Goodly and Grave in a Case of Bad Magic

by Justine Windsor

  “Yes, yes. As I’m probably going to kill you and that old woman over there very shortly, I’ll let you have that privilege.”

  “I’m not old!” Brenda said indignantly.

  “Caruthers! Take the form of Caruthers!” yelled Lucy.

  The demon’s fiery eyes slitted as it considered this strange request. “Caruthers?”

  “If you have all the … knowledge from those puny magicians, you’ll know who Caruthers is. Or are you just making empty boasts?”

  “I could snuff you out in a second, Lucy. Empty boasts! Watch this!”

  Lucy turned back to face the demon, exchanging a quick glance with Brenda, who nodded encouragement. The demon began to dissolve into a whirling mist once more. A few seconds later it started to reform into a frog-like shape, until a giant-sized version of Caruthers, Violet’s beloved woollen toy, was bobbing alongside the spire.

  Lucy snorted quietly. The idea of asking the demon to take the form of Caruthers had come to her from nowhere, but it was a good notion, because the demon’s appearance was now so comical it seemed less frightening. But she knew it could still kill her instantly if it wanted to. What she had to do now was keep it talking.

  “I want to join forces with you,” Lucy said. “You see, I’m extra powerful. The most powerful magician of my time, I reckon.”

  “That’s a very presumptuous claim.”

  “Well, even you couldn’t take my magic along with everyone else’s, could you?” Lucy flicked her gaze towards Brenda, who had her arm behind her head as though she was about to throw something, and then back to the demon.

  “That’s very true. Can you explain why?” The demon still had its button eyes fixed on Lucy.

  “I’m not sure I want to,” Lucy said. “I don’t trust you yet. You see—”

  There was sharp whistle as the net that Brenda had conjured up whipped through the air towards the demon. Brenda’s aim was true, and for one heart-jolting moment it seemed as though Lucy’s plan was going to work. But at the very last second, a blast of wind blew the net off course and it began coiling away from its target. As it started to fall, a single silvery strand caught on one of the demon’s button eyes, which immediately began to melt and smoke. The demon roared in agony. It flailed its arms, sending a jet of flame shooting towards Lucy and Brenda. The jet missed its mark, but the cuff of Brenda’s right sleeve blazed. Brenda screamed, beating at the flames with her gloved left hand. Lucy flew towards her to help.

  “No, I’m all right! Get that net!”

  Lucy dug her heels into her horse’s flanks, urging it towards the monstrous frog. If she could grab the net, she might still be able to throw it back over the demon. But the demon was already freeing itself in the most horrific manner imaginable. It ripped off the button eye the net was caught on. Lucy lunged to seize the net as it fell. But it was no good. The demon sent a squall of wind whipping towards the net, sending it twirling away. Lucy watched it float off, fear squeezing all the breath from her lungs.

  Now that it had lost an eye, the demon no longer looked ridiculous and unthreatening in its knitted frog form. A jagged hole blazed where the button had been, reminding Lucy of the fiery pit the demon had emerged from, back in the Room of Curiosities.

  “Can you make another net?” Lucy yelled to Brenda.

  “No, I can’t move my hand, too painful,” Brenda shouted back, her face grim.

  “Can’t you make one with your left hand?”

  Brenda shook her head. “My right hand’s my net-making hand. What are we going to do?”

  In desperation, Lucy swiftly flung a flurry of attack sparks at the demon, and they hit its remaining button eye. The demon roared with rage. It pointed one of its webbed front feet at Brenda and Lucy and sent another bolt of lightning hurtling towards them. Lucy’s horse swerved out of the way, just in time. But Brenda’s horse reacted too slowly. The lightning struck it square in the chest. The horse neighed once, and then rolled over on to its back. Brenda was unseated but managed to keep hold of the horse’s mane as the two of them overturned. She dangled there, hundreds of feet above the ground.

  “Get underneath her!” Lucy yelled to her own horse, urging it towards its stricken companion. The horse obeyed, positioning itself underneath the terrified woman. Brenda’s horse was barely alive now, its wings moving just enough to keep it in the air.

  “Brenda, let go of the mane! I’ll catch you!” Lucy yelled.

