The Secret of the Storm Cloud

by Sidney Gibson

  He instantly regretted his outburst and recalled the instructions not to alarm her in any way. All he had to do was deliver her to Mrs Vee for a few questions. Then he could deal with this girl and her Mum in his own time.

  He composed himself and said calmly. ‘Please don’t touch anything. Just sit back and enjoy the ride’

  It was only a few moments drive in his powerful car and Mr Grabsome pulled up close to Venefica’s front garden gate. In the gathering gloom and drizzle on this, the last day of October, Phemie could just make out that the cardboard box which yesterday had been full of dead rats was now empty. The cauldron still simmered on its bonfire.

  Venefica hobbled out into the garden. She didn’t need to hobble but imagined it would make a good impression and put Phemie in a sympathetic mood to answer questions.

  ‘Welcome my dear. Welcome to my humble cottage. So glad you could come and make an old lady content. Warm yourself by my fire. Don’t be afraid now my dear. I mean no harm’

  As Venefica croaked out her false welcome Phemie shrank back in disgust. Before she had been standing too far back to be overcome by the terrible smell of the old witch’s breath and to see how evil her face looked up close. Azel had said how dangerous Venefica could be and she had not been joking.

  ‘This way, my dear’ Venefica was saying, grabbing hold of Phemie’s wrist in a vice like grip. She looked at Mr Grabsome and in a chilling voice with all her croakiness gone said ‘Grabsome you can leave us now’

  ‘But, but...’ stammered Mr Grabsome.

  ‘No buts Grabsome. I said leave us. I will call you when I’m ready’

  Mr Grabsome knew better than to argue and scurried to his car, jumped in and drove off scattering gravel over the garden wall. Venefica glared after him. But now Euphemia was all alone with her, and it was getting dark. The trap for Azel Goodwill and crown Prince Danial was well and truly laid.

  ***

  Poor Phemie was so shocked by the sudden departure of Mr Grabsome she completely lost the power to say anything. Venefica’s grip on her wrist was excruciatingly painful and she tried to free herself by pulling away with a sharp jerk.

  ‘Now then girl’ said Venefica in an icily cold voice. ‘Stop that nonsense. Come, my cauldron awaits. Let us see what we shall see, eh my little pretty?’

  Venefica’s hypnotic stare clutched at Phemie’s mind, dragging her towards the bubbling cauldron. Pus the cat rubbed its bony body along her ankles, its ribs clicking and its mangy tail wrapping round her knees. She was helpless to resist and gazed zombie like into its festering contents.

  Waving a dirty, battered wand over the cauldron Venefica hissed in a guttural whisper.

  ‘Oh Evil Supreme Witch I call upon you pay heed to my request. Speak, great one and see the consequence of my work in your name. Speak to me Anniolate, speak now’

  The liquid in the cauldron became a frantic, seething mass. A column of foul smelling steam curled upwards enveloping the roof and chimney of the cottage. Venefica screamed triumphantly.

  ‘She hears me! My Evil Supreme Witch hears me!’

  ‘Now girl’ she said softly, ‘be respectful or it will be the worse for you. The supreme witch’s power is absolute. You must remain silent’

  Phemie felt terrified at what might happen but under the influence of Venefica’s hypnotic power she was frozen, unable to move or do anything to help herself. Slowly the seething surface of the cauldron simmered down, revealing a hollow blackness encircled by a twisting fatty girdle of grease.

  ‘Now we shall see!’ shrieked Venefica. The cat had shot over to the dark doorway of the cottage meowing loudly in fright.

  ‘Shut up!’ she shrieked. ‘Or I’ll feed you to the dogs of the Shadow Men.’ The cat went very quiet.

  Phemie watched in dread as the form of a cruel face appeared in the cauldron, eerily beautiful, yet cold and evil.

  ‘Ah, my Supreme One, at last it is you’ rasped Venefica obsequiously ‘you have many images and many forms but rarely have I seen you look just the way you look tonight’

  Anniolate stared out of the cauldron, an expressionless pallid complexion with heavy shadows ringing red rimmed gimlet eyes, and lips thin and unforgiving. Around her neck a garland of dead flowers hung like a hang-man’s noose.

