Wychetts and the Thunderstone

by William Holley

  The Nyx Queen bowed her head. “With our magic we can aid your descent into the cavern. But when you reach the bottom you will be on your own.”

  “No I won’t,” said Edwin. “I’ll have my trusted Squire with me.”

  “Excuse me,” said Stubby. “Don’t I get a say in this?”

  Edwin shook his head. “The vole will be silent.”

  “Brave boy.” Val patted Edwin’s shoulder. “There aren’t many who would risk death at the hands of the Knucker.”

  “It’s got hands?” Edwin’s forehead puckered. “I didn’t think anyone knew what it looked like.”

  “That was just a figure of speech,” said Val. “It could have no hands. Or many hands.”

  “It probably has tentacles,” said the Weather Vane. “Deep water dwelling life forms would have little use for hands. It most likely has a claw as well, for seizing and dismembering prey. And powerful mandibles for crushing bones. And perhaps…”

  “Thanks for the intel,” said Stubby, with more than his usual hint of sarcasm. “But the element of mystery is what makes blind dates so much fun, so I’d rather leave the rest to my imagination.”

  “You must not fear the Knucker,” the Nyx Queen told Edwin. “For whatever fate befalls you in the Cavern of Death, the Nyx people will consider you the bravest of boys, and shall sing songs of your fate for evermore.”

  “That’s comforting to know,” said Stubby. “I wonder what word they’ll use to rhyme with ‘dismembered’.”

  Chapter 14- The Bubble Bursts

  Gloom closed in all around, and Edwin felt like he was being swallowed whole. His heart beat quickened, and wisps of steam coiled from his mouth and nostrils as the air became suddenly colder.

  He tried to keep calm, telling himself that he was perfectly safe.

  Well at least for the next thirty minutes, because that’s how long they had before the bubble would burst.

  The Nyx Queen had fulfilled her promise of help by creating a protective magic bubble around Edwin for his descent into the Cavern of Death. She assured him the bubble was impenetrable from outside forces, yet it would allow him to pass his hand through to retrieve the Key when he located it.

  Edwin could steer the bubble by using his feet. It had felt awkward at first, and he had fallen over several times already. But slowly he was getting the hang of it.

  The bubble emitted a soft green light, which should prove useful when they reached the cavern floor. There was enough air inside to last a whole hour, but the Queen had warned that the bubble would become unstable after just thirty minutes, and she could not guarantee his safety after that.

  Edwin had voiced his concerns, but the Nyx Queen had assured him that thirty minutes would be enough time to reach the cavern. Provided he didn’t get lost.

  “The route to the bottom is not straightforward,” she had advised in her soft gulping voice. “It is rumoured that the Cavern of Death is made up of many smaller caves, a labyrinth of submerged passages that could confuse the unwary traveller. You should look for a trail to guide you to the Knucker’s lair.”

  The Nyx Queen hadn’t explained what the trail would look like, only that Edwin would know when he saw it. Right now, ten minutes in to his underwater expedition, he couldn’t see anything outside the bubble except a blanket of murkiness. It was impossible to tell if they were moving, and he had now lost all sense of direction.

  Then he caught a flash ahead of him, a dart of silver in the darkness. There was another to the right, and then Edwin saw something swimming towards the bubble.

  It was a fish, only a few inches long, but unlike any he had seen before. It had no eyes, and long whiskers sprouted from its elongated snout.

  “Look at that.” Edwin directed Stubby’s attention to the strange looking fish. “Must have evolved to suit its environment. Fish with no eyes. Isn’t that amazing.”

  “Indeed,” agreed Stubby. “But a fish with no eyes is nowhere near as amazing as a boy with no brain.”

  “You’re still mad at me for volunteering to do this?”

  “There would have been no need to, if you’d waited for Inglenook instead of climbing up the spire to reach the Weather Vane.”

  “Yeah, but then we’d never have found out what happened to the Key. And then it would be stuck down here forever, and we’d have no hope of rescuing Mum and Bill, or find out what’s happened to Bryony.”

  Edwin’s stomach lurched again as he thought about his stepsister. He was sure nothing bad had happened to her. Inglenook wouldn’t have allowed that. But still, he’d feel a lot better once he’d found the Key.

  The fish slinked off into the gloom. Edwin watched its pale body fade into the murk, and then he picked out something else below. At first he thought it was more fish, but when they came closer the bubble’s green light revealed something altogether more disturbing.

  Bones. Piles of them lying on the rocky ground. Edwin couldn’t tell what kind of animals they had belonged to, and he tried not to look too closely.

  “That would be our trail,” said Stubby. “Following the bones should lead us to the Knucker’s lair.”

  “You reckon?” Edwin wasn’t convinced. “The Nyx Queen didn’t say anything about bones.”

  “Indeed not. But so far we haven’t come across any illuminated signs saying ‘This way to certain death’.”