  Brenda looked down at Lucy, her eyes wide with fear. “I can’t! I’ll fall to my death!”

  “You definitely will if you don’t let go!” The dying horse’s wings were flapping more and more slowly. When they stopped beating completely, it would plummet from the sky, taking Brenda with it!

  Brenda squeezed her eyes shut and released her grasp on the horse’s mane. She screamed as she plunged towards Lucy, who tried to grab her, but failed. Luckily Lucy’s horse managed to catch Brenda by the collar using its teeth. Above them, Brenda’s horse’s wings gave a final weak flutter and then it fell. Lucy’s horse dodged out of the path of its plummeting comrade. Lucy watched, horror-struck at the fate of the beautiful creature, but she shoved her feelings deep down inside herself. She couldn’t afford to think about it now, not while there was a demon on the loose.

  “We need to get back down to earth!” Brenda shouted from her precarious position, dangling from the horse’s jaws. The horse understood Brenda’s command and began to gallop towards to the ground. It moved so fast that the wind whistled in Lucy’s ears. The demon pursued them, whipping up the wind again and shooting bolts of lightning. Lucy turned and hurled spark after spark at the giant creature, aiming each time for its button eye, hoping to somehow damage the demon’s eyesight and spoil its aim.

  But the demon’s vision remained sharp enough for it to fling yet another flash of lightning. Again, the horse dodged away, but not quite quickly enough. The bolt grazed Lucy’s knee, burning a hole in her trousers and scorching her skin. Lucy screamed and almost lost her balance. It was no good – the demon was going to kill all three of them!

  “Look, chicken!” Brenda yelled, pointing downwards.

  Lucy’s heart lurched. There was some kind of bizarre monster flying in their direction. Had it been called up by the demon? But fear soon turned to relief when she saw it was in fact four of the pelicans from the wildlife park, looking much larger than normal. Each of them held a corner of Brenda’s net in its beak and, to Lucy’s delight, Lord Grave was riding on the back of one of them.

  “You escaped! How?” she yelled.

  “No time to explain, Lucy!” Lord Grave sent an enormous mass of attack sparks at the demon, hitting it between its mismatched eyes and setting its forehead alight. Lucy followed Lord Grave’s example and released another volley of her own. She yelled in triumph as they hit the very centre of the demon’s remaining button eye, which began to melt. The demon uttered a high-pitched shriek as the flames burning its forehead away spread to the rest of its head. With the enemy safely incapacitated, Lord Grave and the pelicans flew higher until they were hovering above the demon. They released the net, which dropped neatly over the demon, enveloping it.

  “Lucy, we need to seal the bottom of the net!” Lord Grave yelled.

  He commanded his pelican towards the demon’s feet. Lucy swiftly followed. She and Lord Grave worked their way along the edges of the net, Lucy holding it closed, while Lord Grave sealed the join with attack sparks. These were hot enough to melt the silver and fuse it together so that the demon was unable to escape. The other three pelicans then grabbed the net in their beaks.

  “Are you all right, Brenda?” Lord Grave called.

  “Feel a bit woozy. It’s the pain,” Brenda replied. Her face was dripping with sweat.

  “We’re going back to Grave Hall. This is almost over,” Lord Grave said reassuringly.

  He was right. It was almost over. Trapped inside the net, unable to break out of the silver prison it created, the demon continued wr
ithing as its Caruthers form burned away. It smoked and crackled, leaving behind the small, immobile stick-like figure that Valentina had brought to life in the Room of Curiosities only a couple of hours earlier. Although it very much seemed like a lifetime ago to Lucy.

  When Lord Grave, Lucy and Brenda touched down on Grave Hall’s gravel drive, Bertie and Mrs Crawley were waiting for them outside the front door. Bertie helped Lord Grave dismount from his pelican. Mrs Crawley crouched next to Brenda, who was sitting dazedly where the flying horse had gently deposited her.

  “Brenda! What are you doing here? Your hand!”

  “It’s a long story, Bernie,” said Brenda. “But I need your help. I don’t think I can get up on my own.”

  “Take Brenda inside, Mrs Crawley. Find her a room,” Lord Grave said.

  “Are you sure?” Brenda asked. “You told me never to darken the doors of the Hall again.”