  ‘Who is this?’ she demanded in a hard edged voice. ‘You call me away from important work to see this, this mere girl?’

  ‘Ah great one’ cringed Venefica ‘the girl is but a pawn in our hands to trap none other than Azel Goodwill and the crown Prince Danial himself. They have come here, to this place’

  ‘What! Goodwill and Danial there? In that scrappy little English village? Do they also search for the Great Book of Evil Spells it? Have you failed me? Are you to tell me they have found it?’

  ‘No, no my Supreme One. It is not yet found. I have not failed you and never will. See I have captured the girl for you’

  Anniolate glowered, unconvinced. She peered arrogantly at Phemie.

  ‘Come here girl. If you are to be useful let me see what you are made of. Venefica - poke her in the side‘

  Venefica stuck her bony finger in to her ribs.‘Ouch!’ exclaimed Phemie. ‘That hurt’

  ‘It was supposed to, but I didn’t see you flinch’ said Anniolate, her stare narrowing as she scrutinised Phemie more closely.

  ‘Venefica, I want that girl here. Now. I have need of a novice to initiate into administering the forces of evil. One who will learn and live here in my castle. I detect she has the required grit and determination. Bring her to me tonight’

  ‘But, but your supremacy, she must stay here. She must help me trap Goodwill and the Prince. You cannot have her tonight’

  ‘What! You dare argue with me? You presume to have made plans that overshadow my needs?’ snarled Anniolate with a nasty curl to her lips.

  The words spat out venomously from the depths of the cauldron and Venefica instinctively ducked out of their way.

  ‘I am very sorry, great one, I was not thinking. But how am I to bring her to you? Except for on one night of the year, the night of Halloween, it is forbidden to take mortal beings away from their loved ones’

  ‘Exactly you dim-witted fool!’ screeched Anniolate ‘and pray tell me, what is tonight?’

  ‘Er, um, dhur, yeah. It is Halloween isn’t it? October thirty first. How could I have been so stupid? Forgive me. I am but your humble servant.’ cringed Venefica.

  ‘The skies will be busy this night’ continued Anniolate with an evil sideways glint.

  Phemie remained powerless to do anything except listen to the fate being spelt out for her.

  ‘You must take the short route to Fargon. When you pass over the Controller of the marker under Urquhart castle he will be too busy to have time to collect the forfeit you owe. Travel softly and silently under the mantle of secrecy I grant to you. Be on your way. You know what you must do’

  The face of Anniolate faded from the cauldron, the bubbles closing sullenly over her image. In a brief fraction of a second the frenetic activity in the cauldron ceased and without warning froze to become a solid block of dirty ice.

  Venefica approached Phemie with a ghoulish leer.

  ‘What a lucky girl you are. It is a great honour to be selected by the supreme evil witch. Many privileges are about to be bestowed upon you, but first let us prepare for your journey to the Grey Castle of Fargon. You must relax in the comfort of my power’

  Phemie felt anything but relaxed and in panic looked around for help. There was none.

  Venefica’s filthy cloak unfurled and spread wide to resemble a horrid kind of shroud. Enveloping Phemie in a stinking murkiness, its darkness closed in around her. Slowly, very slowly she felt herself turn weightless, sinking back with feet lifting from the ground. Venefica’s arm ominously stretched out
to cradle Phemie’s head as she became invisibly suspended, held horizontal by evil magic. A high pitched sound of eerie music pierced the stillness like an out of tune string orchestra. It was Pus the cat making a ghastly din.

  Venefica seemed vacant, as if in a trance herself. She fumbled clumsily, took out her grubby wand and waved it in a peculiar way over Phemie. In a croaking voice she chanted the words of a spell in time to the cats tuneless wailing.

  ‘Fleas and flies and dead snakes eyes,

  With spider’s webs you may despise,

  Bind this mortal to my broom

  And this nights sky will see us zoom

  To Fargon far and castle grey,

  For evil Ann to have her way’

  Phemie felt her consciousness slipping down an abyss of nothing. She tried so hard to stay awake but it was hopeless. She was only vaguely aware of being wrapped in a spider’s web and tied to a decrepit old broom which drifted softly up and away into the night. And the sound of that weird and creepy cat’s concert music jangling in her ears.

