.

  “You are mistaken.” The Nyx Queen raised her head and stared at Edwin with her bulbous eyes. “We acted not to protect you, but to protect ourselves from you.”

  “Huh?” Edwin pulled a puzzled face. “But we never meant you any harm. Up till last night we didn’t even know you existed.”

  “You may not mean ill to the Nyx,” gulped the Queen. “But there are those who would use you against us.”

  “The Shadow Clan?” Edwin snorted. “But we’d never lend our powers to help them.”

  “Perhaps not willingly,” said Val. “But what if the Shadow Clan held your parents prisoner?”

  “It was the Shadow Clan’s intention to kidnap your stepfather,” explained the Nyx Queen. “Posing as Val, Grinny Greengums trapped him in the sewer, where she thought he’d be secure. Fortunately we had already discovered Greengum’s plans, and stationed guards in the sewer to collect him. But as far as the Shadow Clan are concerned, he is still their prisoner.”

  “Then that’s one advantage we have over them,” said Stubby. “But what do the Shadow Clan want with the Thunderstone?”

  “Inglenook would know,” sighed Edwin. “But he’s not here, so there’s nothing more we can do for now.”

  “But you are a Guardian of Wychetts.” The Nyx Queen looked Edwin up and down with her large round eyes. “Why do you doubt your own power?”

  “I might be a Guardian, but I’m useless with magic.” Edwin averted his face from the Nyx Queen’s gaze. “My stepsister Bryony is better than me. That’s why she has the Wychetts Key.”

  “She has not.” The Nyx Queen shook her head. “Or if she does, she is lost to you forever.”

  “Lost? What are you talking about?” Edwin’s throat went dry, and his stomach knotted with dread. “What’s happened to Bryony?”

  “The girl’s fate is unknown,” said the Nyx Queen. “But we have traced the Key.”

  “Then give it to me.” Edwin felt Val touch his arm, but he was past caring about Nyx royal protocol. “Give me the Key now!”

  “I cannot,” gulped the Nyx Queen. “We have traced the Key, but are unable to reach it.”

  “Then I’ll get it.” Edwin was ready to go anywhere to retrieve the Key. “Where is it? You must tell me.”

  The Nyx Queen took a deep breath before she spoke. “The Key fell from the sky into a flooded area south of here. The strong currents washed it through deep underground tunnels into the Cavern of Death, where it now lies submerged.”

  “Then why can’t you reach it?” Edwin couldn’t work out what the problem was. “You’re fishy people. Why not just swim down and pick it up?”

  “Ahem.” Stubby cleared his throat. “The name of the place might offer a clue.”

  “The Cavern of Death.” Edwin repeated the words slowly. “Why is it called that?”

  “The cavern is inhabited by a water dwelling monster called the Knucker,” said the Weather Vane. “Legend has it he was once a great king, but was betrayed by his subjects, dragged from his throne and hurled into an underground lake with heavy stones lashed to his neck. Somehow he survived, but he was so twisted by bitterness and mistrust that over the centuries his body has mutated into a monstrous form. Yet no one knows what the Knucker looks like, because no one who’s seen it has lived to tell the tale.”

  “All we know is that the Knucker is immense and powerful,” said the Queen. “It jealously guards any treasure washed into its domain, and will devour all who enter its lair. To attempt retrieval of the Key would be suicide for any of my people. But if a Guardian of Wychetts was to try…”

  “Me?” Edwin shook his head. “But won’t this Knucker eat me too?”

  “The Knucker has never tasted human flesh before,” said the Weather Vane. “It might not recognise your scent. There is a chance you could slip past it unnoticed.”

  “But I can’t swim.” Edwin shook his head harder. “And you said this cave was deep.”

  “Over one thousand metres,” said the Weather Vane.

  Edwin gasped. “Then I’d drown before I reached the bottom.”

  “I’ll go,” offered Val. “I’ve always enjoyed a dip. Would have to dig out my swimsuit. Might need a little adjustment, as I haven’t worn it for over forty years.”

  Edwin dismissed Val’s offer with a snort. “You can’t face an immense water dwelling monster in an old swimsuit.”

  “Good point,” said Val. “Better take
my water wings as well.”

  “The boy must go,” insisted the Nyx Queen. “He is a Guardian of Wychetts. The Key is his responsibility.”

  Edwin chewed his bottom lip. He knew the Nyx Queen was right. He might not be as good with magic as Bryony, but if something had happened to her it meant everything rested on him.

  He had to find the Key, no matter what the risk.

  “All right.” Edwin looked the Nyx Queen straight in her bulging fish eyes. “I’ll go.”