  Lord Grave coughed. “Brenda. I owe you an apology. I should never have tried to interfere with your choice of tomato feed.”

  Lucy frowned. “You two fell out over tomato feed? I thought it was something serious!”

  “I do think I’d like to have a lie-down now,” Brenda said hurriedly, looking rather shamefaced.

  “You do that. We can talk more later,” Lord Grave said. He picked up the net containing the demon and slung it over his shoulder before climbing the steps to the front door. Lucy and Bertie followed him.

  “How did you manage to escape?” Lucy asked Lord Grave as they headed towards the ballroom.

  “Becky and the others went outside to see what was happening. They were all very jumpy because Valentina hadn’t been in contact.”

  “She had some of Lord Percy’s chits. She was supposed to send one to the gang just after midnight to say the plans had worked,” Lucy told him.

  “Ah. That explains why they panicked when they saw the demon hovering above the church. They thought Valentina must be dead. While they were all arguing about what to do next, I persuaded Becky to free us. I promised that if she did, I would forgive the part she’s played in this debacle. Bertie carried Violet out of the lair, Vonk and I carried Lord Percy. Once we were in Grave Village I was able to shortcut us back to Grave Hall.”

  “Are Violet and Lord Percy all right?” Lucy asked.

  “Still a little sleepy. They’re both in bed,” Lord Grave replied, striding to the ballroom entrance. Prone magicians were strewn across the floor, just as they had been when Lucy and Brenda left to go after the demon.

  “Are they going to stay like that, Father?” Bertie asked.

  “I can’t be certain, but I have a hunch that once the demon is back in the Room of Curiosities and safely imprisoned again, the magic it absorbed will be returned to its rightful owners. But we won’t know until we try.”

  The three of them climbed the stairs to the first floor and the Room of Curiosities. Lucy was relieved to see that the fiery hole the demon had climbed out of was now no more than a very large burn on the pink marble.

  “Mrs Crawley won’t be pleased about this floor. Demonic scorch marks are impossible to remove,” Lord Grave remarked as he placed the demon on the plinth Valentina had taken it from.

  “Why don’t you take the net off?” Bertie asked.

  “I think a little extra protection wouldn’t go amiss,” Lord Grave replied, wrapping Brenda’s net tightly round the demon. Then he picked up the glass dome and began lowering it carefully over the unnatural creature. As he did so, skeins of lightening popped and crackled around the demon’s stick-like form, gathering themselves into a small ball that zoomed out from under the dome with a sharp whistling noise.

  “What’s happening?” Lucy asked, fearful that the demon might be coming to life again.

  “I’m not entirely sure, but I think the demon’s magic is reversing,” Lord Grave said as he finished placing the dome over the demon. The fiery ball began bouncing off the walls. Lord Grave watched it intently for a few seconds.

  “I think it wants to get out,” he said and opened the door. The ball whizzed out of the Room of Curiosities at top speed, and headed towards the stairs.

  “Come on, let’s follow it!” Lord Grave said.

  The three of them hurried out of the room, Lord Grave pausing to lock the door behind them. As they sprinted for the stairs, there was a blindingly bright flash.

  Downstairs, a crowd of newly awake, dazed and extremely confused magicians were surging from the ballroom into the hallway and scrambling to get outside. Lady Sibyl was among them. When she spotted Lucy and the others coming down the stairs, she pushed her way through the crowd towards them. The peacock feathers in her hair, now singed and very sorry-looking, fluttered as she went. She flung her arms round Lord Grave’s neck.

  “George! We thought you were …” she exclaimed, before bursting into tears.

  “I very nearly was, along with everyone else. Lucy’s quick thinking saved us all,” Lord Grave said, awkwardly patting Lady Sibyl’s back.

  “I couldn’t have done it without your flying horses, Lady Sibyl,” Lucy said and then paused. “The demon killed one of them. I’m so sorry.”

  Lady Sibyl unhooked her arms from Lord Grave’s neck and stared at Lucy.

  “The other horse is safe. It’s just outside, Sibyl,” Lord Grave said gently. “I’ll take you to it.”

  And although Lucy had always thought Lord Grave wasn’t the hand-holding type, that didn’t stop him taking Lady Sibyl’s. Lucy and Bertie followed as Lord Grave steered her through the throng of bewildered magicians, some of whom tried to accost him.