  “How do you think the bones got here?” Even as Edwin asked the question, he doubted whether he wanted to hear the answer.

  “I suspect these are the remains of previous explorers looking for the Cavern of Death,” said Stubby. “I can’t tell you how they died, but I’d hazard a guess that it wasn’t from boredom.”

  Edwin shivered, but not because the air inside the bubble had turned even colder. He knew Stubby was right, and why the Nyx Queen had been reluctant to reveal what form the trail would take.

  Using his feet, Edwin guided the bubble along the trail of bones and into an underwater tunnel. It wasn’t long before the tunnel forked, and following the bones brought him into a maze of narrow, twisting passages.

  Edwin struggled to keep track of the bones, even with the bubble’s green light to guide him, and eventually he lost sight of them altogether.

  An inspection of his watch revealed they now had only ten minutes left to find the Key. Ten minutes before the bubble, quite literally, would burst.

  Edwin was tempted to turn the bubble round and head back to the Nyx palace. Then he remembered Val’s last words to him before he started this mission…

  “You will succeed, lad. I believe it. And you must believe it too. Remember my motto? Mind over matter. Believe, Edwin. And you can do anything.”

  Believe, and you can do anything.

  Edwin knew he mustn’t give up. He had to believe he would find the Key and make it out of the chasm alive.

  He moved the bubble forwards. There was still no trail of bones, the bubble’s light revealing only more empty murk in front of him.

  Then another voice sounded in his mind: a familiar voice, rich and deep, calling his name.

  “Young Master Edwin…”

  “Look out!”

  Stubby’s squeal alerted Edwin to a misshapen dark form lunging from the gloom. But the warning came too late, and Edwin couldn’t stop the bubble in time.

  There was a jolt, and Edwin was thrown off his feet as the bubble struck the object and went bouncing off down a steep side tunnel.

  On and on the bubble went, rolling and bouncing off the tunnel walls. Edwin struggled to regain control, but couldn’t get back on his feet.

  At last the bubble came to a stop. Edwin lay in a heap, his frantic breath steaming the inside of the glowing sphere.

  “Damage report?” said Stubby.

  “I’m fine.” Edwin picked himself up. “Did you see what we hit?”

  “It was a rock. And you’d have spotted it if you were paying attention.”

  “I’m sorry,” said Edwin. “But I heard Inglenook’s voice.
”

  “You were daydreaming,” squeaked Stubby. “Now we’ve been knocked off course, and lost valuable time in the process.”

  Another inspection of Edwin’s watch revealed they only had five minutes left. And yet he still couldn’t see any bones on the cavern floor.

  But there was something else lying there: something that glinted in the light of the bubble, something that looked like it was made of metal…

  Edwin shuffled the bubble closer to the shiny object. It was half buried in sand, but he could make out a thin metal shaft.

  “We’ve found it!” Edwin gasped with delight. “The Wychetts Key!”

  Edwin pushed his right arm through the bubble’s skin. The water was freezing, and he grimaced as he fumbled for his quarry. Then his fingers closed around something made of metal, and Edwin laughed with glee when he pulled his hand back inside the bubble.

  But his laugh became a groan when he saw what he was holding.

  It was made of metal, sure. But it wasn’t the Wychetts Key. It was no more than…

  “A spoon.” Edwin shook his head. “What’s a spoon doing at the bottom of an underwater cavern?”

  Then Edwin saw another glinting object, and propelled the bubble towards it. Once again he thrust his hand through the bubble into the chill murky water. Once again his fingers closed around something made of metal. Once again he drew his hand back inside the bubble, and once again groaned when he saw what he was holding.

  “Another spoon.” Edwin couldn’t believe it. “Are we in the Cavern of Death or an oversized dishwasher?”

  “It’s much the same thing if you’re a mouse,” observed Stubby. “My cousin Clarence got trapped in a dishwasher. The only comfort was that it must have been a clean death.”

  Edwin spotted another glint of metal on the ground, but as he moved the bubble closer he saw it was just another spoon. He saw another spoon to his right, and another, and another. In fact, as he moved the bubble round he saw they were surrounded by spoons: tea spoons, table spoons, soup spoons; spoons of every imaginable shape and size.

  “At least we’ve solved the mystery of where all your mother’s missing spoons ended up,” said Stubby. “The old lady’s too. Seems someone has been stealing the things and hoarding them down here.”

  At that moment, Edwin couldn’t have cared less about spoons.

  He felt like crying. It would be impossible to find the Key if he had a whole weekend to spare, but he only had a matter of minutes before the Nyx magic spell expired.

  His lips quivered as he tried to hold back a despairing sob.

  Then he recalled Val’s words again.

  Believe.

  Edwin knew he couldn’t give up. There was too much at stake. He had to find the Key.

  He would find the Key.

  If he believed.