  Chapter Nine

  Planning to hit back

  Danial breezed happily down the stairs at Hansome House in good time to take Phemie to the Halloween disco. Mr and Mrs Overwhite were having a heated argument over two new B&B guests, Herr Hans Saucefurter and his wife. When they arrived in their large German saloon car, he had apparently sneezed violently and carelessly driven over a flower bed, bumping into numerous garden ornaments.

  ‘He’s crazy’ Mrs Overwhite was saying. ‘I only arranged those pots the other day and now we get this dozy foreign tourist ruining my garden. Look what he’s done to our dahlias.’

  ‘It’s your fault’ Mr Overwhite argued ‘I said you had too many flowers and fancy ornaments. It was only a matter of time before someone did this. It’s not his fault’

  ‘Well I say it is. Did you see the speed he drove in at? Well did you? He’s crazy to come in like that and run over my lovely flowers. If I had my way I’d tell him to pack his bags and get out I would. See if he can find somewhere else to stay and ruin their garden instead’

  Azel came and stood beside Danial, amused at the rather pointless bickering. She turned to him and whispered.

  ‘Hans sneezed and bumped her daisies, don’t you think?’

  Danial chuckled politely, not really paying attention. He had the date with Phemie on his mind. ‘Have you decided about tonight, Miss Azel?’

  ‘You mean about me coming with you to the disco?’

  ‘Er, not so much coming with me. More about going on your own’ said Danial a bit worried Azel would cramp his style.

  ‘You’ve no need to bother about me.’ said Azel with a twinkle in her eye. ‘You go and enjoy yourself. I’ll stay here and may even have a chat with Herr Saucefurter and his wife. Off you go, you’ll be late’

  ‘Thanks’ breathed Danial with a feeling of relief.

  Azel felt a strange sense of foreboding. Something bad brooding not far away. Probably associated with Venefica but she was not sure what. Danial was looking forward to his evening and she decided to say nothing to spoil it until whatever was wrong became clear.

  ***

  The damp night air had become quite chilly and Danial pulled up the zip on his black leather jacket as he walked briskly from Hansome House. Little did he know the adventure awaiting him in less than an hour’s time.

  Lucy Change and Justin were hovering outside the shop, waiting to walk to the Village hall with Danial and Phemie.

  ‘Hullo’ said Justin ‘you come to call for Phemie then?’

  ‘Yes’ said Danial ‘Have you seen her?’

  ‘Well, no actually’ replied Justin, ‘not since she went out with Grabsome in his car a couple of hours ago. We saw ‘im drive home later but we didn’t see Phemie with ‘im, did we Lucy’

  ‘No Justin, we didn’t see her did we’ agreed Lucy.

  ‘She must have slipped in without you noticing’ said Danial ringing the door bell.

  Nancy answered the door with an apprehensive look which as it happened, had nothing to do with her new hair do.

  ‘Is Phemie with you, Danial?’ she asked hesitantly.

  ‘No she isn’t. I’m calling for her to take her to the disco.’ said Danial with some alarm, sensing that something was wrong.

  ‘Right’ said Justin in his official policeman voice ‘we’ll go round to Grabsome’s place and see if Phemie’s still with him. Come on’

  Mr Grabsome’s house was a rather large and tasteless house with a bright red roof and lots of fake features such as plastic shutters and statues made of reconstituted cement. As they opened the fancy but very lightweight gate looking like wrought iron but wasn’t, the net curtain in the mock Georgian bay window twitched. Mr Grabsome watched them walk up his path. Before Justin had time to rap on the door Grabsome had put on its security chain and opened it a crack. He scowled through the narrow gap.

  ‘What do you lot want? I’m very busy’

  ‘I, I mean we, we are here to enquire about a missing person. A certain Miss Euphemia Snow. It has come to my, I mean our, our notice that you, Mr Grabsome, was the last person with what she was seen with’ announced Justin importantly.

  ‘Me?’ spluttered Grabsome going red and looking decidedly suspect ‘I’m not the last person to see her I can tell you that for certain. Now get off my property before I call the police’

  ‘I am the police Mr Grabsome.’ said Justin huffily using his official voice. ‘Now if you will kindly stop getting aggrannoyed, I mean aggravated. Ooh sorry, no I don’t mean that. I mean annoyed’

  He paused for a moment to think about what he really did mean and then hastily continued.