  “Grave! There you are! What on earth’s been happening?”

  “Where are you going now?”

  “All in good time,” Lord Grave replied calmly, continuing on his way.

  The surviving flying horse was still standing near the front door, where Lucy had left it when she dismounted. It neighed pitifully when it saw Lady Sibyl. Lucy was sure she saw a tear trickle from the animal’s eye, and her own eyes grew wet as Lady Sibyl patted the horse’s neck and said, “Oh, my lovely Rory, what will we do without Peggy?”

  While Lady Sibyl continued to comfort the grieving horse, the crowd surging out of Grave Hall began yelling angrily.

  “There she is!”

  “Get the little villain!”

  “She could have killed us all!”

  Valentina had somehow managed to escape from Brenda’s net, perhaps aided by the reversal of magic which had occurred when Lord Grave imprisoned the demon once more, and was trying to make a run for it. The magicians, who had nearly lost their magic for good, and might have lost their lives too, were grabbing at her as she tried to flee.

  “Stop!” Lucy shouted. “Stop hurting her! Lord Grave, do something!”

  Lord Grave shoved his way into the crowd and grabbed Valentina, pulling her to safety.

  “Listen, everyone!” he shouted. “Listen to me! Yes, the girl did wrong. But I think we may have wronged her. She and the other children who escaped Hard Times Hall must have been very unhappy there. We need to find out why before we condemn her. If you’d all like to go back inside, you can retire to your bedrooms if you wish and get some sleep. My servants will provide anything you need. Or feel free to go back to your own homes if you prefer.”

  “What about the demon?” someone shouted.

  “The demon can’t harm you, it’s powerless now. We’re all safe. We all still have our magic. We’ve a lot to be thankful for.”

  A few flakes of early November snow drifted down as Lady Sibyl lifted a large pair of scissors and cut through the blue ribbon draped across the chest of the winged horse standing proudly in front of her. Lord Grave, Bertie, Lucy and the other magical servants who were gathered round clapped as the ribbon fell to the ground.

  “It really is beautiful, and a wonderful tribute,” Lady Sibyl said, stepping back to admire not a real horse, but the topiary created by Brenda in memory of Peggy, who had died during the battle with the dem
on.

  “Thank you, Lady Sibyl,” Brenda said.

  After the recent terrible events, Lord Grave and Brenda had settled their differences. Brenda was back doing her old gardening job and living at Grave Hall once again, much to Lucy and Mrs Crawley’s delight.

  Lord Grave rubbed his hands together. “It’s a little chilly out here, let’s all get inside and warm ourselves at the drawing-room fire!”

  “Sounds like a good idea to me, Grave,” Smell said.

  “I’ll bring up the cocoa jug,” Mrs Crawley said. “I made a vat of my special recipe in honour of the unveiling of Peggy’s topiary.” She hurried off round the back of the house.

  “Oh dear,” Lord Grave said when Mrs Crawley was out of sight.

  “I fear we’re in for an experimental cocoa horror of some description,” Vonk added.

  “Don’t worry,” Brenda said. “I happen to know that someone swapped Bernie’s special spider syrup for a more traditional vanilla flavour.”

  “You’d better be right,” Becky said. “I’m not drinking anything with spiders’ legs in it!” She turned and strode back to the house.

  “You’d think she’d be grateful,” Lucy said to Brenda as they watched Becky stamping up the steps to the front door. “Lord Grave could have sacked her for what she did. Or had her put in prison.”

  “Some people are never happy, however much good fortune comes their way, chicken. Come on, let’s get out of the cold. It’s more like December than November out here!”

  As she followed Brenda back to the house, Lucy thought about the good fortune that had come Becky’s way, and the way of all of the other orphans from Hard Times Hall. Once the demon had been safely returned to the Room of Curiosities, Lord Grave had called a meeting of all the magicians who had been at the ball. After much discussion and argument it had been decided that Hard Times Hall would be closed and the orphans offered homes with willing magicians.

  “It’s the right thing to do,” Lord Grave had said. “Children deserve to have families, I see that now. If we had all given a little more thought to how we cared for these orphans, the demon might never have been summoned.”