  Pushing forwards with his feet, Edwin steered the bubble through the cavern. A carpet of spoons lay below him, and Edwin found his belief running out as the hands on his watch ticked down with alarming rapidity.

  Just two minutes left.

  Then he heard it once more: that familiar voice, calling his name.

  “Young Master Edwin.”

  “Did you hear that?” Edwin jerked his head round, trying to trace the voice. “It sounded like Inglenook.”

  “Didn’t hear a thing,” said Stubby. “Except that deep ominous gurgling.”

  “I didn’t hear any gurgling.”

  “That’s because I have more acute senses than you. And I definitely heard gurgling. And of a distinctly ominous variety.”

  “How can gurgling be ominous?”

  “Put it this way: if my stomach gurgled like that, I’d think it very ominous indeed.”

  “Ssh!” Edwin put a finger to his lips. “Inglenook is calling me again.”

  “Young Master. This way.”

  “Where are you?” Edwin couldn’t work out where Inglenook’s voice was coming from. “Please give me a signal.”

  The response was not what Edwin expected.

  It was a gurgle; a deep gurgle that seemed to come from all around them.

  “There,” said Stubby. “Is that ominous enough for you?”

  Edwin saw movement outside the bubble, something long and serpentine coiling in the murk. He held his breath, and the sound of his drumming heart seemed like thunder in the empty silence.

  Then something struck from the gloom, a flailing tentacle that sent the bubble tumbling across the cavern floor.

  Edwin was thrown head over heels, but the bubble held out.

  “That was the Knucker.” Edwin lay gasping from shock as the bubble came to rest against a large rock. “And the Weather Vane was right. It does have tentacles.”

  “A lucky guess on his part,” huffed Stubby. “But he wasn’t right about the claw.”

  “Then what’s that?” Edwin cried out as a massive pair of serrated pincers came lunging at the bubble.

  “That’ll be a claw,” conceded Stubby. “And I’ll shut up from now on.”

  This time Edwin thought they were done for, but the claw bounced harmlessly on the bubble, and he heard an enraged gurgle from his attacker.

  “What manner of creature are you that comes to steal my treasure?”

  It took a second or two for Edwin to realise the Knucker was speaking to him.

  “Tell me!” The Knucker’s gurgling voice caused the water to broil. “You are not a Nyx or a common water creature. Tell me what you are and why you come to steal my treasure.”

  “Treasure?” Edwin discerned a huge dark shape outside the bubble. “I didn’t know you had any treasure.”

  “He means the spoons,” whispered Stubby.

  “Spoooons!” The bubble shuddered as the Knucker’s voice sounded. “You come to steal my spoons!”

  “No,” protested Edwin. “I don’t want your spoons, trust me.”

  “I trust no one.” The water around the bubble became a seething haze as the Knucker spoke. “For those I trusted stole from me. They took my throne, my kingdom. But they will not take my treasure!”

  A thick tentacle coiled around the bubble, and there was a squelching noise as its large sucker cups took hold.

  “I will devour you,” vowed the Knucker. “As I devour all who steal from me.”

  “I mean you no harm,” blurted Edwin. “I only came here to look for something. Something that belongs to me.”

  Another tentacle came into view, holding something for Edwin to see.

  “Could it be this?” queried the Knucker. “My special spoon?”

  Edwin’s jaw fell open as he saw what the tentacle was holding.

  It was made of metal. But it was no spoon.

  “That’s it!” Edwin pressed his face against the inside of the bubble. “That’s what I was looking for. My Key!”

  “Young Master Edwin…” Inglenook’s voice filtered into Edwin’s mind. “Time is running out. You must believe.”

  Edwin suddenly remembered. He looked at his wristwatch and saw there were only seconds before the Nyx Queen’s magic wore off.

  “I will never surrender my special spoon,” said the Knucker. “And I shall destroy all who would take it from me.”

  The tentacle tightened around the bubble. Edwin heard a squeaking noise, and felt the air around him compressing.

  “Believe,” repeated Inglenook’s voice. “Believe in the power of Wychetts. Believe in yourself. Reach out to me, Young Master…”

  Edwin closed his eyes, concentrating on Inglenook’s voice. But the voice faded as the squeaking noise became a terrible nerve shredding screech.

  Edwin took a deep breath, but nothing could have prepared him for what was to follow.

  There was an explosion all around him. The bubble disintegrated, and the chill water closed around him like an icy fist.

  Edwin felt like his chest was on fire, and feared his eardrums would burst. He clamped his mouth shut, but couldn’t stop water seeping into his nostrils.

 
; “Believe, Young Master Edwin.”

  Again Edwin heard Inglenook’s voice. He opened his eyes and saw a pale blue light in the gloom. Instinctively he reached out to it, but then something thick and slippery coiled around his waist.

  “I shall crush you.” The Knucker’s voice was a thunderous burble. “Crush your feeble body before devouring it whole. Your scattered bones shall be a warning to others who would come to steal my treasure!”