  ‘Anyway, we are not getting off your property until you tell us what you’ve done with Phemie’

  ‘I haven’t done anything’ whinged Grabsome ‘she said she wanted to go and see Mrs Vee and all I did was give her a lift. She’s still there for all I know’

  ‘You’re lying, Grabsome you nasty little weasel.’ shouted Danial. ‘There is no way Phemie would want to go and see that evil old woman. Exactly what are you playing at Grabsome? I want to know. Now!’

  Mr Grabsome shrank back into his house, frightened Danial might put one on him if he didn’t start telling the truth.

  ‘Mrs Vee asked me to take Euphemia to see her and when we got there she sent me away and I left her there and I don’t know how long she wants to keep her there or even what she wants her there for.’ he blurted breathlessly, stringing his words together like a coward in a panic.

  ‘You left her there? All alone with that witch?’ roared Danial furiously.

  ‘Witch? Did you say ‘witch?’ wittered Grabsome nervously. ‘But, but I had no idea...’ his wittering trailed away into a mummy’s boy whine as he looked for someone to comfort him. But Justin and Lucy were gone, chasing after Danial racing as fast as he could, up the darkened road towards Venefica’s cottage.

  ***

  Venefica’s cottage was flooded with luminous purple shining from the tip of Azel’s magic wand and the drizzle danced and glittered in its light.

  ‘What are you doing here?’ gasped Danial breathlessly.

  Azel shook her head gravely.

  ‘She’s gone, Danial. Venefica’s gone and I’m afraid to tell you.....’

  ‘Tell me what’s happened’

  ‘Venefica’s gone and she has taken Euphemia with her’

  ‘Taken her with her’ said Danial incredulously ‘You mean Phemie’s been kidnapped. Do you know where?’

  ‘Yes. Kidnapped and taken to Anniolate’s castle in Fargon. You know what that means’ she stated gloomily.

  ‘I don’t know what you think it means Miss Azel, but I ‘m going after her. Now. I’m outa here’

  ‘Ju
st a moment’ said Azel hastily ‘aren’t you forgetting something? Remember you promised to take instructions from me? Anyway, how do you think you’re going to find Phemie on your own without my help?’

  ‘My PC will pick up a signal from the crystal I gave to her and show me the map co-ordinates of where she is.’

  ‘Sorry, Danial, you’ll have to answer to me first. There will be no argument. Here’s what we are going to do’

  She was interrupted by a scuffling sound behind them heralding the arrival of Lucy and Justin, both out of breath after running all the way to the cottage.

  ‘What’s going on ‘ere then?’ demanded Justin excitedly. ‘Do I need to slap anybody in the mick? I mean nick’

  ‘Phemie’s been kidnapped’’ said Danial ‘Venefica’s taken her. Miss Azel’s got an idea but it would be best if you took Lucy home now’

  The look of excitement faded from Justin’s face and became a worried frown.

  ‘Phemie’s bin kidnapped?’ repeated Lucy, her mouth wide open in bewilderment. ‘Where?’

  ‘Oh, for goodness sake’ retorted Azel impatiently ‘we haven’t time to stand around in discussion. Justin, if you really want to help go and fetch me the old broom from the back of the church yard. Danial, you come with me to Hansome house.’

  Justin turned pale.

  ‘Sorry but do you seriously want me to go round to the back of the church yard in the dark? Where all the grave stones are? On ‘alloween night?’ he stammered.

  ‘Yes’ replied Azel abruptly ‘what’s wrong with that?’

  ‘Well it’s ‘alloween innit. It’s when all them ghosts of dead people come out to get you’ went on Justin. ‘An when all you want is an old broom. Is it worth it?’

  ‘Oh very well then, if you’re too scared’ sighed Azel.

  ‘I’ll go’ volunteered Lucy ‘I’m not frightened by any silly ghosts or anything. I’ll go’

  ‘I’ll come with you then’ said Justin relieved he didn’t have to go by himself. ‘Shall Lucy and I bring that old broom to you at Hansome House?’

  ‘Yes please’ said Azel becoming impatient again ‘as fast as you can.’